In Thies, I live in an apartment with another English teacher named Noa who was in Senegal last year. Noa has introduced me to all of her Senegalese friends which means we get to eat A LOT of Senegalese food! In Senegal it is very customary to invite people to eat with you. I have been invited to people's homes for lunch, enjoyed meals at community weddings, and was even offered food when I was getting my hair braided! Many dishes are served in large metal bowls and everyone will sit around and eat from the bowl together. This is a time to share and appreciate the people around you and is a staple in Senegalise culture.
I have tried a lot of different foods while in Senegal although many dishes are very similar. Cheb (rice) is a staple so it is included in most meals. My two favorite foods that I have tried are Fataaya and Accara. Fataaya are meat or fish wrapped in dough and fried, while Accara is a bean dough that is fried and served with a spicy onion sauce. It is not uncommon for food in Senegal to be spicy, a lot of people even cook using orange habanaro peppers!
The national dish in Senegal is Thieboudienne (Cheb-oo-jen) which translates to rice and fish in Wolof and is extremely popular. I will eat it at least twice a week.
