Obviously I love Tokomadji, my little on-the-Senegal-River village of about 1,000 people, complete with dusty roads, repetitive meal choices, and funny clothes. But I guess I took it for granted that my FAMILY from the UNITED STATES of AMERICA would be able to too, as well as overlook the heat, flies, communal aspect of EVERYTHING, eating--well, really licking-- food from the hand, squatting to do anything, and doing everything on the ground all the time.

It was a very typical African start to things: we somehow got split up going to the bus station, so my English/Spanish bilingual family (good on 3 continents) was TOTALLY lost in a French/Woloof/Pulaar/Bammbara/Hassaniya bus station. Then there was trying to keep tabs on them all as they tried to ward off peddlers, "watch" the baggage as its being put atop the car, and pile into the back of a 5-rowed, 19-seater "mini bus." After teaching them their first word (yuuni, meaning enough. say it: you- knee) to keep off the begging children, we started our 19-hour ride from Dakar to Matam, complete with trying to sleep in the stiff confines of stinky students, uncomfortable seats, and holding "carry-on" items in our laps.

Fortunately, we were greeted at the river by two brothers that SWAM ACROSS because they were so excited when they saw us coming! If only you could see them climbing into the canoe fully clothed, dripping wet, next to my grandma as she's sitting on the edge with her behind only 2 inches from the river's flow, my mom as she's bailing out water by our feet with half of a left over water jug, my dad as he's keeping an eye on the bag with the lab top to see if it--or any of the stuff--is getting wet, and the poor guy rowing, alone, all of us with all of our suitcases as well as the locals that needed to cross over.


When we landed all the kids in my house were there to carry our stuff, my host mom and 'dad' came running down the bank, showering us with hugs and greetings. As they were settling in, my family was welcomed to the village by hundreds of neighbors, elders, children, and a few crazy people, as I attempted to explain weeks of training, months of trial and error, and years of technique refinement to them in the space of a few hours.
Like how to tie a wrap skirt so your underwear (or lack of it) isn't showing, how to sit without flashing people, how to pour water from the cannery into the satela (say it sat-elle-ahh) aka "butt pot", where to sit according to age, sex, and social status, how to shake hands, say hello, say good bye, and what to generally expect from people during a quick greeting and welcoming to the village.

My favorites are seeing Penda hugging my mom, Neene Booli (Mother and say it: bowl-E) hugging and kissing my grandma (and grandma's shock!), translating (like, constantly) for my family to the villagers...and the villagers to my family...and my family to the villagers...and, you get it, right? and my "Twin", Djeewo (Jay-oh) calling my dad uncle (a sign of respect) in Pulaar: Kaw (say it: cow.) So he called her nalel (say it: ñ-ahh-lil') which is Pulaar for calf.


They really did it (almost) all! The prayer call before sunrise, the braying donkeys that wake up with the call, unknown bugs crawling on you in un-reachable places, sharing un-washed cups with everyone present, drinking from canneries to keep water cool, sleeping, eating, sitting, receiving guests, etc. all on the same straw mat, licking food from your palm to your finger tips,
bathe in the river (or in river water that I brought them back on my head), ...I love them for trying it all!

Common questions: 1) How was it? A: Good, stressful for me, but I'm so glad that they came out, know my family here, understand what I'm going through, and took way better pictures than I did.
2) Did they get sick? A: No! Just once, one person had the runs, but with well-cooked food and filtered or bottled water it was all good!
3)What was hard for them? A:Eating with the hand (it spilled en route), wearing the clothes (I think some people saw more of America than they ever hoped for), the tiredness (they looked literally beat up by life when we got them back to the airport), the flies (really do land on your face, food, butt, etc.)