I had a nice last week in Dakar, though a significant chunk of it was spent in class and writing my final internship report. It was wonderful to see all my toubabs again and to hear about all of their adventures during their internships, and I did manage to hit up a super suave night club called Nirvana, drink wine on the beach at sunset, go to the market, eat a lot of leftover Tabaski mouton, and decorate the Christmas tree with my family before I left late last night.
I tried to pick out a just few pictures that I wanted to share from my time in Séssene and my last week in Dakar, and I managed to cut the list down to... 70 photos. :) Enjoy.
The office building of Agrecol/Afrique. Agrecol rents one room in this building, which also houses other offices. The building is called the Communauté Rurale.
The first day building poullaieres with the Belgians, and our most action packed day on the job- we actually got to move bricks that day!
Kids in a village where we built a poullaiere, sporting my chapeau and shades :)
In Séssene I went to bed a couple of hours after sunset every night, and woke up around daybreak. Saw some spectacular sunrises, including this one- I took this photo behind my room, looking out toward "la foret"
The Belgians giving gifts to a school in Tattaguine Bambara
Pirogues on the beach in Joal, the weekend I went to visit Emma on her birthday.
The foot bridge that connects Joal to Fadiouth, the town on the island of shells. The World Bank paid for this project.
Views in the cemetery on Fadiouth- the only mixed Muslim and Christian cemetery in all of Sénégal.
Fishermen in Fadiouth
Myself, Emma, Elke, Claire, and Britta on the charet out to the Sacred Baobab! Our charet driver took this shot- I asked him to make sure to get the horse in the picture, and this is what came out.
GIANT BAOBAB- biggest in Sénégal!
Family in Séssene- my little brother Pap Guye! Small kid, BIG personality. His biological mom is Mam Diabe, the woman who had a baby my second week with the family, but she "shares" him with my mom.
Omar Niasse!
Mam Diabe and baby Pap Malick Niasse on the day of his baptism and naming ceremony, one week after he was born.
Me and Grandpa Doudou Niasse
Nafi with Pap Guye the horse, named for Pap Guye my brother
Women from greater Séssene on the day of the baptism
My wonderful sister Nafi and my brother Youssou Njaie. Apparently Youssou's real mom lives in the Gambia, but she was nice enough to "give" him to my mom, Yaay Mariam.
On my way to work with M. Dia. He's driving the charet with several bags of manure to fertilize the beds in the garden out in Ker El Hadj. We walked out into the bush to get to the garden. Because we walked out and back in the morning, and out and back again in the afternoon, I figured that by the end of my internship when I was working with M. Dia all the time, I was walking about 10 miles every day.
Me fishing water from the well near the garden! I'll tell you, it takes a REALLY long time to water a garden when you have to pull water from a well and only have one watering can.
Yaay Mariam at the window of her small boutique, with Cheikh Lo, Modou Niasse, Omar Niasse, Paté Niasse, and Abdoulaye Niasse. You can see my room in the background, it's the cement block room with the open window.
The day I visited Nafi's school. The kids were doing high jump in PE class the day I visited, and I had a lot of fun taking pictures.
Nafi Niasse!
Visiting one of the gardeners involved in Agrecol's "maraîchage" project. In the foreground is a holding tank for water, hooked up to PVC piping that allows the farmer to use a system of drip watering as opposed to hauling water from the well. These systems were donated by Agrecol to all of the "maraîchers" last year.
One of my favorite photos I took in Séssene! My friend Thiama is sitting and ironing, with her sons Mahaleh (the little guy who's laughing) and Abdoulaye.
Pap Guye the horse, about to take us to market in Sandiara. I went to the market nearly every Saturday with Nafi and my dad, Baay Paté.
Nafi buying fish at Sandiara
The family rice stand at the market! From left, Baay Paté, Doudou Niasse, Ndama, and Baay Magumba.
Working in the field behind the house with the other women of the family. That day we were separating harvested and dried peanut plants. On windy days, the women take basins or calabasse gourds out to the peanut fields. They collect a basin full of dried peanut plants, hold it over their heads, and slowly shake the contents out of the basin. The wind helps to separate the peanuts from the dried stems and leaves of the plant- the peanuts are heavier than the other parts of the plant, so they fall straight down while the stems and leaves float further away on the wind. Then it's easy to gather up all the peanuts and leave the rest!
My brother Ndiaga Niasse working at his foot powered sewing machine, making boubous for Tabaski.
Tabaski sheep!! Our family's sheep, who I named Mamadou, is the black and white one on the right. Mmmmm
Yaay Mariam standing in the window of her boutique
The day of Tabaski! Gora Niasse, husband of Mam Diabe, told me he would kill Astou Mbene after we did the sheep. Baby Fatou looks on, unperturbed.
Before...
During...
After! Four sheep for each man of the house- one for Baay Paté, one for Gora Niasse, one for Baay Magumba, and one for Demba Niasse.
Cleaning poor Mamadou
Yaay Mariam with her two daughters, Nafi on the left and Fatou on the right, preparing "sauce" for Tabaski dinner
My best friend in the whole world Lai! He lived next door, and was absolutely terrified of me. Every time he saw me his face would melt into a look of perfect horror, and he would run away screaming. Nafi and I had a good time playing tricks on Lai. Here he is trying to hide behind his mom from the big horrible toubab on Tabaski.
