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| Djiby (2nd from left) and his roommates at Dakar University where mom and I went to visit him. He finished his first year and goes home to Kolda in August. |
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| Garbage lined avenues of Kolda - Mom seemed to think this was picture- worthy... I'd forgotten what an eyesore it is, since I haven't seen a trash can in about a year. Left: Mom and I got a ride out to S. Fode |
The event of May was - my mom came to visit Senegal!!! It was an extraordinarily smooth trip (yes, mom, that really was smooth, by West African standards), and I am really proud of her for not only making her first extra-American voyage, but for making it in Senegal. She escaped the two and a half weeks here unscathed, with not a digestive tract illness or heat stroke to speak of, which is pretty shocking. She learned to say 'jam tan' and 'jaraama' and a few other Pulaar words, and the village folks are still talking about her dancing. (For the record, they still talk about Ian's too.)
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| The welcoming committee, complete with bowl-banging. |
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| Mom got on a bike for the first time in several decades, and performed like a champion, making it to Kolda and back, and out to see several other villages that I work in. On the last day, I realized she'd been in first gear the entire time. |
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| Mom filled a few tree sacs at Toumani's Master Farm for a live fencing nursery(retiring to the hammock a few minutes later, after which she proclaimed that Senegal was much nicer than America...) |
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| Sadiouma can't remember the name 'puzzle', but he has become a pro since mom introduced the kids to the idea for the first time. The adults enjoy them too. |
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| Ansata chuckles as Mom tries to pull water in the garden. |
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| Mom and all the kids. |
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| Mafe Gerte (peanut sauce) and untu (fish balls) - mom and I concur on our favorite village meal. |
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| Ta-da - the toilet. Mom was a great sport about the discomforts of life here. |
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| Demo with Na, and Wopa with Diatou, ready to head to a wedding! |
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| Me and my moms - Mom in the outfit I had tailored for her, and Nene in the outfit that Mom had made for her. |
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| Trying her hand at laundry. The problem wasn't the laundry itself, but the reaching the ground. |
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| Mom dancing with baby Diatou at the wedding. |
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| Sunset over the rice faro. |
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| Aliou and I and his new baby doll from Mom. He went to spend a few weeks with his grandma in Kolda and wouldn't leave the doll behind. Aliou is the most tempting child for me to bring home, as I completely adore him, and if he were only an orphan or in real need I think I really might adopt him. |
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| On the way home we spent more time at hotels, in pools, on boats, and being more touristy in general. |
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| In Thies, Mom finished a classic Peace Corps favorite - a 'Chicken Dibi' plate of half a roasted chicken, fries, and salad - and then finished what was left of mine. Not a utensil was resorted to. (There aren't any.) |
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| We went to mass at Keur Moussa (house of Moussa), a monastery near Thies that manages acres of fruit orchards, and produces goat cheese, wines, jams, and music recordings. |
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| The monastery creates both beautiful koras (a traditional instrument like a cross between a harp and a guitar) and beautiful kora music during mass. Here the monks are tuning the koras in preparation for the mass we attended. |
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| The chapel at Keur Moussa, with beautiful paintings of Bible stories on the back wall. I loved how in each scene, Mary was obvious because of her bright garment, which looks like it's made out of West African fabric. |
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| On her last day, we took the boat out to Goree Island, a place of retention and disembarkation for slaves during the height of the slave trade. It is now a beautiful town of well-kept up colonial buildings, lovely beaches, and art and craft vendors. |
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| The dark history of the island remains palpable in places like the 'house of slaves', a museum of preserved slave-holding quarters, like this prison-like basement. It was really creepy. |
