sevendays.

life under the net is starting to feel normal. the world around me in various states of decay and damp.
all my papers are in limbo...the moment between having just been drenched with water and almost dry.
curling at the edges. soft. but at the heart flat.


a week has passed since my arrival. and i reflect on that.
the differences in life are startling. invigorating. enlivening.


having a beer in a downtown Thies eatery i go to pay...gustave is there and we have ourselves a chat about my existence here in this city. he gives me his number and email to keep in touch, if i'd like. in my brisque american confusion i hastily tell the lady at the counter that i would like to pay for my meal and drink...
and immediately i say oh! goodevening! she laughs at my faux pas. and we share a little conversation while the machine acts up,  i help her try and fix it, but to no avail. she adds together the cost on a calculator and i give her the sum. after a goodbye to gustave i join my friends in hailing a cab back to the house. it is all a bargaining game here.


soon some days later we finally go into town to buy supplies. food mostly, but for me i have my heart set out on finding my favorite treat. peanut butter...here they are called arachides and not cacahuetes...i have become more aware of greeting people. (it is about acknowledging the other persons existence which exceeds the importance of whatever needs to be done...and everyone deserves such respect) i see a woman near me and we exchange eyes, i say Salaamaalekum to her and she replies Maalekum salaam. i then proceed to say nanga def? and she replies maangi fi rek..and then says something i haven't yet learned proper. i tell her i do not understand and she says what is your name?...Nanga tudd? and i say sadie. i repeat the phrase back to her and she replies Jeame. we chat about where i live, which i could not explain as i had only been there a few days and about our jobs. she works at the bon marche and i tell her i will see her often because i liked the place. we talk about peanut butter and the difference in terms...and i learn how to say it in wolof...we exchange goodbyes and i finish my purchases. the beggars surround me while i wait outside for my friends...finally on the way home, the day feels successful. 


i begin to enjoy the life i have begun out here. all its oddities and delicious cultural crumbs really tickle me. i'm beginning to make plans...for my time here, for my return home, for my life...things just feel like they are gaining perspective and for the first time i feel the present and am content with that.