A Reverie on Snowflakes and Squash

  I have been seeing my friends writing about snow on their facebook walls all day...I am so jealous.  If there is one thing I will miss being in Dakar, it is the changing of the seasons. I have already accepted that Autumn has passed me by.  No crisp apples off of the trees, nor red leaves lying on the ground for me to collect and press in my numerous anthologies, dictionaries and thesauri.  I was green with envy today when I read about the snow hitting the East Coast.  I am fully expecting some snow when I come home in December, even if I do freeze my butt off because it is so warm here! Unfortunately I will not get to catch any of the "good" winter snowflakes on my tongue since I will be leaving again January 1...Lucy from Peanuts warns the viewer of "Charlie Brown's Christmas" about the sub-par quality of December snowflakes, *sigh*.  And for the record, Lucy made no comment on October snowflakes, I cannot imagine she would have much to say, and if she did, it would be sassy.

 

I suppose the one benefit of living in Dakar is the ever-present array of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Soon mango season will be wrapping up, but let's be serious, I'm allergic anyway!  In place of mangoes, Senegalese oranges will flood the market and I will sit back waiting for the first mangoes to arrive from the south in May. To counterbalance the good fortune of fresh fruit all year round, I will find myself missing squash: spaghetti, butternut, acorn, buttercup, mother hubbard; you name it, I have cooked it in some form.  I stocked up on squash at the Geneva farmer's market last fall for fear that I would be broke in January and my only source of veggies would be a squash...you would imagine my surprise when after one of our band-in-basement parties my darling mother hubbard was in the rafters!  I do not know how it got there, but I guess she got her boogie on before I got my boogie on by cooking it up in a squash stew, yum!

 

 On the vein of fruits and vegetables I was reminded of this classic William Carlos Williams poem, enjoy! And remember, I will actually be able to eat ripe plums when you are pulling out the tomato sauce you canned in August and the squash you stored away in September, mwahaha!

 

William Carlos Williams

This Is Just to Say 

 

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold 


Also, if Becca reads this, I probably could have written a similar poem of apology every time I stumbled across your mother's pesto in the fridge...I just could NOT help myself, I am so weak, haha.

When Death Comes- Mary Oliver

 When Death Comes

When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps his purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering;
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth
tending as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was a bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.

Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver, easily my favorite poet, has left me with a poem to ponder.  By the end of this year I expect my copy of New and Selected Poems: Volume One will be quite tattered. I do not consider myself a visitor to this world, and it was my uncle who taught me long ago the importance of a smile. Love.

Two friendly visitors at Aunt Pam and Uncle Fred's house, summer 2011

 My Uncle Fred was an avid photographer and part of the reason I ever studied photography all through high school.  Some of his old photographs on his long-since updated website: http://afoodexperience.net/Gallery/albums.php

The Layers- Stanley Kunitz

Something I have been pondering all evening...

The Layers

Stanley Kunitz

I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp_sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
Yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat,
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
"Live in the layers,
not on the litter."
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I am not done with my changes.

Stanley Kunitz is one of my "go to" poets when my mind is heavy... an old NPR interview with Kunitz, enjoy: http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2001/mar/010330.kunitz.html

When Words Are Not Enough...

Many things in life are inexplicable, senseless and even if I sat pondering them for the remainder of my days I would never have an answer.  The sudden passing of my Uncle Fred yesterday morning is one of these events. 

A countless number of my college (and post-college) friends heard about how amazing and wonderful my Uncle Fred was before I even mentioned my parents.  Even before I could feed myself I would have proudly stated that of all my extended family members, my Uncle Fred was my favorite, no questions asked, point blank.  Thanksgiving was always a favorite time of year for me because it meant my Uncle Fred (and his dog Tasha) would be arriving, and later, once he met and married my Aunt Pam, she also became a distinguished guest at our feast. And if you want a glimpse into my Uncle Fred's humor, Thanksgiving 2010 we ended our evening watching Friday and my Uncle was just baffled my brothers and I had never seen such a clutch 90s movie...I think the best thing I chose to do was go to school only about a 30-minute drive from my Uncle Fred and Aunt Pam's house.  On the occasion I would escape the undergrad grind of work by visiting my Aunt and Uncle and eating spectacular food.

