Ca dëgg dëgg - Really

I'm the kind of guy who likes his salad to be on a separate plate because he doesn't like for the flavors to mix. Here, everything is eaten from one bowl that everyone shares. That, among other things, is one of the many stark differences between senegalese and american culture that has really challenged me thus far. I honestly came into this experience very naively, thinking it would be substantially easier than it has been.

Although a lot of things have taken some serious getting used to, i.e. power outages every few hours, massive lack of air conditioning, no stop lights in a city of 3 million, saying 'Asalaamaleekum' or 'Salut! Ca va?' to everyone you pass, the all fish and rice diet, the complete lack of personal space on public transportation, etc. it's been fantastic. yesterday, liz, amanda and my host brother, papi, took a car rapide to the HLM market. it's largely a fabric market, which is more popular among the locals than the markets in centre-ville (downtown). a man came up to us and quickly caught on to the fact that amanda liked a lot of the things she saw and wanted to buy. so he very quickly became our friend, taking us underneath the umbrellas and tarps past hundreds of vendors. the energy and how animated it was was exciting but i was uncomfortable with this guy leading us around, knowing it could only lead to some kind of exploitation. eventually though, he took us away from the outdoor market and into a dark passageway, which led to others, and then others. we got thoroughly lost (although he maintained he knew where he was going). around us were dried bissap flowers, men toiling away on sewing machines, people pulling on long threads and winding them around spools. it was a degree of claustrophobia unlike many i've experienced, but it was exactly what i came here to do. wandering through these muddy, humid and dimly lit intestines of the market was one of the more incredible things i've seen. although the cramped hallways were kind of miserable, it's more adventures like this that i'm hoping to do.