First Day in Nioro Du Rip

We made it to our host community, Nioro Du Rip. Nioro is a small community 4 hours south and east of Dakar. We are staying at a place called CEDAF. I already feel behind in my blogging since I am writing this on Sunday and we arrived yesterday.

On Saturday, we left Dakar at 9:30am and arrived approximately at 1:30pm. Our host teacher, Papa Amadou Seck met us at the hotel and tried to get us settled in. At first, they didn't have a room for one of us - but we got that settled and even have an air cooler in the room in addition to a ceiling fan. Papa is such a nice man! He is energetic, outgoing and very, very kind. He is 33 years old and is married and has three girls (ages 4 months, 3 years and 7 years). He teaches at the high school level in Nioro. He seems to know everyone around town! He has lots of brothers, cousins, etc - that he meets while walking on the street. I love that.

Everyone he meets is a relative or is someone that's considered close enough to be a relative. Everyone stops to say hello and have a chat - no one is in a hurry or a rush like we always are in California.

We left our hotel and took a walk down the road to Gusto. Chez Gusto is a restaurant that is owned by a teacher and his wife. It was closed currently when we were going for lunch - but Simon, the owner opened for us to have some lunch. We had rice and meat, a type of Yassa - but not chicken or pork. We had sheep. We also made sure to find some place that sold water so that we could have it back at the hotel. Bottled water isn't always easy to find here. The local townspeople don't tend to buy bottled water, they drink it from the well or the tap. So, I would imagine the demand for bottled water is very low. We

eventually found water bottles for 500 CFA and took them to the hotel.

It was a very rare occurrence - but there happened to be a wrestling match happening in Nioro the night we arrived. They occur probably once every 3-4 months in Nioro. We happened to be there when they had one. So we were picked up at 6pm to head over to the house of the man who arranged for the match to happen. His name is Sow. Sow actually lived in the USA in New York and is part of the import/export business. He also helps to arrange the wrestling matches. We enjoyed a leisurely visit at his house and even had some "ice cream" - which was bissap flavored or buy (pronounced buoy). The bissap is my favorite. It's made from hibiscus and the buy is made from the fruit of the baobab tree. It was very similar to an Otter Pop - flavored frozen punch, tied in a plastic baggie. You bite/cut the end off and eat it, like an Otter Pop. It was very much welcomed after walking all day in 102-degree weather. It really helped cool us down. It was a very nice treat.

After spending some time there, we went over to the wrestling arena. It was rather dark, but they had a light shining on the arena. There was a good sound system that helped us hear the announcer (who spoke in Wolof) and the singers. Before the matches began - the drummers started drumming on handmade African drums. It was amazing. They are definitely high energy drummers who are extremely talented. Two women also were singers and were also very talented. Before the match, wrestlers would dance and put dirt on their skin. They have two divisions - over 15 kg and under 15 kg. They arranged themselves around the arena in groups. The group may have 1-2 wrestlers from their location/village and have friends and family members with them. The match didn't start until almost 10pm. We were told it could last until 1am. We stayed to watch some matches before returning to the hotel, tired from a long day. It was so much fun to watch the wrestlers, hear the African drums and the singers, too. Papa and his best friend, Ly, were amazing hosts and a lot of fun to be around! We are so grateful for their generosity hospitality.

It was my first night sleeping under the mosquito net. Although I did manage to steal some TP from the hotel in Dakar (so glad I did), I wish I would have packed a towel, and blanket and a dark wrap to use as a curtain. I was able to find a towel at the market in Nioro. I was also very grateful for the air cooler in my room and the bucket of water I had saved in the bathroom - since the water was turned off from the afternoon time until 5am. How do I know 5am? I tried the faucet and apparently didnt return it to the off position - and at 5am I heard water rushing in the sink! :) Note to self - always return the knob on the faucet back to the off position!