We Do Share African Time

Photo: African Renaissance Monument in Ouakam, Dakar, Senegal

Some of you may be wondering what similarities and differences I have found between the Congolese and Senegalese cultures. This list doesn’t include everything, but it’s a reminder that Africa is a continent full of diversity.

·         Languages

o   While French is the official language of Senegal, Wolof is the lingua franca. You can communicate with most people if you know French, but you’ll need basic Wolof in everyday life. Other languages spoken include Pulaar, Serer and Mandika.

o   In Congo, the official language is French but you may encounter Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili and many other languages depending on where you are. I have met other Congolese here in Dakar but they don’t speak Swahili so I need to step up my game and learn some Lingala.

o   I attended a church service where everything was translated from French into English. When I went to a congregation that belongs to the Lutheran church of Senegal, the service was done in French and Serer.  Even the entire sermon was translated. This may not seem like a big deal, but the idea of making sure that language isn’t the barrier to people participating in the service is pretty cool.

·         Cuisine

o   Rice. We eat a lot of rice here in Senegal. The main dish is Ceebu jen and it has rice, fish, tomato sauce and all sorts of vegetables. There’s also Maafe which has rice, meat and a peanut sauce. There are many dishes that I am enjoying and must learn to cook so I can teach it to my family, but I didn’t realize how important rice was until I got here.

o   Fufu or Ugali- both described as staple starches eaten in parts of Africa is what I am used to. You can eat fufu or ugali with different types of sauces that have meat, fish and vegetables. Seeing as my family is best described as Congolese-American, we also enjoy some American cuisine.

·         Notion of Time

o   Maybe this isn’t even about being Congolese or Senegalese but simply about African time. In the US, when we say something is going to start at 7:00 pm, we mean that it will start then. Here, something that starts at 7 pm really means that people start showing up between 8:30-9:00 pm. Things will be in full swing around 10:00 pm. I don’t yet know how to calculate African time but I am sure that I will learn quickly. Let me tell you that our classes do start on time and saying that we operate on African time wouldn’t go well with our professors.