What is Senegal like?

My blog post last week was more about Alec, Kari and Jonathan than what life has been like for us here in Senegal since we arrived a little over a week ago, but since I want to write about Alec...I'll do both. Let me warn you in advance, this is a long post. Well, there are a lot of pictures, anyway!

We were fortunate to be here for the baby dedication service at church when Kari and Jonathan promised to raise little Alec so that he could come to know and love the Lord with his whole heart, and to relinquish him to whatever plans the Lord has prepared in advance for him to do. It was a beautiful, meaningful service; we were able to stand with Kari and Jonathan, and Glenn gave them a blessing before the pastor prayed over them.

The first couple of weeks with Alec were rough as they tried to figure out his schedule and what his various cries mean...and I think they've got a good handle on it now. He has some reflux problems so they now know what to do to help him not vomit out what he's taken in. He is very social and didn't want to fall asleep for fear he might miss something. Because of this, he was not getting enough sleep so now we know to not let him get over stimulated before it is time for bed. He is doing much better and so are Mom and Dad! He is so precious!!!

Everyone that reads my blog with any regularity knows that I love homemade ice cream and make 50-60 quarts a year. I wanted to buy Kari an ice cream machine when they were in the States to put in their crate but Kari wasn't sure that they would be able to buy ice in Senegal to make the ice cream. I was thrilled when I found a small electric ice cream machine in Budapest that makes a quart of ice cream but that does not use ice!!! (It has a bowl that is filled with a liquid that you freeze for 8 hours and when you put the mixture in the bowl, the paddle stirs it and the coldness from the bowl freezes the ice cream.) Granted, it only makes a small amount at a time, but if the mixture is well chilled before you put it in the bowl to freeze, it makes enough for 3 servings after about 15 minutes of churning!!! We've made chocolate chip mint ice cream 3 times so far, and are going to try lime sorbet today. Yum!

I love a lot of the Senegalese dishes from our days in Ivory Coast and our previous visit to Senegal in 2003 (when Kari was a Journeyman) and I was looking forward to enjoying them again. Kari's house girl, Eliza, made a meal for us one day that has a caramelized onion sauce that you pour over chicken. The chicken is placed on a bed of french fries, encircled by chopped lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. It was delicious!

Kari and Jonathan go to the International Christian Fellowship of Dakar. (The pastor and his wife were friends of ours in Ivory Coast back in the early 90's so we already have a connection with their church!!) Last week the ladies in the mission organization with which Kari is affiliated gave her a baby shower. This week her church gave her a shower, and it was in the home of a family that works for the American Embassy (so the house was gorgeous!) I have enjoyed getting to know Kari and Jonathan's friends and co-workers, putting faces to their names after having heard about them for the past 7 months.

We were invited to dinner at the pastor's house on Wednesday evening, and I loved getting caught up on Joel and Elin's news from the past 18 years. Their son, now an adult and working elsewhere overseas, was 2 when we last saw him. Shortly after we left Ivory Coast, they had two daughters so we've gotten to know them a little during our visit here. We had Poulet Yassa for dinner that night and it was soooooo good, but I forgot to take any pictures. Sorry!

When Joel and Elin moved out to their neighborhood, they had a gorgeous view of the green country side, but in the past year or so, a strip of land behind their house has become the dump and squatters have built up against their house and yard wall. They don't mind the squatters so much as they do the smell from the burning trash...and the spoiled view off their roof-top terrace.

For the most part, we are staying close to home so that "Little Bit" (Alec) can get his sleep regularly (and because it is so hot outside!) but we did make a trip out to Malika Monkeys, a school that teaches young men a trade so that they can support their family. There are usually 6-10 men at the school at any given time, and they are also taught to read and write in French and Wolof, math, basic accounting, and the Bible. They make things like quilted bags, African clocks, carved wooden boats as serving pieces, animal statues, crosses made out of iron, authentic drums, and so on, to sell to tourists, but unfortunately, the director of the program just went to America and took most of their stock to sell in a store there in the U.S. that is run by her son.

I took most of the following pictures during our drive out to Malika Monkeys.

Notice the child about 3 years old that is playing unsupervised by himself out in the median-between heavy traffic on both sides? I have seen lots of young children playing in dangerous situations seemingly without adult's watching over them.

One of the biggest changes I have noticed is that there is much more trash on the ground this trip than there was in 2003. The population has increased tremendously since then, and I guess the infrastructure of garbage pickup hasn't been able to keep up with it.

I haven't seen as many stores being added as I have noticed things being sold out on the sidewalks. This is a hardware "store". :-)

Senegal is a Muslim country with a little animism mixed in. These boys have just finished their studies at a Koranic school, and are carrying home their Koranic boards...as opposed to their notebook.

She was willing to pose for a picture for me. Notice the goat? Wednesday is the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours. It is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God and is the month in which they believe the first verses of the Koran (Qu'ran) were revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The goat will be killed and eaten as part of the celebration of the end of Ramadan.

It is the middle of hot season here and so in the middle of the day, everyone is looking for the coolest place to take a nap. He found this nice shade tree and claimed his spot. Believe me, it was still hot under that tree!

We came during the mango season and between the four of us, we go through 4-5 mangos a day.

When we lived in Ivory Coast, Glenn was extremely allergic to the peeling/skin of mangos so I've been the one to peel and slice them for us each day.

After peeling the mangos, I like to suck the pits to get every last bit of the fruit off! I had to be careful though to make sure that the juice didn't drip down my arms and stain my clothes. Of all the tropical fruits available during the year, mangos are my favorite! Pineapples come in a close second.

Mufflers 'R Us?

Anyone need a slab of beef or a spare rib? Notice the cows' head on the table? I'm sure the table was wiped clean and sanitized before the guy put the cow on the table and started chopping. Yea, right! I'm sure the meat is only hanging out there in the heat for a short time before it is moved inside, into the ultra nice cooler and wrapped in germ-free butcher paper. Yea, right!

Women chit chatting. World-wide custom?

These brightly colored short buses are called Rapides, which is quite ironic since they don't really go very fast! Most of them are so weighted down with too many people inside and several hanging out the back, goats and produce on top, and wrecked and battered from so many accidents through the years that they can't go very fast. In addition, they stop about every block to let someone on or off so it's not like they can gain much speed!

In Ivory Coast, these Rapides were called Vingt-deux Places (22 Places), which is also ironic because most of the time there would be at least 30-35 people crammed inside, seated and standing, and always 2-4 men hanging off the back. This is the way of life here. The idea of getting or using a seat belt is unheard of, and what about car seats for children? No way.

I am so nervous behind one of the many Rapides because I am so afraid one of the guys is going to slip off and get run over!

Shoe store. What more can I say? Creative way to display the many styles in stock. Don't see what you'd like? Maybe I have something in my storeroom. Oh, I don't have a storeroom. Hmmm, let me run check with my buddy down the street to see if he has what you want. Be back in a jiffy. Dash, dash!

Nothing like letting everyone see your dirty laundry.

Looks like a town meeting.

Why carry something in your hands when you can carry it on your head? They start learning when they are young so that they...

can carry bigger stuff when they are older.

Well, thanks for sticking with me to the end.

We've had a great visit with Kari, Jonathan and Alec, but unfortunately, our visit ends tomorrow. We are headed back to Budapest, catching a 2 am flight out of Dakar early Thursday morning. Well, the good thing about a flight out that late is that there won't be much traffic!!!