Tabaski dinner!
Nafi, Fatou, and I on the night of Tabaski
Me and Fatima Sar, the woman who braided my hair for la fête
Me and Mam Diabe to my left in pink, and two other women from the house next door.
M. Dia watering the garden in Ker El Hadj. You can just see the carrots we planted beginning to sprout in the first two beds!
On my walk to work. Herdsmen often let their cattle, sheep, and goats roam the countryside, as the farmers whose fields they cross are glad for the animals' manure, which fertilizes their empty fields.
The two baobabs that marked the path to the garden
The grove of mangoes that surrounds the garden. Unfortunately I missed mango season!
A Séssene soccer game. My brother Ndiaga is #13, a friend is in the middle, and on the right is Djibbi Diop, the local photographer.
Myself, M. Dia on my left, and the farmer from Ker El Hadj who loans a part of his land for Agrecol's garden, in exchange for half the harvest.
M. Dia pulling water from the well. Two small beds of peppers, and one of onion in the background.
My supervisor, M. Pene, and Mariame Faye in Agrecol's office
Post braids!
Carrying water for washing from the tap near the road
Neighborhood kids
Pap Guye, cross dressing. He really enjoyed this past time- one day he ran around in a skirt flashing everyone while a group of his brothers and cousins followed, cheering him on.
Grandpa Doudou Niasse on the right, and an old marabout who lived next door. The old marabout found everything I did hilarious, and would laugh and applaud when I said hello, left for work, came home from work, brought water from the well, or shook his hand. Very encouraging!
Family portraits! The two women in the center are Astou Mbene on the left in blue and Awa Njaie in the right in pink, the two wives of Demba Niasse, a tailor who spends most of his time working in Kaolack. Astou is the first wife, and her kids are Doudou Niasse, (far right,) Omar Niasse, (little guy with the yellow suit in front,) Modou Niasse, (sticking his tongue out in the white shirt,) and baby Fatou. Awa's kids are Astou Mbene Niasse, (in the blue dress between Omar and Modou,) and Maget Niasse (the little boy in blue.) The family also includes Gora Niasse, (in the Lakers jersey,) and his sister Dia Anta Niasse (In the back with a red head wrap,) who came to live with Astou, along with Sokhna Jamme, (in pink on the left) whose mother "gave" her to Astou.
My host parents, Baay Paté and Yaay Mariam
Family of Baay Magumba! On the far left and right of the back row, both in pink, are his two wives: on the left is Ndama, on the right Thiama. Ndama is Baay Magumba's first wife, and she has six kids: Awa Niasse, (in red on the left,) Oh no! I forgot his name! In the Liverpool jersey, Paté Niasse, (in the baby blue,) Modou Niasse, (the floating head,) Elaji Niasse, (little guy in green and white,) and Maget Niasse (in the back row in orange.) Thiama has two little boys, Mahaleh, (smiling next to Elaji,) and Abdoulaye (white Tshirt.) Rama Niasse is a cousin who was visiting for a few days, (on the right in purple,) and Baay Magumba is in the back row, between Maget and Thiama.
Famille Fama Niasse! Fama is the woman standing in red. Pictured are her three children, Mutti, (in purple,) Pap, (the baby!) and Cheikh (in blue.) Fama is not married, and each of her children has a different father. Rather unusual situation for a woman living in a small village. Also pictured is Grandpa Doudou Niasse, of course!
Mam Diabe, first wife of Gora Niasse, and her children! From the left: Omar Niasse, Racine Niasse, Pap Njaie Niasse, Pap Guye Niasse, Fatou Niasse, and baby Pap Malick Niasse with Mam Diabe.
My immediate family! To my left is Yaay Mariam, with Youssou Njaie in front. Nafi is on the right in yellow. Baay Paté is seated, with Pap Guye. To my immediate right is Ndiaga, and next to Ndiaga is Abdoulaye. Not pictured are Fatou, who lives with a family down the road, and Masse Niasse, who is in the Senegalese army and works in Dakar.
View of Mermoz beach, where we went 2 or 3 times during our last week in Dakar
Me with Awa, Adji, Professor Sene, and Waly on Friday afternoon, when we all had a last lunch together at Honorine's house- where I ate that death pepper my first day in Sénégal!
Pascal, helping me pack :)
Sunset on the water a couple of days before I left Dakar
Fin.
I'm about to get on my flight to SFO- so ends this grand adventure, and so begins a new one! I'm excited to get home and see family and friends, but I also know that the transition will be difficult, and that I miss Sénégal already. Professor Sene told us on our last day of classes that we would return to the U.S. as "different versions of ourselves," which struck me as an apt description. I'm still myself, but at the same time I know that what I've seen and done this past semester has changed the way I will see the world around me, and has given me new confidence and independence.
I want to thank you all for reading my blog, it has been wonderful for me to be able to share some of my experiences this way and to know that you all are out there, interested in what I've been doing! Thanks for all of your thoughts and love and comments, they meant a lot, especially on the hard days. (You know, those days when I REALLY wanted some salami.) I'm so looking forward to seeing you all sooner or later, and to hear your news from this side of the world!
See you soon!
