Eleventh Hour

Yeah, so maybe I haven't kept up on my blag. At all. Well... meh. I've been busy. Doing stuff. Anyway, here's a list of things of interest, sortof. I'm not sure what it's a list of, to be honest.

1. I didn't notice it until Poppy asked about it, but the sunsets here are really short. In the North we have long, red sunsets and long twilights as the sky slowly turns purple, then blue-black. Here, though, close to the equator, it's as though the sky just switches off. There is some dusk, yes, but I'm not sure how much of that is just because of the light from the city. It's still quite beautiful, nevertheless. Walking home just after sunset is the best time to hear the music of the city. A part of that is literal music, from the minaret of the mosque that I pass; The street always seems more busy then, with motos and taxis taking people home after work, and shouting children playing on the sidewalk. Indifferent to the noise, bats swoop around in circles, hunting insects.

Sunrise is even more beautiful, at least it was the few times that I was up to see it. The moon is somehow brighter against the dimly lit sky, and the air is full of the sounds of birds, and little else. Hardly anyone is out at that time, except the occasional taxi, of course. Hawks glide lazily around, hunting. If you are lucky, you can buy bread directly from the man who brings it to the corner boutiques, still slightly warm. It almost makes up for the lack of sleep;

2. The power goes out about once a week here. They've more frequent as it has gotten hotter and more people keep their fans running. Apparently at the height of summer there are daily power outages; Up to now they have mostly lasted about an hour, and mostly happen just after sunset, when everyone turns on their lights. Everyone is so used to them that it's not much of a big deal unless you're trying to use a computer. Many of the problems with the computers at Baobab come from the power surges. Last week the power went out for about three hours in the middle of the afternoon, so no one got much work done; There is a power generator at Baobab, but for some reason it wasn't working. Many boutiques have small generators that sit outside the front door. Even if you're not using electricity yourself, it's easy to know when the power is out by the sound of the generators.

3. Given:
d = the average number of times per week that I left my room during the evening last semester in Portland,
t = how little time there is before I have to be home,
c = how little phone credit I have,
P = how lost I am,
L = how long I have already walked,
and the constant T = Taranga (hospitality),
find D = my recklessness on a Thursday night in Dakar, using the following equation.

D = d[(P + L)/(t + c)] + T

4. I'm probably the worst person to be staying longest in Dakar. Kelly left on Wednesday night, Jess H and Alexis left on Saturday, Jess L and Sean left on Sunday (though they only went on a week long trip and will be back), Katie and Katherine are leaving tonight, Leia and Rebeka are leaving on Thursday, and I'm leaving... Saturday. Bleh. As I said, I'm probably the worst person in this group to leave last, because I am really ready to leave. I am really, really glad that I came, for many reasons, but I'm not in love with Senegal like many of the others. I don't really like the food, I don't like the conformity (everyone likes the same music), and I really don't like the men here. I'm also tired of the way that Gnagna seems to have unrealistic expectations for me, then treats me like an idiot child when I fail to meet them. I also just act more stupid in front of her. To b e fair, I could just be being paranoid, but it sortof comes to the same thing.

In fact, one of the reasons that I'm so glad that I came here is the way that it has helped me realize how much I like my own culture. As a communal society, conformity is encouraged here. In contrast, everyone is expected to have their own style, their own tastes, their own hobbies. Granted, there is a certain amount of conformity within social circles, but at least there are many different social circles to choose from. I have also learned a greater appreciation for the English language. We have so many different ways of saying the same thing, with so many different nuances. In French there don't seem to be enough synonyms to ever need a thesaurus. And don't get me started on Wolof. True, it is much simpler than any other language I've encountered, possibly including made up ones like Elvish, but that has its downsides. For instance, I was incredibly depressed to learn that there are names for only four different colors in Wolof.

And oh God, do I miss cheese. And vegetables that aren't overcooked. And noodles that aren't overcooked.

5. There are also many things that I know I will miss: First, being a part of this group of L&C students. I'll also miss being able to go up to any number of tables (there are four within a minute of ACI) to buy cheap, fresh fruit. I will miss buying bags of semi-frozen bouillessap, juice made out of a mixture of baobab fruit (bouille) and hibiscus flowers (bissap). I will miss beignes, deep fried sweet or savory balls of dough made by women on the street. I will miss being outraged when a taxi driver asks 3000F (around $6) to go downtown. I will miss the triumph of successfully bargaining the price down. I will miss the piebald crow with their white tuxedo waistcoats and the brightly colored weaverbirds straight out of a picture book that I had when I was little. I will miss the yagen yaays, the white minibuses that go everywhere, if you can understand the apprenti who always hangs off the back ladder, shouting the destination with an accent thick enough to use as beigne batter. I will miss the teenage boys who set up their platters on spindly metal frames and sell pieces of juicy fresh coconut for 25F a shard. I will really miss yogoglace, frozen yogurt sold in plastic bags. OK, so most of the things that I will miss are types of food, just not the food that they serve at meals.

Sorry, that was really short, too. Maybe I'll write more on Friday when I'll be the only one left. Or not. Maybe I'll just upload pictures and watch "The Time of the Angels" again. Inshallah.