A Surprise Week in Somone

After more than one month in Senegal, there is one social element that truly amazes me: Senegalese hospitality. They call it teranga here in Senegal and although I have mentioned this concept in previous entries, I recently experienced the very extent of what this term means to Senegalese people. I was supposed to go to Kaolack, a town in the interior of Senegal, at the beginning of last week, but due to a miscommunication, the project with which I was supposed to work was not ready to welcome me. There I was in Dakar with my huge sack and nowhere to go, at least nowhere programmed to go. I had spent a long time exiting Pikine and did not feel like returning for a while. After all, I had stayed for one month and was once again allured by the chance to travel and see what lay beyond Dakar.

Last week I attended a baptism in a lovely seaside village called Somone. The host was the brother of my host mother, Nogaye and he invited me to come back to spend more time with him and his family. (Everyone who has welcomed me into his/her home has invited me to return to spend more time with his/her family. No one wants me to leave. To request that a guest stays or to invite a guest to return is normal and expected. Even if you never plan on returning, you say babanene, which means “until next time.”) It was an open invitation, kind of like, “You should come back sometime.” In the U.S. if someone invited you to return at some point, there is an understanding that the next time must be planned and settled before any visit occurs. Here in Senegal, just announcing your presence to someone you know in his/her town is enough to receive the utmost welcome. As I left Dakar without a formal invitation to stay in Somone, I stood firm on this principle I have come to appreciate.

I took a calando, which is a taxi that multiple people share, from Dakar to Mbour then a taxi from Mbour to Somone. I did not call my host until I reached Mbour, which is roughly 30 minutes from his house. Imagine! I fully expected to stay with him for a week, and I was not disappointed. I called him and said my plans had changed and was now in Somone, hoping to pass the week with him and his family. He was delighted! He even left work to lead me to his house. Granted, he is his own boss and was almost finished for the day, but still, I am quite positive that there are few if any Americans who would drop anything, work or otherwise, to welcome a foreigner into their homes.

In this way, I spent a lovely time walking along the beach, learning to cook, reading, and chatting with my host, his niece and his family as well as with the other family and renters living within the housing complex. (He is currently renting a room from a proprietor who rents out rooms. There is a common toilet and a shared shower room—they use the bucket and scoop method—as well as two kitchens. The atmosphere was convivial indeed! Both my host and his family and the other group of people invited one another to breakfast, lunch and dinner even though each group ate separately. (This is also a tenet of teranga: you invite anyone who is in your vicinity to eat with you, knowing that the person will refuse. I suppose it happens occasionally that someone accepts the invitation, but it is more or less a nice formality that recognizes those around you. Recognition of those around you is very important.) Another adventure in Senegal that demonstrates its uniqueness, how truly marvelous!

Tip #9 for traveling on 25 dollars a day: When traveling in a developing country where the water is questionable, buy a purifier (Steripen.com, purifies 2000 L for 100 bucks) or bring along iodine tablets to purify the local water. Bottled water is expensive anywhere you go, especially compared to the cheap price of food in the developing world. For example, a liter of water in Senegal costs $1.25, which is the same price as lunch at a local restaurant. With a purifier or iodine tablets, you can drink the local water anywhere you go.

It’s a Yoff-kind of Vacation

Before embarking on my adventure in Somone, I spent three days with my “aunt and uncle” who live in Yoff, a neighborhood in Dakar. Unlike my home in Pikine, which is always animated with people, markets, and street vendors, Yoff is a quiet residential neighborhood jutting up against the sea. After one month of Pikine, I had become quite accustomed to the noise and the rhythm of life and had become quite attached to my family. A change of pace was quite appreciated, however, and I took advantage of the peace and quiet to relax and to enjoy a few conveniences lacking in Pikine. I am blessed to have many people upon whom I can rely and upon whom I can count to establish a varied impression of Senegal. With three days of repose, I was ready for some stimulation in the Senegalese fray.