We arrived home on Tuesday and I set about my goal of making some of Arnie's favorite meals. I brought some of the ingredients for making enchiladas and chili rellenos from home but I still needed some fresh stuff.
Luckily, Tuesdays is one of the days that Arnie's maid, Leone, is here and she usually goes shopping for him because she can get a lot better prices at the market that a Toubab can. Arnie was so "kind" to let me have the "opportunity" to write out the shopping list for Leone, in French, saying that it was good for me to get that experience. All the while he is chuckling under his breath while I am on my computer trying to find the translation for everything I need to get plus the measurement conversions! Leone is very kind, though, and with her help, I was able to get everything I need to make dinner the next day. It was a very weird not going to store myself though. I was very nervous until she got back and I saw that she had got exactly what I had asked for and got great prices for them too!
We invited Francois for dinner as well as another gal who works for the Peace Corps. I was very excited and wanted everything to go well. Now looking back, I am glad that people who live here are used to things not going as planned!
Well, for dinner, the problem came down to the oven. Arnie's stove and oven are finicky things. When I first got here, Arnie showed me how to use the stove, which was a gas stove. Per his instructions, I had to turn on the gas at the valve above the stove, lift the stove top and light the pilot lights that sat between the two burners on each side and close the lid. Then I could just turn any of the burners on by turning the knob all the way to light. When I was done, I was to shut the valve and let the pilots burn themselves out, thereby leaving no excess gas behind.
To light the oven pilot, I had to read the instructions (mercifully in English) on the inside of the oven door, since Arnie didn't have experience with this. Well, according to the instructions, I had to basically take the oven door off, take the oven racks out and remove the bottom of the oven in order to get to the pilot light. This was such a brutal process that I decided that i was going to just leave it on instead of having to do that every time I wanted to use the oven.
Well, everything went according to plan. I got things in the oven on time, the guests got there on time, Arnie had some great music playing, everything was great! When the buzzer for the dinner went off, I went to the oven and realized that the oven pilot light wasn't on and my food hadn't been cooked! What I didn't know and that nobody, not even the instructions, told me was that you couldn't use the oven and the stove at the same time! So I rushed and lit the oven pilot and my guests ended up waiting another 30 minutes for their food. Like I said, I am glad that people here in Africa are used to this sort of thing.
The food end up great anyway and armed with my hard earned knowledge, I felt confident that I was ready to tackle my next culinary challenge in Africa the next day: cinnamon rolls!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Trip to Senegal- Day 5 Sali & Bandia Animal Preserve
When we left Joal-Fadioth, it was just beginning to get dark which wasn't a good thing. Driving in Africa is a dangerous proposition to begin with, but at night, it is borderline suicidal! I didn't unclench my grip on the sides of my seat, however, until we had reached our destination, Sali.
Sali is as close to a resort/beach town as I've seen in Senegal. It is lined with tourist friendly shops and nice looking hotels and resorts. When Arnie was trying to make the reservations to come, all of the recommended places were booked. We had finally found a place called The Savana that was on the water and had a price where meals were included.
Arnie was excited to show me what it was like to live the life of a "rich" (comparatively) person and since we were arriving later in the evening, I was looking forward to getting to rest in a nice hotel room and have some good food waiting.
However, it was at the Savana that I learned the difference between "nice" and "African nice." The room was a total let-down. There weren't fitted sheets on the bed. Just flat sheets that didn't even cover the bed completely, and no bed net. We had to put a ton of mosquito repellent on to keep from being eaten alive. The tv only had five channels that turned out to only carry the news, in French, of course. The a/c unit barely worked and only shot the air down to the ground. The food was terrible. Rubbery, practically raw steaks for dinner with a Styrofoam-ish mousse cake dessert the first night. Greasy eggs and fly infested fruit for breakfast the next morning for breakfast. Dinner the second night tasted good but caused Arnie to be sick to his stomach for the rest of the night.
