Get out and Push.

     You can't be a Peace Corps volunteer without traveling a bit.  For us down in the beautiful and luscious region of Kolda, this usually entails hours upon hours of traveling on questionable roads. I tried unsuccessfully to find a picture, so you'll just have to use your imagination.  I'm assuming you've seen Swiss cheese.  The road kind of looks like that.  The holes can be tiny and just an irritation or they can be craters the cars literally have to drive around.  You know how in America you drive on either the right side or the left side depending on what way you're going?  In Senegal you drive wherever you can to avoid other cars, bikers, pedestrians, and donkey cars as well as giant craters.  If you come to Senegal and are prone to getting car sick even a little, don't leave Dakar.  That being said the road is not as bad as it is in Kolda throughout Senegal.  Kolda has been a little neglected in the past because it's so far away from everything, but there have been talks to fixing the road.  If this happens it would cut at least an hour off any trip if not more, and it would be a miracle.

The Best Region

      What, you ask, are the cars like?  That, my friend, is a wonderful question, and there are several different answers.  The best kind is a Peace Corps car or another NGO car.  These cars have air conditioning and are just like cars in America.  I rant and rave about how wonderful Totstan is all the time, and they only proved how truly wonderful they are by picking me up during an especially long bike ride at the hottest time of the day.  It was a wonderful ride and they are wonderful people.  

     The next best type of car is a sept place (7 places), which has 7 seats for passengers.  One lucky individual gets to sit up front with no people, while everyone else is squished in the back.  The worst seat is the very back middle, which I thankfully have never been forced to experience.  These are more expensive than other options but good for long rides (i.e. Dakar or Thies or almost anywhere from Kolda).  They fill up the car with 7 people and then just drive until you get there.  They can drop people off along the way, since some towns on the road don't have a garage, but you still have to pay the full price.

     When going to a town without a garage, you can also take what volunteers call an Alham, so named because they usually have "Alhumdulilah" written on the front.  I have no idea what these cars are actually called, which can be a problem when traveling.  In those cases I just point and get in.  These are good for short distances or if you're strapped for cash because they're cheaper.  Unfortunately they stop a lot to pick people up and drop people off and aren't as efficient.  They can also get really full.

    When in the city you can also take a taxi.  These are wonderful especially when it's really hot out or I get a nice package downtown.  I don't recommend leaning, on the doors, however, since a good bounce can unlatch the door.  My lovely friend Courtney experienced this while we were off-roading to a farm, and I haven't leaned on a door since.  (She's not dead, FYI.)

    As you might or might not have noticed from these wonderful pictures I've posted, compared to America the vehicles are a little run down.  This can sometimes make for some uncomfortable yet interesting traveling.  When traveling anywhere I give myself a whole day and try to leave as early as possible.  This may not always work, as I learned when I went to Kedagou for the 4th of July and sat waiting for my sept place to fill up for 4 hours.  Volunteers like to fill a whole car to cut down on awkwardness and waiting time, and I joined such a car on the way back from the same trip.  Unfortunately our car broke down about halfway through the trip.  Fortunately we (and by we I mostly mean the driver and the one male volunteer in our car) only had to push the car about a kilometer to the garage.  There we waited for about 2 hours while they fixed the car.  But it's ok because I got to buy Pringles in Tamba.  This being said, it IS amazing that some of these cars can still run and these mechanics are geniuses.

   So the only one I left out of my wonderful synopsis was the motorcycle.  These are banned by the Peace Corps because they are unsafe, but there are so many motos in Senegal.  They are everywhere.  They are actually pretty dangerous, especially since the roads are full or holes they have to avoid as well as sand they can slip on.  They are, however, the preferred Senegalese mode of quick transportation.  I'll stick with my bike, though, thanks.



*Disclaimer: I don't know any of these people who took these pictures personally, and found them via a Google search.  So thanks omalleyausenegal.wordpress.com (sept place) peacecorpsgray.wordpress.com (alham), and www.pbase.com (taxi).
 

Cheebu Jen and Tentalu

     What better way to kick of Ramadan than to talk about all the food not being eaten??  To all of my Muslim friends, Happy Ramadan! Let the next month of fasting from sunrise to sunset commence in peace.

     So what, you ask, do we eat over here in Senegal?  That depends, firstly, on location, and secondly on family income.

    Cheebu Jen is the national dish of Senegal.  It consists of primarily rice with fish, but if the family has the money (or a garden) also includes vegetables.  Sometimes they can add spices or a seasoning packet to the rice for an extra kick, but it can also be plain white rice.  They'll obviously gut the fish and de-scale it (that's the technical term).  The more vegetables in the bowl the more "patron" the family is, but the funny thing is not everyone even likes vegetables.  I see a carrot and I'm almost foaming at the mouth but in other bowl all of those wonderful veggies are passed on.    Eggplant, carrots, potatoes, hot peppers, bitter peppers (which I think most people don't like but people put in the bowl anyway), and and sometimes even cooked mangoes end up in this wonderful dish.  Cheb is a great dish, but with all the fish and veggies a good bowl of cheb can be pretty patron.  People in the cities tend to eat more cheb than people in the villages.

     This time of year there is a lot of mafe gerte, at least down south were I am.  This might be connected to the fact that my fathers are peanut farmers.  I love plain mafe gerte.  They grind of the peanuts and make it into a peanut sauce similar to peanut butter and then water it down.  If they're feeling adventurous they might add dried fish or tentulu, which does have health benefits.  There are other types of mafe as well, the next most popular being leaf sauce.  It's ok and can be eaten with rice or cous cous.  Crushed hot pepper on the side makes it even better.

     What is this tentalut I speak of?  It translates into palm oil.  Here comes my first conundrum as a health volunteer.  I hate tentalu.  I've tried it several times and think it is absolutely disgusting.  Unfortunately, it's actually pretty good for you.  Generally, Senegalese people LOVE tentalu. My mother was crushed when I told her I did not like it, but has since not made it when I have been home.

     Nancatay (sp?) is a new favorite.  It's rice mixed with spices and sometimes bits of dried fish.  It's good on it's own but again improved by crushed hot pepper.

     If there's some extra money or a special occasion cow, goat, sheep or chicken can be added to the dish.  I've eaten goat stomach, and once you get past the texture, it ain't too shabby.

    Those are pretty much lunch and dinner dishes, but we sometimes eat leftovers for breakfast (without meat).  There are also two types of porridges.  Gosi is a rice porridge often had with crushed peanuts, while mogni is cous cous porridge and one of my favorite things in Senegal.  You can add powdered milk or yogurt to add taste or texture.

     There are also bread stands all over the place, and here you can get a sandwich of sorts.  They will have beans, peas, mayonnaise, and sometimes eggs, which can be hard boiled or made into an omelette.  Eggs are semi-expensive though.  This can be complemented by a nice cup of cafe Touba or Nescafe, loaded with condensed milk and sugar.  It's delicious.

   While eating out, which I tend to do in Kolda since I'm so lazy, there are several wonderful items you can eat.  There are chicken plates, and plates of beef, and spring roll-esque food called nems that I devour, but the unquestionably best and most delicious is the Senegalese variation of the hamburger.  American hamburgers generally have a bun, meat patty, lettuce, tomato, onions, ketchup with French Fries on the side.  In Senegal it's a little different.  Here there's also mayo (surprise!), an egg, and French fries inside the burger.  Take my work for it, it's delicious.

    Well, that's about it folks.  If you have any questions at all feel free to comment or email me at kimberly.a.boland@gmail.com and I'll try to answer them directly or in the next post!

Jam tan.