The intrusive monument

Ngor!

Sunday, Anne and her roommate Leia from Lewis and Clark University were lucky to have the opportunity to attend a traditional Senegalese wedding! A relative and next door neighbor of their Senegalese family had gotten married and last Sunday and this Sunday were the fetes. In Senegalese Muslim weddings, the ceremony and party/"fete" are at different times. Sunday was the first fete, which lasted all afternoon and evening. All the women wore the traditional Senegalese batik dresses, which are died with beautiful prints in all different colors. Most Senegalese clothing is custom tailored-- at markets like Marche HLM you can pick out your pattern and then bring it to a tailor for fitting. The celebration began around 2pm (no one showed up until 3pm though... Senegalese time). Lunch was only for the women and was the popular ceebujen dish (eaten with your hands). The men went to the Mosquee a Karak and walked back together with some of the Imams and sang a few prayers for the bride. The groom joined everyone and there was a dancing and dinner party at a different house that lasted until around midnight. One of major differences was that in Muslim weddings the families are the most important unions formed... the bride and groom are often not even at their ceremonies. At the end of the night it is traditional in Muslim weddings for all the women to escort the bride to her husband's home where she will spend her first night. Then the next Sunday, another extravagant meal is made and the women escort the bride back to her father's house with her husband where they will actually live. It was an interesting and unique experience!



Above is a part of the religious prayers sung by the men (led by Anne's host father in the middle). The bride is seated to the left, and one of the host brothers is the guy waving to the camera at the end to the right of the screen!

Ceebujen!

Thios and Youssou N'Dour

Saturday night we went out to Club Thiossane, the popular nightclub owned by Youssou N'dour! N'Dour is the most well known Senegalese musician and entertainer-- his music is a mix of jazz, African rthymes, drums, sax, and smooth singing and chanting. Since he's becoming popular internationally (http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/travel/06senegalmusic.html) he only plays at his club once every few month.

When we showed up to Thiossane (Thios for short) at around 1am Sunday morning, we knew N'Dour was coming-- the streets were packed with Senegalese and foreigners waiting in long lines to buy tickets and get into the club. We were so excited to get tickets to his show! Although many of us were exhausted from a long day at Goree (James and Gina may have been half asleep prior to the performance), the music was incredible and the club was full of energy and extraordinary dancing.

The traditional Senegalese dancing is called Mbalax and is like nothing else I've ever seen. Try YouTube to get a better idea: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-0x3o8esUQ&feature=related). Everyone here wants to try to teach us how to do it (probably so they can laugh at us). Senegalese night life is definitely a fun and energetic affair-- it usually involves dancing and takes place between 1 or 2 am until 5 or 6am. Not only is that much later than the typical Penn frat party, but it involves a lot less beer pong and no late night Wawa.

If you want to check out N'Dour he has a pretty cool website: www.youssou.com

Enjoy!

On Saturday, one of our favorite guides from the Baobab Center, Adama, took us to L'Ile de Goree. It is home to the Maison des Esclaves (Home of the Slaves), and is the symbol of the Atlantic slave trade for Africans. Below are a few pictures of this sad but very beautiful island off the coast of Dakar.

Picture 1: Inside one of the confinement chambers where slaves were sent for punishment while they were being held below the market.

The "Door of No Return" -- a symbol of African slaves leaving the coast of Africa and being sent to the Americas, never to return.

Looking at the beautiful colors and architecture of Goree island from the ferry boat.

Saskia, Gina, and Ben on the ferry to l'Ile de Goree.

Ferry boat to Goree from Dakar!

Picture 1: Inside the courtyard of Anne's Senegalese homestay. This is where the family washes dishes, sits, and eats meals. The doors on the left are a storage closet and the "water closet" (bathroom and shower).

Picture 2: Balla (new friend/vendor) and James at the Marche Karmel in Centre-Ville, Dakar.

Picture 3: Gina and former Senegal exchange student from UPenn Laura Boudreau (who was able to come back to Senegal for 2 weeks in January to continue her research project) eat Ceebujen for lunch at the Baobab center!

Pape Samba and Anne. Samba is the cultural coordinator at the Baobab center. He wears a winter scarf and hat now because it's winter (lows of 70F at night, as high as 90F day)

Ceebujen (literally: rice and fish) is the national meal of Senegal-- they eat it almost every meal here! Traditionally, it is eaten with your hands (only your right hand of course!) and we were taught proper manners for eating the meal so we could impress our host families and new friends. The rice is cooked in sauce and spices, and there is usually fish or meat, and a few vegetables on top. Delicious!