Arnie was, to say the least, very disappointed. However, as he has said to me several times while I've been here, "C'est Afrique!" or "It is Africa!" What is extraordinary and alarming is that what to us is a very low class experience and one that, had we been in the states, would have caused us tremendous alarm and caused us to complain quite loudly, I'd imagine, is like paradise to those Africans who live in grass huts and sleep on dirt floors.
We had planned to stay for three nights but ended up leaving a day early. Strangely enough the hotel staff didn't make any comment about it.
The day that we did spend in Sali, we spent going to Bandia Animal Preserve. We paid for entrance to the park and for a guide who hopped into our SUV so that we could drive through the park ourselves in our nice air conditioned vehicle instead of having to get into the back of a safari vehicle on hard benches in the open air.
Our guide wasn't very talkative which was fine by me since she really didn't speak any English and Arnie is not in the habit of translating for me in front of people. I wing it most of the time, drawing on what little I remember from my two years of French in high school way back when. Which basically means that I don't understand most of what is said to me beyond "hi, how are you doing?"
The only carnivores that were to be seen here were the hyenas, which were in an enclosure and are not allowed to mingle with the rest of the animals, and the crocodiles, which live in the pond next to the restaurant and get fed regularly enough to keep them from being interested in the other animals of the park. Our guide did point out, however, that it didn't keep them for occasionally snatching a monkey or two when the mood struck them but that the cooks didn't mind that so much since the monkeys are very pesky.
I think the highlight of our visit to Bandia was seeing the rhinoceros. Ami said that sometimes there are days when they can't find the rhinos. We were lucky that they were right next to the trial we were on and we could get some great photos. She then offered to take a picture of us if we got out. She cautioned us to go slowly and not to make any sudden moves. We got the pictures and got back in without the rhinos moving or caring we were there. It was only when we were uploading the pictures that night that we realized how curious it was that our guide stayed in the car to take the picture! Oh well, everything turned out fine and we have a great picture!
We ended our visit having lunch at the park's restaurant. The food was great and we had a wonderful time watching the monkeys playing in the trees next to us. The best part of lunch was our table! It was an old McDonald's picnic table. I actually haven't seen a McDonald's here in Senegal. I just love how the Africans never waste anything :)
Sali is as close to a resort/beach town as I've seen in Senegal. It is lined with tourist friendly shops and nice looking hotels and resorts. When Arnie was trying to make the reservations to come, all of the recommended places were booked. We had finally found a place called The Savana that was on the water and had a price where meals were included.
Arnie was excited to show me what it was like to live the life of a "rich" (comparatively) person and since we were arriving later in the evening, I was looking forward to getting to rest in a nice hotel room and have some good food waiting.
However, it was at the Savana that I learned the difference between "nice" and "African nice." The room was a total let-down. There weren't fitted sheets on the bed. Just flat sheets that didn't even cover the bed completely, and no bed net. We had to put a ton of mosquito repellent on to keep from being eaten alive. The tv only had five channels that turned out to only carry the news, in French, of course. The a/c unit barely worked and only shot the air down to the ground. The food was terrible. Rubbery, practically raw steaks for dinner with a Styrofoam-ish mousse cake dessert the first night. Greasy eggs and fly infested fruit for breakfast the next morning for breakfast. Dinner the second night tasted good but caused Arnie to be sick to his stomach for the rest of the night.
Arnie was, to say the least, very disappointed. However, as he has said to me several times while I've been here, "C'est Afrique!" or "It is Africa!" What is extraordinary and alarming is that what to us is a very low class experience and one that, had we been in the states, would have caused us tremendous alarm and caused us to complain quite loudly, I'd imagine, is like paradise to those Africans who live in grass huts and sleep on dirt floors.
We had planned to stay for three nights but ended up leaving a day early. Strangely enough the hotel staff didn't make any comment about it.
The day that we did spend in Sali, we spent going to Bandia Animal Preserve. We paid for entrance to the park and for a guide who hopped into our SUV so that we could drive through the park ourselves in our nice air conditioned vehicle instead of having to get into the back of a safari vehicle on hard benches in the open air.
