Fick Family Adventures in Senegal

Salut tout le monde,

I returned to Niamey on Monday after an AMAZING time in Senegal, and I intended to write about the trip on Tuesday, but then things got busy and now it is Friday…c'est la vie, this week I got some work done saw my Niamey pals and Tuareg family, who I had missed, and also go swimming in the Olympic-sized pool! The pool is actually 1 cm short of 50 meters, apparently someone made a petit mistake; oh well, I still enjoy doing a few laps, and it's officially the only way to exercise now that hot season is seriously under.

Now, details on the Vacation of Greatness, where to start…I guess with just how awesome it was to see my parents and my little brother Charlie after a darn long time apart! It was so nice to have all of us together, and especially to reunite in Senegal, because (1) I wanted my family to see why I liked living in Africa so much and (2) We actually spent more time together because there weren't distractions like Blackberries, iPods (well we did have those), work, etc. My mom did remark that at times it was a bit claustrophobic for the 3 non-Francophone Ficks, b/c they could only speak to each other, whereas I could speak to Senegalese people…I for one enjoyed being the mouthpiece for the family, you all know that I like to talk;) I realized how hard it is being a translator, but it was definitely good practice for me! I had to think of accurate translations of my favorite phrases, such as "incha'allah" and "wallAIHI!"

I arrived in Dakar a few days before the family arrived, so I was charged and ready to go when they arrived at 5:30 am on Monday morning. Good thing our hotel wasn't ready, it was a great excuse for me to drag my exhausted parents and brother all around Dakar, to the top of the minaret in the Grande Mosque, down the fancy new oceanfront boulevard ("La Corniche"), and into delicious patisseries .

We spent a few fun days in the capital, and a highlight was hanging out with Allasane, a nice Senegalese student who was a friend of an American professor who I met in Niamey (West Africa is really quite small once you get to know it un peu!). He took us to the top of a lighthouse called La Mamelle, where we could see the whole city and Westernmost point of Africa, and we also enjoyed some tasty yassa poisson, a traditional Senegalese dish of rice and fish or chicken topped with sauteed lemon and onion sauce, together at the West African Research Center.

We also visited Ile de Gorée, an island with old colonial buildings just off the coast of Dakar. Gorée was a former holding site for captured people on the way to the Americas to become slaves, and there is an though-provoking museum there. We met a saucy lady named Mariama who slapped me on the butt when I was bargaining with her for a necklace for my mom; I ended up getting a sweet purple complet/skirt-top set, and mom even got one necklace for free! Mom, Dad, and Char: Mariama says hello, I went back to greet her when I was back on Gorée the weekend after you left.

Here's a picture of my Mom and me and Mariama when we were haggling about the price of the things we wanted to buy from her:



And here's a picture of us after we had agreed on the price and were friends again:



After Dakar we headed North with our trusty taximan Badian, a delightful dude who has seatbelts in his cab -- never see that in Niger! We got stuck in a HUGE traffic jam on our way to St. Louis because we were traveling on Mouloud, aka the Prophet's Birthday, and there were thousands of people coming back from a pilgrimage to an important mosque…wallai it was fun to see so many people in so many types of transport!

I am getting longwinded, so I'm going to resort to bullet point highlights to round out the description of our vacay:

· St. Louis is another old colonial town with a kinda weird vibe, but Char got a rockin patchwork boubou called a "baillefal"…not spelling that right but I encourage you to look up the history of the different Muslim sects in Senegal, there is definitely something about the baillefal men, I believe they are part of the Touba sect. Also, Mom got a little sick but she kept a smile on her face and got well in time to go to an awesome bird reserve, where we rode in a pirogue and learned about the environmental history of the river and ocean and spit of land (sorry I'm not so biologically-oriented, it was really cool though). We got to chill in a Mauritanian tent and drink 3 rounds of Senegalese sugary-minty tea, also excellent.

· After a few days in St.Louis, we cruised down to the Petite Cote, South of Dakar, and landed at this "funky and rustic" seaside hotel covered in seashells. The views were nice, but not everyone was a fan of the well water system, which meant showers weren't so possible (no biggy though). There was also a ridiculous amount of blatant sex tourism, which was a bit of a turnoff. Not to make light of this, it's a big issue in Senegal and the Gambia, and it's mostly white European women who fund the industry. Gross.

· Next we went to another beach town called La Somone and stayed in a nice little house with a cute pool, steps from the ocean, running water, etc., much more our style. Dad ran a lot one day, Mom did too (natch), Char and I slept a lot, and all of us got a lot of sun. It was nice to be in a quiet, not-too-touristy town, but we did enjoy going into Saly-Portugal, which is a rather luxe resort town with some nice amenities.

· On the family's last day in Senegal, we got stuck in a 3-hour traffic jam on the way back from the beach (good thing Dad wasn't driving!) and then did an awesome job getting some more colorful clothes made for Charlie and Dad by our new tailor friend.

· It was definitely sad to say goodbye to my parents and Charlie, but we had a wonderful trip and I am already looking forward to seeing them in August at home on Bainbrdige, incha'allah.

After the family left, I stayed with my cool friend Leigh, who is on an awesome yearlong grant called the Watson fellowship (watsonfellowship.org). She studying reproductive rights in four countries: Peru, South America, Senegal, and Turkey. She's almost done with her time in Dakar so she was a great tour guide for me; we took the crazy crowded car rapides (hard to explain, bus-like, painted blue and yellow, you jump in the back like you would get in a paddy wagon, you trip over people, you bang on the metal wall to get out…) and also ate the best Lebanese sandwich of my life (if you have ever been to West Africa, you know how omnipresent Lebanese cuisine is). I also had fun chilling with the Senegalese Fulbrighters, who showed me a bit of the Dakar nightlife, wallai, those Dakarois are stylish, daring fashionistas if I do say so myself! I could have done without the blasting techno music but it was a blast nonetheless.

It is great to be home in Niger, it really does feel like home here now. Next week I am "voyage-ing" out to Diffa, a stone's throw from the Chadian border, thus VERY FAR AWAY from Niamey and it will be a painful journey. More on why I am doing this next time!

Hugs to all and thanks for reading!

Maggie