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Far from my promise to keep my blog updated during my final few months in Senegal, I unfortunately did the complete opposite, and went off gallivanting around the country without the slightest thought to the sparse availability of internet cafes in certain areas of Senegal. However I hope I can make it up to you with the account of Our Huge (and crazy) Adventure Into Almost Every Corner of Senegal. Here goes...
Soon after my last blog, classes started to finish, and my students completed their end-of-year exams, achieving some pretty great results, particularly my year 12 class, who overall went from having the worst results in the school for the first semester to one of the best in the second. The dreaded baccalaureate began, and Katie and I did our best to support our friends and students going through the four crazy days of relentless, seemingly endless exams. Emotions were running extremely high on results morning; the students pacing around for hours whilst the committees reached their conclusions on each student's set of exams. When the results were read out, students did everything from collapse to scream, to cry, to run home and tell their families the news. Aside from pass and fail, some students who were close to passing were selected to immediately re-take 3 of their subjects, in an effort to achieve the pass mark. Whilst there were inevitably a number of disappointments, there were a number of big successes, including one of Katie's students who went from barely speaking a word of English to finishing the year (thanks to a huge amount of dedication and effort from Katie) with one of the top English marks in the region, allowing him to continue his studies at university. I can't praise the students that we met enough; their passion and determination to succeed, down to copying out entire language dictionaries from each other, studying in groups at school up to midnight, sitting at home amongst dozens of lively family members trying to learn their lessons by candlelight. Though they didn't all succeed this year at school, I know their tenacity and inspirational will to succeed will carry them through; they certainly hold a special place in my memories.
The beginning of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar when Muslims fast during the day, as well as pay more attention to reading the Qu'ran and praying five times a day, coincided with the end of the second semester. As soon as our official teaching duties had finished, Katie and I skedaddled off Popenguine, a BEAUTIFUL village not far down the Petite Cote from Joal, to meet two teachers at the Bourofaye Christian School just outside Popenguine (with whom Katie had been put in touch by her church), a small school catering for the children of missionaries working all over West Africa. We met them in a town called Sindia, and then took a lovely walk from the outskirts of the town, through the bush down to the beach and stunning lagoon, where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch and swim (and even a quick surf!!). After lunch we walked further, right into Popenguine along the beautiful beach (see picture), before driving to the school where they live and work. Though the pupils were all on holiday, many of the staff and their families live onsite, so it we were very much welcomed by the extremely international community living within the school. After staying a night we then spent the day in the town of Popenguine (which you may recall from when we went there on a pilgrims' march) before heading on to our next destination…
Connie, Joal's resident Peace Corps Volunteer, moved projects for her last few months, and was reassigned to a fledgling arts centre project in the town of Toubab Dialaw, not far down the coast from Dakar. Named so after the Portuguese traders who first settled there, it is a beautiful fishing village on the cliffs, similar to Joal but much quieter and much less litter!! Connie had invited us to her leaving celebration, which was held at the arts centre she had been working to establish. The celebration was a fantastic concert of performances of music, poetry, art, and speeches. After the concert Katie and I enjoyed a refreshing sunset swim the in the sea, and then returned to enjoy the breaking of the fast with the 100 or so folks who had gathered to wish Connie farewell.
We then got up super early the next morning (it's become something of our speciality) to get to Mass at Dakar Cathedral, a super affair where the choir sang the hauntingly beautiful Kyrie de Angelis along with other Senegalese music. We then visited some friends in Dakar before continuing on our way up to Saint Louis (also known as Ndar in Wolof). Having visited a couple of times before, Katie and I didn't do a huge amount but visit our favourite haunts, including a brilliant ethical produce shop, a restaurant with the best prawn curry in the whole of Senegal (in my humble opinion), and the most peaceful, calming bookshop which sells literature in French, English, Spanish and Wolof.
The next day we headed off into unchartered territory in the form of Richard Toll, a large town bizarrely named after a French botanist who came to the area in the early 19th century, building a garden for the French Baron Roger who owned the land, as well as a huge French-style chateau which still stands. Nowadays the town is the hub of Senegal's sugar industry, boasting a sugar factory overlooking the river, as well as numerous cane sugar plantations. We spent a while exploring the various sights, before enjoying supper just by our hostel.
The next day we had a record 5 hour wait in a sept-places to get to our next destination along the Senegal River; Podor, a quiet town on the northernmost point of Senegal, separated from Mauritania only by the river. It is one of the country's oldest towns, and is inhabited mostly by Pulaar-speaking Senegalese. Despite the guidebook's impression of Podor being a 'low-key tourist destination' we were relatively confident we would at least find somewhere to stay and somewhere to eat. We found the former in a hospitality training centre, the latter we found in Podor's one and only restaurant after a long search, thankfully serving huge dishes of rice and fish from the extremely friendly owner. We spent the next morning exploring the secluded pathways along the river, meeting gardeners, fishermen and washing-women along the away, finishing at Podor's historic quay overlooking the river-crossing to Mauritania. Resisting the urge to get the next pirogue across, we then headed to the garage for our next (and longest EVER) sept-places journey.
