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!

Wolof 101

Here's a quick lesson on the basic Wolof greeting. Greetings and salutations are extremely important in Senegalese culture, and these few lines will help you make many friends!

Person 1: Asalaa Malekum! (Peace be with you!)
Person 2: Malekum Salaam! (And peace be with you!)
Person 1: Na nga def? (How are you doing?)
Person 2: Maa ngiy fii rekk. (I'm doing well. Literally: I am here alone)
Person 1: Ana waa ker ga? (How is your family?)
Person 2: Nu nga fa. (They are doing well. Literally: They are there)
Person 1: Alhamdulilaay! (Thank god!)

Senegalese culture is much more relaxed than American, and family much more valued. Even if you are running late or in a rush somewhere, it is impolite not to go through the above series of greetings. One should show an interested and relaxed manner in their companions, and be sure not to cut off a conversation. If you need to ask someone a question, it is very important to greet them first before asking anything.

Marche Sandanga

Wolof lesson-- Head, shoulders...

Goals

On our first night in Senegal we each listed a few of our goals for our semester and our time here. There were many similarities—we all wanted to improve our French, travel, and learn about Senegal and its culture. To make the list more fun there is a 4th goal for each person which I have a written as a friendly suggestion  :

James’ Top 3:
1. Improve my French
2. Play lots of football (soccer)
3. Make money (start a microfinance/t-shirt company/ wind/solar energy system?!)
4. Travel to the Cassamance region (of Senegal)

Ben’s Top 3:
1. Improve my French
2. Play lots of soccer
3. Travel
4. Keep my Senegalese name (Samba Senior) once I’m back at Penn

Saskia’s Top 3:
1. Travel
2. Improve my French
3. Immerse myself in the Senegalese culture
4. Travel to Morocco and stay in Senegal for the summer with Anne!

Gina’s Top 3:
1. Take good pictures of Senegal
2. Do something totally out of my element
3. Travel: Capetown, SA and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?!?
4. Not to transfer my courses from UGB so I never have to graduate!

Anne’s Top 3:
1. Be fluent in French and Wolof, and acquire James’ British accent
2. Travel to 3 other African countries
3. Meet and make many new friends—from Senegal and around the world
4. Find a “jekker senegale”’

First few days, first impressions

The five of us from the Penn program arrived in Dakar yesterday and are now settled in our apartment (Coumba Ndao) in Dakar. We are all exhausted but very excited for the journey that lies ahead of us! For the next two days we are sharing a 2 room apartment (one for girls, one for guys) with a nice, western style bathroom and great kitchen. Saskia noted that this is kind of like ‘The Real World’” Penn in Senegal edition, but much more tame, of course.
So far, we have spent much of our time orienting ourselves with our neighborhood, meeting our advisors, instructors and new friends at the Baobab Center, and hanging out and eating in our apartment. The section of Dakar we are in is about 15-20 minutes from the center of city, and is home to a few interesting landmarks: Le Grand Mosque a Karak, L’Universite Anta Cheikh Diop, Le Thiossiene Night Club (where Youssou Ndour, the most famous Senegalese music star plays), and many markets and schools.
The city is busy and active during the day, with Senegalese of all ages on the streets! They sell a large variety of items (from cell phone card minutes, clothes, to peanuts and fruit). There are also tons of yellow taxis on the streets that beep at us constantly. Senegalese ride either buses called “Dakar Deem Diek” (to or from Dakar), and “Car Rapides” (very colorful and packed small vans with people hanging out the backs of them, that are known for their wild and unsafe driving).
The Baobab Center, where we’ve begun our classes is really great. It was built by Gary Engelberg, who served in the Peace Corps in Senegal in 1965 and never returned. The center hosts students from many universities—Wisconsin-Madison, Lewis and Clark, Beloit, currently. Taking classes and hanging around the center also include 2 guys in the US Army studying French, a Brazilian journalist, and other American and European travelers. Our teachers are all Senegalese, and are excellent! Ismaila, our Wolof teacher is very fun and energetic. We all managed to learn a lot during our first lesson, Alhamdililaih!
A few other random facts to set the scene… the weather here right now is absolutely beautiful! In the morning it can be about 65 or 70 degrees with a breeze, and at mid-day with the sun it reaches 90. This is called winter for Senegal, and so many actually are wearing winter hats and scarves!! We love it though! In a few months it will be much much hotter, on some days it can reach 115F! It’s also very sandy here, going along with the desert climate. There are some sidewalks on the roads, but mostly just sand where you can walk in between the streets and the homes or shops. We’ve learned to stick with sandals and get used to have sand on us.
That’s all for now, next time we write we’ll have moved in with our host families! Ba Beenen!

Introductions

Before we begin, let us introduce ourselves:
• Benji Schuttler is a sophomore in the Huntsman Program, originally from Atlanta, Georgia. He is interested in agricultural policy and development in Senegal.
• Anne Sherman is a junior in the College, majoring in International Relations. She plans to study French and Chinese investment in African development while in Senegal.
• Saskia Guerrier is a junior at Bryn Mawr College, majoring in Anthropology. While in Senegal she hopes to study infectious disease initiatives.
• James Zimmerman is a junior in the College studying Political Science. James will be exploring microfinance and development in Senegal. Finally,
• Finally, Gina Heng is a senior in the College studying Business and Political Science. She plans to learn about political Islam amongst youth in Senegalese universities while here.