There are a number of things in Dakar that I see almost everyday that leave me wondering, “What exactly is going on there?” I make a note to try and figure it out, but then typically forget because something else pops up that starts the whole thought process anew. 

For example, I recently saw a local dude strutting around with a shirt that had “White Trash” emblazoned across the front- he was immediately followed by a roving vendor pressing two books in my face that he thought might interest me. The subject of the two books? One was about Hitler, and the other was about Jewish people. I am not making this up. You take a trip into downtown Dakar, and you’ll see guys walking around selling only these two books. How do they turn a profit? Who buys that kind of stuff? Like the white trash shirt, I don’t think the meaning (or irony) of this is readily understood by the locals.

So another area of mystery is one that I’d like to make the focus of this entry:

A found object on the corniche (cliff road)- this random box thing showed up one day, sans explication.

I deliberately put up a partially-obstructed photo of this thing, since most of the time you drive  this area you are fending for your life in negotiating the roundabout (no one in this country understands what cédez le passage means). You never really get a good look at the side of the road. It was clear that my curiosity was going to force me on a leisurely walk down to get a better look. It’s all in the name of research…

So I still don’t know what this thing is all about. It’s true that interpreting modern art is a  subjective experience- and this thing looks like it was dropped from the sky and left on the side of the road to be forgotten. It’s been sitting there for months, and no one seems to care in the slightest. Only bored Olmsted scholars.

But my little field trip to the container reveals that I am no longer completely in the dark on explaining this oversize objet d’art. After all, I am paid by the Navy for my analytical skill (or so they say)- so a little critical thinking is in order. You will be wowed by my uncanny ability to point out the obvious:

Senegal’s telephone country code: 221

Senegal’s date of independence: April 4, 1960

Wipe my hands together, I think that this Olmsted scholar can now call her cultural immersion tour in Senegal a roaring success. I have cracked the code, or at least read the bar code. Truth be told, I still have no idea what this is all about- but honestly it’s only one drop of mystery in a much larger pond of randomness. Which I kinda love.

I have moved on from the red box. My new imponderable? Wondering whether Oprah knows that she’s got a children’s garden-school thing named after her over here.

Keep it up Dakar- you’re like a magical cereal box that everyday provides a new prize to be fished out. Some days are definitely more puzzling than others.