Family is: Mom. Dad. Brothers. Sisters. Cousins. etc. Simple, right? Not so fast. If I’ve learned anything while living in Senegal, it’s that concepts that seemed universal and almost biological in nature, are actually things I’ve learned through socialization. And...it's different here. Very different.
Where and who is my family?
In the rural villages, family is a fluid concept. Everyone you see in your daily life is considered your family. This is probably because somehow, closely or distantly, you are related to them by blood. Travel has become easier with the introduction of cars and motorcycles, allowing people to travel furthere, where they can meet and marry non-relatives. However, even now, people tend to stick to their villages and do not move around or marry outside their ethnic group, so the expression “everyone is family” remains a true to this day.
I live in what has been classified as a “minor town” as we consist of around three thousand people. Villages can be classified by a wide-range of population size, but the average tends to include a few hundred people.
