New Places

As we gear up to move back home I feel compelled to explore Dakar a bit more. Gabbie and I have agreed that once a week, until we move, we will find a new place to explore in either Senegal or Dakar. This weekend it was the IFAN museum. On our way downtown we stopped at a new store that sells fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers, dried fruits, and yummy olives. The owner is super nice and speaks English. Snack ready, we headed to the museum which was pretty cool. On display were traditional masks, fabrics, and musical instruments. There were even rudimentary dioramas of African villages and ceremonies. On my out the door I picked up a book on Goree in English! Great find for sure. Famished from squinting at plaques in French, we headed to a cafe for some grilled paninis, sodas, and later espresso. On our way home we stopped at some stores that we had never been to before that sold local art. Gabbie spotted a store that sold mostly carved tall men (that's what I call them). We ended up buying a three footer. I wonder what next weekend will bring?

Dakar Champagne Tour

Last Saturday night a group of us hired a car rapide for a champagne tour of Dakar. After four bottles of bubbly and nice drive along the corniche we went for a cocktail at La Lagoon. La Lagoon is one trippy psychedelic place with a cavernous entrance and a boat bar. It is a great place to watch the sunset as it has a very nice pier. After that we headed to Cafe de Roma, which was yucky and expensive, but fun nonetheless. Then we went to Just for You, a bar and music nightclub. It turned out that The Orchestra Baobab was playing. Gina and I danced until 1:30 AM and then it was time to head home. It was a great evening!

South to the Beach House

I decided to take Jenny and Chuck to my favorite Senegalese resting place: Popenguine. We rented out the our usual house and just relaxed. The fridge broke and our food spoiled but ultimately that was a good thing because it forced us to eat out. Both restaurants we went to were very nice and the food excellent.

Shopping

I am so lucky! My sister and her husband decided to visit me and Gabbie. They arrived Monday and leave on Monday :(. We have had a fun filled adventure. We visited most of Dakar's markets and traveled to Popenguine. Today we hit the markets again to buy masks, baskets, and other things that you just can't get back at home.

The West African Pirogue

Yesterday I went fishing with the Dietrich's. We caught a few and enjoyed the scenery. It was nice to get out and into the water. We left around 8:00 AM and got in around noon. It cost 10,000 CFA per person. While I was out on the water I started to inquire about purchasing a small pirogue. My parents just moved to a home on the Puget Sound and there is no dock. A pirogue would be perfect to paddle out on! Turns out that I could get a small one for around $200.00 dollars, which would include a sweet paint job.

After the fishing ended today, I walked around and took pictures of the unique design that each boat has. I think they came out great. They are so colorful!

• Wikipedia defines a pirogue is a: small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with West African fisherman.

Intresting Pirogue facts:

• Pirogues were used by Lewis and Clark on the Missouri River and westward from 1804-1806.
• The word comes from the Spainish word "piragua".

Senegal a Few Hundred Years Ago

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Currently I am taking a course on primary sources. Basically, I am being led to primary documents that I can use in the classroom. The class is awesome! I have so many sources at week two, that my mind hurts when thinking about it. Looking at them all has also given me ideas to use in the classroom. Just this last week I had my students look at images of America during the 1930's to get a better understanding of the setting to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Primary documents rock!

What this class has also done for me, which I didn't expect, was better understand Senegal. Earlier this week I as clicking around on the Internet and found this incredible website from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery called Africana & Black History (that's a link). There they have primary documents from as early as the 1600's on different regions from Africa.

Looking at the images has made me realize that not a whole lot has changed and that I am living in history (does that even make sense?). I have photographs of some of the images above and nothing has changed. It's amazing! Seeing the images from the 1820's has helped me realize why I have some of the frustrations I do. This place is so different than anything I have ever experienced. How can I expect it to be anything like home? How can I expect locals to live like me?