that time of the week (4/23/03)

I realize it has been awhile since my last email, but never fear, my friends, i’m still having the time of my life. My birthday was sub par... always is...except for the huge carepackage of goodies my parents sent...so much chocolate...so much cranberry juice... heaven. But the week after that was amazing because I learned just how awesome the people in my life are. For our one year anniversary, Gonzalo came to Senegal...couldnt have received a better gift. Besides, I’m glad someone else was able to experience the wonder of senegal and her people. Being the country of hospitality, there was no problem with his staying with my family, which made the trip all the more enriching. He got to experience eating around the bowl, which is always the highlight of my day, and in his short stay really became part of the family. Now when he calls the house he has 7 people to talk to, not just one. My two youngest sisters and he got along really well, a lil too well, ganging up on me whenever they could, especially when it involved torturing Sirpenes. The poor sheep never gets a rest. And the four of us had some amazing conversations about life in Senegal, especially concerning polygamy, which is a social institution that i hope one day dies out...although I doubt that will happen anytime soon. But when you hear my sisters talk about the subject (one with contempt, the other with resignation) you wonder how something that has caused so many problems for so many years continues to exist. And it’s true that polygamy doesn’t have the force that it used to, but it’s still probably every wife’s worst fear. But other than discussing grave topics we also spent evenings all crammed on the sofa watching movies like “a few good men.” I prefer watching it in english, definitely since french is much harder to understand when dubbed and when your sisters are throwing stuff at each other and having pillow fights...but good times.

Gonzalo also got to discover the clubbing scene, which i think he’s a big fan of, even tho latin americans have high expectations when it comes to nightlife and dancing. We went out with some american and senegalese friends, dancing until the usual 5 in the morning. How nice it is to be young.

Friday, we went to Saly where we would relax for the weekend. We stayed at a senegalese owned resort that caters to mostly the french, but i was glad to see my senegalese compatriots there as well. This is where my host family stays all the time. They set up the reservation and everything. The architecture was gorgeous and i haven’t seen so much green space since i arrived to senegal. Nothing grows here but the grounds were covered in all sorts of flowers and vegetation. We spent most of our time swimming or playing volleyball, that is of course when we weren’t pigging out at the all you can eat breakfast and dinner buffets. I ate 2 steaks friday night... that actually wasn’t my doing... the chef was so amused that i spoke wolof to him that he gave me a second one. So full.

The rest of Gonzalo’s week here was spent in Dakar where we braved the markets...so tiring...but luckily for us it was a double holiday for easter and magal (a tiny intra country pilgrimmage that attracted 3 million people to the holy city of touba) so there was no one downtown but due to senegal’s growing capitalism, everything was open. Score. He also had the car rapide experience. I can only laugh.

My family proved themselves to be the coolest people ever this week. They provided transportation to and from the airport, to the station when we caught our transportation to Saly, and were always accessible for everything. They really made gonzalo feel welcomed and helped us have an amazing anniversary.
Now im in the process of getting final papers done....grrr...and cringing at the counting down of days....nooooo....i can’t leave (but of course mom and dad...and jonathan...and everyone else i’ll see soon..i cant wait to see you). Kisses. Ba bennin yoon, inch’allah