patience

okay I think I got my first real kick in the stomach and now I'm recovering thanks to a lot of sleep and cookies from the tubab store (a place owned by white people and containing certain white people products such as toilet paper and cookies-- I even found a can of coca cola light which I am very excited about)

The past week was frustrating- really frustrating -- and now I realize what they meant when they said I will learn what it's like to be a minority for the first time in my life -- and they weren't kidding. I don't want to dwell on this since it certainly is not what the experience is about, but I also think it is i^mportant because it explains a lot about the culture here and also how I live. First and foremost is the language, which I have struggled with recently-- but I'm starting to realize that I can't put pressure on myself because it is going to take a long time no matter what I do, so I am just going to start over and keep working at it. Part of the frustration is that the language is not really a written language; so people cannot write words for me and there is little chance of understanding a grammar system. I am working on finding someone who can tutor me, but this isn't a very common thing so I(ll have to wait and see.

Second there is the fact of being a complete outsider-- and white-- I completely underestimated how important this would be. Complete strangers yell "tubab" : white person when I pass on the street. I know; it sounds ridiculous, but it is completely acceptable here. White people are so rare that it is big news when one is around- sometimes it feels like people are being really rude (would we ever yell out at someone like this?) and sometimes I just realize that people are looking for something to do, they just want to talk, or they are curious why I am here. Still it takes a lot of patience some days.

so I kind of hid out in my house for a while with my family so I could regroup-- and that is where things started getting fun. I got put to the test by the 11 women in the household-- they find it really strange that I leave the house every day to go into town to work, that I wear pants, that I don't wear earrings ( another funny story on this to come) etc; So I decided to hang out and do the things that women do-- All of their chores have a very specific process, mopping, doing laundry, cooking. It's so funny, but all I had to do was try everything once, show them that I couldn't do it the way that they do it and they were satisfied. For example, the one that every female volunteer has to deal with is laundry. Thus ensues the exchange:

Senegalese sister : Can you "foot" ?(meaning handwash clothing while making a specific sound with the water that passes through your hands during the process-- similar to a high pitched squish)

Me: No, I can't "foot" (thinking damn right i can, just not with your silly noise)

SS: Here; try this ( at the same time calling the 15 other people around to come watch the tubab "foot")

Me: OKay, I'll try. ( and trying in earnest, and doing just fine if the objective was just to get the clothes clean, but no-- it is also to make "the noise")

Peanut gallery: Oh look! Fary is trying to "foot"! how sweet. ( and failing) Fary, you should probably pay one of your sister's to do your laundry for you.

Me: oh well I tried.... (damn right I will)

and so it goes. I don't know how to react, if I should be happy that I have better things to aspire to or feel defeated that this is what senegalese women aspire to.... Maybe I haven't been clear, maybe I've just been bitter? but I hope I have been at least descriptive

till next time!