Uunk Poop

Alright - I hope you have some time: Mom decided to write a book about her 2 weeks in Africa! Get comfortable! and Enjoy!

Asalaam Malekum ...

Malekum Salaam

Nanga def? ...

Maangi fii.

Ca va? ...

Ca va bien.

Ana waa Amerik? ...

Nungi ci jamm.

I have just greeted the people I met in Senegal...let me tell you what I have said:

Peace be with you ...

And peace be with you.

How are you? ...

I am fine.

How is it going? ...

It is going well.

Where/How are the Americans? ...

They are in peace.

Let me tell you, it was a crash course in a new language and it was very stressful as everyone who greets you EXPECTS you to answer. Kira answered for us in the first few days and I must say by the time I was leaving the Dakar airport two weeks later they were quite impressed with me. I think what was fun was the Africans hearing a blonde American speaking Wolof! Even fun for me!

It was so wonderful being with Kira and seeing another part of the world. We enjoyed the island, NGor, for a start. People came by selling whatever they had. Loved the fresh fruit. Loved listening to Kira talk to everyone. My first experience with mussells at dinner was a good one. The prawns were so big and grilled...Neex na (delicious)!

The next interesting part of our vaca was transportation. The garage is a different kind of place than what we think of as a garage. This is a "place" rather than a building attached to the house. This place is a very large parking lot filled with a lot of station wagons and a lot of people trying to sell you everything you will ever need for the rest of your life! From apples to water and everything else in between. These station wagons look like we really will not get from this "place" to the next "place" as they are very quite banged up and we are wondering if they will even start. There is a bottle of water and a bottle of oil in the back and an extra bottle of water on the dash for later if we will need to stop to give the engine one or the other. I was amazed that we were able to get form one place to the other with only a stop or two in the two weeks I was there. Kira said they are the best mechanics! And, we never hit another vehicle or animal as it was obvious that that happens! There was one driver that made me nervous as I could tell the broken window was from the passenger in the front seat who had hit the windshield with his (or her) head. I buckled up my seat belt! Do I appreciate my car? You bet! A trip to the car wash and a new air freshener are in order to show "it" how much I care!

Diama's (Jomma's) family are the first Senegalese the we really got to meet and now I know why it was as easy as it was for Kira to become a part of these people as quickly as she did. I remember crying in those first few months when she talked about her mom and siblings and feeling like I was not as important anymore to Kira. Now...I am so thankful for the love they gave and continue to give to Jomma. It is so genuine when you look into their eyes and see how much they appreciate all that my little girl has done and is still doing for the people of Senegal. They treat her as she is their daughter or sister or niece or granddaughter. And they love her as well. It makes me feel so proud of the people in this country so far away from home. It makes me so proud to call this person, my little girl, a true asset of this country. You are amazing Kira and I am so very very proud of everything you are doing for all your new family members in this country so far away.

Time to go to the market. OMG! Ok this is not like going to the mall even on Black Friday! One of the things I found in Africa I would call overwhelming! And we were there on a Sunday with some shops closed! Everything you could imagine buying was available for sale. So many people, so many choices, live animals for purchase, horses pulling carts with people and goods, flys on the fish and fruit and vegetables, garbage in the street, and of course the unique smell, chaos to say the least. I was able to find some very pretty material to buy. This would take some time getting used to doing on a weekly basis.

Our first Senegalese meal...Cheb ou jen. A huge pizza pan with a bed of rice and fish, tomato paste, onions, manioc, carrots, cabbage, sweet potatoes and spices. Everyone sits around the coffee table and digs into their "slice of the pizza". Was it ever good! I can see why Jomma calls this her favorite dish and has the recipe for us to make it here when she gets home. We had a choice of Fanta, Sprite or Coke after we finished eating. Dessert...fresh fruit. That is an idea for the great US of A. Fresh fruit for dessert will definetly take off a few pounds. We found the food was very good wherever we ate. And the fresh bread-yummy.

On our way to Bambey to Ouria's home. I was just getting used to Jomma. Why don't they just call her Kira? She has a different name everywhere we go!

It was a long day and we are still not caught up on sleep so we got settled into her home. OK...I know you really like your accomadations, Kira, but this would take a while to get used to. Nice comfy bed with a mosquito net...excellent! Those little buggers are fast! Enough space so you don't go nuts...two rooms and a porch! The best bathroom in Bambey?... OK, I guess it was better than the one I used while deer hunting. But truthfully I spent too much time there. Finding out you have an uunk living here...what the hell is that? The sheep and goats were always speaking their minds about the toubabs who moved in and so did Eeyore. Let's talk about the rooster who would have lost more than his cock-a-doodle-doo if I would have stayed one more day. I totally understand why Fatou has all these animals but I think if we would have stayed longer there would have been some serious training happening! Or how about the loud noise during a sound sleep...I panicked! Ouria slept through it. KIRA!!! What the hell is that? "Oh, it's the muus chasing the sindax on the roof." WHAT? More Woloff...muus=cat sindax=lizard. In this case the lizard is a foot long. The next thing I hear is snoring from Chuck and Kira. GREAT! I wonder for a very long time what noise the lizard will make next. Finally...sleep. And then the chanting starts over the loud speaker outside the compound. It is sunrise somewhere; sure not here as it is still pitch black where I am tyring to sleep. Kira says it is "the call to prayer". WHAT? One would have been tolerable but there were three different mosques trying to get their prayers started. This happens five times a day! The last morning we were there I was trying to chant with them. Chuck didn't like that. I was just working on my new language skills. I really think he was jealous as he had more trouble with this new tongue. Ouria was right, the fan really does blow hot air when the electricity IS working. This really is a hot part of the country. Closer to 100 than not. Oh yah, this is Africa! The children were really cute in this town of Bambey as we met them all, I think. As Ouria was complaining about, we met many as I was handing out candy to everyone who would greet me and then say merci. So cute! She finally made me say the candy was all gone and the kids stopped coming to see the blonde toubab. I wonder if any have come back looking for me? Just wait until you have children of your own, Kira!