Our guide wasn't very talkative which was fine by me since she really didn't speak any English and Arnie is not in the habit of translating for me in front of people. I wing it most of the time, drawing on what little I remember from my two years of French in high school way back when. Which basically means that I don't understand most of what is said to me beyond "hi, how are you doing?"
Oryx Antelope, I think.
Since the guide kept calling them "Antelope Cheval" in French, I can't be sure.
Three zebra
Although our guide, Ami, wasn't chatty, she did a good job showing us all that Bandia had to offer, which mostly consisted of antelopes and ostriches. We did see some giraffes and zebras that was great fun. Arnie and I were able take a lot of pictures so I can show my girlies when I get home. I have some budding artists that I imagine would just love it!Since the guide kept calling them "Antelope Cheval" in French, I can't be sure.
Three zebra
The only carnivores that were to be seen here were the hyenas, which were in an enclosure and are not allowed to mingle with the rest of the animals, and the crocodiles, which live in the pond next to the restaurant and get fed regularly enough to keep them from being interested in the other animals of the park. Our guide did point out, however, that it didn't keep them for occasionally snatching a monkey or two when the mood struck them but that the cooks didn't mind that so much since the monkeys are very pesky.
I think the highlight of our visit to Bandia was seeing the rhinoceros. Ami said that sometimes there are days when they can't find the rhinos. We were lucky that they were right next to the trial we were on and we could get some great photos. She then offered to take a picture of us if we got out. She cautioned us to go slowly and not to make any sudden moves. We got the pictures and got back in without the rhinos moving or caring we were there. It was only when we were uploading the pictures that night that we realized how curious it was that our guide stayed in the car to take the picture! Oh well, everything turned out fine and we have a great picture!
We ended our visit having lunch at the park's restaurant. The food was great and we had a wonderful time watching the monkeys playing in the trees next to us. The best part of lunch was our table! It was an old McDonald's picnic table. I actually haven't seen a McDonald's here in Senegal. I just love how the Africans never waste anything :)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Trip to Senegal- Day 4 Joal-Fadioth
For Easter, we drove down to the town of Joal-Fadioth to the house of Arnie's friend Francois. His family is Catholic as is the majority of Jaol-Fadioth and had invited us to have Easter dinner with his entire family. We had arrived late to eat with the family due to a late start and traffic. They were nice to have saved us some wonderful food and we enjoyed talking to Francois's father a little before eating.
After dinner, we walked over to a museum in honor of Senghor, the first president of Senegal, who was born in Joal. Francois's friend gave us a private tour and told us about this fascinating man who is said to be to Africa what George Washington was for America.
The highlight of the day was the walk to the island of Fadioth. The foundation of the island is made entirely of shells and the only access to the island is by the foot bridge or by pirogue (rickety wooden boats.) There was a very festive feeling on the island and it was wonderful to be there with Francois, who stopped every now and then to greet friends and neighbors. This was one of the only times that we didn't fear being harrassed by local salesmen or conned by anyone trying to earn a couple extra CFA by insisting we needed to pay for parking or anything.
The citizens of Joal-Fadioth are proud of their religious tolerance. Thanks to Senghor 's family, who had converted to Christianity, Christians and Muslims live in harmony here. In the picture below, you can just barely make out the Catholic church on the left and the mosque on the right of the bridge.
After dinner, we walked over to a museum in honor of Senghor, the first president of Senegal, who was born in Joal. Francois's friend gave us a private tour and told us about this fascinating man who is said to be to Africa what George Washington was for America.
The highlight of the day was the walk to the island of Fadioth. The foundation of the island is made entirely of shells and the only access to the island is by the foot bridge or by pirogue (rickety wooden boats.) There was a very festive feeling on the island and it was wonderful to be there with Francois, who stopped every now and then to greet friends and neighbors. This was one of the only times that we didn't fear being harrassed by local salesmen or conned by anyone trying to earn a couple extra CFA by insisting we needed to pay for parking or anything.
