Ansetta won’t use any makeup, but she will definitely be wearing earrings, several necklaces, a crop top with her waist-beads peeping out above a pair of high-waisted skinny jeans and sparkly sandals. She’ll wear a thin, gauzy scarf draped over her head as do most other girls her age. It’s mostly for style and if it slips off or she removes it in public, it's not a big deal. Many girls in her school wear their corn-rows uncovered and adorn them with beads and clips for all to see. At this age, and being unmarried, head covering is mostly dictated by one’s parents and is not a personal choice, so the girls whose parents don’t have an opinion either way simply wear whatever the fashion is. She’ll be seated in class next to some girls who wear more revealing clothes and others who are wearing full burkas.
Grabbing a half of a loaf of tapilapa (village baguette) from a pile that was brought to the house that morning, Ansetta sets out to walk to school. She might walk with Seynabou or Adja or Naba, who are also headed that direction, but not always as they leave at different times and some don’t have class today or have class later in the day. The school schedule is Monday through Saturday, and often they only have one class per day.
At school, if Ansetta hasn’t gotten enough to eat, she can always pop by the sandwich row to buy a tapilapa sandwich with mayonnaise, or eggs or some fried bean balls. She’ll pay 200 CFA which is $0.32. She’ll probably get this after her class ends at 10 am. She’ll join her 45 or so classmates in a room where they sit two to a desk, facing the blackboard and their teacher. Her two-hour class today is History, English and Geography, all taught in French.
