Gamou

Hey all, what a week it has been. Much more free time but that just means that we find more stuff to fill our days with.

Monday was my exhausting return from Mboumba, sick and overworked but super stoked with the trip.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both very useful to catch up on sleep and get healthy. We had a normal schedule of classes. I volunteered Tuesday morning, had a seminar discussion class and then History of Islam. Wednesday we had Senegalese literature and History of Islam. Nothing out of the ordinary, just classes, homework and naps scattered about whenever I could find time.

This week was Gamou, I think I mentioned that last time. It is the celebration of Mohammed's birth which is a big deal in a country that is 95% Muslim. So, naturally we had 2 days off of school.

Thursday we went to a very big supermarket in Dakar to buy ingredients to make a big American brunch. Our study abroad director here calls the program the "Homesick Breakfast." We had a grand old time, and finding supplies was a bit of an adventure. I helped out with the cooking, we made pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes and a big egg scramble. Plus fruit salad and real coffee. Thursday afternoon I tried to be responsible and get ahead on my homework. I made some progress and then ended up spending about an hour washing my underwear, which is done by hand. Thank goodness our housekeeper washes all the rest of my clothing, towels and sheets. It is exhuasting! Thursday night I went out to Myshop, ever the epicenter of exciting Senegalese nightlife.

Friday I went to Iles de Madeleines with some of the other students. It is located just off the coast of Dakar, towards the south-west from where I live and it is a natural reserve composed of 2 smal volcanic islands. The rock formations were incredible and there are a lot of birds that nest on the island. There would be turtles if it was the right season but it is not. There is not a lot of vegetation, just low brush and miniture baobabs. The mini-baobab trees were pretty awesome though! They don't get very big due to the rough soil, salt water and wind. Many Senegalese are superstitious of the island because they say the mini-baobabs are unnatural. It was a nice day and we were even able to swim a little. There are no beaches on the island, just inhospitable rock but there is one large basin/tide pool that we were able to swim in. Friday night was the big celebration of Gamou. I wanted to see how it is celebrated so I went out with some Senegalese friends and there was this huge party in Mermoz, not far from my house. There was a big religious leader (called a marabout) and he set up a huge tent for all of his followers. There were thousands of people in the streets and the main event is basically just praying all night and chanting religious songs. It was a sight to see. I got a lot of double-takes as one of the few toubabs in the crowd. That was the main event in Dakar and a lot of religious people travelled out of Dakar to celebrate.

Saturday I had a little bit of time to relax. I ended up cooking about 120 cookies with Sean because we were making an American meal for our good friend Ramadan on Sunday. I took an epic 2 hour nap and went to the Saturday night service at my family's Catholic church. Saturday night I went back to Myshop with some friends.

Sunday, a group of students and I went to Ramadan's house to cook an American lunch. I brought about 70 cookies (they didn't all survive the night) and some of the other girls made cake. We were paying him back for teaching us how to cook cheebujen, a main Senegalese dish. We ended up making breaded fried chicken strips and mashed potatoes. Plus lots of orange juice concentrate (kind of tasted like Tang) and all of our lovely desserts. It was a fun afternoon. We also went to our first lutte! Lutte is like Senegal's national sport. It is wrestling but has elements of boxing in it. The version we saw was with boxing elements at least, the more traditional form is practiced without punching as I understand it. Anyway, we had a lot of fun yelling for different lutters. It is often over pretty quickly, as soon as someone goes down in the sand but the main event went about 45 minutes and ended in a tie. Most of the emphasis is placed on the ceremony of dancing, chanting and preparing oneself for lutte. It was a great experience.

So, this week is going to be another roller coaster ride. We have school "field trips" for the next 3 weekends in a row so life will be hectic. But life is more fun that way anyway. Have a great week.
Peace!!