Today marks the end of my first week in Dakar and the beginning of settling in. After various visits to tourist attractions and trips around the city, I have gathered my bearings and gotten to know what home will be like for the next four months. It will be full of sun and beach and paper-writing and attempts at Wolof conversations and nescafé and learning to "be here only," (maa ngi fi rekk)and understand the Senegalese way of life and relation to the rest of the world. I'm going to like this.
Sunday feels the way Sundays always do; slow-paced and relaxing, with added perks like getting to hang out at the ocean. The day started out with my usual breakfast of a baguette and coffee AND laughing cow cheese, and was followed by heading to brunch at a patissérie called Aux Fins Palais. When I ordered "pain," with olive oil and thyme, I expected a baguette of some sort. I was given a basket of baguette, rye, wheat, and chocolate-chip-filled bread. I managed to roll my self from there to the beach (where, as always, people were working out en masse) and discovering the wonder that is MyShop, where I am now, amidst air-conditioning and free WiFi. Life is good.
It's about time I head home, in hopes of being on time (if "on time" exists in Senegal) for some ataya. My afternoon wouldn't quite feel complete without it, and the African sun has made me very, very tired today. I'll have to get some sleep for my first day of school tomorrow!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
what is ataya?
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I can almost feel the sun through your writing! Nescafe, huh? Small price to pay '-) Hoping your adventures continue to be interesting, looking forward to hearing the next!
ReplyDeleteOoooh Lindsay, I will expand on that later. It's my favorite part of the day. We sit and drink it for hours, and I am going to learn to make it soon. I'll let you know.
ReplyDelete