Ndánk-Ndánk mooy jápp golo ci ñaay

Asalaamaalekum!

"Ndánk-Ndánk mooy jápp golo ci ñaay" is a proverb in Wolof that I learned today-- it literally translates to, "little by little one will catch the monkey in the forest." It is referring to the need to be patient and calm when attempting to succeed at something (in this case, to succeed at catching a monkey!).

This proverb definitely applies to me right now! I had a bad experience with public transportation on friday. This picture above is of a car rapide (a type of public transportation)-- a "fast car," although it really isn't that fast! It is challenging to get used to it, because the operators stand on the back of the car and yell out the destination where they are stopping next. It is very cheap transportation-- usually only 75 CFA, which is about 15 cents in the U.S. It is fun to take, but there is very little room inside, they cram as many people as possible in there. You aren't necessarily guaranteed a seat and are sitting very close to your neighbors or even standing.

But at any rate, my story from friday. So, friday I had been making a batik (a Senegalese version of tie-dye) from 9AM until 4PM. It is crazy that it took that long, I was expecting staying maybe until noon but no, we are on Senegal time in Senegal. My sister Mimi called me and wanted to go to the market to buy clothes, so I was rushing home in order to do that with her. I decided to take a car rapide to make the trip go faster, it was going to be my first time taking a car rapide by myself, and I was totally fine with it, no problem, right?

The car rapide makes several stops and at the stop close to my house I get up to go. But, I am located at the front of the bus and need to make it to the back. Because so many people are crammed in there, it took me a long time to get to the exit. By the time I am at the exit, the car has started to move again. I presumed that the operator didn't speak any French so I couldn't even say "arrete" ("stop"). I don't know "stop" in Wolof either. I have seen the bus operators jump on and off the car when it is still moving, so I figure that since we are still going pretty slow, I can just jump off, right?

Wrong.

So I make the stupid decision to jump, and where am I next? Completely flat on the pavement of the street. Humiliated beyond belief, I get up and look back at the car rapide, where people are saying, "ca va?" ("are you alright?"), the car had stopped, and everyone in the car and on the street was looking at me. As if I didn't stick out enough already in Senegal, now I REALLY was drawing attention to myself. Ahh it was so bad, I was so mad I didn't know how to say "stop" wolof, I just wanted to speak English and have people understand me, I didn't want to be a dumb white foreigner. I was SO embarrassed and just wanted to cry so much and just wanted to go home.

One really odd thing here in Senegal is that people do not cry. If a person or a baby cries, people laugh at you! Crying is seen as a sign of weakness. So crying was not an option for me in this situation. When I was later explaining the story to my family and trying to explain it in French I was so close to crying-- it's hard enough trying to think in French after such a physical and emotionally painful thing, but then not to be able to cry, too? Definitely my worst day so far here in Senegal.

Ndánk-Ndánk mooy jápp golo ci ñaay, right? Cultural adaptation will come with patience.

Hope all is well at home for everyone reading this.

Love,
Beth