Dance Ceremony and Beach Trip #2

This weekend was a good one as we had limited work from our classes and a lot of free time to enjoy ourselves in the city. It began with a gathering on Amanda’s roof on Friday night, except this time everyone in the program was present, which was nice because we hadn't all been together outside of class or an organized trip yet. Eura and Marco brought candles and everyone else brought food and drinks. Once again Amanda’s family was very warm and welcoming, despite the fact that this time there were about 12 of us up there, although we were being relatively quiet. Apparently other MSID and study abroad students in the past have had people on the roof too, which is why Amanda felt comfortable having us all over. Prince and Clara (Amanda's host siblings) also often have people over so they were completely fine with it.

All of us on the roof

Prince, Marcos, Jack and Me

Afterwards we decided to walk back to Mermoz to go to a bar very close to where a lot of us live instead of going to salsa dancing like we had initially planned. We salsa danced the weekend before which was a lot of fun, but it cost 3000 CFA and many of us did not want to spend any more money. 

On our walk back to Mermoz the most bizarre thing happened. We ran into a very large group of Senegalese huddle around in a circle as people were cheering and playing music. None of knew what was going on but we were intrigued so we approached the gathering. As we entered in the crowd, which consisted of more than a 100 people, the people who were leading the ceremony spotted us and called for two “Toubabs” to come up; Toubab is a name for a person of European descent. At first Marco and Lydia volunteered, but after they entered the circle the rest of the group started getting pulled into the circle by the Senegalese, some voluntarily going in as well. There were also people from the other study abroad programs such as SIT and CIE who were present at this gathering and they were pulled into the circle as well. None of the Senegalese tried to pull me in because I blended in with the crowd, but my friends tried to pull me in the circle with them. I definitely didn't want to go dance as I much preferred to witness the spectacle from the outside with the rest of the Senegalese. They then started playing music and told all the Toubabs to dance and everyone in the crowd was cheering for my friends to dance. A lot of the Senegalese pulled out their phones to record the dancing and I wanted to do the same because I thought it was a very memorable moment, but sadly I forgot my phone. 

My friends loved it and I did as well as I thought it was very funny how we had walked into the ceremony unsuspectingly and now they were dancing, but none of us knew why except for the fact that the people leading the gathering wanted them to. Although the Senegalese could have pulled my friends into the circle to make them feel welcome like they were a part of the ceremony, I saw the circle as making a spectacle out of those who were identified as Toubabs. I thought it was interesting because by calling for all of the Toubabs to enter the middle of the circle, the leader of the ceremony divided the crowd into two, those who considered themselves Toubabs and the Senegalese; but as an African-American I didn't fit into either of those categories. However, I knew that I didn't identify with the term Toubab which is why I didn't go in and in the moment I felt more comfortable identifying with the aspect of my identity which reflects my African ancestral origins, rather than the foreigner raised in America. Also it was a rare opportunity when I had the ability to choose if I wanted to blend in or stick out and I preferred to blend in. We were also with Prince at the time, as he wanted to come with us to the bar, and he didn't want to go into the circle as well as the other Senegalese who were there, so I didn't see it as necessary or desirable.

The next Monday when we were talking about the dance ceremony my friend said that although I didn't go into the circle I was a Toubab on the inside.
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Saturday was also a lot of fun as Jack, Brittany, Amanda and I decided to go to another beach in Dakar that was on our list of recommended beaches from MSID. We met up between the main road between Mermoz and Baobab and took a taxi up to the beach which was about 1000 CFA. When we got there it was clearly a beach that a lot of people go to as they had many vendors set up on the exterior of the beach. This was different than the beach Brittany and I went to with Yousou because that beach was hidden and it was much smaller. As we walked down the pathway from the parking lot where the taxi dropped us off to the beach Amanda stopped to get a pouch of water for 50 CFA because they didn't have bottles there. I thought it was funny because I had never seen water in a small pouch like that before and you basically just bite it open and drink it. When we got down to the beach were immediately approached by Senegalese vendors trying to sell us glasses, me especially because they saw the ones I was wearing and thought I would like some more. Also they knew we were Americans because at the time Amanda, Brittany and Jack were the only white people on the beach so the Senegalese thought that we had money to spend. It is for this reason that our Wolof professor taught us how to say “I am a student, I don’t have money” in Wolof, which was great use to us at the beach. 

We looked for somewhere to sit and we were able to get a mat and an umbrella for the 4 of us from a guy that we bargained down to 1000 CFA, which was the same price we paid at the other beach. We spent the next couple hours just relaxing and talking at the beach. Different vendors would periodically approach us and show us their products while we were laying out. Everyone that came by our was pretty much selling the same things: sunglasses, peanuts and Ataya (a traditional tea here in Senegal). Even when we were laying down the guys would come and stand in front of us for a minute and look at me as though the longer the stood the closer I would get to buying their products. 

We didn't really want to go into the water because there was a lot of debris, as there is a  big trash problem in Dakar. This was not the case at the other beach though likely because there were a lot more people who came to this beach. The weather was nice though and we were able to lay out on the mat and dig our feet into the sand. During our time there I found myself staring out in the ocean looking at all of the Senegalese people swim as I am still awed by the sight of only Black people as it is something I've never seen before, not even in Harlem. It's actually pretty mind blowing and a very beautiful sight.

When it started to get a little dark the lifeguards cleared everyone out of the water. Before departing I wanted to take picture next to the water because it was such a nice evening and the water looked really nice with the sun setting. Jack offered to take a picture so Amanda and I walked over to the water. While we were smiling 4 or 5 men playing instruments and singing surrounded us and posed for the camera with us singing. I knew they did this because they could tell we were not from Senegal and thought we had money but they were very nice men.He first asked where I was from, to which I responded America. He then said that he could speak English to me but I said English is for America and that I wanted to speak French here. Although I quickly added that French is actually the language of the colonist so I edited my speech and said the language of Wolof is actually for Dakar, but I unfortunately I can't speak Wolof so French was the best I could do. After Jack took a few pictures of us, the musician asked if we had any money for him and I told him we were students and that we didn't have any money. He took this very well as he shook my hand, still smiling, and wished us a good stay in Senegal. I was really happy after that encounter as the man and his music crew were filled with good spirits. 

Amanda and I with the musicians

Jack and I

On our way back to Mermoz I thought about how since being here I have yet to feel unwelcome as all the Senegalese that I have come into contact with have welcomed me into their country with open arms and high spirits. I have yet to feel uncomfortable or as though I don't belong here as an African-American. I thought I may be considered less authentically African because of my being raised in the states, but that has been far from the case. Everyone has been so friendly and I consistently feel appreciated and respected by the people of this country.