After a short wait we set off from Podor to Taredji, the nearest main town, then took a packed minibus to Goloya, a charming town just about in the middle of nowhere, on the dusty road right on the interior edge of Senegal. Unfortunately the guidebook didn't have much more insight to offer, however after a short wait we then got another packed bus to an unknown town….before riding the last leg in the back of an onion truck, to the city of Ourou Sogui. Upon arrival we had a great meal at one of the street restaurants and then spent the night at our dodgiest hostel yet….
Next morning we rose bright and early for a walk around the bustling market where I bought a stunning pair of yellow sunglasses, before heading back to the garage to make our way back into on to Bakel, a historic town situated close to the 3-way border between Senegal, Mauritania and Mali. Despite the guidebook's claims of nowhere reputable to stay, we spent a night at the spotless Auberge Islam, where we were force-fed large amounts of rice, I had my hair manoeuvred once more into braids by the resident Mama and we had a fantastic evening walk all around the town and market, finally breaking our fast at sunset on the highest hill at the edge of the town, from where we had a fantastic view over the fort and surrounding area.
Come dawn we were up once more and already on a pre-booked bus (which had our names in Arabic on our tickets!!) to Tambacounda, a huge dusty junction town just off the innermost point of the Gambia, and a long way inland for us coastal kids! After passing the Malian border at sunrise, we then enjoyed the looooong drive to Tamba, where upon arrival, we celebrated our trip thus far with a large nap. By the evening the other Senegal volunteers had FINALLY joined us yippee!! So we went out for a meal, and after finding one in the nick of time the heavens opened, landing us in a water-logged restaurant, ankle deep in rainwater. Nevertheless a great time was had by all, before dashing back to the hostel.
I followed a small herd of pigs the next morning to Sunday Mass before packing up and heading once more to the garage, where we took a sept-places to Kedougou. Once out of Tambacounda the landscape changed dramatically from dust to lush greenery and grass - extremely beautiful. Kedougou, located on the north bank of the Gambia River, is the biggest city in the south-east of Senegal, however it remains very rural, mostly consisting of large traditional huts and muddy tracks. Rather than hang around, upon arrival we conducted some fierce negotiations before hopping into another car to take us to the village of Segou (an area of the country which Google Earth seem to have overlooked), in the Pulaar region around Kedougou. Following the guidebook's advice for the 'tour-group-allergic hiker' we headed to the one and only campement (village hostel) in the rapidly disappearing light. After a period of slight panic, realising that we hadn't booked, we hadn't a plan B and the campement seemed to be unlocatable, a small boy led us up a small hill to a gathering of round huts. After some knocking on various doors a man appeared from the darkness, introduced himself and the nearest toilet and opened up a large hut in which we could stay the night. The aforementioned small boy was then dispatched to bring us supper, and we stocked up on water from the one and only shop, to make up our feast!
We woke the next morning to the most beautiful surroundings; we were in the Senegalese countryside, surrounded by hills, trees and farming fields. We hiked with a local guide up into the hills, through stunning woodlands and streams, to an amazing waterfall, where we all cooled off with a refreshing dip - the hiking was awesome but HOT!!
Once we had engaged for a while in the Senegalese pastime of chilling (something that had been in short supply over the last few days) we then headed off on the back of 3 locals' motorbikes to a nearby (slightly larger) village named Dindefelo. More popular with tourists than Segou, Dindefelo is located at the foot of the mountain which boasts the highest waterfall in the region. We enjoyed the afternoon hanging out at the campement amongst Spanish tourist groups and their guides, and I also made the rather exciting purchase of a pair of white plastic shoes (similar to 'jellies') after being informed that my flip-flops didn't really cut it as mountain hiking equipment. I managed to make some use of my 'Say it in Pulaar!' phrasebook, though I've still got a fair bit of work to do on that one. We spent the evening drinking ataya (Senegalese tea) and playing cards by candlelight - my kinda evening!!
Come morning our plans were slightly modified due to the drizzling rain, and we set off slightly later on our hike up the mountain plateau, before descending down to swim in the basin of the waterfall. After a steep and sweaty ascent we made it out onto a small and rocky vantage point (see photo) from which we could see over the entire region. We then continued up and around, first to the source of the waterfall, and eventually down to the basin, where we enjoyed a (chilly!!) swim before racing back down to the village. We then packed up once more and hitched a lift in one of the tourist trucks to our next village, Bandafassi, found in an area of the region known as Bassari Country, after the Bassari people, one of several strongly cultural groups that live in the area.
