So anyways, lots of people want to know about my host family. I know what you guys are all thinking so I'll just clear it up right now, are they black? Umm yeah DUH. I'm in Africa not Scandinavia. OK, so I'll continue on with the description, but keep in mind that I'm not exactly sure about any of the following details regarding my family for the following reasons. First of all, you're never supposed to ask a Senegalese person how many children 
they have: they are superstitious and they feel that if they answer something bad will happen to one of them (in which case the person who asked is a demon and cast out of society, and the last thing I need right now is casting). Instead they answer something like "a few" or "enough" as to not give a number—haha a convenient response for some people. Another thing, as I mentioned earlier, is that there is an open door policy here that is used and abused. There are always a lot of kids around and I don't know who's who. Also I'm pretty sure one of them is the maid/nanny because although she eats with us she also asks me for my laundry and does the dishes (but then again, she is a woman. Yeah I just went there, whatcha gonna do about it? huh?). Oh yeah, we definitely have a morning maid too which is awkward because I always try and talk to her but she looks down instead. (I don't think she likes me, which is confirmed by the fact that every morning when I'm taking a shower she always uses the courtyard faucet to get water to mop the floors when clearly she knows that the courtyard faucet comes before my shower on the water line. Which means I'll just be standing there forever waiting for her to finish so I can have a dribbling of water to wash off the soap. I mean, hello, it's bad enough it's only cold water but to add insult to injury it's not even consistent. Is a 5 minute steady stream of cold water really too much to ask for, Africa?)
So all that being said, here's what I think I know: there are two older siblings (like late 20s early 30s) and there are two younger boys (about 6 and 9) and a baby girl (prob. like one and a half). The thing I'm not sure about is whether or not the younger kids are the children of the older ones or my host parents just had a second round—at, ummm, children? I want to say that they are the children of the older siblings but on the other hand I haven't met significant others for either yet. Which reminds me, I haven't met my host mom yet… I think they.jpg)
said she was out of town on business but that strikes me as a bit odd because as I look around Dakar I'm wondering which of these "businesses" really would require travel. Because I'm pretty sure the vegetable lady doesn't really have pressing hostile merger negotiations to take care of in New York. Yesterday when I came home from class, there were two ladies sitting outside whom I had never met before, one of whom was very enthusiastically shaking my hand, I thought that she was my mom but alas she didn't pan through so I'm still a little confused. I'm thinking maybe she might have another family—you might think I'm joking but one of the other kids in the program's Dad is a polygamist and has two wives in two different houses. Oh and how about this for confusing family situations: in that same family, as a gesture of good will between the two wives, one of them had a daughter, named it after the other wife and gave it to her to raise. I know, "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"
"Here. I made you a present. From scratch."
"Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"Don't worry about it, it was practically nothing."
"Oh. It's a baby."
"I know! Don't you love it! I have one in every color."
"Thanks. I guess."
In terms of like social status, my family is pretty well off. They have Xbox (I know, right?), and, get this, they have DSL!!! And as I said earlier, they also have two maids (Or at least like one and a half, I'm not totally sure. All I know is my clothes get cleaned every week. Except I have to hand wash my underwear myself because it's inappropriate for someone else to clean that for you here. But ok like how do you hand wash something?? I'm really good at throwing stuff in the washing machine but that goes with the premise that there is a washing machine. And there isn't. Luckily I brought a large collection of boxers). But like at the same time we don't have hot water (it's so hot that they don't need it or at least that's what they're telling themselves in the morning when cold water is dribbling down their bodies) and my bathroom has a Turkish Toilet rather than a regular one (for those of you that don't know, a Turkish toilet is a hole in the ground. See reference photo).
