Getting intimate with our food....

Today was the best day so far. We finally got to see the SIT building which is really cool and in a great neighborhood. Our first assignment was to walk around the neighborhood with an object that we were given and ask people what it was, what it was used for, and who used it. We of course had no idea what the objects were really used for until they were explained to us- in French and Wolof. It was so cool because we got to speak to locals, some were very patient with us and some laughed at our primitive French skills but it was so fun. My object looks like little twigs but are actually used by people to brush their teeth- kind of like a big tooth pick that you chew on for a while. For lunch, we went native style and ate with our hands!!!! This is how they typically eat in family settings in Senegal. It was a chicken and rice dish, one of the national dishes and it was SO GOOD. What you do is dive in with your right hand and grab from your side of the bowl and then roll it around in your hand until it gets balled up and then you eat it. At first it felt really gross and kind of just wrong because we were mushing up our food in our hands and eating it, but after a while we got the hang of it and it was the most fun I've ever had playing with food. It's going to be hard to get used to eating like that and you definitely have to wash your hands, but in many ways it felt so much more natural and it gives you a completely different appreciation for the food when you actually feel it in your hands. Amazing. Tonight was the first full day of Ramadan so we have to be careful not to eat in front of our Muslim staff members. During dinner tonight we heard the evening prayer projected over the loud speakers from the Mosques- it's so beautiful and actually kind of moving to see people stop where they are and pray in the streets. After classes we went to this really fancy bakery and got great french pastries, we are definitely eating well here so far. Except of course for our dinner (for me) when they served us a full fish- head and all. My anxiety totally kicked in for some reason upon seeing the fish just laying on my plate and my very understanding roommate Chesa took it and cut it up for me and took off the head and tail. What a good friend! I know I am going to have to get used to things like this and cannot refuse it when I am at my homestay. So many adjustments! One other disturbing thing that happened to day was that when we were walking to dinner, we suddenly heard all these mews and whimpers and when we looked around we notices they were coming from these TINY newborn kittens laying hopeless in the street. They almost looked like rats they were so small, and our initial reaction was to run over to them. To our disgust, a man grabbed the kittens by the tail and threw them into the nearby garbage pit. Of course there was nothing we could do for a number of reasons. For one, we cannot touch any animals here due to rabies precautions. For another, people don't pet and cuddle animals the way we do in the US so it's not culturally appropriate to want to pick it up. Also, it wasn't our place to do anything about it as upsetting as it was and as wrong as it felt to watch this go on. It was a striking example of cultural differences, and it was really hard to watch. There are definitely going to be a lot of experiences that go against my instincts but I will have to adjust. Tomorrow we get to meet our homestay families. I am really excited and I can't wait to move in with them. I'm nervous about speaking French to them a) because my French is pretty weak but also b) I know they prefer Wolof and will be urging me to catch on. Wolof is really really difficult because it's not like any language I've ever learned before and the pronunciation is completely different. Our group is getting so close and we're really becoming good support systems for each other. It's such a positive and supportive energy and it's so nice to be with new people who are completely non judgmental and are totally on the same page about wanting to be in Africa. That's all for now since my battery is about to die. A bientot.