We stayed in a campement in Indar, a small settlement just outside the main village, were welcomed by the lovely Leotine, before heading off on a 2km walk down the track road to the main village and the nearest supplies stop. We also made the acquaintance of an interesting French boy Johann and his young local sidekick Guillaume, whose anthropologist father seemed to have somewhat abandoned him with a local family whilst he conducted field research around the region. We then returned to a delicious supper lit by solar-powered lights, and slept soundly in our round huts.
The next morning I woke really early and so went for a quiet walk amongst the vegetation outside the village, then I returned and Johann and Guillaume led us on a hike up the mountain to the tiny Bedik village of Ethiowar. After meeting and greeting the 5 or so inhabitants (in Bedik - no Wolof spoken here!) we headed on up to the rocky summit for AMAZING views as far as Kedougou - so beautiful it could possibly even rival my love for Joal and our Petite Cote area.
Once down, after cooling down with a few games of cards we headed back to Kedougou and then back to Tambacounda, where we enjoyed the local speciality of hambeurgeurs (as spelled out on the restaurant sign) and coca-cola. Whilst we were eating outside there was a high-speed motorbike collision in the road which brought us all a touch of reality - luckily the main victim seemed to have gotten away with no more than some concussion and a large bump on the head (she was promptly loaded onto the back of another bike and taken to the hospital), needless to say we didn't take motorbikes back to the hostel that night…
The next day we set off bright and early on the 11hr route to ZIGUINCHOR, the home of two other volunteers and the capital of the southern Casamance region, to make it before the roads closed at 1900 (due to threats from the ongoing separatist conflict). We made it to the girls' pad in plenty of time, and had supper at their lovely host family's house, before enjoying an evening hanging out and brewing ataya with some of their local friends.
Over the next few days we heard the brilliant local choir at Sunday mass, spent time with the girls' host families (with whom they eat but don't live) and also celebrated the 19th birthday of the Lovely Lena, one of the volunteers from Ziguinchor and an Edinburghian like you've never met! I also went to a great choir concert at the church, and Katie and I also headed to the nearby church community centre for an evening of young choirs and crazy Diola music and dancing! We also spent a day in the nearby towns of Oussouye, where we did some great mountain biking and kayaking around the lagoon (with a touch of environmental conservation thrown in), and Brufut, where we met up with a group of young engineering students from all over the world, working on an Engineers Without Borders project to get electricity into a community centre via solar panels. I also managed to meet up with the extremely hospitable family of one of my friends back in Joal, which was a lovely lovely evening during which they presented me with the two biggest bags of coconuts and mangoes I have EVER seen.
We had a slight hiccup in returning home when I woke up quite ill on the morning we were supposed to leave. Fearing malaria, Lena very kindly dragged me to the hospital at 4am whilst Katie started the journey back to make a teachers' meeting in Joal. After several hours on strong painkillers (it was concluded not to be malaria) I was pronounced fit and dispatched with a heavy bag containing a rainbow of medications, to take during what seemed to be every moment of the day. After a few extra days recovery I was back on my feet and made the overland journey back to Joal in record time for choir practice.
Katie and I spent our final two weeks mostly in Joal, except a short excursion to Thies to celebrate Korite (also known as Eid, or the end of Ramadan hurrahhh!!!) with our family. If you've been reading this blog for a while I'm sure you have the general picture; tons of yummy food, Fanta for all and some Islamic singing (CDs available on request). Needless to say the celebration lived up to expectations, and we were extremely excited to once again be permitted to eat and drink during daylight hours. During the festival I also had the fantastic opportunity to interview the British Ambassador to Senegal for my end-of-year report, so I made a super rapid trip to Dakar on the morning of the feast, and made it back on the last (and very full!) bus to Thies to join my family for the afternoon and evening.
After Thies we also spent a night in Kaolack at the boys' project, to join them in the end of year celebration in the community around their IT/English Centre. It was a wild evening where Lena was forcibly dressed as a Pulaar Queen for the night, much swaying, dancing, shouting, singing, and photographing was done by most of Kaolack, and we revelled in 2hrs of sleep before racing back to Joal once more to prepare with the choir for the upcoming Christian festival of Assumption. Being a church dedicated to Mary, Joal was to be the centre of celebrations for the area, and in the choir we were preparing for the huge mass as well as a big concert afterwards. After a week of double whammy evenings of basketball and choir practice the big day arrived (also our penultimate day in Senegal). Hair was tightly braided (ouch!!), new clothes zipped up and Katie and I were off to church in our finery. We had a fantastic final mass with all the amazing people of the church who have welcomed and helped us SO much - at the end we were in fact called to the front and presented with a number of very generous gifts, and delivered our well-practiced Wolof speeches, which gave smiles all round. We were then invited to join Father Jo for lunch, a truly scrumptious affair including PORK for the first time in a while, and delicious cake baked by Katie. He also generously gifted us a beautiful pair of matching boubous (see photo).
