Immediately following the conference, well actually before the conference was even over, my mom arrived for a week. Being the incredibly flexible and adaptable woman that she is, she agreed to hop off the plane, rest a few hours, and then join her daughter for the closing ceremony of the Family Planning conference and meet my colleagues at ASBEF and fellow MAJ members.
While this day seemed rather chaotic, I think it was comparatively the calmest and least eventful of the days we had together in Sénégal. She was far more prepared than I was for the unbelievable show of kindness and hospitality that my friends, colleagues, and host family presented her with. However, I don’t think any amount of planning could have prepared our stomachs for the sheer amount of food we were fed. Most of Mom’s visit with me involved going to different friends homes and being fed delicious food to the point of bursting, then being handed fruit and beverage when we literally could not fit in anymore rice or couscous. But the trip was absolutely wonderful. We had the time to do some sightseeing at Gorée Island (for more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorée), we did a lot of visiting, and we even had the chance to make a Christmas meal for ourselves and some of my friends here – which included pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce because mom brought canned pumpkin and cranberries from the States. She’s amazing.
It also just happened that Tamxarit – the Muslim New Year in Sénégal – took place during Mom’s trip as well. This meant that my host family had yet another opportunity to stuff us with delicious food, this time Senegalese couscous made from millet, with a red tomato sauce, chicken, sheep, and beef. It was quite extravagant and, needless to say, filling.
MAJ and ASBEF gave my mom one of the most touching welcomes. The Executive Director invited all personnel and youth volunteers to the clinic for refreshments, a formal presentation on MAJ for my mom, and then a period where they showered us both with compliments, which then I had to translate to Mom. Its very embarrassing, actually, to have to translate compliments about yourself.
All in all, a completely overwhelming and absolutely incredible week that I don’t think either of us will ever forget.
Mom at the market with Khady, the vendor I always go to who gives me the best deals and usually throws in a pepper or zucchini for free.
Mom and I at Gorée.
Lunch. Or what was lunch.
A series of absolutely adorable photos with my host family the night of Tamxarit.
Mom with my husband, the chicken vendor, as we pick out the two chickens destined for our Christmas feast.
Me with my mom and one of my surrogate mothers in Sénégal, my Wolof and Fulani teacher.
Preparing Christmas Dinner. In order starting with the dish closest to Mom: candied yams, gravy, squash, stuffing, potatoes for mashing.
PUMPKIN PIE! I was very excited.
The chefs of the evening! Lia on the left and Giulia on the right, both my housemates.
Candied yams. They received mixed reviews for the evening, just as they do every year in the States. Oh well, more for me.
Mom on the street enjoying one of my favorites, beignet (deep-fried mini doughnuts), and a 10 cent cup of Nescafé.
Mom and I with MAJ volunteers. Thank you to everyone who made my mom's stay so incredible. Jéréjef waay!
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