The Silence Breaks

Note: I wrote this post before going on rural visits (October 29-November 2), but the power went out before I was able to do so. Yay development! More substantial entries to follow soon.

I just noticed that I hadn’t posted for a few weeks – whoops! However, this is not in itself wholly unfortunate, for it is partially the result of my integration into life in Senegal. My family and I haven’t had any big issues for awhile, except laundry. I NEVER expected this to be such a vibrant conversational topic, but I have learned the hard way to not bring white things to Africa. When my host mother asked me to get grey socks instead of white ones for running as they were quickly turning brown, I treated it as a reasonable request and bought some from the market. OK, she actually bought them at the market, but I paid for them and went back to said market by myself later so I could get the “cultural experience” of being hounded to purchase cheap American-made goods. But now she’s moved on to my shower towel, and actually suggested that I was not washing myself well enough (because of course it couldn’t be that we live on a dusty road and one of the maid’s daily duties is to sweep the dirt in front of the house). She bought me a shower mitt, which resembles something I saw years ago during a late night infomercial for pet grooming products. I’ve been using for a few days now and have been pronounced “bien frotté” (well-brushed), but the towel remains dirty. Her latest solution is that I should just buy another one – I think I’ll just stick to my blue beach towel from now on. But I actually do appreciate all that my host family does for me. We woke up this morning to no running water, yet they still managed to make a delicious macaroni and cheese lunch with a bit of steak on the side. Plus, my friends (especially Jen) and sometimes even their immediate family members have derived hours of laughter from my mitt.

Lack of running water might be a serious issue next week during rural visits. I’m excited about my group and the tasks we’ll be doing. Part of me wishes I were going with a Peace Corps volunteer to see if it’s something I would be interested in, but I’m also glad to have the chance to see how several different organizations work together in a community. I’ll be back on Friday with tons of journal entries (in Wolof, no less)!