Today we had our first real Senegalese adventures. We went to Goree Island, the most Western part of Africa, where the slaves were kept before they were shipped off. The story of the slave, and their treatment is always so horrible. We toured a place that was a slave house, and saw the small rooms where they would keep many slaves.
I did learn a few new things today. It is interesting because they wouldn't ship off anyone under 60kilograms (thats 132lbs)...so they either fattened them up or enslaved them here in africa. They kept the virgin girls separate so the men could take them, but if one got pregnant they were let go. They would not enslave the half white children. Very sad, but at least they recognized these children were of their own men, and wouldn't enslave them.
On a better note, the island has grown to be a beautiful place, so it is no longer an oppressive land. The colors of the buildings and the plants are amazing. We picked up a few trinkets on this trip, and the pictures are so beautiful. (see them all on facebook).
Afterwards we were in downtown Senegal to go to Ali Babas. We had hamburger complete... a hamburger with a fried egg and french fries and ketchup and mustard all on the burger. Crazy, delicious, and I think I need to exersise every day for a week to make up for it.
It's amazing because there are times here where you don't even realize you're in Africa. We went into a sporting goods shop that looked as nice as any in america, and we stopped in a beautiful bakery with all kinds of delicacies... since Senegal was a french colony, that is the national language. There are also a lot of french tourists, so there are restaurants that cater to them. This makes for a much more international feel to the city... much nicer than Sierra Leone.
Tonight we're going to have a local dish called ceebu jin (sounds like chubba gin), a wolof name. Wolof is the local ethnic language... don't use the term tribal here, they don't like that. Smells very yummy, so I'll let you know how it turns out!
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