mercredi 22 septembre 2010
mardi 21 septembre 2010
Korite
Korite is the holiday that announces the end of Ramadan. There is no set day for Korite because it is announced by lunar sightings. If the moon is not seen the night before Korite, the holiday is put off another day until the moon comes out the next night. Depending on where you are and how the clouds are in your area, people dispute the start of Korite and often there is celebrations on different days by different people.
I woke up the morning of Korite and my host sister told me to put on work clothes. We got up on the roof and my very pregnant host mother Astou, my host dad Muhamed, and my host brother Amadou were already preparing and praying in preparations for the grand meal we were going to eat. I helped Astou clean 4 whole chickens, and Amadou and I cut five pounds of onions without a cutting board. This is actually more challenging than you would think. You have to cut a grid on a halved onion and then shave off the layer of grid into the bowl. They were really potent onions and I kept crying and my family kept telling me to stop cutting onions and do something else but I said, " No, I can do it. ", while tears are streaming down my face. I got to pound out pepper corns in a giant wooden mortar and pestle. Our final meal consisted of chicken and caramelized onions, salad with tomatoes and a vinaigrette, french fries and mayonnaise. It was so delicious. After the meal I put on my traditional Senegalese dress and we hung out until I went out dancing into the night!
I woke up the morning of Korite and my host sister told me to put on work clothes. We got up on the roof and my very pregnant host mother Astou, my host dad Muhamed, and my host brother Amadou were already preparing and praying in preparations for the grand meal we were going to eat. I helped Astou clean 4 whole chickens, and Amadou and I cut five pounds of onions without a cutting board. This is actually more challenging than you would think. You have to cut a grid on a halved onion and then shave off the layer of grid into the bowl. They were really potent onions and I kept crying and my family kept telling me to stop cutting onions and do something else but I said, " No, I can do it. ", while tears are streaming down my face. I got to pound out pepper corns in a giant wooden mortar and pestle. Our final meal consisted of chicken and caramelized onions, salad with tomatoes and a vinaigrette, french fries and mayonnaise. It was so delicious. After the meal I put on my traditional Senegalese dress and we hung out until I went out dancing into the night!
vendredi 17 septembre 2010
jeudi 16 septembre 2010
In the morning I get out from under my mosquito net and brush the sand that clings to my legs. A waxy glaze covers my body like the dyed fabrics in the Marche Sendega in downtown Dakar. I consume water as if I had an IV hooked to my mouth in order to keep up with the sweat that covers all corners of my body. I am buzzing off instant coffee with a stomach full of rice and fish and I can't remember how to say "I'm full" in wolof.
Welcome to Senegal. I am spending the next six months in Dakar, Senegal. Keep updated to hear about my adventures.
Katy
Welcome to Senegal. I am spending the next six months in Dakar, Senegal. Keep updated to hear about my adventures.
Katy
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