Weekend in Kayar

For our December monthly excursion the SeneGALS (including Devin) and I went on a three day trip to Kayar, a small coastal fishing village about an hour north of Dakar. We were accompanied by our chaperone, Ibrahim, who is the best, and always spoils us with snacks courtesy of American Councils. Our chauffeur dropped us at the village and we loaded our luggage and selves onto the back of two horse pulled wagons until we arrived at our respective houses in Kayar.    

When I first met my host family they warmly greeted me and my host mom introduced me to the other family members as “her daughter”. She is the mother of five with the oldest being twenty and the youngest about two. For lunch they fed me salad made with locally caught sardines and vinaigrette. The main dish was mafé which is rice and lamb with a peanut sauce. I enjoyed the conversations with my parents and my uncle because we talked about Trump and how there is a growing perception that his new foreign policies are making it even more difficult for people to immigrate or even visit the US. After speaking with my host dad in Dakar and doing research on my own I was unable to find any specific policy changes done by the President. My Dakar dad said that it has always been difficult to immigrate especially for the poor and less educated. It made me realize the privilege of being American that allows us to travel to other countries with relative ease. I also enjoyed talking to my Kayar dad about his job as a traditional doctor where he uses herbal remedies and teachings from the Koran to heal people. He was very interested in learning English and eagerly asked me to translate various things in the house into English.

    I observed that my host family in Kayar had very little compared to what I was used to in the US and even in comparison to Dakar. Despite this, they welcomed me into their home and shared what they had. The kitchen was all of two propane canisters in an open courtyard, the bathroom was a small room with a hole in the ground, and my room consisted of a foam mattress they put in the living at night that I shared with my sister. When I bathed that night she heated up a pot of water for me to take a bucket shower. It is easy for someone accustomed to western standards of living to assume that life in an African village is all struggle and unhappiness but they would be wrong. When the usual luxuries were taken away I realized how little I needed to be happy and enjoy myself. I ate delicious food, had insightful conversations with the locals, and made long lasting memories and relationships with people, all without wifi. The experience was very humbling and showed me how people live happy lives without all the ubiquitous luxuries of the US. I was slightly bummed when informed that there was no wifi available anywhere but ultimately I am thankful for the weekend to disconnect from social media. I was able to really focus on myself and the other people around me, and truly live in the moment.

    After lunch we went on a walk along the beach and watched the villagers smoke fish. They laid out rows of fish on the ground and then covered them with ash and hot coals for smoking. Then they placed the fish in salt from the Lac Rose (a salt lake that we visited previously) and let it rest for a while to kill all the microbes. We continued walking along the beach until we ran across a market full of hustling people buying and selling goods. When we returned to our host families for the evening we then had dinner. I had a delicious meal of locally caught fish, salad, and french fries.

The next day my host family made me a breakfast of eggs and coffee. Then I met up with the cohort to go to on a “balade” (French for “a stroll”). We rode in a wagon to a farm first and looked at their irrigation system. Ibrahim managed a bit of Wolof small talk with a couple of farmers after which we continued on to the beach where we hung around and played some American football. That evening we went into the “city” part of the village and watched a theater production. It was neat because the theater was outside and the audience sat on mats laid on the sand. After dinner that night we hung out with Brittany’s host siblings on the terrace where we played songs on guitar and freestyled rap/songs in English, French, and Wolof. The sky was so clear that I could see millions of stars, possibly the most I’ve ever seen. We stayed out well past 12am. When I went back to my house everyone was asleep and didn’t answer the door so I slept over at Brittany’s which was five minutes away. I felt that we became a lot closer as friends that night because we stayed up till 6am just talking about religion, existentialism, evolution, etc. Even though we have different views on the subjects we were both accepting of the other’s opinions which allowed us to express ourselves freely and learn about the other’s beliefs.

    On our last day we went to the beach again but this time spent most of our time swimming in the ocean. Ever since I was little I have always loved playing in the surf, wave jumping and body surfing. I love diving under big waves, feeling the rush of chaos above me, and when all is clear coming up unscathed. I also love positioning myself perfectly just before the crash of the wave so that I can ride the top of it. I feel nostalgic and connected to nature because this is the same Atlantic Ocean that I have spent so many summers swimming in. After swimming we explored an old abandoned hotel. The architecture was beautiful and it made me sad to see it abandoned and falling apart. I hope one day I’ll be rich enough to buy it, fix it up, and pretend I’m living the life of Donna in Mamma Mia. At the end of the day we said goodbye to our host families and left to return to Dakar. It was sad leaving and I wish we could have stayed another day or two. I hope we get to go back and visit later on in the program. The trip opened my eyes to so much and I was able to reflect a lot on life, my self, and my role as a host student and a member of the world at large.