I think that this blog might quickly become a food blog...

I am quickly finding out that one of my favorite things to do here is to go shopping for food and then figuring out how to cook it. As many of you know, back at home, I am quite the foodie - I absolutely love to eat and try new things. The last couple times I was here the food was great, but I have to say, its even more fun when I get to go the market, pick out ingredients for myself (many of which I'm unfamiliar with) and then try to find ways to cook them.

Markets are one of the best things about Dakar, in my opinion. They are huge open spaces, sometimes kept with in converted giant buildings, but they always seem to sprawl out and around any enclosed spaces. And you can get anything at these markets, meaning that right next to where you can get really nice expensive jewlery in Marché Tilene (where I shop), you can also find 5 ft. long baracuda on ice. Its pretty cool, very inexpensive, and a great way to practice Wolof (and look like an idiot, I'm sure). So today I went, and braved buying a chicken - up to this point, I'd been a little bit nervous about the concept of buying a whole after it had been sitting out awhile, but I love chicken here, so I went crazy and bought a whole one for the equivalent of about $4. I also stood and waited for a friend to buy some fish, which in such a hot environment quickly led to me sweating like no other. Seriously, and I mean this with out any hyperbole, I left the market looking like I'd just jumped in the ocean. Some men selling fish thought it was pretty funny I was clearly so hot and started chatting with me in Wolof, all the while fanning me with these wonderfully effective oopaki (fan in Wolof) while I stood there sweating. How crazy I must have looked. Anyway, left feeling successful, only to find when I got home that "cleaned" chicken in Senegal means that they hide the feet inside the cavity of the meat. Startling, but now I know a bit more about cleaning chickens. Anyway, I was pretty happy with the end result:

This was a meal I made a couple nights ago. Fish are best cooked whole here - note the head and eyes to the left of the lime. :)

Here are some more pictures of my life here.

This is a picture about a two minute walk from my apartment. Its by a main road into the city that I usually catch public transportation from, and in the distance you can see the African Renaissance Monument (for more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Renaissance_Monument).

This is some graffiti right by my house. “Yen'an marre” ("We’re fed up" is a rogh translation from Wolof) has been the name public protestors have been calling themselves since protests began in June against President Wade, his attempts to modify the Senegalese constitution, and the powercuts that have been ongoing all summer in Dakar. As a result, graffiti like this is found everywhere in the city.

Last weekend I went to a friends house for a party, and quickly found out it was a Bollywood party of sorts. Bollwood music and Indian film culture has become huge in Senegal (for more information, see http://www.sify.com/news/never-say-no-to-bollywood-in-senegal-news-international-lcnp4gaccjf.html). Theres a school in the suburbs that teaches Bollywood dancing, and here are a couple pictures of some of the students. The dancing was amazing.

And finally, a picture of me and the Dakar-Soleil Rotary Club President exchanging club banners with the rest of the group at last weeks meeting. Everyone was very, very nice and the meeting was in an air-conditioned room!