my nemesis.

My first night at my Senegalese homestay:
It was somewhere between 2am and 4am. I'd been pseudo sleeping all night; most likely because this is my first time trying to sleep inside an oven. I found a swatch of my foam "mattress" that wasn't soaking with my sweat, and drift into a malaria drug induced psychedelic dream. That's when my nemesis strikes.

The most horrific cry rips me out of my sleep. I wake up malaria med high out of my gourd, tangled in my mosquito net, panicked at the shrill scream of a dying creature. I jump out of bed, still attached to my mosquito net, into a pool of water leaking from my water filter. Welcome to Senegal.

Only a week later and I feel pretty savy. Now I know that the nightly death screams are simply the nay of my nemesis--the donkey. I know how to make a joke in Wolof, how to eat meals from the communal bowl, and most importantly, bathroom etiquette where there is no toilet or toilet paper.

I am back at the training center in Thies for the next two days. It's a lot like summer camp except instead of arts and crafts time, we learn to make mud stoves. Then I head back to my homestay village, Tassette, for two weeks. I love my village time. It's an amazing way to learn the language and really integrate into local culture.

Right now I have the capacity of a three year old. I do a lot of "Lii lan laa?" (What's this?) to learn. As predicted, my first word was hello, which proved incredibly difficult because greetings in Senegalese culture are a mini dialogue. Next, was "thank you" and "I don't understand". I wasn't exactly blessed with the physical characteristics of a social chameleon, blending in is not my strength. So, naturally, my next word was the word for white person, "tubap". Three weeks til fluency. Inshallah.

My name:
While I was in Kenya I was called "Emily". Thailand it was "Amery"; and China it was "Ann". Rather than go by a broken version of my name, I was given a Senegalese name. My neighbors dubbed me Aida. I felt like by giving me a name I had made it "in". They wrote me a little name tag so I wouldn't forget my new Senegalese name. I went home giddy and proud. I was so excited to announce "Aida laa tudd" (My name is Aida) to my host family.

My excitement was not shared. My family immediately started talking over one another. One of my sisters took my name tag and scribbled out my name. What?! Apparently, giving a name is a big deal. Naming someone is an honor, and one that my family did not intend to let the neighbors do. So, an hour of acting out a "What is your name?/ My name is.." dialogue followed, ensuring that I would not be confused about my TRUE Senegalese identity. My name is...........Yacine.


Enjoy running water and your next cold drink. All my love!

Yacine