The citizens of Joal-Fadioth are proud of their religious tolerance. Thanks to Senghor 's family, who had converted to Christianity, Christians and Muslims live in harmony here. In the picture below, you can just barely make out the Catholic church on the left and the mosque on the right of the bridge.
The sun was just beginning to set as we were walking to Fadioth. From the direction of Joal, we could hear the constant chanting and drums of what Francois said was a wrestling competition.
Looking back toward the town of Joal 
We were walking along and I was so surprised to see Malia's name on the side of this little house. I just had to take a picture of it for her.
We were walking along and I was so surprised to see Malia's name on the side of this little house. I just had to take a picture of it for her.
The granaries are set on stilts out in the mangroves to keep the pests away. We were told that the grain stays good for up to a year in these little huts.
Granaries among the mangroves 
On the opposite side of Fadioth is another foot bridge that takes you to possibly the only cemetery in Africa that has Christians and Muslims buried side by side.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Trip To Senegal- Day 3 Goree Island
For the most part, Arnie and I leave the nice Land Cruiser parked safely by his work and join the many pedestrians dodging traffic and ignoring street vendors. He has a very quick pace and I struggle to keep up and keep an ever weary eye on the speedy jalopies. I am really surprised and relieved that I haven't seen an accident yet despite the closeness and the unpredictability of the chaos all around.
We are constantly being honked at by taxis, some beaters with cracked windshields and missing essential parts and some shiny and most in between, who are sure it is a mistake for a couple of Toubabs (white people or foreigners) to be walking anywhere! (Actually, every once in a while I question that myself. ) Some will even go so far as to slow down right in front of us as we are trying to cross the street causing us to miss the narrow opening in the traffic we were aiming for!
It was on this day, we were walking down to the pier to catch a boat to the Ile de Goree, that I questioned our crazy transportation habits yet again. We were half way down the hill when Arnie informed me that this is where another friend of his had gotten detained a little by some fellows trying to steal his wallet and that, in fact, happened a lot in this general area, but that I shouldn't worry because possibly they will leave me alone because I was female. It was with this happy thought that I quickened my pace and was very grateful to reach our destination unscathed.
At the pier we were surrounded by fellow sightseers and residents alike as we crowded on an old ferry boat for a windy 30 min ride to Goree Island. This beautiful oasis from the crazy motorized traffic is overflowing with colonial brick buildings in vibrant Mediterranean colors and narrow back streets dripping with bougainvillea. However, the Maison des Esclaves, the remnants of old WWII guns and other scattered ruins bear witness of a whole other kind of traffic that this island has seen. Arnie has been here many times before and was able to give me the tour.
The "Door of No Return"We are constantly being honked at by taxis, some beaters with cracked windshields and missing essential parts and some shiny and most in between, who are sure it is a mistake for a couple of Toubabs (white people or foreigners) to be walking anywhere! (Actually, every once in a while I question that myself. ) Some will even go so far as to slow down right in front of us as we are trying to cross the street causing us to miss the narrow opening in the traffic we were aiming for!
It was on this day, we were walking down to the pier to catch a boat to the Ile de Goree, that I questioned our crazy transportation habits yet again. We were half way down the hill when Arnie informed me that this is where another friend of his had gotten detained a little by some fellows trying to steal his wallet and that, in fact, happened a lot in this general area, but that I shouldn't worry because possibly they will leave me alone because I was female. It was with this happy thought that I quickened my pace and was very grateful to reach our destination unscathed.
At the pier we were surrounded by fellow sightseers and residents alike as we crowded on an old ferry boat for a windy 30 min ride to Goree Island. This beautiful oasis from the crazy motorized traffic is overflowing with colonial brick buildings in vibrant Mediterranean colors and narrow back streets dripping with bougainvillea. However, the Maison des Esclaves, the remnants of old WWII guns and other scattered ruins bear witness of a whole other kind of traffic that this island has seen. Arnie has been here many times before and was able to give me the tour.
One of the many bougainvillea draped backstreets 
I am continually grateful that Arnie is with me to fend off all the over enthusiatic local vendors who don't seem to know the meaning of the words, "No, thank you" in either French or English and always greet us as "mon ami" (my friend) but won't leave us alone unless we get very unfriendly indeed.
