Get your last-minute street shopping done, because time spent sitting in traffic is quickly coming to an end.
I’m not exactly enjoying the fact that I’ve been neglecting my blog as I finish up my research, but rest assured I am still enjoying Dakar to the fullest Megan extent.
And just because I’m going through a bit of blogger withdrawal, here’s a quick collection of images from the week, just to give you a sense of what’s going on in my world.
First up, the ironic profusion of food-related advertisements let us know that Ramadan is nearly upon us. Or maybe I’m the only one who finds all of these ads ironic- I mean, it’s impolite to have food out when the faithful are fasting- what are these manufacturers thinking?! (Actually, the answer is le Ndogou.)
And since it’s Ramadan, I’m pleased to see that folks are preparing accordingly for the onslaught of cranky taxi drivers.
Now that the rainy season is making its appearance, the skyline has cleared itself of that pesky sand invasion, and accordingly we enjoy gorgeous dakarois sunsets. Sunsets that are framed by artfully-constructed smoke signals.
And while we’re on the subject of ironic subject matter, I have always loved the makeshift signage laying out in front of Dakar’s nicest gym (it essentially says, “No working out here”)
And as I’m typing this, there is an incredibly loud (yet incredibly quotidien) concert going on by the rond-point outside my house. Judging by my untrained ear, it appears to be some sort of modern hip hop type concert. Take a listen:
When I leaned out my window to film, I caught one of the more quiet songs (no, really)- but the groovy lighting and happy student vibe gives you an idea of what Megan’s lullaby will sound like tonight.
This rond-point is a gawker’s paradise. Over my two and a half years inhabiting this apartment, I have spent an excessive amount of time observing all of the activity taking place down below, Rear Window-style.
To wit: this past Saturday day, night, and early Sunday morning I enjoyed the following rond-point soundtrack- and hoo boy does this tune ever get stuck in your head…
This was filmed after I woke up on Sunday morning just after 6AM- the lads were still going strong- except once we hit morning, there was a nice avian accompaniment.
And be it Islam or rap music, either is a welcome break from this rond-point nonsense:
…but something tells me that the students will be back at this again sooner rather than later. If only the UCAD administration would figure out that they are supposed to dispense the student bourses on time, they wouldn’t keep going through this situation. But I digress…I just wanted to point out that the rond-point plays host to all kinds of folks. My window almost serves like a television with multiple similar programs on multiple channels. Kinda like real life TV.
Returning to the subject of food- we all know that advertisements in any form are a load of crap, but really does anyone in this country actually believe that Tampico- Senegal’s version of Sunny D- is the secret to Balla Gueye 2’s greatness? (BG2 is the most famous lutteur/wrestler of the moment, in case you weren’t familiar.)
And so yes, it is almost Ramadan- and I want to ask these vendors if they see an uptick in business at this time of the year. The only problem is, I can’t really engage them while sitting in traffic because I will then feel compelled to purchase one of these beauties out of some sort of twisted parlay obligation. Too bad, because somehow I don’t think the gold frames really go with the rest of my decor.
It’s also getting hot outside- or shall I say humid mixed with a few hundred raindrops of hot? Today I saw people wearing scarves as I sweated my way around town in a sleeveless dress.
I saw two fantastic shirts today, and this guy was wearing one of them (“Protect Your Nuts” says the ironic t-shirt that is made infinitely more ironic now that it has been sent to Senegal). He really does look quite dapper as he sells Scrabble. Incidentally, the other shirt that I failed to photograph said “Suck, Don’t Bite”- does that now make this blog entry Rated R? Sorry.
Okay, back to my paper, but I hope you enjoyed the postcard. I’m really going to miss putting up collections like these.