Senegal Sept

This was the best supper club in town; we danced and sang with the entertainers. While they spoke little English, their diction and articulation while singing the greatest R&B hits were impeccable! When they did their rendition of Black & White by Michael Jackson, I heard myself singing along like I was on stage. I really needed this outing; I relaxed and settled into this experience. I had tried to get out of going--it was a long day, Gorée took a lot out of me; I needed so  downtime.  Papa and Astu wouldn't accept no for an answer, so I made it work and was grateful I did. The food was excellent- it looked appetizing and was seasoned to perfection! It was a great meal to end my journey. More than good food, was the amazing company.  As I relaxed and enjoy my meal and the entertainment, I watched Papa and Astu, our hosts, dancing and other members of our team enjoying our time together after a really long, and incredibly hard day.  This is Senegal Teranga. Reflecting on my

I don't know what I was expecting; I guess I knew it would be a really tough experience.  Ironically, we had to take a boat ride to Gorée Island, the place where, for slaves, it would be their place of no return; that irony was not lost on me. It was a somber ride to the island, and we were greeted by a heart statue and a few women vendors whose businesses weren't yet open with a request and promise to visit and purchase when they did open. Although I was grateful to be traveling with a group, this was the one time that I really wished I had been able to experience this in isolation. We had a guide, by American standards, a docent, who walked us through the experience in the reconstructed museum.  Le Maison des Esclaves was a holding center for enslaved African people to be exported. It was owned by an African French woman who also owned several slave ships and was active in the slave trade. I tried to imagine the house's appearance while it was used for the intended purpos

Baaba Maal is badass, and we got to hang out on his compound! But of course, there is a story leading up to all this... You have already read about my " gift ," and all that led up to hanging out at Baaba Maal's compound. I would never have guessed it would be forever known as the BM compound ! That is not the point of this blog, so I won't go there. Baaba Maal is one of the most zen, understated, coolest dudes I've ever met. At 70, he is beloved by 10-year-olds and 90+ year-olds alike. When we arrived at the event, all the women wore their finest attire; I wore a sweatsuit. It was so crowded I had a personal anxiety attack-it was too many people. There was no crowd control, and seemingly none was needed. Or at least that is what we initially thought. As special guests of Baaba Maal, we were invited to sit in reserved  seating, and that is where all the trouble began. As expected, everyone wanted to be in the seats, not  standing with the masses. One of our fello

Even before we left the United States, Papa Dia warned us to take it easy on the food when we arrived in Senegal. He kept saying he knew we would go overboard on the Jollof--I had no idea what he was talking about; I am a picky eater with no plans to do more than taste the Jollof, or so I thought. We started the day visiting Papa Dia's eyeglass office--one of six in Senegal. Papa introduced same-day optical services to Senegal, where those who needed them could have their glasses within 24 hours and most common prescriptions within an hour. As I listened to him describe all the work it took to make this happen and the pushback he received for giving these services to children for free, my heart was flooded with guilt for all that I take for granted. I have almost as many pairs of glasses as I have shoes, and I am a major lover of shoes.  Walking out of the office, we were greeted by a group of boys, and they completely humbled me even more than my guilt. Papa shared that some fami

  We had a jammed-pack day scheduled, and we began with a visit to the Reserve de Bandia Safaria. I admit I was anxious about being so close to wild animals. I watch too much television, and a couple of nights before flying to Senegal, I watched a docu-drama where an elephant charged a jeep. All of my safari thoughts were about how we avoid pissing off the animals so they wouldn't charge our vehicle. Notwithstanding my concerns regarding safari animal charging, I stand ready with my phone camera to capture native African wildlife in photos! We pulled up to the reserves, and several groups were already preparing to tour; this put me at ease, as the numbers were in our favor, and there would likely be no actual incidents. Once again, we were the only predominantly-black group, and I noticed the guides talking amongst themselves, each vying for our group!  It was so cool--our guide never stopped smiling; my SEG is obviously contagious! Our guide used his best English and asked many q

Walking through the airport, I was excited to see a couple people I knew!  Brother Jeff and several other Senegal-bound travelers had already made the trek and were “home”! As we were boarding the plane, I noticed not only was first class predominantly Black, but so was business class, as well as most of the airplane and the flight attendants. This was my first time having this experience- some might be thinking, “Duh!” but I have traveled to the Caribbean and the DR, which are majority Black and never experienced a majority Black plane. It was mind-blowing. Having shared the photos of those waiting at the gate, I shouldn’t have been surprised, and yet I was! This was going to be a lot of first, I’m going to have it trust the process . The flight was uneventful-except the food; yum ! Papa Dia is well-known in Aurora, and I would soon learn he is a celebrity in Senegal!   We were greeted by several dignitaries who also helped us quickly get through customs with ease. I was anticipating