Uncle Fred could cook up some of the best dishes I have ever eaten, something my dad would probably attest to the fact that their mother was a sub-par cook...even I remember the time she screwed up Ramen noodles, ha!  This summer, post-grad, living and working in the same I area I went to school, I made sure to visit my Uncle Fred and Aunt Pam on multiple occasions.  These meals involved ice cream or cheese (I think a lemberger rosé as well) and then an assortment of delicious food and wine.  When I say my Uncle Fred knew food and wine, I think his food blog is enough proof: http://afoodexperience.net/  I could always find myself chatting about the local wine industry, travel, boys, academics, my parents for hours with my Uncle Fred.  If there was anyone who could plant a seed in my brain for me to ponder, it was him.  I suppose I have a garden (or more a field, since I have a strong preference for wildflowers) of thoughts and ideas I can attribute to him, which is certainly a comforting thing to know.  As I said in my previous blog post, when times like these come about I am much happier being older, I have so many excellent memories of my Uncle Fred and I just wish we could have both been older when he passed away.

My Uncle Fred was battling cancer for nearly a year and his body took a turn for the worst the other day.  I could sit and ponder big questions like, "why him?" or "why so young?" for days, but I find myself at ease in my heart because I know Uncle Fred was not someone to just walk through life, he seized it and made the best of it.  How many times did he assure me that he was hopeful everything would turn out alright, even while he was in pain.  One of the happiest moments from this summer was when I went over to my Aunt and Uncle' house shortly after my Uncle Fred had just received very good news about his health...we settled down on their porch overlooking Canandaigua lake and drank both the rosé I had brought and Chardonnay supplied by them.  I was so hopeful that everything was really okay.  Unfortunately, a short time later bad news arrived again, yet my Uncle Fred was ready to head it off.

He made me promise him (on more than one occasion) that I would not be at the center of any international incidents, and as my previous blog post suggests, I will never break this promise.  Keuka College posted a nice blurb about my beloved Uncle http://news.keuka.edu/featured-story/in-loving-memory-frederic-l-hoyle#comments and I can only thank those who commented for saying such kind things and sharing wonderful memories.


If there is one image I keep coming back to it is my Uncle Fred laughing and slightly shaking his head at something I have just said...I cannot fathom how much I am going to miss you in the coming weeks, months, and years. As the title to this blog post suggests, words are not enough right now...I love you.

I Will Never, Ever Break My Promise: No International Incidents

I suppose the toughest part of being away from home is when bad news hits.  Just a bit ago this very thing happened.  However, being who I am, even with tears streaming and my mind spinning, trying to grasp the sanity of life (which I often am convinced does not exist) I know I must stay positive.  There is so much to be sad about in this world; so I will respect the somber moments I live and continue to open my eyes every morning remembering all the joy that I have seen, will continue to experience and without a doubt experience once again.

I am inserting below part of Mary Oliver's "University Hospital, Boston" as I keep my family in my thoughts.  As I spoke to my mother earlier she asked me if I did not wish to be a child again when life is tough; as a child, life is just simpler.  I responded that it was, indeed, nice to be a child, but as we get older we amass a wealth of memories and moments we would never have discovered and lived through if we always stayed young. I would not give these moments up for the world. I love you.

I look into your eyes
which are sometimes green and sometimes gray,
and sometimes full of humor, but often not,
and tell myself, you are better,
because my life without you would be
a place of parched and broken trees.
Later, walking the corridors down to the street,
I turn and step inside an empty room.
Yesterday someone was here with a gasping face.
Now the bed is made all new,
The machines have been rolled away. The silence
continues, deep and neutral,
as I stand there, loving you.

What I would do to be where I want to be and where I need to be right now.

The Ants Attack! (Part Two...)

I will first acknowledge that there is no other post called "The Ants Attack!" anywhere on this blog.  Why then would I create a part two? Well, quite simply because they have now attacked twice.  Usually when you think of ants attacking it involves a picnic basket and some little black insects walking away with your veggies perched on their backs, little thieves! Believe it or not I would prefer those thieves to what I am stuck with: hungry perverts.  Sounds a bit harsh? Well what would you say if you found ants eating you underwear?! Especially the lacy, cute pairs of underwear you spent too much money on?! Ugh! I am so disgusted! Both angry and I think it is disgusting! Below you can see the damage they have done to a not cute pair of underwear, so unfortunate.

