Boat trip to Casamance

For spring break, I took the ferry over night from Dakar to Ziguinchor in Casamance. I went with my maid, Martine who is from Casamance. We had berths in an 8 person cabin. We ate dinner and breakfast in the restaurant on the ferry. The boat, named Osama, sailed from Dakar, south along the Atlantic and then went up river to Ziguinchor. Look at a map, Casamance is the area below the Gambia--an English speaking country that is long and thin on either side of the Gambia River. There has been some fighting in Casamance–– as there is a separatist movement among some who want independence from Senegal. Some people asked when I returned if it was dangerous but I did not see or hear any fighting. There are several military check points as we traveled between Ziguinchor and Martine's home town of Bignona. The trip between the two towns took about 1 1/2 hour by taxi.

Lastest acquisitions

I had some clothes made from fabric--one of the best buys here--and I had some meters made in patchwork--this version is made from smaller squares than most--I bought a toy elephant for Inga--she'll get it this summer when I visit the states. I also needed a another small table for my living room. I am intrigued by the way they make these. The top lifts off and the legs fold up. The legs are carved from one piece of wood in this interlocking way.

Rewarding myself by working on blog after finishing report cards.

English language

Someone at the school sent this around--it was a good reminder to me that French really isn't so hard. I am glad that English is my mother tongue--it is so difficult to master and the vocabulary is vast!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, two geese. So one moose, two meese? One index, two indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why don't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

P.S. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP ; look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

We could go on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so... Time to shut UP!

greeting rituals

I have been struck by the elaborate greetings that one does here. As I bike to and from work I greet just about everyone I pass with "bonjour" or Hi, How are you? When you greet someone you know better, you might ask, "Did you sleep well?" "How's the family?" or specifically ask about different family members. Shaking hands is big in Senegal and I have to remind myself to do it. With people you know better, it is the French "embrasse" the hug and kiss and both cheeks, except here it goes back and forth 3 times, and sometimes 4. It is not uncommon, if a parent has been away for a few days or week, the next time I see them at school, it is the hug and kisses.

Recently one of the parents came to talk about her country, Namibia, in southern Africa. When the parents come, I ask them to teach us a greeting in their language, Oshiwambo. She taught us how to say hello or good morning but also taught us the reply--because there must a reply. This mother is also an assistant teacher at the school, so as I was chatting with her in the staff room, she continues to elaborate on the exchange that goes on. I asked her to relate all of it to me, so I could share it on the blog. Here is how the exchange goes in

Ongini--"How is it?"

Onawaa--"It is fine."

Walalapo--"Did you sleep well?"

Eeee--"Oh, yes" This is a long drawn out oh yes.

Wa la la po nawatuu--"Did you sleep very well" or

Wa la la po nombilituu--"Did you wake up with peace? or Is your spirit together?"

and then you ask about the household--with all the children and the whole household. and then after replies in the affirmative you say, "We give thanks to the spirit for keeping you peaceful." and then one replies Ombili-- "I wish you peace."

A visit to N'jor island

Inga and I took a boat out to N'jor Island, just off the coast from the N'jor neighborhood in Dakar. We went with two of the kids in my kindergarten class, Sarah in the pink hat and Abdoulaye, in the orange life jacket, and their mothers. The trip over in the boat is exciting!

The island itself if peaceful. Inga walked around to the far side of the island, the Atlantic side, and took the photo of the art installation. When we returned to the main land--we saw lute wrestlers on the beach practicing. In the parking lot were sheep!

Visit to markets in Dakar

We spent a certain amount of time shopping. We went to the fabric market--HLM--where Inga got some terrific patterns--which she took a picture of. I think fabric is one of the best buys you can get in Dakar. I got an elephant stool and trunk. On Goree, we admired these fabric wall hangings--and Inga just loved the black statue of liberty.

Here is the Mali market, near the train station, the two photos of men pounding fabric, is how the fabric is "waxed"--making the fabric stiff and shiny--sort of a way of ironing it. The men agreed to be photographed after Tod had successfully bought one of the hammers. I took a video clip of the hammering but have yet to be successful in adding it to the blog.

We went to the main, Sandaga market. Underground is the market of food, spices, shea butter

We began and ended the day at a crafts market, we watched the wood carvers and explored antique stalls. I purchased a trunk and a stool with elephant carving, which you can see at the start of this entry. We were serenaded by some musicians--only one of the video clips could I manage to add to the blog. The trip ended with the taxi needing a push to jumpstart the engine. That's the final picture!

Ile de Goree with Inga and Martine

I've procrastated too long posting the different blog entries about Inga's visit the first week of January. With my new laptop it is easier to up load pictures, but they still move around so it is difficult to match my description to the photo. We went on a day trip to Ile de Goree. I invited Martine, my maid to come with us since she had never been there. Martine's brother both lives and works on the island. He works for the Slave House Museum, and was filling in for another staff person so was at the entrance when we arrived. Her sister also lives on Goree, and we met her when we arrived--as she was waiting to board the ferry to Dakar--and we saw her again when we were leaving and she, just returning.

The island was as lovely as my first trip. The Catholic church had the Christmas nativity in front--an interesting modern interpretation.