We were at a disadvantage at one point because we were actually looking for a temporary replacement for my ring. I had been feeling very uncomfortable without it walking around in a country where polygamy is acceptable. It appears to even look at a vendor's stand is to invite harassment. To tell the vendor the item you are seeking also puts you at their mercy. We did so at one stall and we were told by the woman that she had the item we were looking for deeper in the series of stalls. It was only upon arriving in the dimly lit, cramped area that we realized that she didn't have the item at all and had sent another girl to possibly fetch one while she try to persuade us to buy something she did have. Arnie gratefully would have nothing to do with it and we quickly left the scene without another word.
Trip to Senegal- Day 2 Arriving in Dakar
When I arrived in Dakar at 5am, it was still dark and we descended directly onto the tarmac and taken to the terminal on a short shuttle ride. I was given no directions but followed my fellow passengers example and filled out a form and showed my passport to the guard and that was all it took to enter the very run down airport terminal. I felt very relieved to see the guy in the red vest with my name on a sign waiting to help me just like Arnie had said he would be. He got my bag and escorted me to the van past all the vendors outside pressing against the crowd despite the early hour.
Driving in Africa is insane. The drivers here are like New York cab drivers with no law to keep them in line and add thousands of pedestrians that just walk in traffic or hop in front of it at random and your odd horse and buggy here and there! I am so grateful I don't have to drive while I'm here and I'm grateful that Arnie isn't a newbie at it either or I'd be a nervous wreck.
Driving in Africa is insane. The drivers here are like New York cab drivers with no law to keep them in line and add thousands of pedestrians that just walk in traffic or hop in front of it at random and your odd horse and buggy here and there! I am so grateful I don't have to drive while I'm here and I'm grateful that Arnie isn't a newbie at it either or I'd be a nervous wreck.
Arnie expertly driving me around
Arnie took me sight seeing most of the day. I went to a couple of supermarkets and a really nice mall that were in stark contrast to the thousands of roadside stands and street vendors selling anything from fruit swarming with flies to furniture made from cow's horns. Dakar is surrounded by a beautiful blue ocean that Arnie has rarely been in because of what flows in it from the city.
The mosque Arnie calls the AT&T tower
Most of Africa is Muslim so the landscape is dotted with mosques of all sizes and sounds of "Call to Prayer" can be heard 4-5 times a day from the loud speakers of these mosques. Senegal, however, is moderate Islamic state and so the people are not as extreme in their the standards of dress and conduct as a lot Muslims. The women don't veil their faces and can wear pants. You don't have to immediately stop working to pray but pray as soon as possible. Etc, etc.
Another mosque and the view of the city 
You see baobab trees everywhere. The legends have it that a displeased god plucked a tree and put in back in the ground upside down, hence the straggly appearance.
There are wonderful statues and art. The African Renaissance monument stands taller than the Statue of Liberty was commissioned by the current president, President Wade.
Trip to Senegal- Day 1 Traveling to Dakar
My African adventure actually started the night before I left with what I discovered is truly an authentic African experience without even having to leave Boise-a flight delay!
I had finished packing my bags around midnight. The reason behind my procrastination is a whole 'nother tale. I then turned my focus toward the process of checking in online. My itinerary, purchased through an online booking agency called Vayama, had me flying United from Boise through Chicago then to Dulles and then transferring to South African for the final leg to Dakar. To my dismay, my first flight of the day, scheduled to leave at 7:37am had been delayed to 9am, thereby getting me to Chicago a mere 10 minutes before my flight to Dulles was to take off! So as bleary eyed as I was, I had to deal with 30 minute hold times and customer service reps from India!
An hour and three phone calls later, I was booked on a new flight through Denver that left Boise at 6am. I went upstairs, informed my father in law of the change, changed my alarm clock and crashed. At around 4:30am, I jerked awake with the sudden realization that if I didn't get to the airport right away, I'd miss my flight! Thanks to my father in law and the moderate size of the Boise airport, I didn't miss it. I did have one more bump before take off however.