These mofos do NOT know who they are messing with!

The book in the back was necessary so you could how much of my underwear they ate...I guess American cotton tastes good, but let's be serious, these are totally imported from another country! Let's check...yes, there it is, Macau, my undies from Macau have become a much sought after dessert, or maybe dinner, I am not an ant.

I discovered this unfortunate news when I did some laundry the other day. I went to wash my underwear and low and behold some dead ants appeared in my bucket of water.  Ants do not just come out of sinks, so I knew something was up...and then I found the answer to my mystery...five tiny brown ants clinging to a pair of VS with pure fear in their eyes! I let them off with a warning, shaking them out my window, but clearly I was too kind.  They returned and this time I spared no time running to get my bottle of Yotox (a necessary weapon against all forms of squirmy, gross insects).  Hopefully now that my armoire and surrounding walls have be doused in bug poison my underwear and my mind can rest easy.

The Bagel- David Ignatow

I stopped to pick up the bagel
rolling away in the wind,
annoyed with myself
for having dropped it
as if it were a portent.
Faster and faster it rolled,
with me running after it
bent low, gritting my teeth,
and I found myself doubled over
and rolling down the street
head over heels, one complete somersault
after another like a bagel
and strangely happy with myself.

*I stumbled across the Library of Congress website, which has a section with a poem a day for the academic year, some really good stuff! http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/062.html

Also, some info on the poet: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/777

Enjoy! And what I would do for an everything bagel right now...om nom nom

Lazy Days are Good Days

I am sitting here wanting to write an update and the stark reality hits me...my life really is not all that interesting...

Since I last updated my blog I have begun working with both the students I tutor and my work day is now 11 hours.  As long as I am not working more than 12 hours I am happy, and I really do enjoy working with both of the students.  However, I have realized through this job that I could never permanently be a teacher.  I like working with kids, they are nice, funny and do the weirdest things, but they are still draining.  It is also satisfying to see them succeed, but it is not a job that is particularly rewarding for me.  Granted, I am also the teaching assistant, which puts me in a different position, I get to grade all the homework, oof :(

Even though I have realized teaching is not a long term goal of mine, the application to be an ETA in France went up this week so I will start that!  You learn a lot from kids, so working with them for one or two more years will great and then it will be time to figure other things out...

Look at Rafiki's eyes! Pure EVIL!

Monday I had the much appreciated day off and went to explore a new beach in Dakar.  I went to Ile de Ngor with one of my co-workers, Megan and we had a fun day exploring.  Ile de Ngor is a very small island with a pretty small beach, fortunately it was not a national holiday this week, just an ISD holiday so the beach was essentially empty.  We found this "pool" on the far side of the island that is covered in rocks. At some point someone had built up a circular enclosure with cement and rocks next to the ocean so every time a wave hit some water came in through a hole and some got pulled out. It was really relaxing just to chill there. I also found an awesome shell in that pool, I do not know what it is called, but I have seen pictures of them :)

I ended Monday on the sandy beach and the scooted off to tutor my 6th grader since the rest of the Dakar still had school/work and she goes to a different international school...

Being that yesterday was Saturday I spent the day not doing much of anything, cleaning, sleeping, writing letters...but as the afternoon rolled on I had an urge just to sit on my balcony and people watch.  I am a huge fan of people watching, simply because people are ridiculous!  There was a nice breeze, it was not too hot, what a perfect afternoon to do nothing!


Time to be lazy on a Sunday, but I may stop at the African Renaissance statue on my way home from tutoring in an hour. I see it all the time, but I have never visited it, so I think it is about time! It certainly is big, so I will get a work out just from walking up and down the steps!
Well, I am off before I am late to tutor, happy Sunday!

Oh yea, check out this interesting blog I saw on my friend's facebook wall...if you are offended, sorry? This person just has it spot on! http://gurlgoestoafrica.tumblr.com/

I Think I May Have Died and Gone to Hell!

