My own Boubou

Ever since I wore a boubou at Tabaski I have dreamed of having my own boubou. All my Senegalese friends and colleagues have likewise been pressuring me to get one to wear on Fridays, like all the other Senegalese do. A very sweet colleague of mine offered to go with me to find the right fabric and to take me to her tailor. My lovely boubou arrived today and it turned out like this:

It has been a major success at the office today, people have gone all 'Wolof' on me. Maybe this will give me the chance to gain even further access into their culture... Well, frankly the process of the making in itself gave me quite an interesting glance of the Senegalese perception of beauty. I was the one creating the design of the boubou. I drew a sketch for the tailor, he took note while I explained and he measured me thoroughly. Still, when I came to pick it up Wednesday something was different than expected. I tried it on before paying, as my colleague advised me to, and that was quite lucky. The dress was HUGE. I looked like a midget drowning in fabric. The tailor looked very content with the result. I was confused, so I asked him why he had made it ten sizes too big for me. He answered me like it was the most obvious thing in the world: "But you need space to grow".

Birthday in Senegal

Yes, I have now lived for a quarter of a century, and it feels good! This year it was not only the number which was a bit special, but also the circumstances were quite unique. You never know what to expect when you celebrate your birthday far away from home. So I feel so lucky to have actually been celebrated all the way down here in Senegal. My roommate, Jojoh, her boyfriend, Cheikh and our neighbour, Marie were so very kind to take the whole day off to go with me to Île Ngor. It is a tiny paradise island less than a kilometre from the coast of Dakar. There are no cars, almost no people, and just palm trees and sunshine. We had to take a small pirogue to get there.

We spent the most lovely day relaxing in the sun, swimming in the clear sea and eating delicious food. How is that for a birthday in November?!

Jojoh and Cheikh in the water and Marie being a chicken

As dusk fell we found a pirogue to bring us back to the mainland. There we went for some drinks at a nice bar. Slightly tipsy, entirely relaxed and very content with my day, I returned to my chaotic neighbourhood ready to start off a new year in 'Cille-world' where ever that might take me.

5 am in the morning

As you might have read in my earlier posts, my new place is great. There is just this liiiiiiittle thing... We live right next to a mosque. Having to fit in 5 prayers during the day, they start out pretty early. More specifically at 5 am! Luckily I am a very heavy sleeper, so usually it is not a big problem for me. But when I came home from a party at that time this morning I actually realised how loud it is! You can hear for yourselves in the video below.

Visit from Denmark

My Servas-colleague, Jan, was in Senegal with a friend of his to do a very interesting roadtrip around the country. I had the pleasure of spending a lovely evening with the two of them at their groovy hostel in Dakar before they were heading back Europe. Thanks a lot, Jan!

My new hood

After almost two months living with my Senegalese family, I have moved to a new place. The long distance between work and home became a bit too much for me. Going home in rush hour could take more than two hours! Furthermore, for a Danish, independent girl, living in a family where you do EVERYTHING together (Senegalese style!!) was fun and interesting, and has for sure been a cultural kick starter, but it was not a sustainable solution. I like my 'private space' now and then, and that kind of space just doesn't exist here. So when a colleague told me that she had a spare room in her apartment situated close to the centre and my office, I decided to try something new. Here I have my own little room, and then share kitchen, living room and bathroom with my two roomies. Frankly speaking, the neighbourhood is quite chaotic and trashy, but people are nice and friendly. I already know the neighbours and they often invite me over for dinner or stop by for a small chat in the evening. Best of all is that I can walk to work!

Mo Ibrahim Foundation Prize Ceremony

So this weekend I was going to just relax and try to recuperate after a hectic week at work (more on that later...). Haha, like a weekend like that exists in crazy Dakar. Saturday a friend who is very engaged in development work here in Senegal called me to ask if I wanted to come with him to the annually award show and following day's panel discussion arranged by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. YES!!!

Mo Ibrahim is a very successful African business man, who has decided to use some of his wealth on promoting and rewarding good governance and leadership in Africa. Each year a week long workshop is held in an African country which is concluded by a prize ceremony and a day of panel discussion on a chosen topic of relevance to the development of good governance.

This year the event took place in the big theatre of Dakar:

It was a surprisingly big and glamorous ceremony, almost like the award shows that we know from TV with famous people speaking on the podium and superstars entertaining between the speeches and awardings. I had the pleasure to see lovely Senegalese musicians such as Baaba Maal and Youssou Ndour (who is now the minister of tourism?!?!).

