All of my other friends have been living in basically cockroach-infested homes, but so far I had escaped unscathed. Until last night. He was like 5 inches long and he was hiding in a corner of my room. Of course internally I flipped out, but I tried to stay calm. I went to grab a glass to do the usual “bug rescue” i try to do, but the damn thing was too fast, and he hid on me! So, I decided to study my Wolof in the living room, because I didn’t quite feel comfortable in my room with that thing. But of course, when I went to bed, the thing scurried across my floor. So I’m like “Great, I can’t go to sleep with that thing in my room”. So, Mama had given me this toxic spray, so I proceeded to chase it around the room, spraying frantically. But the thing wouldn’t die (I thought it was supposed to die instantly upon contact). Again, the cockroach hid from me, and now the room smelled absolutely toxic that I had to leave for 20 minutes. When I came back, he was laying in the middle of the floor, dying slowly. And then the guilt hit me. I not only killed the living creature, but I caused him to suffer a slow painful death. Now, as such, I am not sure how I will react when I see another one – maybe I’ll try my bug rescue a little harder before resorting to the spray. But they are so gross!!
Television is huge in Senegal. You wouldn’t think it was, but it is. People watch tv like it’s their job – thankfully my family is one of the few who really never turns it on. We had a conversation in Wolof about why people here watch so much tv, and it seem that they look at it as a social activity. Like, when our teacher, Moutarou, goes over to his cousin’s house, his cousin will immediately turn the tv on while they sit down and chat. People here especially like watching tv at night, whether it’s to fill the time or to help them forget about their hard lives. So it seems that Western society has fully permeated at least parts of Africa, but unfortunately they haven’t brought any decent programming with them. The programs here are awful – I’d rather go to the dentist than watch a tv show here!
I watch my mom pray a lot. It’s crazy to watch a 60 year old woman be so mobil. She lays out a map, and does some sort of routine that looks like she’s stretching before an exercise class. It’s kind of funny to watch. I wonder what she is thinking while she prays, and what she thinks will come of her prayers. I furthermore wonder what she tells herself before she drags herself out of bed at 5am for the first prayer of the day.
It’ s really weird going on the internet right now, because all the headlines I see are of Hurricane Katrina. From what I can gather, the hurricane has caused a huge amount of devastation and truly become a national, if not international, issue. It’s really weird being a half a world away while all this is going on. Most people here aren’t even aware of what has happened, and life here has gone on as though nothing has happened. That, more than anything, makes me feel like I’m really far away.
Ew Grosssssssss!!