In an earlier post I bragged about not being phased by power cuts or water cuts in Dakar...any other day than today I would probably still say that, however, I felt as though Dante's Virgil sidled up beside me and brought me down to Hell today (I know, Dante's Hell was cold). I went to bed last night with no running water and almost all of my back-up water bottles empty. I had watered my plants two days ago and never refilled my plastic bottles, leaving it for the weekend. Unfortunately I missed the memo that they would be doing pipe work today and I had just enough water to keep by my toilet...for those of you unfamiliar with "How Julia lives in Senegal," I will let you in on a secret, toilet paper is not on my list of priorities. In the US, I am a huge fan of Cottonelle, but in West Africa it is impolite to use your left hand, I bet you can guess why! I am chuckling just imaging the reactions some of you are probably having right now...

Senegalese Taxi

Car Rapide

 So anyway, I had to ask my neighbors for water in my sweaty, stinky state around noon when I could no longer stand my own stench and the fact that I was, indeed, getting a shower sitting in my bedroom, I was literally bathing sweat. GROSS! But alas, it was 91˚ yet again today, and my power cut out around 9 AM so I did not even have my fan to keep me cool. My morning was filled with letter writing and reading short stories, during which I fell in love with Gabriel García Márquez's, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, yet again. If you do not know the story, it is a beautiful study of human nature, http://salvoblue.homestead.com/wings.html. When I finally did get my shower I still did not want to leave my apartment due to the awful heat and the traffic around my apartment.  The pipe work has a traffic detour passing by my apartment, which I also blame for the heat today...there were buses, car rapides and taxis going past all day spurting their diesel fumes through my windows, how rude! Oh well, by Monday traffic should be back to normal and I have the day off, so I am a happy camper :)

I am someone that can easily get carried away, but I have learned to laugh at myself during and after these wild moments of flailing arms and trying to do fifty things at once. Today was one of those days.  When my water turned back on at 7 PM I was ecstatic, I just could not control myself. I sprinted around my apartment dancing to James Brown for about five minutes, remembered how hot I was, stopped and then just stared at my spigots...when the water cuts out it is recommended that you wait about 30 minutes before using it. I did not want to risk another weird skin fungus so I grumpily sat in the heat as Rafiki jumped all over me.  After about 20 more minutes I started to greedily fill up all of my empty water bottles. In a moment of madness I somehow knocked over my 5 gallon water jug and spilled water all over my bathroom, so typical.  Fortunately, I laughed at myself and played with Rafiki in the water for a minute until he realized himself and the fact that cats are not supposed to like water.  He promptly left the bathroom. Cats are so fickle, but we had fun while it lasted...

Tomorrow I start tutoring my 6th grader, I hope that she is nice, but we all know how moody middle school girls can be...my mom is definitely laughing at that sentence and would add "high school and college girls too," HA!

Jasmeen & I Making Our Pots at Sobobade Last Weekend

I am still on the hunt for a good bottle of wine in Dakar, and I am coming to the conclusion that I will never find it...a very sad realization.  SO if you want to be bad ass and do something illegal, MAIL ME WINE! I would love you forever, although I would also love you if you did not mail me illegal things and just became my pen pal :)  That being said, if you want to mail me things, below is my address:

Julia Hoyle
s/c ISD
BP 5136
Dakar, Senegal

(There are no zip codes in Senegal, so this is, in fact, my entire address)

Mail me things! Wine, Parmesan cheese, and Reese's peanut butter cups being some favorites :D

People Say I'm Crazy, I Got Diamonds On the Soles of My Shoes...

It was a Paul Simon night, along with various camp songs for the Quaker camp I went to, Camp Onas. I just felt like skipping around my apartment this evening and Rafiki curled up in a ball, allowing me to do whatever I liked without making figure eights around my feet. I think he was just ecstatic that for the first time since I took him in I bought him dried cat food, Whiskas for my kitty! I wish they had meow mix, then I could have hummed the commercial while feeding him. I am huge believer in singing to plants and pets (go ahead, think I am crazy) if for no other reason than it releases good vibes in the air, which then lead to healthy plants and animals :)

So what song was I serenading Rafiki with this evening? Well after many bits and pieces of Alicia Keys' songs, my iTunes bumped into Paul Simon.  Paul Simon is someone whose brilliance I did not truly discover until my senior year of college! Credit to my Summer House sisters for making me fall in love with the Graceland album...so the song of the evening was "I Know What I Know," such a great song!

