Slipping into Senegalese life

After the excitement of familiarizing myself with the layout of the city and general pace of life in Dakar comes the even more exciting nestling in and exploring.
The first week I saw a lot of the tourist attractions and post-card-style "sights" of Dakar, and luckily (and unlike at Gorée) I had my camera in tow. Dakar is a city where, like many, contradictions have an interesting way of coming together. Litter sprinkles the natural beauty, and the lack of sanitary cleaning is counter-balanced with the people remaining cleaner than anyone I've ever before lived among. People don't spend money to make sure their homes are as presentable as themselves, as people rarely dress casually outside of home, daily wearing tailor-made, vibrant clothing. One thing I noticed right away was the heavy presence of buildings in the midst of construction, but all look as though the building shell has been sitting untouched for years.


This photo isn't the best example, but building shells are everywhere. Urban planning is different here, if the idea exists. Instead of saving up money to build something, people begin construction as soon as they have any money, stop when money runs out, and continue when they can again.

Possibly some of the greatest contradictions and frustrations here can be found in the government, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of this:
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Anyway, beyond the tourist attractions, Dakar is an amazing, beautiful, vibrant city, and I get to go to see this everyday: