You’ll find out what this is at the end of my post.
Sigh. It’s been a short week, but I’m tired. I must have overdone my Pentecost celebrations or something…
Much like a deployment, the days here can go slow, but the weeks really do fly by. Tomorrow is Friday, and I have no idea where this week went. I suspect that next will bring more of the same, as will the week after, and so forth. Maybe this awareness is the primary cause of the stress I am sensing over not being admitted to the university. September will be here before I know it, and while I am sure that I will be assez integree dans la culture senegalaise, that doesn’t mean I will have attended full-time student status.
No matter, let me share with you some photos from my week, since I am pretty tired and envisioning hanging out this evening in my fantastic tub.
They’re digging up the street next to my house, which is a little inconvenient. Still, you see these signs all over town- they basically say “Public forbidden from construction area.”
Quick story: “chantier” means construction area. Someone at my work confused “chantier” with “chanter” (French for sing). He’s a newcomer to Senegal and just learning French…so it is kinda understandable when he asked why public singing was forbidden in different parts around town…
Okay, it was a funnier story in person than it sounded on my blog. Let’s move on.
The last thing that you would associate with Dakar car parking in is a meter…
Instead, the “system” as you might call it, involves finding an empty patch of concrete (I can’t write sidewalks with a straight face- they really don’t exist here). You find your spot and roll your car up on the side. If someone is there to help “park”, you’ll typically tip him about 200CFA (about 50 cents) when you return and your car is still in good shape. Now you see why I felt compelled to get a shot of this particular parking meter, located in Plateau. Maybe it was actually some kind of outdoor art exhibit…like those big cows statues that were all over Chicago about ten years ago…
Remember when I told you all about the African Renaissance Monument? Well I was running to work on Wesdnesday and spied this even more excellent, and damn well legitimate piece of modern art (I’m making a comparison to the real statue, not to the parking meter above). Isn’t this excellent? I didn’t stop long enough to check out the pasted text at the base of this statue, but I shall go back and check it out on my next run along the corniche.
For now, I love the baby doll perched on his wire dad’s arm; I hope this piece sticks around for a long time. The Senegalese are so brilliant and malin. For you lazy types, I’ll post a pic of the real monument below for easy comparison:
I took this today- I spent the afternoon at this place. Guess where it was, and what I might start doing here in Dakar real soon?
It’s like I told Mr. Sy as I came into my building today eating le maad, a Senegalese fruit (Senegalese appreciate it when a toubab is doing typically Senegalese things):
Chaque jour il faut goûter quelque chose de différent. (Everyday you should try something new). Sage advice I am capable of spouting- too bad I don’t always follow my own counsel.
Today, however, I did. Stay tuned. Every day is an adventure.