Day 29: Making Tea

Today was the first day that the weather was not oppressing. It wasn’t 58 degrees with leaves turning yellow and red, but hey, you take what you can get.

We had a good French class, and a very interesting lecture from Peter Trencher, who is a manager of natural resources at USAID, a government agency. The lecture explained USAID’s objectives, and programs that they have implemented here in Senegal to conserve and increase the efficiency of the nation’s resources. After he finished his presentation, we had an interesting discussion about the role of the US in general in Senegal.

After class ended at 1700, I went to the market, walked around with Rich while he bought a tea kettle (explanation later), and eventually went off on my own to find a pair of shorts. I had quite an experience walking through the extensive market by myself. It’s quite different when you are on your own, without a Senegalese person to help you speak and bargain. I must say however, that I did quite well bargaining for a pair of shorts and a Senegalese soccer jersey.

About tea: as I explained earlier, the Senegalese are very serious about their tea-drinking habits. Rich is very interested in how to make this tea, and thus purchased his own tea pot, shot glasses, tea, etc. to make this tea by himself. At dinner, I translated for him, told our mother and brother that he wanted to learn how to make it. As I sit here writing this, Rich and I are observing the long process of making this tea. Our brother, two of our sisters, and three of our cousins are sitting with us, watching, and listening to the Bob Marley songs that are playing on my computer. It’s only 1015, and we’re on our first round (of three) of tea. I’m tired, but the amount of sugar in this tea could keep me up for a while…