I had a really good time the other day at Parc Hann here in Dakar. It’s a zoo / forest preserve that not only has lots of animals to see but also some walking paths through natural settings. It was refreshing to see this in a city where this kind of stuff is hard to come by.
I was surprised to see how close I could actually be to these animals. It wasn’t at all like the zoos in the US where you are kept at a (safe) distance. There was a pretty personable Chimpanzee that was giving out high-fives through the bars of his cage and wouldn’t turn down anything that was handed to him.
The camel was the most friendly. Sorry dude, I don’t kiss on the first date.
If any of you have read The Little Prince, there's a pretty cool bit on Baobab trees. It turns out they're all over Senegal. There are quite a few in the city but I’ve heard that I’ll see tons when I travel to more rural areas. They are usually big and fat at the bottom and taper off towards the top. Baobabs are enormous and have these weird branches that kind of look like a system of arteries. There’s a joke here in Senegal that every Baobab was planted upside-down; what you see are the roots and there’s a really beautiful tree hiding somewhere below the ground.
1.
It’s been kind of weird walking around Senegal introducing myself as "Mack". First of all, my name is really difficult for the Senegalese to say. They have trouble making the ‘short A’ sound and end up somewhere around "Meck". Even when they get it right, they just seem confused. I ran into the same thing when I was studying in Paris; everyone thinks of “mec” which translates from French to something like “guy” or “anonymous guy”. They couldn’t handle it.
A guy at work heard my real name was David and dubbed me Daouda, the Senegalese version of David. Also, my host family insisted that I inherit their last name to complete the picture - Daouda Ndoye (pronounced Dowda Ndoy). So that’s what they call me. It sounds kind of silly when they’re said together, but so does Mack McConnell, so no harm done.
2.
My host family got a pet sheep. She makes tons of noise when we eat and doesn’t like hugs yet. Hopefully she’ll warm up soon. Maybe she’s never seen a white person before?
I named her Bamba before I knew it was a girl sheep. Because Bamba is a Senegalese man’s name, I got clearance to change it to Bambine which the whole family seems to dig. Oh yea, and she’s pregnant. I’m pretty sure the afro-lamb-babes will be here before I leave.
3.
Apart from getting my first African name and my first African pet, I also got my first African outfit. Fatoumata Niagne, a seamstress I am trying to help with a loan through Zidisha, gave it to me as a token of appreciation. I think it’s a pretty cool looking outfit on its own – kind of “african party boy” thing - but it was especially rewarding to get it from her because she appreciates what I’m doing.
The other day I had a chance to check out the African Renaissance statue here in Dakar. It was only unveiled two months ago, to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence from French colonial rule, on top of a huge hill on the edge of the city overlooking the ocean. The statue shows a man, woman and child emerging from a volcano-type thing.
Because it’s still so new, I’ve heard tons about it from people around town. Not to mention it’s HUGE, bigger than the Statue of Liberty, so it’s hard to ignore. Anyway, there’s a lot to be said about it.
Keep in mind, all of this reflects what I picked up from people around the city and in my neighborhood and it obviously isn’t how everyone feels. But I started to hear the same sort of stuff from a lot of them...
For the most part, it’s been pretty controversial. For one, people complain how the gov’t spent $28 million on it. Its true, there are bigger fish to fry here in Senegal – like unemployment (which I’ve heard is well above 50%), social services, etc… Also, the woman is showing some serious skin which frustrates a lot of the Muslim community in Dakar who prefer to keep their women more…clothed?
People’s biggest beef with it, however, is how much it idolizes the West – the direction in which all three of the statue’s characters are pointing. I’ve even heard some people complain that the idea of having an enormous statue alone is “too western” for Africa. Not to mention the word “renaissance” directly refers to a period in European history. So, not only does the statue’s name echo a culture’s history that isn’t their own, it echoes that of their old colonizers.
Recently in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, gave a speech in Dakar in which he gave a call-to-action to Africa to develop itself – like no one’s been trying. In the speech, he kept encouraging the continent to “start a Renaissance” and to “finally enter human history.” Considering the sordid history between Senegal and France, he should have known to be more careful with his words and that the speech would be seen as terribly offensive. A lot of people over here openly hate the guy for his indifferent attitude toward Senegal, their old colony, a country that could really use the help.
Even though Sarkozy didn’t invent the term, this famous “pep talk” is how a lot of people became familiar with it, which he repeats throughout the speech about a dozen times. There’s a famous response by Boubacar Boris Diop, a famous Senegalese writer/intellectual, to Sarkozy’s speech. Check it out: http://www.zeleza.com/blogging/african-affairs/nicholas-sarkozy-s-unacceptable-speech-boubacar-boris-diop-trans-french-wan
At the same time, the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, is kind of a western “fan” and, against what seems like what most people around here want, has done a lot of things to help Senegal westernize (he’s pushing hard to rename Africa the “United States of Africa”). So a lot of people weren’t completely surprised that this would come from him. (is it important to mention that President Wade made sure that Jesse Jackson and AKON (hahahaha) were present for the monument’s inauguration?)
It’s the day everyone brings their sheep (and there are lot of sheep) to the beach to get a bath. The sheep hate it and do everything to avoid getting wet. The kids love it.
This was great. I saw it happen a couple times during my walk. A group of kids is try to wash a sheep, it gets freaked out and escapes. A hilarious chase ensues with kids and sheep all over the beach running in every direction yelling god-knows-what in Wolof. I've never seen a lamb move so fast!
Like most things here in Senegal, this turns into a social event. Why wash your sheep alone when you can do it with some buds? When the kids are doing it, it's usually at least a 4:1 boy-to-lamb ratio.
