Cup of Nations pt. 2
- Annika Graber
- Feb 10, 2022
- 2 min read
Written 10 february 2022
So I wanted to document the rest of Monday since it was not what I was expecting. On the walk home from school, I noticed that pretty much every street corner in our little neighborhood was painted with the Senegalese flag. The curbs, electrical poles, and even some trees were all painted. Flags were hung from the ally ways. Kids and teenagers must have been up all night decorating the neighborhood.
On our walk back to school the side streets were still completely empty. Normally this road has 2-3 lanes of standstill traffic, but we were walking down the middle of it.
It was super interesting because since we got out early, we were walking home during lunchtime. All of the street vendors were eating lunch and every time we walked by they would ask us "Venez manger avec nous?" (come eat with us). Eating is such a communal activity here so even if there is only a small bit left, you are asked if you want to join in. In smaller communities, everyone is at least made sure to have eaten.
The main streets, however, were not quiet. We caught the tail end of a large celebration parade and people were out riding around in cars and buses. It was cool to see it in the daylight.
On another note- I got my first experience with food poisoning last night. Luckily it lasted less than 24 hours. No one really got any sleep last night, but my roommates were real troopers. I knew I would get sick at least once, so fingers crossed this is it!
This week has flown by... I'm planning on having a relaxing weekend before leaving for Touba (a rural region to the east of Dakar) all of next week. We will be staying in a hotel and doing field visits together so for sure more posts to come about that!
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