Man, fecckat laa

More Mouit:

To reiterate, I loved the village more than anything else I have come across in Senegal so far. Our first afternoon there all of the SIT students and one family member got into this tiny little boat and we were taken across the river to an island with the most beautiful beach I have seen here so far. White, white, sand, gigantic waves, scuttling crabs everywhere, and now trash. The water was actually a little bit refreshing and we played in the waves with our new sisters as the sun set. The dock in Mouit:

I slept on a mattress in a room with my oldest sister Hadi and it was incredibly hot, but doable. The next day my sisters decided that I must get my hair braided. So for most of the day I sat under the olive tree in their yard while my sister Falou cornrowed my hair. My other siblings all sat around us and we planned their future trip to America which will involve hanging out with my family and finding Ciara and Rihanna. Then it was time to dress me up for the giant dance party the village was holding for all of us. I borrowed clothes from my sister and I decided to let them do my makeup. There were maybe ten sisters, cousins and neighbors picking out my earrings, fixing my hair and teaching me to dance. 

I was paraded into the middle of town with my whole entourage, where we met the other SIT students who had all been dressed up for the occasion. Me and my friend Christina were the only ones "lucky" enough to be wearing makeup. The entire village had gathered to play the tama and djembe and dance. Women would take turns in the middle of the circle and sometimes our sisters would drag us in as well. We were all taught how to dance the "goana", which I promise to demonstrate when I return. It was so unbelievably fun and a totally out of body experience. I was just dancing flailing around in front of hundreds of strangers, wearing pretty ridiculous make up and getting dance instructions in Wolof. We danced until the sun started to set. (the sun seems to just suddenly drop out of the sky at about 7:30 every night). A picture of Falou and I dancing:

dancing goana

Please make sure to note what is the equivalent of Senegalese lingerie underneath my skirt. All of the women in the village, who always cover their heads and pray five times a day, were just getting down at this dance. They all had sparkly, sequined, sometimes neon fabric underneath their skirts. When dancing traditional Senegalese dance, which kind of looks like the women are trying to pound the sand farther into the earth, you are supposed to hike your skirt up so your can see this other layer. It's completely contrary to regular codes for women here and it's so fun. That night I just stayed up late with my whole family kind of half sleeping on mats in the sand. The stars were clear enough to see the milky way over my head and with the slight breeze for the ocean I was only a little bit sweating.

Saying goodbye to my family in Mouit was hard- I was not looking forward to returning to Dakar and I felt so completely loved in the village. It was the first time I have ever had sisters and they were so wonderful and kind to me. My mom had a dress made for me before I left and I tried the best I could to thank her profusely in wolof. (nekk na buba, jerijef, sopp na) Hugging isn't so common in Senegal but I hugged my siblings goodbye anyway and promised that I will try to come back. I've talked to Falou on the phone since then and I've definitely had some nights I wish I was back sleeping in the airless mosquito ridden room with Hadi.

Mostly, I fell in love with a place and people here in a way I hadn't yet, and it feels good to know I can here.