Tea and Teranga

Today we went to Papa's house to have some tea and lunch. Nan and I brought gifts to Papa and his wife, in addition to their three girls (ages 4 months, 3 years and 7 years). At first, the children were afraid of me. I am getting this a lot around Nioro. Children seem to point, stare, some will yell "toubab" (which means white woman). Some cling to their mothers, some cry. Papa's daughters had never seen or met a white woman before. I could tell his girls were very scared when they first met me. It honestly took a few hours before they warmed up to me. We started playing catch with some of the balls we brought to break the tension. We also bought them sticker books and coloring books. We had to show the girls how to use the stickers, as they had never seen them before. The candy we brought was a huge hit. We brought Airheads, Ring Pops, Jelly Bellys and Jolly Ranchers. They definitely liked the candy. The girls also liked the little stuffed animals we gave them and USA hats. Papa and his wife went and put on the shirts we gave them immediately.

Papa's wife went to the market before we arrived and purchased two chickens. When she got home, one of the elder boys (Papa's nephew) killed the chickens in order for the women to prepare them. The men always do the killing of the animals, not the women. The women were gathered in the kitchen while one plucked feathers, another chopped onions and yet another prepared the rice. Nan and I sat in the kitchen and watched and would pop outside the kitchen to play with the girls from time to time. The meal was quite the undertaking. It took HOURS for everything to be prepared. Papa said

he loves chicken - it is his favorite meat. However, they only have chicken once a month or every other month. Mostly they have fish. I can see that is is much more difficult to prepare chicken (and time-consuming). While the women prepared the meal, the men talked in another room. I shared pictures of my family with Papa and Ly. An Imam came over to the house and sat with us also.

We talked about marriage and families and desires for the future. Papa said he desires to have more wives, more children and to own his own home. Right now, they are renting a place. He owns a plot of land, but would like to build his own house. Although he only has one wife at this moment, he would like to have 3-4 possibly. He also would like to have a lot of children. His friend, Ly, currently has one wife also but may like to take another wife later. We talked about the "rules" for having more than one wife. He said they are allowed to have up to 4 wives, only if they can treat them equally and provide for them all. More wives also allows for the workload to be lighter because there are so many duties to be done inside the household.

Once the meal was prepared, we ate together from a communal bowl. We all ate with our right hands, and used our left hands to touch the edge of the bowl. Touching the bowl with the left hand is a sign of respect for the food that you are eating. You eat the food by pressing it into a ball shape and putting it into your mouth. We had chicken yassa (or Yassa Poullet) - which is chicken with rice served with an onion/garlic sauce. It was sooooooo good. Definitely a favorite of mine!!! Yassa can be served with fish or other meat (such as the sheep we had yesterday). Although it took hours to prepare, it was very tasty and we enjoyed eating it together.






After we ate and had tea, we walked around Nioro. We visited so many places and I learned so many things today. We visited the government buildings. We visited the fire station, the public hospital, the private hospital, the post offices and the radio station.

 I found it particularly interesting that the prices were listed outside the public hospital. It also included dentist services. A consultation for the dentist, for example, cost 500 CFA (which is less than $1 USD). Check out the prices below (approx 600 CFA = $1 currently).

We saw man animals on and around the street. We saw pig, goat, sheep, chicken and donkeys. We saw the first home built in Nioro. We walked around a garden that was growing mint, eggplant, and some other herbs. We also saw the first well in Nioro. It was a very busy place! There were people coming and going the entire time we were there. Nan and I got to draw water from the well. It was very refreshing because it was so warm outside - and I didn't mind the splashing from the sloshing bucket. It was also rather smart of the man who created the garden to place it right next to the well! Good thinking!!! :)