Ziguinchor

Not a lot to say about Ziguinchor except to say I've been there, done that, and would not go back.  It's a rather sleepy town with nothing to really recommend it.  There is a large market, one of the largest in Senegal, where you can buy just about anything.  I tried to buy a women's watch but all three were not working.....
I did buy two ladles and a gourd bowl.
The view from our mediocre hotel was beautiful and there was a very hungry baby stork in the courtyard.  It was hot and we left a day early.

and always the sea....

The sea surrounds Dakar as it is a peninsula jutting out to the sea.  I hear the sea from my room at Residence Ba.  I go there and watch horses adorned in ribbons and decorated harnesses, prancing, seemingly proud to pull rickety carts behind them.  In the evening, we weave in and out of active soccer games, all of them could be professionals.  They give us a path through.

Artists selling their wares

Out  on the beach, vendors approach with beautiful things that they have made themselves.  Men who have been lived abroad for many years, sending money back to their families of numerous children (6  children seems to be the usual number).  These guys are not selling cheap junk from China - hand made stuff, their stuff. And we talk - they are proud people .
I bought a necklace from the same guy from whom I had bought a necklace last year!  He remembered us, especially Saliou who is a brutal bargainer.  Even I cringe at his counteroffers.  In the end, everyone is happy and goes away smiling.

For instance, the painter (and maker of my new necklace) started at 18,000 cfa per painting.  By the end I had the necklace and the painting below for 13,000 cfa (about $22).  The man selling the musical instruments lived in Morocco for a long time.

Meeting up with the Advisors to the Mayor of Yoff

A big part of my task here is to get things going with Chef Academy.  We met with the Directors of Health, Education and the main Advisor to the Mayor.  It was a productive meeting and our job is to now put together a compelling proposal.  I know how to do that and have started working on it.  From left to right in back:  Aliou Barry (personal coach/trainer/former competitive runner/lived in italy for many years), Chef David of Chef Academy, The director of Health, Mathieu (father Senegalais, mother French), Ibrahim Sylla (volunteer facilitator, resident of Yoff,, member of adminstration).
In front, me, Main Counsel to the Mayor and Directrice of Education..

A manicure at the beach

A man walks up to us with a small bundle in his hand and a squirt bottle. Without a word, he sprays a soapy solution onto the fingernails of the friend who was with me and commences a "mobile manicure".  I was fascinated by the whole thing and he did my nails, too.  All this while watching the young men play soccer at, what looks to me, a professional level.  Very few women out on the beach.

The comic, the man

Djibi Seye, a well known comedian in Senegal, is an amazing artist and  human being.  He is also incredibly tall.  He also is a member of the Board for Chef Academy.  I consider him a friend, and am happy for it.

Meeting up with government officials

Chef David and Djibi picked me up at 7 am to go downtown to government offices.  Most of the way down, Djibi, a rather famous comedian here in Senegal, complained about not only the government, but even more the lack of discipline of the Senegalese people.  Ils s'en foutent.  and that a person can't ever work for themselves alone because a whole series of family and friends are always behind them asking for money.  It sounds horrible.

Anyway, I am quite off topic.  We arrived at the office and the attorney was not there BUT he showed up shortly afterwards and we spent about two hours in his office.  We actually got something done!  First order of business was to change the type of organization.  He had us down as a "commercant" meaning a business that would make money and pay taxes.  I got that changed over to non-profit.  That all took quite a long time, but the guy worked hard and I was happy with the result.  WE received documents to review, I did a bunch of edits and I think we're ready to submit the documents.  It's all free, but we kicked in a "tip" of $80 US to help the process along. This is Africa.  In America, it would be fraud/illegal/etc.

Tomorrow, we have a meeting with some advisors to a mayor somewhere here in Dakar. Where/when, no idea, but I'll find out at some point.

Vive L'Afrique!  ; ))))

Joking at the beach

We were walking on the beach, Ameth and me, and Elhadji was filming. We wanted to make a funny movie for Djibi, the Senegalese comic.  I think I laughed at this video more than anyone else. Ameth was a very good actor and it was super fun to do this.

My birthday party

January 18 was my birthday; I was going to be in Dakar and I wanted a party. Why not??  I didn't really know who it's done in Senegal.  All I knew is that it's NOT done.  Muslims make a point of not celebrating birthdays.  I discussed what might be best to do with Chef David in the US and he suggested 3 p.m. at a local bakery chain called Brioche Doree.  I realized (was reminded) when I arrived in Dakar that expecting people to show up any particular time was crazy, and I went to Brioche Doree and it's expensive and not even good

Saliou recommended that we do the party at Residence Ba and we had this plan to have the party on the rooftop terrace even!  The cleaning people cleaned up there, got rid of the thick layers of dust that cover Dakar.  Chef David said that he would get a cake (!), Saliou and Badou went out and bought disposable stuff like spoons, napkins and cups.   We decided on food - local food from the (hole in the wall) restaurant down the street, which is very good and inexpensive. And people started showing up!

I got TWO cakes.  The one from the comedian had my name spelled "DJenny", which made me laugh.  And I got a dress!  It was WAY too small and I reluctantly told Khadi.  No problem!  Ousman had made the dress.  We went back in the bedroom, and while I had on the dress, he ripped out seams all around the bodice using my Swiss Army knife, repinned the dress and I wore it the rest of the evening.  I hadn't even realized it was pinned...Quite remarkable!!

For the record, to remember how fun this was - Saliou, Badou, Ameth, Elhadji, Djibi, Chef David, Cousine Issa, Ousman (tailor),  Seydou, Moustapha, Khadi, Jean-Bernard (huge guy who lives in France), a baby, two adorable little girls (all kids of Khadi), and a few others, friends of Ameth from Mpal.

Despair and Hope

If one thing is clear, it's that Senegal has an abundance of talent, of well educated people who are willing to work.  And the political system here is so corrupt that nothing works.  Frankly, it makes the politics of the US look like nirvana.  Things do get done in our country.  Even though opportunity is not even in the US,  a person has a chance to succeed.  Jobs do exist.  Here, my friend, Badou, spends 4 hours a day in buses spewing pollutants for an interesting job in a French owned company that strings their employees along, not paying them, then finally, maybe giving them a 6 month contract for a minimal pay.  It sickens me.  But they keep going (some of them) ..in the hope that life will be better for their children.

Nothing works here.  No one can be on time.  I understand why they hold on to Allah, what else is there?

I am happy to say that the US is a good player here, helping the people.  Much more than the French who merely take.

So, what is the hope?  That the spirit that they keep alive will eventually prevail.

En route

Hello Dakar,  En route, Tuesday night, January 14.  I admit laughing at the number of random bags that the Senegalese jam into the overhead bins..very different from the orderly arrangement of black suitcases of the Amer     , ome white dude got all mad about it but recovered nicely.  My seat mate was very tall and kind of large for a Senegalese man.  He really barely squeezed into the seat.  The spacing seemed even tighter than usual.  We chattedd.  He left Senegal at age 6 so speaks Wolof and English. He works in a football stadium and I guess it's the off season...A woman across the aisle is a nurse in Washington, DC.  Of course, both going to see family.  

We landed at 8 am on Wednesday, January 15.  Saliou came to pick me up and it was great to see him again.  That day is kind of a blur, being jet lagged, but I managed to meet up with my adoptive son, Ameth, who was wearing the Boulder T-shirt I gave him last year.  ; )  There he is.. the view from my window out to the sea, and some yummy food.

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