Sunday, January 2, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, it is 2011 already.... Wasn't it only last year that we all celebrated the year 2000 with all that Y2K business hanging over our head???  Sure seems that way.

I have officially past the half way point of my Senegal experience.  Eight full weeks gone and seven to go... Have to be wrapping up the projects I am working on at work within the next 3 weeks because I have to spend the rest of my time pretty much travelling through the country visiting branches outside of Dakar.  Will also try and get some sight seeing in while I am at it.

Here are a few more pictures from the last couple of weeks.

The first two are of a traditional Senegalese dish - grilled fish and rice with a very tasty onion sauce called Yassa.  Lunch time at work.  One of the clients of the MFI at head office is a woman who runs a small restaurant in the neighborhood and every day they get lunch from her.  When I am there, I am always invited to join them.  We sit around this tray and share it.  It is actually a pretty interesting experience - a truly communal meal.  Although at first it seemed a little strange to me, I have gotten used to it.  When one is eating shoulder to shoulder with others out of the same tray, the whole experience of "sharing" a meal feels very real - you actually live the experience.

Everyone's ready to dig in...

Only leftovers are in front of me.  They're always telling me I eat very little.

It seems like all I am talking about is food this time around but here's a video from our New Year's Eve meal being prepared in the garden.   I am not very big on meat, but I can tell you the smell was incredible - better than the taste.



Senegal is a beautiful country with beautiful people.  They are very open, hospitable, kind, giving and quick to oblige with a smile.  Other than the mishap I had with my blackberry, I have felt nothing but safe and comfortable here.  I can't wait to get out of Dakar and see other parts of the country, where they tell me people are even nicer and life much more pleasant.  The Senegalese themselves consider life in Dakar hard, hectic and void of true Senegalese values.  Obviously, they haven't been to New York :-)))

Today, I was invited to lunch by Kande, the person I have been working with at the MFI.  He is in charge of "Social Performance," meaning the social impact of the MFI on the community.  He and his wife just moved to Dakar from the area in the south called Casamance, when he was promoted from being a branch manager to his new position at headquarters.  Kande keeps telling me how beautiful the rest of the country is - especially Casamance.  It is on my list of places to visit later on.    

Kande is in the middle with his wife on one side and his cousin on the other.  The little boy is his sister in law's son  who lives in the Bronx.  Guess what the baby's name is...... OBAMA!!!!  The white guy at the end is a Swiss friend of theirs.



Until next time....

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