I just had such a wonderful day again today! And I have another student to tutor! The student is in the 6th grade at another international school in Dakar and I will be working with her five times a week.  I am so excited to work with her and there is the added benefit of my rent now being covered by my monthly pay for tutoring two students, hooray!

Now onto my "funnies" section for this blog post...given that I used to run NARAL: Pro-Choice on my Colleges' (yes, I used that apostrophe correctly!) campus as a student, the following comic should come of no surprise to any of you...now you may begin to understand my humor if it was ever lost on you....

It is becoming a bit late for this old lady now and I need to keep up with two classes of 4th graders tomorrow, so sleep is calling me. I will share one last song with you while I wrap this up, one that I learned at camp much before I ever know the original artist and I have had every word memorized since I was 10 (although, there are not too many words).
Enjoy, and sleep well in America! Be envious of my 80˚ room temperature right now, I even have humidity to go with it! Is this not the life?

*Sigh* I just love this song...

Sometimes Things Just Fall in Place...

Missing my Summer House Sisters

I never thought that I would get this into writing a blog, but I am! Even if everyone that reads it is bored to death, I am not too concerned, haha. I will have an awesome collection of thoughts and stories to look back on several months from now!

Today was a very productive day, which is apparent in not only everything that I got done, but how by awful I smell...I may have to pause this post at some point for a shower, it is that bad. I suppose that is what happens after yet another day of 90˚ heat with 80% humidity, yay hot season! As soon as I leave school I no longer have air conditioning, so my short walk home is always a stinky, sweaty, red-faced one, which usually leads to my apartment and no further.  However, today I finally decided to hunt down the whereabouts of IQRA (an Islamic school) in my neighborhood.  For a few years I kept saying that I will start learning Arabic and the time has never presented itself.  This time, however, I have plenty of time and I am living in a Muslim country, so the timing is perfect! Tomorrow I start one-on-one Arabic lessons with an older Senegalese woman at the school around 4:30pm.  I will have a full day since until 4:15 I will be volunteering at the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program where I work (look at me being pro-active post-college) and I will have to scoot off to my neighborhood to start my lessons.

I am very excited to learn how to write my name in Arabic and equally excited to have a tutoring gig of my own! I will be working with one of the 4th grade misfits that by June will easily have a spot on my list of "favorite students".  I know teachers should not have favorites, but let's be serious...He is  a student I know is smart, but he cannot stay focused on his work and no one at home is there to help him do so...now he is my task! I will make him a better student by the end of the year and I will catch him up with his peers. So not only do I get to work with a great child, but I also earn half my rent doing it (yay!) so this is certainly a cloud with a silver lining :)


Nothing else exciting happened today, just relaxed this evening and I will probably call it an early night so I have plenty of energy to take on the 4th graders tomorrow! I would like to shout out a kudos to New York Wineries everywhere, and of course, Fox Run Vineyards in particular.  The New York Times had a great article about the region, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/dining/from-the-finger-lakes-seriously-good-wines.html?_r=3&emc=eta1 what I would do for a nice glass of dry riesling right now...*sigh*...such is living in the land of 1500CFA (about $3) wine, which is not labeled with a vintage, nor region where the grapes were grown or produced.

Just substitute "New York" in place of "California" and this is me...

Why It is Good to Leave America: The Music.

I suppose this update is about how wonderful so many African artists are, yet how overlooked they are by the US in particular. Of course, if you seek out new music or "world" music you have hopefully, at the very least, heard of Youssou N'Dour.  Unfortunately,  I know that many music junkies would not even know this name, easily the most well-known of all the artists I will mention.  In the following blog I will list out my top 5 favorite (overwhelmingly West) African artists and which labels signed them. Hopefully you will find something new and your music collection with thus be expanded a few more albums...

1. Asa: She is a Nigerian singer, signed to Naïve Records (Carla Bruni and Pink Martini are signed to this label as well), which is based out of Paris. She uses both English and Yoruba in her songs and has very powerful, human messages in her music. I chose to sing her song, "Fire on the Mountain," for my senior solo in Three Miles Lost this past spring. Even though I have listened to the song what feels like a bagillion times, I still am entranced by the lyrics, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jIhNOrVG58&NR=1  Asa has released two albums, the first of which is self-named Asa and her new release Beautiful Imperfection. She has done some work with another one of my favorites Tiken Jah Fakoly, who you will read about shortly...She does not have one song that I am not in love with.

