Catching up! Kafountine!

On Sunday, I spent quite some time on my computer trying to battle a computer virus which came from my USB stick which has been in many computers. Thankfully, its not a very malicious one, just very annoying. Astou continued with the cold shoulder and snottyness. I’m looking forward to her absence. If this problem persists, I will invite her for a sit-down talk.

A collegue invited me to go see a soccer game (they are actually double and sometimes triple-headers). I saw one of the guys I live with play which was interesting. There is a LOT of ambiance in the stadium and its neat because like at home, there are people who circulate among the spectators selling stuff to eat. But here, they don’t sell hot dogs and beer but rather local goodies like roasted peanuts, baobab popsicles, bissap juice, coffee, etc. Coincidently, I saw about five people I knew at the game. Very enjoyable. Makes me want to start playing again…I cut the game short to meet up with the girls for supper at the restaurant. Indeed, Claudine had a craving for spaghetti but we were unsuccesful in finding any and had shrimp instead – it’s a tough life I tell you!

Monday after work, Marie-Claude and I went to relax at the hotel pool with the wifi. Once again, it was a relaxing experience. Claudine stayed at Marie-Claude’s (since it has better amenities) to rest since she was still sick. After the pool, Marie-Claude fed me a delicious meal she had learnt to prepare herself: fishballs. To accompany the meal, we had a bottle of wine, but no bottle opener. This is a huge problem when in a muselman country! Its quite embarrassing to say, but we spent 45 minutes trying to open the damned bottle with a plethora of tools. By the time we put our tail between our legs and ended up popping the cork inwards in defeat, our rosé was no longer cold and we were covered in sweat. Reflecting on the experience, Marie-Claude and I realized we both had never finished a bottle of wine so fast – or worked so hard to open one!

Early at work on Tuesday, we got a call from Malick (Claudine’s Senegalais father) telling us she wasn’t doing well and to come see her. Marie-Claude and I took the call for help seriously and left work at 9 am to go see Claudine. I felt bad abondonning my patients, but the decision to go help one of my own was simple. When we got there, she was in both physical and emotional pain and ready to return to Canada. I proposed the following care plan: get her oral pain medication rather than suppository format so she’d start taking them, feeding her and making her disconnect from Africa for just a little bit. We ended up following the plan by eating at the Hotel Kadiadoumagne and relaxing by the pool. I felt a little bad being there instead of at work, but it did do wonders for my sick friend. She was no longer determined to return to Canada by the end of the day. What a relief!

I stayed at the hotel longer to finish preparing for a presentation on bed wounds that I have to give. By the way, the lunch meal I had there was delicious and hit the spot: spagehetti with a creamy shrimp and curry sauce. Try it! Yum! When I returned home, I had my final evening with Rama since she was returning to Dakar. I’ll miss her for sure!I won’t miss Astou’s bizarreness during her trip to Dakar though.

Wednesday, I was happy that my presentation on bed wounds got cancelled – actually just put off to next week. I’m a terrible presenter and find talking formally in front of more than two people agonizing, stressful and to be avoided if at all possible! My day at work was once again very fulfilling. I had lunch at Marie-Claude’s and ate an egg salad sandwich; something I’d been craving for days! Later that night, we went out with two of Claudine’s friends (one of which is dating the girl who lived where I do now and who has returned to Canada but will be visiting him next month). Although the meal was disappointing we had interesting discussions with the guys about sex – which, with most Senegalais, is so taboo, its not to be talked about. After our meal, we searched town for dessert and it was really hard to find. We finally did find cake, but it was not good.

// It is sort of ridiculous how much I talk about food all the time. I’m not sure if its because :

a) I’m obsessed with food – that’s not news though!

b) my life is sort of boring so that’s all there is to talk about

c) life here revolves around preparing food and eating it
Its probably a mix of the three…

My day at work on Thursday was hectic since I had many patients and it finished wicked late because of meetings in the afternoon. I was famished when I got home and had the best Thie Boudjen (national meal) EVER! The maid here, Mami, made it. She is a wonderful young woman and I should take a picture of her! In the evening, I went for supper chez Marie-Claude’s as she was going to prepare her first beef mafe (tomatoe and peanut sauce). This time, I brought a bottle of wine and Claudine had a swiss knife so we were able to open it in a matter of 30 secondes…

Friday after work, we went to Marie-Claude’s for a lunch of left-overs before leaving for our weekend destination: Kafountine.
(Image left: view of pirogue boats in front of the fisherman village - taken from my hotel)

(Image right: fisherman's village - taken from motel)
Finding a taxi to get to the road transport station was long; waiting for an-intercity taxi to fill up was even longer! It took us the entire pm to get to Kafountine which normally only takes two hours. I was lucky and sat in the front seat for the entire ride. There was beautiful scenary getting there, but the roads were aweful. We passed through a town called Dhiouloulou which is surprisingly fun to insert in any conversation. On the way there, I saw a monkey cross the road! And several chickens too, but that’s more common ;)
(Image left: view of pirogue boats in front of the fisherman village - taken from my hotel)

Our motel was right on the ocean in a rasta type place. It cost 5000 CFA per person per night (~12.50$). There was a black out in the evening so we had a candlelite dinner which was pleasant. Our walk back to the beach was splendid with the almost full moon out, the endless sandy beach and the enchanted waves. I slept until quite late Saturday morning and did absolutely nothing during the day. My highlight of the day was walking on the beach by the fisherman’s village.

It’s amazing seeing the fisherman work; they are so strong and brave with the big waves and heavy crates of fish. Given the physical nature of the employment, they are fine male beings to look at too! I was so lazy on Saturday, I didn’t even get around to swimming in the ocean. My how the day was relaxing!

(Image right: the beach to the right of the motel)

On Saturday night, we got invited to a BBQ at a guy we met on the way to Kafountine (in taxi). His garden was beautiful with many trees and flowers. He made us delicious grilled fish and we drank just enough wine. While enjoying the evening, I got a call from Phil on my cellphone and nearly had a heart attack when it rang. I just can’t get used to the flashing lights, abnoxious noise and nausious vibrations the modern piece of technology makes. It being in my pocket at the time it rang, I jumped ten feet in the air and nearly knocked the table over! Will I ever get used to having a cell phone??? Apparently not!

(Image left: the motel - little huts with no electricity and communal bathrooms)

Sunday, I read more of my book and relaxed. I very much enjoyed Kafountine as it is naturally beautiful (in a different way from Cap Skirring) and has a relaxing/festive vibe to it. My return to Zig was uneventful. El Hadj was very happy to see me and gave me a lot of affection which was quite nice!

(Image right: side roads of Kafountine - charming really!)

Unfortunately all the computers I use and my USB key are plagued by viruses. I wanted to add one last photo of a place next to the motel where I stayed. It is a pirogue building yard. Maybe I'll get it uploaded one day...