Mexican Feast In Afrique

Happy April Fool’s Day! No jokes for us today however Julie and I spent the whole morning getting the remaining stuff for the burritos and then preparing all of it. We were doing this for at least 4 hours.

A bunch of Senegal volunteers and the ones on Med Hold from Cape Verde and The Gambia all enjoyed what was an amazing Mexican feast that surprised even Julie and me.

There aren’t a lot of dishes here so people had to be very creative about what to use as plates.

All in all, we made: tortillas, mango salsa, regular salsa (with fresh jalapenos!!), cheese, guacamole, crème fraiche (sour cream), ground beef, beans (purchased prepared from a couple of bean ladies on the street), and a relish tray consisting of sliced bell pepper, jalapenos and cilantro. It was freaking amazing.

So Dakar is very different from Guinea. For one thing, you are only allowed to put 4 people in a taxi (you know, the number that would normally fit in a car) when in Guinea they would fit at least 6 plus the driver. Also, the taxis themselves are in good condition, as Julie said, “it’s like when a taxi gets too shitty to be used here it gets sent to Guinea.” The coastline is beautiful, with lots of bluffs and islands and a road that runs right along it like the Pacific Coast Highway in California. The roads are really good, too. Like not just paved, but with lines and everything, though there still aren’t really stop signs or stoplights (though there are some). People still drive crazy but not nearly as crazy as in Guinea. Also it’s freaking cold here! We are not that far from Guinea but the climate is WAY different. I had to buy a wrap in the marche the other day to keep myself warm.

Also we found out that most of the avocadoes, bananas and magoes here are imported from Guinea! Guinea has so many resources and so much to offer and it’s just a shame that it hasn’t been put to very good use in the past.

You can get a Flag beer here for 500 CFA (the equivalent of 5000 Guinean francs), which is cheaper than you would find it in Guinea (it would be between 6000-8000). This was a pleasant surprise. Also, I don’t think you can really find Skol beer here and certainly not Guiluxe so Flag is like the bottom of the barrel here whereas in Guinea Flag is a step up.

There is a microwave here in the Infirmary which is awesome (got some microwave popcorn from Casino today) but there are only a few DVDs which is disappointing.

Tomorrow at 11 I am having my root canal and before I go in the morning I REALLY need to do my laundry (no washer in the informary but I heard there is one at the Regional House!!).

That’s pretty much all I have to report from Senegal for now. Still have yet to get my calzone and ice cream (though we did get ice cream bars at Casino). Oh and we are also planning to get traditional Senegalese cuisine (probably Yassa for me) and go to the coast and enjoy some fresh seafood, which is supposed to be amazing here.