2. Salif Keïta: He is a Malian singer, signed to Universal Records.  Salif Keïta is very well-known around the world. His fame is comparable to Youssou N'Dour and he uses rhythms in his music that make me dance! Even if I wanted to sit still, it would not be possible! Two of my favorite songs are "Tekere" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eGAa-rfR_g and "Africa" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXYgCf24z5M (note: I cannot hear YouTube videos on my computer thanks to Rafiki, so I hope these links work okay!) Salif Keïta uses a mix of French, Bambara and the occaisonal English in his songs and he deserves the fame and following that he has. I also just discovered that he is a descendant of Soundjata Keïta, while writing this paragraph.  Soundjata is credited with founding the Malian Empire centuries ago and there is a book published by (maybe?) Presence Africaine that tells the story of Soundjata...there is an English translation too! Another interesting fact is that he is albino, something which was looked down upon in his culture, but look how famous he is now!

3. Wasis Diop: Is a Senegalese singer now living in France and if I am not mistaken (which I may) he is producing under the label ...ThinkZik!... He has managed to break away from the music typically produced by Senegalese artists and each of his songs reflects the art he brings to his music.  Wasis Diop's music has been used in several well-known Senegalese films and his name is known throughout Senegal. I am partiuclarly fond of waking up to "Automobile Mobile" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47ptR-yzmo and I have a soft spot for his song "Julia" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NORw0l0WpM, wonder why?! He mixes French, Wolof and English to make some beautiful music!

4. Tiken Jah Fakoly: A singer from the Ivory Coast who is the voice and brains behind many moving reggae beats.  He signed to the Barclay record label, which is a subdivision of Universal.  And I believe that he may have played in New York City late this past summer...you are SO lucky if you went...I am very jealous! My favorite song of his is the one which he collaborated with Asa on, "Political War" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6d940Couc and this is one of many songs with a strong political message.  Another song which I absolutely love is "Il Faut Se Lever" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCmY1lcPvgo&ob=av3e . I am biased when it comes to his music, and when you listen to his songs, you become aware that his lyrics are also the words of the youth in Africa right now.  For how many centuries has Africa been used for the interests of other nations? Too many...il faut se lever...it is time to rise up (not that I support violent revolutions, but I do support claiming one's country as their own, not just being an agent of someone else). He uses French, English and Dioula in his music.

5. Youssou N'Dour: An extremely famous Senegalese singer, known for mbalax (if you have ever been to Senegal you know what mbalax is...) a style of music and dance, which is often credited to Youssou N'Dour. I believe the current label he is signed to is Nonesuch, but he has been around so long I am not certain. He is easily more famous than the president and has even released a Senegalese cookbook, which it is only a matter of time before I buy, haha. He grew up in the neighborhood of Medina in Dakar, which is about 15 minutes from where I live. A favorite song of mine is from his album Dakar-Kingston, "Diarr Diarr" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE0Pm7F0OnQ&feature=related Youssou N'Dour also uses French, Wolof and English in his songs.

A few more artists to check out: Amadou & Mariam, Brenda Fassi, Awadi, Toumani Diabaté, and Lucky Dube.

Aside from the long music post, my past few days were graced by a teacher's retreat to Toubab Dialaw, about one hour outside of Dakar.  I HAD HOT WATER, which means I was irresponsible by taking six showers in 48 hours, and I did not feel bad about it...I will not have hot water until I am home in December, so I was going to take advantage of the opportunity! I spent the weekend relaxing by the pool at the hotel and the beach which was directly next to our hotel. I ate some delicious food, and it was so difficult to go back to work Monday. On the positive side of things, this coming weekend will be a long weekend! I cannot complain, I just hope I stay healthy and none of the booger-y kids give me their germs, ew.

I will leave you with a map of country until next time, just in case you were wondering where in the world I am in Senegal. Please say that last sentence to the Carmen Sandiego theme song...