When the founder, Mo Ibrahim, went on stage to welcome us, I understood why. What a charismatic, but also very eccentric man! He truly loves talking about his success, his struggles and him setting a good example, undoubtebly with good reason. He is honest and blunt, and apparently not so easy to impress. Last year the award was actually cancelled, since he did not find any suitable candidates for the prize on the African continent! Luckily, this year someone had deserved to be honoured, and it was a very special person; Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Nobel Prize winning (1984) Tutu fought alongside with Nelson Mandela against apartheid in Southern Africa, and has passed several years in prison, before becoming the first black Archbishop of Cape Town (meaning being the head of the Anglican church in South Africa). If you have ever met, or even just seen a picture of him, you will not be able to forget this man. He is one of the funniest and wisest persons I have ever encountered. When he entered the stage his lovable, charismatic and somehow manic personality immediately filled the room with a sense of trust and hope. He spoke in clear and concise sentences, but the message that came across reached far beyond the simple phrases. At the same time he made room for a much needed liberating laughter on an elsewise serious and heavy topic through crazy anecdotes from his incredible life experience.

As with most Senegalese events, the ceremony turned into a big party. The artists returning to the stage, and the audience quickly crowded the floor dancing Mbalax like maniacs. Safe to say that when we met up this morning at 9am to start the panel, people were slightly more quiet than usual. However, this changed after a few cups of coffee. This year's panel was on African youth and its ability to fulfil the potential spurring development. The participants engaged in the discussion with passion and commitment, and there were some quite fiery discussion during the day. Many different stakeholders were included in the four panel-teams formed beforehand, and each panel was led by a former African president. Below you see a picture of one of the panels where Tutu (on the left) was the chair and Mo Ibrahim (on the right) himself participated as a panellist. It is Tutu you see on the big screen too. And now you might be thinking; "couldn't she have chosen a more flattering picture of Tutu?". The answer is no, that is how he looks... all the time... Yes, manic.

The general conclusion of the long day's panel discussions was "less talk, more action". People are tired of having the same conversations on the big unexplored potential that the African continent, and above all the rapidly growing African youth holds. They want a revolution! But as Tutu so wisely rounded off the day by stating: "There is only one way to eat an elephant; piece by piece".

Mail from Denmark!!

Today's big event:

Lakrids and postcard from the best Manes in the World!

Becoming Sérére

One of the many tribes populating Senegal is the Séréres. Wolof is the dominating tribe by fare, while the Sérére are constitute the majority of the Christian population. Danes are said to be Séréres because of our surnames. Here a person's tribal affiliation is signified by his or her last name, and for the Séréres it is usually 'Sen'. And don't we all know that the Danes are known for all their Jensens, Hansens, Jørgensens, Larsens and so on. So when I moved in with a Sérére family, it seemed like a perfect match. This weekend I had the opportunity to get a bit closer to my tribal 'roots'.

I was invited by the youngest sister of Cécile to come see her choir perform Christian and traditional Sérére songs and dances at their annual concert. It was a big event with many people attending and it all turned into a big party as the evening progressed. The choir was remarkably well prepared and sang beautifully, but what impressed me the most was their ability to switch between multiple languages without any difficulties. Not only did they sing in 4 different Senegalese tribal languages, they also mastered songs in French, English, Spanish, Italian and Latin. And did they bring the lyrics on stage? - NO! Nobody would be able to read them anyway, since they were all shaking, jumping and waving their way through the concert. At a point I even had to ask my friends if they had already started the dance session or what was going on. What a show! Unfortunately, it was very dark so the pictures are terrible, but I hope you can get an impression of the vibrant choir anyway:

The bongo-band

The choir dressed in traditional Sérére gowns

When the concert was done the audience formed a big circle and the band moved down from the stage. It was now accompanied by a male lead-singer and a choir of three girls with surprisingly pitchy voices. The big space in the middle became the dance-stage where anyone who felt like participating could perform the traditional Sérére dance. Get the party started! Each song starts out in a slow pace where a volunteer starts walking to the rhythm of the music collecting people from the audience to join the 'snake' of dancers. As the snake become a considerable length the music becomes more hectic and the drums start dominating. The snake breaks into smaller parts and the dancers battle each other in small duels. The speed with which they manage to move their feet is difficult to understand and they look like they are having spasms continually running through their bodies. The ambiance made it impossible to sit still. Well, I did not have much of a choice anyway. As the only Toubab I was pulled to the centre of the stage to be taught how to dance like a proper Senegalese. I am not sure if I succeeded or if I ever will. I think it has to be in your blood. The intensive dancing continued until sunrise! I have attached a short video clip of the dancing although the quality is awful, but words just cannot explain the bizarre and energetic movements of the dancers.