Youssou N’Dour Concert

One thing I was sure about before coming to Dakar was that I was going to see Youssou N’Dour in concert. He is a legend worldwide and widely considered one of Africa’s greatest singers of all time. I couldn’t believe it only took two and half weeks for this wish to become a reality. Since I was sick for the first real weekend in Dakar this would also be my first night out. We got to the concert a little early so we were able to get some pretty good seats, which we gave up as soon as Youssou came on so we could get closer and do some dancing. The concert was incredible, more than I could have dreamed of. The venue was outside at the Institut Francais (a French cultural center in downtown where they have all sorts of events going on all the time). It was not a huge venue, but capacity was definitely met, if not exceeded. It’s tough to write about and event like this because I know that there is no way I could possibly to it justice.  

All I can say is it was incredible, such a great time. The band was energetic and sharp, and the collection of instruments gave their sound a certain complexity that was accompanied by the fantastic voice Youssou N’Dour. An unforgettable experience that I hope to relive soon.

The show featured a great mix of mbalax, afro-groove, and reggae. To my great enjoyment Youssou played quite a few songs from his new album, Dakar to Kingston, which is reggae filled compilation of tunes featuring some of reggae’s best musicians. I think most of, if not all, of the songs were recorded in studios in Jamaica. Youssou was on stage with a huge band. Of note were a great guitarist, a wild dancer, and a couple energetic drummers, who were brought to center stage on multiple occasions. For one particularly lively number Youssou shared the stage with a reggae singer whose name I was unable to catch.

Youssou played just about exactly a two hour set, which ended at around 11, so after a wearing two hours of dancing, which was interrupted from time to time by a French couple behind me who refused to stand up and dance with everyone else and asked me to sit on several occasions (this didn’t do much good for my thought of the French even though here in Senegal I think there is some rare connection between us as them as foreigners, or white people, or both) it was time to go out. We started at a pretty small bar close by, next to Ali Baba’s, where we had eaten chawarmas before he concert. There was a band doing some covers of classic reggae and Motown songs, and some people were dancing. Our group of about 8 students hitched on to a couple of Senegalese girls who were visiting from France, and we all went to a couple clubs, which were none too impressive. There was music and dancing but most of it was songs that you’d hear at a high school party and the only reason you don’t mind them all that much is that you’re drunk and girls love them, so who cares? One thing I did notice in these clubs was that there was always an entire wall that was covered in full sized mirrors. These attracted the sleeziest of the sleez-bags who would dance right in front of them, thinking perhaps that they were the star of some crappy rap video. This practice, along with having observed the amount of harassment experienced by foreign women in Dakar, has led me to believe that maybe the ratio of males to females is unnaturally unfavorable for the unfortunate men of Dakar. The night ended as everyone was getting really tired, and 

Plage des mamelles

Today we went to find another hidden beach. After a long night of dancing I was ready for some R&R on the beach. The move beach-wise started out poorly as I hopped on a bus that made every stop possible, making what usually isn’t a long trip an hour-long production. I’d never been to this part of Dakar so I was pleased that I guessed right on the bus stop and started to walk towards the water. The beach itself is not very large and it’s tucked away by a little mountain, accessible only by a garbage ridden dirt trail. I missed the trail and ended up walking to the water with a Baifal (a branch of one of the local Muslim brotherhoods, identifiable by their dreadlocks and patched clothing). I was pleased that he actually seemed pleased by my company and didn’t try to get me to buy anything. He showed me his house, which was a cool looking shack on the rocks and pointed out the beach for me.

The beach is pretty small and was, surprisingly, not very crowded. We were accompanied by only a couple other foreigners (American, Spanish, and French), a couple fishermen, and some local kids playing soccer, wrestling, participating in the typical “Dakarois” beach workout. It is a great find and I’m sure I haven’t seen the last of it.

Yassa and Ceebu jen

Ceebu jen (or Thiéboudienne) is Senegal's national dish, which I have eaten on multiple occassions. It is always served family style at home, on a big dish with with lots of rice cooked in a tomato based sauce. Marinated fish and cooked vegetables top the rice, all of which is eaten with the hand forming balls of rice and eating them with the other items. 

Another popular food here in Dakar, served in houses and restaurants alike is Yassa. This describes an onion, lemon and mustard sauce that is served over chicen or fried fish. Also very good and versatile in it's application to nearly any type of food. In addition to the usual chicken, fish, and meat I've had Yassa on eggs and even pasta.

Chwarma

Today I took another trip downtown, about a 20 minute ride on one of the many forms of public transportation available in Dakar, which costs about 25 cents. The goal was to try and bargain for some bootlegged soccer jerseys on the street. Before that venture, however, Ali and I had to grab some food. We were very close to a place I'd heard of before called Ali Baba. It is a fast food sit down type joint. We both ordered one of Dakar's classic sandwich, Chwarma. It is lamb shaved from a spit in a pita accompanied by a tomato, cucumber, parsley salad and a tahini sauce, along with a handful of french fries. Like just about everything I have had in Dakar thus far it was delicious, and it cost 1300 CFA (about $2.50).

First Post

I'm behind the ball a little bit with this whole blogging thing but I figured better late than never. I am currently studying abroad in Dakar, Senegal, and I regret not having started this blog earlier because the first two weeks here have been pretty incredible and I wish I could have shared it all through this blog. For me to try and recap my time since arriving here would be nearly impossible and I'm sure it would not do justice to the experiences I've had thus far. That having been said I will describe some of the highlights.

I am studying at the West African Research Center (WARC) and Universite Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD). WARC is our headquarters where most of the American exchange students take classes, go on computers, etc. essentially our "home-base". UCAD is the local university, attended by over 50,000 students, mostly Senegalese but also including students from all over West Africa and beyond. I live nearby in the Fann Residence neighborhood, surrounded by Embassies and professor housing. Relatively speaking, it is one of the upper-class neighborhoods around (by African standards, which are in no way bad, just very different from our Western idea). The house is nice, there is electricity and I have my own room. The house consists of a mom, her two sons (16 and 27), an older cousin, and a father type figure who is around for about 4 days out of the week. It's tough to get a grasp of family structure here so I'm not really sure who other people are, but there are others who live elsewhere. The brothers are great and have been helpful in getting me in with the local soccer scene, working on my French, and keeping me company when in the house.

Soccer started off right away. From a soccer perspective this is a great place to be. Every evening the Corniche (the main seaside road) is packed with guys sporting their various bootlegged soccer kits running, training, and playing. This is usually my afternoon program after classes sine I live about two blocks from the epicenter of this kind of activity. More soccer related posts to come, the local team I play for has our next game this Sunday.