Let’s Throw Some Okra in That…

What does a lazy evening at my apartment mean? Well, aside from taking a nap when I come home and cuddling with my fluff, it means experimenting while cooking! Of course, there are two things holding me back: my lack of cooking equipment and my often lack of electricity.  If only my building had a generator…ah well, no harm in dreaming. When my electricity came on about an hour ago (I am now sitting in darkness writing this) I decided to experiment with the 5 pieces of okra I bought yesterday. Coming from the North East, okra is not something I grew up with, and I have a funny feeling my dad does not like it, but I could be thinking of someone else. Either way, I bought a small amount of the veggie since I know I like it in the gumbo here (called “soupekandia” in Wolof).  Now this evening was not the moment to attempt my own soupekandia, it was time to just practice cooking okra first!  I asked the woman who sold it to me in the street how to cook it…her lacking French skills and my lacking Wolof made this conversation an interesting one. In the end I deduced that I needed to boil the okra, then throw it in oil to cook it.  If this is not the “proper” way to cook okra, je m’en fou! It tasted good, and I love the goopy-ness okra gives a stew, yum! Goop!

Of course, this would not be an average experience in Senegal if something minute, but odd still happened, like losing power while cooking.  Fortunately, this was not the first time this has happened to me, a few times I have had my fingers crossed that my rice cooks thoroughly.  However, this was my first time cooking my main dish when the power cuts.  As I learned as a child growing up in a kitchen with an electric stove, electric cooking surfaces stay hot for some time, and everything from my okra, to my garlic and potatoes was cooked to perfection! I think one of those intense cooking shows should drop their chefs into kitchens in Senegal…I would love to see them flounder with no oven, minimal cooking surface, and less than adequate power/cooking supplies! The test of a truly great chef!

My rechargeable lamp for blackouts!

For anyone concerned about the discovery of my ringworm yesterday let me say two things, 1) ringworm is not a worm, just a fungus, kind of like athlete’s foot, except it is on my leg. And to my relief cannot spread to “mucus-y” areas, you know what that means…your mouth of course! 2) I have cream to get rid of it…so to my mom and dad, no worries, it should be cleared up in two weeks! Meanwhile it sounds totally gross and will not spare a chance to tell a good friend that I am infected with ringworm!

And for those of you half-informed about what I could possibly be doing in Dakar, I am a 4^th grade teaching assistant at an international school.  I realized that I never acknowledged why I was here in my first post! But, of course, if you know me well, why would you ever be surprised that I have wandered away from the US? I mean, I’ll be back, but traveling is without doubt part of what makes me Julia!

My project for the year is to create a book club for the 4^th graders.  Really, it is an excuse for me to re-read all of the books that I loved as a kid and have not read for at least ten years.  To my delight, the kids love it! Recently, I was enraptured by The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg.  I have been reminded over the past several weeks how wonderful my childhood books were and that the length, difficulty and density of a text is far from making it good.  Chester Cricket described perfectly my current emotions about missing autumn in Upstate New York, “I guess I'm just feeling Septemberish. It's getting towards Autumn now. And it's so pretty up in (New York). All the trees change color. The days get very clear--with a little smoke on the horizon from burning leaves." Even though I may be nostalgic for autumn, I remind myself that it is just one of those things that you need to miss once in awhile to realize how enchanting it is. I found an old leaf pressed in my French dictionary when I arrived here, so I guess I do have a little piece of autumn, it is hanging on my wall. And if you are interested, here is a link for a short clip from the 1970s cartoon movie, The Cricket in Times Square: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28cri_cricketmusic_shortfilms

Oh yea, fun fact: I am published along with the other amazing women in my Women’s Studies senior seminar, time to update the CV! If you are interested in reading the article along with an intro by our professor, colonel (yes, it is an inside joke…) and friend click here: http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.com/2011fall/2011fall_students.php

Just got a skirt made with this fabric :)

If you did not follow my directions from my last blog post about drinking some red wine, I’ll forgive you, just do it tonight, okay? And I guess white is alright too, just as long as it is not Chardonnay.

Nothing Like Ringworm to Make You Miss Home...

I have been living in Senegal since August 12 and what a wild (almost) two months it has been! Fortunately, I can finally say "I feel settled!" and what a wonderful feeling it is :)


I am living in one of the nicest neighborhoods of Dakar, it is called Mermoz.  My exact location is Sautrec (spelling?) Mermoz as opposed to Fenêtre Mermoz, which is right next to the ocean...I am not so lucky, but from my rooftop I have an awesome view of the sunset over the Atlantic, so no complaints. Living in Mermoz is an ideal location for work, safety, a tailor, food, essentially anything I could need on short notice.  I like to brag that right across the street from me is the Embassy of Madagascar...I can spy on them if I want to, which I don't, so it really just a fun fact! I am without doubt in my mind that I will never again in my life live across the street from an embassy, particularly a country as cool as Madagascar.


