Thanksgiving, Teranga Style

Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone! We celebrated yesterday as a combined American/Senegalese cohort, complete with administrators, at the residence where I spent my first week in Senegal. All of the Americans brought a side dish (stuffing, pies, sauces, etc.) and the Senegalese provided the Fanta and Coca-Cola. Of course, being proud US citizens, everyone went to the grocery store around the corner and bought five buck chuck (from the south of France, no less!) to pass around the dinner table. My lovely friend Kate, who will make an amazing room mother in the near future, and I made Dirt and Worms. Well, it was instant pudding cooked over a propane tank with gummy gators and smurfs, but somehow "Dirty Swamp" just didn't have the same ring to it. I received several compliments on the dish and my new Senegalese clothes. The mitt story (see previous entries) was also good for a few laughs. The administrators made an admirable effort to mix up the two groups, with mixed results. Three Americans left our table of seven to be replaced by...thin air. Oh well, more wine for us! We had one Senegalese student - Jen's language partner Pathe - at the table. She enjoyed saying "Il faut bien manger" (It is necessary to eat well) instead of just hearing it! It was fun to explore the building and chill on the roof after the official gathering ended. When I returned home, my family noticed that the spoon I had taken to the gathering had been switched up with another in the process of serving. Thus, I write this after having spent 45 minutes walking along one of the main roads carrying a spoon. We'll get the mess sorted out...inchallah (God willing). I'll be in Saint Louis until Sunday night - have a great weekend!