Sometimes you are knocked off-guard. We’re sitting squished in a bush taxi, heaps of baggage, literally heaps of bread, tea, coffee, sugar, butter, choco-pain, sardine paste (all the necessary fixings for a stand up Senegalese breakfast) are piled on top of us. We are traveling to the village of Ngueth outside of Palmarin outside ofContinueContinue reading “clementines”
Category Archives: tafakari
if i’d never met you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4GTVYHOM_M I found this song a few days ago and have been listening to it on repeat for a number of reasons/friends, but today, I woke up, listened to the song, and thought of you, Maggie. “I know you are my friend and if I’d never met you I would be different” These words areContinueContinue reading “if i’d never met you”
a day to be lived
Sometimes I have low moments. Sometimes I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I get so far into my headspace I can’t figure out how to get back to here. Sometimes I get so anxious trying to figure life out that I become paralyzed from living it. Sometimes I look at the calendar and see the many datesContinueContinue reading “a day to be lived”
pelicans in flight, returning
Reflections on transitions from and toward a year: ——– The new year – moving toward mindfulness, thinking toward thankfulness. One step at a time. Always moments for good, for beauty, for gratitude. In the year ahead, I will pass time, be amongst, laugh with, sit aside, hold, listen to and be heard by, family inContinueContinue reading “pelicans in flight, returning”
a compilation
I’ve been busy. Busy with early morning trips to the market where the women know me only as Daba Sarr and I speak only Wolof, busy with walks through now-familiar streets to run errands or pick up something sweet to eat, busy making plans with sisters and meeting up ‘at that one corner where weContinueContinue reading “a compilation”
in this i believe
Last Saturday we made the journey to Touba to visit La Grande Mosquée; as we bumped along the sandy road, I looked out over the vast Senegalese landscape dotted with sturdy Baobab trees and thought about what it meant to be on, what is for African Muslims travelling to this spiritual center, a sacred journey.ContinueContinue reading “in this i believe”
coming home
Walking home, it’s sunset. I meander down the road in the cool breeze, hear enlivened Wolof all around me, greet familiar neighbors. When I reach Papa he happily greets me, makes a joke about my favorite song, tells me so like family he’s going to the gym and will see me later. I walk towardContinueContinue reading “coming home”
saying grace
I got stressed, I got overwhelmed. I got bogged down in negativity and frustration. I got lazy in my soul and self-work, losing for a minute my constant striving to live out my beliefs. I forgot what makes this holiday important to me, forgot how much I appreciate this day for stopping us, centering us,ContinueContinue reading “saying grace”
thanking jake
You never had to wonder what Jake was thinking; he willingly and passionately shared his musings, beliefs, and reflections with any whose path crossed with his. You never had to wonder if Jake was listening; he was genuinely interested in what others had to say and approached conversations with the greatest sincerity. He approached lifeContinueContinue reading “thanking jake”
a week of grace
I spent the past week in Richard Toll, a small town in northern Senegal as a part of my “Senegal River Valley” class. We spent the week visiting various agricultural projects taking place in what is one of the most fertile region of otherwise flat, sandy, and dry Senegal; we learned about sugar cane andContinueContinue reading “a week of grace”
holding conversation
“Being able to hold a conversation is one of the greatest talents a person can possess,” my Grandpa told me. I have thought about those words, and Grandpa, every day that I have been in Senegal. Until he was put in hospice care in March of 2012, my Grandpa was just my Grandpa. He livedContinueContinue reading “holding conversation”
we cried and we laughed and we took deep breaths
We sat in the closed room, each in our own space that at times coincided with the space of others, and we cried and we laughed and we took deep breaths. We sat on the rock, bracing ourselves individually and as one clump as the waves crashed down upon us, and we cried and weContinueContinue reading “we cried and we laughed and we took deep breaths”
les gris-gris
I have always been a sentimental person. I have always been someone who attaches great meaning and emotion to the things around me. I have always been the person who hid my favorite pair of childhood shorts from my parents because they wanted to give them Goodwill and I wanted to put them in aContinueContinue reading “les gris-gris”
powerlessness
There are times when I feel powerless in Senegal. Much of the time, this powerlessness centers on gender. I feel powerless when I am told the only thing a woman can do when a man harasses her on the street is to keep walking, any sort of counter-remark or telling off by the woman wouldContinueContinue reading “powerlessness”
being here through it
Written 24 September 2013: Today was a hard day for Sarr family here in Sénégal. During the summer of 2011 my Kenyan sister Winnie lived with my family in the US. Toward the end of her stay, the D-H family had a hard day. And I remember so clearly her telling me that she wasContinueContinue reading “being here through it”
learning at the beach
I went to the beach today with my host sister, Corine, her fiancée, Michel, her friend, Ellen, Ellen’s husband, Amadou, and my friend Caroline. Here is what I learned at the beach (because every moment is a learning opportunity): Senegalese people are intense. In many different ways, both good and bad, both heartening and distressing,ContinueContinue reading “learning at the beach”
this all feels connected
Written 21 September 2013 My second day in my homestay was September 11. I mentioned this to my Papa, who said: “this is a big day for your country. This day changed your home.” Today, my friend Caroline was over at my house and we were flipping through channels and found the documentary, 102 MinutesContinueContinue reading “this all feels connected”
this is why i came here
written 19 September 2013 We’re sitting outside, my sister and I, the electricity out and searching for the cool breeze. We’re talking about weddings and clothes and what to do when boys harass you on the street as they often do and the pressures for women which exist across cultures. Papa comes out to joinContinueContinue reading “this is why i came here”
when the poem speaks loudly
Every night before I sleep, I read a poem from the best thing I brought to Dakar: Good Poems by Garrison Keillor. I flip through at random and read. Sometimes they speak loudly, sometimes more softly, sometimes it’s hard to hear at all. But I like the process, because when it all aligns and theContinueContinue reading “when the poem speaks loudly”
and so it shall be
Written 16 September 2013 Today seemed like a day of opportunity. Opportunity to learn and to discover. Opportunity to understand and ask questions and listen. Opportunity to laugh and sit and come together and be a part. Opportunity to take time, to think, to rest. Opportunity to greet others and build relationships. Opportunity to workContinueContinue reading “and so it shall be”
callie daniels-howell 