My apartment is a nice size for myself and my furry roommate, Rafiki, a 3 or 4 month-old kitten I took in from the streets.  Not surprising that just today it was confirmed that I have ringworm on my leg...thanks little guy! If only he was not so cute, *sigh*...

Rafiki peeking over my shoulder!

Nothing too wild has happened yet, which is okay with me, just settling in, but my previous time in Senegal also mentally prepared me for what was ahead. I will list out all of the things I have been missing over the past two months:


-Being the student, not the teacher
-Trees changing color
-Chardonnay grapes off the vine (after the initial harvest of course!)
-Cider
-Washing machines (I do all my laundry by hand: bucket, powdered soap, bar soap, and arm muscle, rawr!)
-Hot water...what I would do for a hot shower! Or even better, a bath!
-Orange juice
-Bacon, egg, and cheese (on a manager's special bagel from DD)
-Iced coffee
-GOOD, FREE WINE...and it being acceptable to drink with your co-workers everyday after work
-Wild flowers
-Baseball
-A real mattress...oh yes, I have downgraded from my free futon
-Electricity being a given, not a maybe, perhaps, might not have, probably not right now...
-Snoopy
-My snazzy bike David got me for my graduation gift...not to worry, it will be my mode of transport next summer!
-And all of the wonderful, magnificent people I have been missing in The States (and a few who are also gallivanting around the globe)

Yassa Poisson

Not to worry my reader, the above list may be long, but everything that is wonderful here could make an equally long list (or almost equally long list).  I suppose that almost all recent graduates have a similar experience of trying to find a place to call "home".  I had the interesting circumstance of calling Geneva, NY my home and then being offered a job in Dakar that I had applied to a while back...what a whirlwind July and August were trying to get all the paperwork and tickets sorted out. And in the end I would never change my decision to come here. If there is one thing I believe in more than many others, it is the importance of pushing oneself mentally.  I did this for four years (well, really my whole life) by shoving my nose in books and questioning the way the world is, picking and choosing which political and social theories to interact with.  I suppose I am now pushing myself mentally in a new way.  My way of life in Dakar is much simpler than that of the average American...no hot water, electricity for about 12 hours a day, a two burner hot-plate stove (no power, no cooking), one frying pan, one pot for rice and pasta, a 15-centimeter foam mattress pad and two suitcases of clothes and essentials until June. This is by no means a "hard life," which makes me realize how spoiled and overindulged Americans are...lack of electricity for a few days never hurt anyone. Some days I do not have running water, but I always have back up in case I get too stinky and just need to shower!! Or for the more essential use, drinking. I am trying to create a "home away from home," leaving my comfort in the Finger Lakes for Dakar...each red leaf falling off of a tree overlooking Seneca Lake marks a day closer to me being home, it will be a bittersweet sensation when June rolls around.


Of course, the world is always spinning and I have been thinking about my plans for next year.  I will be applying to the Teaching Assistant program in France for next school year. It is a 7-month program, October 1-April 30, so wish me luck! I believe that the application is going up this week, I cannot wait to start working on it!! Needless to say, I intend to be a bit wanderlust for a couple of years, always returning to my home base of Geneva, NY. I am not such a Philly girl at heart after all, but more of a woman of the wildflowers (I particularly like queen anne's lace, although some will claim it is a weed, smh).  I suppose while I am gone the flowers will be too, but I will always return home with the warm summer breeze carrying fireflies, sweet aromas of berries waiting to be picked and trails to be hiked, all lined with wild lilies, queen anne's lace and the onion grass I pick just to stink up my hands :)


I am wildly nostalgic, so do me a favor, drink a glass of something yummy, dry and red for me! The 1500 CFA ($3 a bottle) Côtes du Rhône just is not cutting it...


Time to dance around my apartment like an idiot...BECAUSE I LIVE ALONE! I think Pam may have given me this album awhile back... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2o6buiDlfo

Hydrobase, Saint Louis...I cheated, this photo is from when I studied abroad in Senegal