Concerts

We've been going to a lot of concerts since we've been here. Some traditional, some reggae, and some unique mixes and styles. The first concert we went to was at the French Cultural Center in the city. The band was made up of a bunch of brothers who also go to the University Gaston Berger.

The second concert we went to was at a restaurant/bar on the island of Saint Louis. Unfortunately this was also the day that the taxis were on strike. The university is about a 15 minute drive from the city, so walking all the way is not usually an option and would take hours. Stella, Bachir, our friend Moïse, and I walked to the exit of the university not knowing how we would get into town, and were lucky enough to see a coach bus parked at the gate. The driver was nice enough to drive us as far as he was going, at which point we got out and started walking in the dark. Not only were the taxis on strike, but all vehicles were, so every car that passed--which was not many-- was already packed with people. We even tried to catch a ride on a family's donkey cart with no luck. Eventually a car stopped for us and took us all the way into the city, where the streets were deserted because of the strike. Everyone who was in the city was watching Senegal's game vs. Equatorial Guinea in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, so we joined the crowd and ate dinner at a local fast-food sandwich shop while watching the game. The last few minutes were really exciting, and after every good or bad play you could hear cheers or yells in all directions from the other stores and restaurants on the street. Unfortunately, Senegal ended up losing and was out of the tournament.
The concert ended up being my favorite by far, and after it was over, we went to get something to eat and then started walking back across the empty bridge, hoping for a ride, which eventually came and dropped us off right outside our dorms.

A few weekends ago was le Festival National des Arts et de la Culture (FESNAC) in Saint Louis. We went to the opening ceremony, where each region of Senegal was represented kind of like in the Olympics, and then we went to a concert right next to the market before the bridge to the island. Although the concert was scheduled for 9, it didn't get going until midnight, and even then it took 45 minutes for the band to set up, then play one song and get their equipment off stage. This happened two more times, but is pretty normal, so we had a good time. The music at this concert was more traditional and varied depending on the region the band was from.

We also went to a concert at the French Cultural Center by BOGOSTYLE, a reggae singer, and his band.

Our friend Bachir has also been having concerts for his slam poetry at high schools around Saint Louis.

First couple weeks in Saint Louis

          Julia and her friend Bachir have been very helpful to us lately, and they came to Saint Louis our first weekend here and invited us to the beach. Julia went on the program two years ago, where she met Bachir at UGB. They came and took us to the beach on the coast, and we relaxed there and swam in the Atlantic. They showed us a couple good places to eat in the city, and took us to the French Cultural Center where there are lots of events and concerts and art exhibits that we could go to. On Sunday they were nice enough to take us around St. Louis and help us buy all the things that we needed. Because Bachir grew up in St. Louis, he knew where to go to get the things we needed, how much they should cost, and how to barter and get the price down. We bought things like mosquito nets, a fan, and soap to hand-wash our clothes with. Throughout the weekend, they told us need-to-know things about the city and the university, and also told us some history of St. Louis, as well as introduced us to a couple people on campus who we could trust.

On Saturday night we ate fatayas and chawarmas on a bench near the river that we bought for no more than 600 cfas, which is just a little over a dollar. Behind us we saw young boys outside under the streetlights chanting verses from the Qur’an while rocking back and forth. Bachir told us that these boys studied under a marabout, and were the same young boys that we would see walking around the streets asking tourists and adults for money. The boys would then bring whatever they got back to the marabout and either get rewarded or punished depending on whether or not they collected enough. It was information like this that gave us a lot of knowledge about the city, and we’re lucky and grateful that Julia and Bachir came to St. Louis and helped us so much. 

            At the university, we’ve been able to find our way to a few key places, such as the academic buildings, each other’s dorms, the dining halls, and small boutiques where we can buy necessities. The food at the university is not always awful (in my opinion), but from what we hear it gets boring because there is a total of about 10 dishes that they serve on a regular basis, at which point we can go to one of the private restos around campus for a bit more money and get something different. For the school restos, you need to buy meal tickets, which cost only 15 to 30 cents.  

                                  Donkeys outside our window that woke me up

                                                On the Pont Faidherbe

                                        View from the roof of Michaela's dorm

                                                               Bachir

                                                        Pont Faidherbe

                              Clarence, the stray dog who followed us everywhere