The Tourist Corner: Beauty, Goats and Wrestling

No matter how much I ca work on immersing myself in the Senegalese culture, there are moments where I am that tourist pulling out her camera to document something interesting. In this post, I’ll keep it very simple and share the few things that have amazed me or made me chuckle.

Beauty

In the one month that we’ve been here, we’ve traveled to Île de Gorée and Toubab Dialaw. At Gorée, we toured the House of Slaves to learn the role that this island played in the transatlantic slave trade. Toubab Dialaw is a fishing village and there’s an artist colony where we had a chance to learn some dancing, drumming or Batik. In both places, we could be at the beach within minutes.                                                                                

These two photos only begin to show you some of the beauty that Senegal has to offer. Let me also say that I am not complaining at all that I missed winter this school year.           

Animals

No amount of time here is going to stop me from laughing when I see another goat, cow or someone riding a horse in the middle of the road. I know that we are in a city where elements of rural life are present, but no explanation of why there are ten goats tied to a post near a busy intersection is going to allow me to keep a straight face.

I believe that this sign is warning drivers to watch out for horse carts. It makes me wonder how a horse can even begin to compete with a car. One time, the cart was blocking the bus I was taking and an argument between the passengers and the horse cart driver started. 

Even on Île de Gorée, we discovered some goats just sitting. 

Wrestling or La lutte

I was warned before coming that traditional wrestling is very popular but I must have forgotten at some point. Within our second week, there was a match and we were told to be extra careful as people could get upset if their favorite wrestler didn’t win. After the match ended, I hear the parade from outside my window as people celebrated the victory of their favorite wrestler. During this semester, I must either attend a wrestling match or watch a live streaming of one with my host family. 

An advertisement for a match taking place on February 23rd.