Thiaroye.

Thiaroye, Senegal. January 4, 2009.

I feel so happy, comfortable, utterly content. I like being in Senegal so much that it is going to be crazy difficult to part with this land when it comes time to board my south African Airlines flight home, but I realized this a while ago, and realizing this doesn’t actually help.

After some initial hubbub (mostly Marian being nagging), I stepped out to get a breath of fresh air, and ran into Marian, who asked if I’d be willing to accompany her back to her house. I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable/agreeable this morning excursion turned out to be: (I loved the exciting cityscape that stretched out, from her rooftop apartment), her telling me that she’d taken a voluntary vow of poverty, her offering me coffee, talking about Jisselle’s homesickness/discomfort, and what I might be able to do to make her feel more comfortable (Marian exclaiming, tears in her eyes, “Oh, isn’t it amazing/delight/wonderful/great how the universe brings together {the right people at the right time}..her optimism here gave me a feeling of a heavy burden of responsibility, a responsibility that in the coming days I grew to feel I’d failed to uphold – finishing this journal 1/9/09, during the downtime while being excluded from the loan application process), her giving me copies of our worksheets as well as a form or 2 I’d missed, talking to David on the roof, etc….”proscriptive” vs. “participatory” involvement; international development; feeding the birds,; road crossing.

Anyway, we finally left for Thiaroye…there, breakfast…tour that turned into women yelling at us over talking their photos for no effect/progress/their seeing any benefit…meeting with supposed Ecovillage president, me asking incendiary question about education, him asking what I was studying – sociology? -- at which point I replied telling what I’m studying doesn’t tell him anything about me…Thiaroye 44, where 224 men Senegalese are buried – how French repaid for fighting for them in WWII – largest keyhole bed I’ve ever seen…night visit to Christian’s home…strange translated conversation with his father about Palestine, history, war, and resistance.

My Photos:

Fish-Drying Operation

Drain

Thiaroye Scenic Walk

Well

Thiaroye 44

Factory Gardens

"Baghdad"

The Beach

The Women of Leye Djite

The Women of Pencom Dembaa