We spend the day going through Joal saying goodbyes to all of our friends and families, before getting ready in our choir outfits (photo) and going onto the choir concert. Due to impeccable Senegalese time keeping, the concert started at 11pm, and was a raucous affair. As well as a ton of singing, swaying and even dancing, I also played a bit with the band which was awesome. We then enjoyed the concert after-party before I also headed to another party being held by some friends further into town. Come 6am Katie and I both headed home for a quick shower, then I cycled to a stunning (and deserted) stretch of beach just outside Joal to enjoy my final sunrise in Senegal. A slight hiccup occurred on the way home when the inner tube of my rear tyre started to emerge; I had to abandon the bike, hitch a lift back to Joal and then go back to get it with a truck, however got it all sorted by my mate Robert at the mechanics' in time for next year's volunteers - enjoy!!
Katie and I enjoyed a final bean sandwich and coffee breakfast at the garage, then said our final goodbyes in our little area of Caritas at the end of Joal, stuffed our final gifts and bits into our bags and took a car to Dakar. We had a slightly stressful time with the driver trying to find our destination, but eventually made it to Ellie's (volunteer in Dakar) lovely host family in Dakar to say a quick goodbye before transferring into the car of our rep, Mr T, who took us to the airport in his car. Having not approached anything as technologically advanced as an airport for a while Katie and I were a bit daunted by the whole prospect but thanks to Air France made it through ok and, finally onto the plane.
I am now home, having enjoyed debriefing with Project Trust on the Hebridean island of Coll, and am re-adjusting to life in England! Whilst I am enjoying seeing my family and amazing friends, eating pizza and salt and vinegar crisps, and playing music once more there is so much I miss about Senegal, it's hard to describe! Everything from bucket showers to wearing Senegalese clothes, to eating from a communal bowl, to fetching water, being inspired by my super students and neighbours, to the fantastic people - friends, families, students and colleagues who welcomed, encouraged and helped us with patience at every turn, opening their lives to us in such a way which I never expected, taught me SO much and truly made my year in Senegal an unforgettable one. I want to say a particular thank you to my patient, lovely and hilarious host family - Dad Amadou who answered every question I had and a few more, guided me around the 'cultural blunders' as he called them, and was so supportive, particularly as my teaching mentor, host Mum Aicha who taught me cooking and how to wear a Senegalese wrap skirt, as well as introduced me to the wonderful world of French-dubbed soap operas. My awesome little host brothers Mouhammadou and Babo, with whom I had such fun riding bikes, flying kites and learning Wolof and English, and of course little Marieme who was never without a smile and hug when I needed it, who drove me crazy and also made my year; I will forever miss our cycles to school with her on the back of my bike, chatting away with the latest gossip from pre-school, singing songs or asking endless questions. Thanks to my English family and friends who have supported me SO much (pretty sure it was only my Dad's post that kept Royal Mail in business this year) and kept up your interest in my year, and to all those who have supported my family at home throughout the year. A big thank you to Fleurs de la Maison flower shop in Cookham, who have my eternal loyalty after delivering Mothers' Day flowers on a to the house on the Sunday after receiving my frantic last-minute email - you guys are awesome. Finally to Katie my fantastic project partner, who went with me through the good and tricky times, who absorbed all my ranting and frustrations, took all my crazy ideas and schemes on board and encouraged me to do so much, al whilst putting up with sharing a tiny bedroom with me (and the resident mice).
I hope my journey with Senegal won't end here; I feel I still have so much to discover, and of course I still have to learn to speak Serer, Pulaar, and Diola, dance properly, play the tam-tam drums…the list is endless!! However I accept I will have to take an intermission for the time being, whilst I return to my studies and enter the next stage of my life. Thank you for reading. For those who are interested to hear more (though I'm not sure that's possible after the length of this blog!!) I will be doing a short talk in the vestry after Sunday Mass at St John the Baptist Church at 1030, to which all are more than welcome.
Before signing off I'd love to share a poem written by Daouda Fall (see photo), resident poet at the centre we visited in Toubab Dialaw, an extremely hospitable man with a real passion to develop the talents in young people around him;
WE ARE COMMON FOLKS
Your nationality matters not
The colour of your skin, eyes
And hairs, matters not;
Wherever you go,
They talk about the same ancestors
We have in common.
We all belong to the one
And sole genealogical tree,
That common property of ours,
And are all descendants of
Adam and eve, therefore,
Common folks.
Please, do recognize your universality
And work out a universal
Morality and humanism, for the sake of
Mankind's peace, progress, love and happiness,
We are common folks, and not common foes
Thank you for reading. Signing off, and out.
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