Begg na lekk? (Do you want food?)
In Senegal, meals are a time to create community and can often last three hours. In traditional Senegalese culture, food is served in large metal platters, where 4-6 people eat from the same dish! It is tradition to eat with your hands to have more connection with the food. But remember to eat with your right hand, because the left hand is seen as disrespectful! Would you want to share your food with other people?
Senegal is on the coast, so the national dish is ceeb u jen which means "rice with fish". Every morning, fishermen bring large fishing nets on small pirogues which are colorful traditional fishing boats. Other common foods are ceeb u yapp (rice with beef), ceeb u ginaar (rice with chicken), and mafe (meat cooked in a peanut sauce). I'm vegetarian, which means I don't eat fish or meat. This means I eat lots of beans and local fruits and enjoy a variety of drinks and snacks.
Here are some facts about my favorite foods in Senegal!
Favorite candy: carnival bar, which is a long vanilla wafer covered in chocolate, and I buy for 15 cents!
Favorite fruit: Mango, Senegal is a tropical country so there are also delicious fruit juices!
