Later I’ll be invited to a wedding or a baby shower, where I sit and peel vegetables with the other married women for hours, and then get all dressed up to dance to extremely loud music until the morning hours. Phew! On other days, I lay around in the shade of a large Mango tree with my host family members and wander to the local boutique, which is like a convenience store, to buy tea and bread. I stop at every single house to greet and chat with the neighbors, most of whom are our mousibe, which means they are related to each other, even distantly.
Most days are a mix of both the hectic and the serene. Some days the language part of my brain is tired, and I get teased for not remembering Pulaar words. Some days it is hard to watch the gender dynamics in my own home, where the girls are treated much differently than the boys just because of their gender. Some days the sunset is so stunning on an evening bike ride that I forget any hardship I had that day.
Senegal, so far, has been many things, but most of all, it's all so new to me and full of opportunities.