In my mad dash out of the house, I had grabbed a couple things out of the dryer and put a couple of last minute things in my bag. I had also taken some things out not wanting to be over weight and have that cause me a delay. The check in line was pretty long as was the line through security. By the time I was in security, I had worked up a pretty good sweat and had to juggle my bag in order to get my sweatshirt off and everything else in order to get through the check point smoothly. It was at this time that I just so happened to run my thumb along my ring finger as I sometimes do to rearrange my wedding ring and found to my horror that it was GONE!!! I was practically in tears when I got to the scanners and told the security ladies, yes, luckily ladies, that I had possibly dropped my ring in the airport somewhere between the check-in counter and there but that I had no time to search for it because my plane was about to take off.
Well, these kind souls quickly took action and helped x-ray my bag, get my contact info, gave me the airport's lost and found info, did another x-ray of my bag because of a very "suspicious" hard drive cord was sending weird readings, gave me a pat on the shoulder and I got to my plane with 5 minutes to spare!
I am happy to report that the rest of my trip was very uneventful. AND during my layover in Dulles, I got word from Boise that my ring had come off when I was digging through the dryer and it was safe and sound!!!
The dawning of the next day found me landing in Dakar International Airport.
I had finished packing my bags around midnight. The reason behind my procrastination is a whole 'nother tale. I then turned my focus toward the process of checking in online. My itinerary, purchased through an online booking agency called Vayama, had me flying United from Boise through Chicago then to Dulles and then transferring to South African for the final leg to Dakar. To my dismay, my first flight of the day, scheduled to leave at 7:37am had been delayed to 9am, thereby getting me to Chicago a mere 10 minutes before my flight to Dulles was to take off! So as bleary eyed as I was, I had to deal with 30 minute hold times and customer service reps from India!
An hour and three phone calls later, I was booked on a new flight through Denver that left Boise at 6am. I went upstairs, informed my father in law of the change, changed my alarm clock and crashed. At around 4:30am, I jerked awake with the sudden realization that if I didn't get to the airport right away, I'd miss my flight! Thanks to my father in law and the moderate size of the Boise airport, I didn't miss it. I did have one more bump before take off however.
In my mad dash out of the house, I had grabbed a couple things out of the dryer and put a couple of last minute things in my bag. I had also taken some things out not wanting to be over weight and have that cause me a delay. The check in line was pretty long as was the line through security. By the time I was in security, I had worked up a pretty good sweat and had to juggle my bag in order to get my sweatshirt off and everything else in order to get through the check point smoothly. It was at this time that I just so happened to run my thumb along my ring finger as I sometimes do to rearrange my wedding ring and found to my horror that it was GONE!!! I was practically in tears when I got to the scanners and told the security ladies, yes, luckily ladies, that I had possibly dropped my ring in the airport somewhere between the check-in counter and there but that I had no time to search for it because my plane was about to take off.
Well, these kind souls quickly took action and helped x-ray my bag, get my contact info, gave me the airport's lost and found info, did another x-ray of my bag because of a very "suspicious" hard drive cord was sending weird readings, gave me a pat on the shoulder and I got to my plane with 5 minutes to spare!
I am happy to report that the rest of my trip was very uneventful. AND during my layover in Dulles, I got word from Boise that my ring had come off when I was digging through the dryer and it was safe and sound!!!
The dawning of the next day found me landing in Dakar International Airport.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Two more quilts!!
I finished the tops of the quilts for both Bethany and Malia. These were really cool to make and it was amazing how quick they were to put together. The lady that made the books these patterns came from claims that with her method you can do a quilt in a day. Well, although I didn't do these in a day, her methods were very efficient and as you can see, these didn't take the six years that my other quilts I made did :)
Now I just have to wait until my budget allows me get the batting and the backing and then I can finish them completely! Sigh.
Now I just have to wait until my budget allows me get the batting and the backing and then I can finish them completely! Sigh.
The top of Bethany's quilt
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