Ba Beenen Yoon Senegal!

My time in Senegal has come to a close and as I reflect on my time I realize there is so much that I have experienced that my brain gets tired just thinking about it. I ended up remembering the small details, the little things that happened on the way to and from school, simple words and funny moments.  In order to organize all of this, I have made lists (one of my favorite past times) of the little things in my Senegalese experience that have made up the whole. 
 How did I get from here to there? All my modes of transport

Car rapides, tatas (similar to car rapides), public bus, ferry, pirogue (yes this means ferry in french, but I am describing a different type of ferry)

dingy boat, horse cart, taxi, bus, mini bus, bush taxi, bike (these last two are from Burkina Faso, but I am still counting them!)

Animals I have seen

Mouton, dogs, cats, kittens, mice, rats, lizards, giraffe, warthog, pigs, hyena, antelope, monkeys, onyx, zebra, parrots, tortoise, rhinos, ostriches, pelicans, cormorant, flamingos and crocodiles. I may have seen more but those are the big ones!

Things I have bought for less then $2

lait callie, mafé sauce (very similar to peanut butter but much th, popcorn, a fresh coconut, a full plate of Senegalese food, laundry soap, a large scoop of ice cream, a hand made basket, taxi rides, local drinks, peanuts, a pagna skirt made while I waited and fresh fruit galore!

Favorite drinks!!Top 10
1)  lait caille 2) bissap 3)  ataya 4) deeta 5) hot condescend milk 6) liquor made from the apple of a cashew plant 7) bouye 8) a cocktail mix  of different juices with a sugared rim 9) kinkiliba tea 12) coke ( not the same as in the US as they use REAL cane sugar, on a  hot day it can't be beat)
Favorite foods! top 10

 1) Mafe 2) yassa poulet 3) ceebujen 4) lax   5) Couscous à la Senegalese  5) gousi 6) mouton7) chwyarma 8) tapalapa baguettes  9) charcuterie (not meat)  10) brochettes

Meals I have prepared
Ceebujen, tacos (or something that resembled that) an attempt at yassa sauce, mafé, failed popcorn but excellent corn nuts, ataya( so this isn't a meal in the US but in Senegal it was a several hour process so I therefore consider it an art form and a meal), spicy peanut sauce and grilled mouton (ok, so I didn't ACTUALLY prepare this, but close enough!)Bugs I am not afraid of
Smallish cockroaches, termites, SOME spiders, praying mantises, crickets, ok this list is short, but hey! It's still an improvement, right?
15 things you can buy from your car
Boxes of tissues, grandfather clocks, books of any type, phone cards, tea, fruit, beignets (yum!), juice, stickers, brooms, shoes, workout outfits, mini statues, sunglasses and on one odd case in Burkina, teeth!
What you can get in a clear plastic bag
Lait caille, juice, peanuts, oranges, limes, water, oil ( cooking oil or for your car), soap, fish, chicken, mouton ( alive or dead?oh the possibilities), small cakes, beignets, mafe sauce and frozen juices on a hot day. 
Top Ten I received for free (in no particular order)

1) a weekend in a the village of Fimela Ndanga learning the value of education 2) opinions on musical education 3) language lessons from everyone I met 4) a taxi ride to a gare when I was lost 5) gifts from friendly shop keepers 6) a wonderful Senegalese meal from a woman I met once 7) beignets and bissap and peanut butter, the perfect afternoon snack with Erica
8) Stories about the Senegalese countryside from my host brother 9) Support from all my friends in the program throughout the semester 10) four months of memories of an incredible experience

For those of you who didn't experience the last four months with me, some of these things will not make sense. Whenever you get the chance to see me, unfortunately for many of you that won't be for another six months, you can ask me! I didn't explain these things on purpose, because answering the question "so what is gousi?" is a lot easier then answering "so how was SENEGAL?" (please refrain from asking the second question, I will probably just stare and maybe start laughing). The first half of my year is over, but stay tuned as this Ballardite heads to Europe for phase two!!