The top ten things I hate about Dakar

So inevitably, this post was coming.  It's the second week, I'll miserably sick, and I would just like to take a minute to complain.  The vacation/honeymoon/warm-and-fuzzy feeling of week one is gone, and my illness is making everything about five times worse, so yes, I do feel justified writing this.  To everyone who feels a little uneasy reading the title, fear not.  I am not unhappy here.  I am not homesick.  I am not booking a flight home.  There are just a few things that I wish were a little different...

10. Air quality.  We passed a city bus this afternoon that was (no joke) emitting thick, smoke-like exhaust.  Only a block later, we had to walk along the highway because they had set fire to the daily-accumulated piles of trash on the side walk.  Apparently, that's an acceptable way to get rid of trash in the city.  My malaria pills make me nauseous every morning anyways, so the lovely, thick, foul-smelling Dakar air really makes the 45 minute walk a fun one.

9. Cold showers at bedtime.  Not only is the water un-heated, it comes out of a hose that I have to hold between my knees when shampooing my hair.  There's usually a bucket of laundry in the tub too, so I have to do my best not to get shampoo in there.  But best of all is a cold shower during a power outage, when the half-open ceiling of the bathroom let in drafts that put out my candle.

8. Power outages, since we're on the subject.  Over half the time, my house is without power.  Apparently, there is not enough to power the city, so the government regulates the cuts in areas and times they feel are acceptable.  Too bad I don't live in a wealthy or commercial neighborhood.  When I have early classes, I assume that my clothes match and that the mascara is actually hitting my lashes.  And of course, eating dinner next to a battery-operated light is the hi-light of my night.

7. Noise.  Whether it's Call-to-Prayer, stray animal fights, and the garbage cart's horn, Dakar is noisy.  At any given time, it's impossible to experience silence.  The Senegalese also take pride in making as much noise as possible.  Children.  Maids.  Adults.  From laundry, to cooking, to singing, to driving, if the activity has a potential of being noisy, it will be noisy as possible.

5. Powdered milk and coffee.  I miss real milk.  I miss real coffee.  Forget all the other foods that are completely absent from Africa, adding hot water to milk and to coffee just isn't right.  I'll also take this moment to comment on the lack of fruit and vegetables from my diet.  Since it's the dry season, most families cannot afford fruit and veggies for the whole family.  We eat french bread, meat, and rice.  Yum.

4. Dirt and sand.  No matter where I walk or how much I scrub my feet, it's impossible to ever get them really clean.  Thank god I don't have a family that can afford carpet because then they'd make me take my shoes off.  That would be embarrassing, given that I have white lines weaving around my feet from where the sandal straps were.  Not only does it make my skin gross, the sand really hurts my lungs.

3. Bargaining for everything.  Taxi rides, pieces of fabric, packs of instant coffee.  If it's for sale, you have to bargain.  You also pay more for being a Toubab (white person).  However, there are a few exceptions.  Fruit stands are generally prix fixe, which I found only after a hard and unsuccessful bargain with the fruit boy.  Western-style grocery stores as well.  You pay more, but there is a price sticker on the product or shelf.

2. A particular member of my host family.  But out of respect, I will not name him/her.

1. Being a Toubab.  Not only it is difficult to walk alone down the street without being approached by a doting Senegalese man or walk through a market without being offered everything from baby's baptismal clothes to rainbow tupperware, I can and never will blend in here just because of my skin color.  Taxis honk, children shout, and old men stare.  Female + white + Dakar = a slight drawback.