What a party! Kira bought a lot of food including three chickens. Chuck loves chicken. Two additional women helped Cole' (their maid) prepare a wonderful meal of Chebbu ganaar. Chicken, potatoes, onions,pickled onions and olives over a bed of rice. We all gathered around and enjoyed another Senegalese favorite. We also had hot tea, Senagalese style. Many of Ouria friends and business associates arrived to meet her "real" parents and this is where the real pressure of greeting in Wolof was felt. I must say it was great to meet all of these special people in Kira's life. They are also very proud of her. Have I mentioned how proud we, as her parents, are of her? Her host Mom here is also a great person. We could tell she cares a lot about Kira. Later in the week when Fatou called to hear why she has not heard from Ouria, if everything was ok? Kira just said she was with her real mom and she was fine. You will understand only after you have your own children someday, Kira.

As you know, I did get sick while I was there. I guess the lettuce and raw veggies were not washed with beach water so that little bug got the better part of me. The next few days I was pampered by a great chef and was able to eat. I am still trying to get the E-Coli out of my body. I am on medication and am getting better with every dose. Those next few days really were an amazing part of our trip.

We stayed at a beautiful resort run by Jomma's family. So needless to say, we really got wonderful service! Yes, it did compare to Couples in Jamaica! Three three course meals. The room was beautiful and a much nicer bathroom (thank God)! The pool was so pretty, the grounds lush with pretty flowers and palms. Tiki huts on the sandy beach invite you to cool off for a swim in the rolling waves. And then back to the pool to rinse the salt from our tanning skin, only to find a hammock to read another chapter in a good book or to steal a glance at our little girl who has grown into a wonderful person right before our eyes. How did she do that so fast? The sunset was beautiful! We also went on a mini safari. The 25 square km is fenced in and the animals are brought in from other areas of Africa. They are cared for medically if they need it, otherwise they are free to roam and live in this wide open and wooded reserve. We got very close to the animals. The giraffes were in "plastic" according to our guide. They just waited and watched us to get the perfect picture. Kira was so excited a they are her favorite animal. She should blow up a cool picture to add to her collection back here at home. I was a bit worried that she got too close to the rhinos. The ostrich is one very ugly bird when you see it as close as we saw it. Poor thing! Other animals we saw: antelope, gazelles, monkeys, zebra, tortise, crockadiles and birds.

So have you been wondering about the title of this blog entry? OK, what is an uunk? It is an indoor short-tailed, pale lizard like a fat mouse, kind of I guess. Well, anyways it lives inside and it eats the bugs (and believe me there are a lot of really big ugly bugs in this country) that come in to try and make residence. OK, I like that part BUT what if this thing decides to make itself at home in my backpack and comes back to Neenah? I don't have but an occasional spider that sneaks in once in a while. It would starve to death. Kira said I could buy it bugs at the pet store. GREAT. Well, you always know the uunk has been walking around, bug hunting as there is a little pile of uunk poop on the floor wherever. That is Kira's job...to clean up the uunk poop. We had an uunk in everyplace we stayed. The really good part was it did not come back to Neenah! Well...I have not found any uunk poop yet but this is a bigger place than they are used to. I will keep my eyes open.

After getting Chuck to the airport, the next week Kira (Rokhaya) and I enjoyed nice places on the beach, laughter and stories, sunrises and sunsets, using up the tube of Banana Boat sunscreen, reading a good book, swimming in the ocean and pools, walks on the beach, hugs and kisses, shopping, drinking wine, taking pictures and naps, taking in African music and dance, eating blander meals, some homemade! Meeting other PCV friends...you are all great! Back to see family again in Theis and get our clothes we had made and more shopping and getting Henna tattoos on our feet, happy hour with more friends and a jazz concert!

It is time to leave Africa and my daughter. It will be another 13 and a half months before I hold you in my arms so tight again. I have so enjoyed our time here together. Kira, I am grateful that you wanted us to come, to teach us about your life and meet your new families who I am no longer jealous about, to meet many of the people you work with to make their lives even better than they know it now. They are all wonderful and am grateful to them for taking you into their hearts as well. To learn how these people can make their lives WORK with so little but they have a huge amount of pride. Africa...Amazing! Jerejef! Thank you!

I was online working on this entry when Kira also got online. I hooked up the webcam for her to watch it snowing. She shared the whole experience with her sister, NDack; Mom, Fatou; and best friend, Matar. It was so fun hearing all of them talking at the same time trying to understand how it could be colder than 0 degrees centigrade and seeing it snowing at Ouria's home in America and listening to me talking in Wolof here. I now know these people who speak a different language and have skin that is a different color than mine and I do miss them. Yes, Africa... Nungi ci Jamm. We are in Peace!