4th Dimensional Transition

My sisters Sophie and Tita. 

I may have mentioned it before, but April is apparently the month for integration.  I am currently sporting Fuden, braids with mess (extensions) and am using coray.  These three things combined make me super Senegalese, and now jokes about boyfriends/husbands have only increased.  I didn’t really intend to be super Senegalese, at least not all at once, but it just kind of happened.  It started with the fuden, then Sophie was back on vacation and had time to do my hair, Then I found a pretty coray burner,  when I went to market for mess.  Next thing you know  I am a fuden toting, braid wearing, coray burner.  It has obviously been of great amusement to my family, which is the main reason I did the hair.

*** Word to the wise nothing about getting your hair braided is fun, it hurts, takes forever and then you can’t sleep.  I’ve had it in for less than a week and am already trying to figure when I can take it out without offending sophie.   It has also impeded my workout routine, it’s so heavy that running is really uncomfortable. I’ve taken to biking instead, which is a nice change of pace, but probably not as vigorous. 

But now I’m getting off topic and as always there are so many little things I want to share or explain that I can’t do them all justice.  That, I’ve discovered, is the hardest part of blogging.  I’m never completely satisfied with what I wrote because there just isn’t enough room to explain everything.   I’ll try my best though to at least touch on the more amusing aspects of my past few weeks here.  For starters I successfully navigated the Mbour market. This is a big deal because it is the closest market to me but horrible. The vendors are so used to seeing tourist that I get treated as one.  This time it was not so bad.  I even chitchatted with a few vendors and managed to sell the first coray burner I bought to another lady, who had prettier ones.  A fun thing I’ve learn is if I ever want to do something here I just need to ask. Someone will usually help me or allow me to do what I want.  I’ve seen this tactic used many times, usually with older volunteers, but am just now getting used to it. It can definitely be lots of fun and makes you realize how silly some of our rules and standards in the US can be.  I’m not saying they all are but there are definitely some liberties I enjoy here that I wouldn’t be able to back home. 

As an example I went on a fun trip last weekend that would have been much more complicated/expensive in the US.  (don’t worry I totally understand why we have these rules in the US. I just don't like how they complicate things for me. ) Anyways, we paid a pirogue (fishing boat) to take us out to an island in the delta and camped.  We didn’t have to pay a camping few or any other charges. We just drove to the island, picked a good spot and unloaded.  It was amazing.  We hardly saw any other people, and could have even gone to other islands where there are no people at all.  I really love the ease of camping here and want to take advantage of it.  As an amusing side note, I did this whole trip after my hair was braided and as bald people know, you need to keep your scalp covered in the sun.  This meant I constantly had a scarf wrapped around my head and bore an uncanny resemblance to a pirate.  It suited the occasion well and the pictures, which I will post soon, should be very funny.