That's kind of the way this country works, just when you're about to make a judgment they send you a curve ball. It's like how you'll be crossing the street one day and you'll almost get hit by a taxi that's all rusty which is just scrapping along the ground and then the next time you'll look up and it'll be a BMW X5 or a Porsche Cayenne that's about to hit you. Either way it's Africa and it's headed right at you and there's nothing you can do so don't ask questions—that's been my mentality, if you spend too much time analyzing stuff here your brain starts to hurt because nothing really makes sense. And plus it's too hot to think. Duh.
they have: they are superstitious and they feel that if they answer something bad will happen to one of them (in which case the person who asked is a demon and cast out of society, and the last thing I need right now is casting). Instead they answer something like "a few" or "enough" as to not give a number—haha a convenient response for some people. Another thing, as I mentioned earlier, is that there is an open door policy here that is used and abused. There are always a lot of kids around and I don't know who's who. Also I'm pretty sure one of them is the maid/nanny because although she eats with us she also asks me for my laundry and does the dishes (but then again, she is a woman. Yeah I just went there, whatcha gonna do about it? huh?). Oh yeah, we definitely have a morning maid too which is awkward because I always try and talk to her but she looks down instead. (I don't think she likes me, which is confirmed by the fact that every morning when I'm taking a shower she always uses the courtyard faucet to get water to mop the floors when clearly she knows that the courtyard faucet comes before my shower on the water line. Which means I'll just be standing there forever waiting for her to finish so I can have a dribbling of water to wash off the soap. I mean, hello, it's bad enough it's only cold water but to add insult to injury it's not even consistent. Is a 5 minute steady stream of cold water really too much to ask for, Africa?)So all that being said, here's what I think I know: there are two older siblings (like late 20s early 30s) and there are two younger boys (about 6 and 9) and a baby girl (prob. like one and a half). The thing I'm not sure about is whether or not the younger kids are the children of the older ones or my host parents just had a second round—at, ummm, children? I want to say that they are the children of the older siblings but on the other hand I haven't met significant others for either yet. Which reminds me, I haven't met my host mom yet… I think they
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said she was out of town on business but that strikes me as a bit odd because as I look around Dakar I'm wondering which of these "businesses" really would require travel. Because I'm pretty sure the vegetable lady doesn't really have pressing hostile merger negotiations to take care of in New York. Yesterday when I came home from class, there were two ladies sitting outside whom I had never met before, one of whom was very enthusiastically shaking my hand, I thought that she was my mom but alas she didn't pan through so I'm still a little confused. I'm thinking maybe she might have another family—you might think I'm joking but one of the other kids in the program's Dad is a polygamist and has two wives in two different houses. Oh and how about this for confusing family situations: in that same family, as a gesture of good will between the two wives, one of them had a daughter, named it after the other wife and gave it to her to raise. I know, "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!""Here. I made you a present. From scratch."
"Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"Don't worry about it, it was practically nothing."
"Oh. It's a baby."
"I know! Don't you love it! I have one in every color."
"Thanks. I guess."
In terms of like social status, my family is pretty well off. They have Xbox (I know, right?), and, get this, they have DSL!!! And as I said earlier, they also have two maids (Or at least like one and a half, I'm not totally sure. All I know is my clothes get cleaned every week. Except I have to hand wash my underwear myself because it's inappropriate for someone else to clean that for you here. But ok like how do you hand wash something?? I'm really good at throwing stuff in the washing machine but that goes with the premise that there is a washing machine. And there isn't. Luckily I brought a large collection of boxers). But like at the same time we don't have hot water (it's so hot that they don't need it or at least that's what they're telling themselves in the morning when cold water is dribbling down their bodies) and my bathroom has a Turkish Toilet rather than a regular one (for those of you that don't know, a Turkish toilet is a hole in the ground. See reference photo).
That's kind of the way this country works, just when you're about to make a judgment they send you a curve ball. It's like how you'll be crossing the street one day and you'll almost get hit by a taxi that's all rusty which is just scrapping along the ground and then the next time you'll look up and it'll be a BMW X5 or a Porsche Cayenne that's about to hit you. Either way it's Africa and it's headed right at you and there's nothing you can do so don't ask questions—that's been my mentality, if you spend too much time analyzing stuff here your brain starts to hurt because nothing really makes sense. And plus it's too hot to think. Duh.
