Déjà vu

I arrived in Dakar this afternoon, on the same flight that had first brought me here nearly 2 months ago. It seemed far less taxing, traveling only 2 hours from Bamako this time, rather than across the continent. I’m exhausted from the field work though. I was dead asleep on the plane when I awoke to, « fish or beef ? » I must have looked at the flight attendant as though he was from Mars because I muttered something in French and he returned the look. Then it dawned on me, « hey, he’s speaking English ! No need for any confusion here ! » I think I’ve been attempting to function in a continuous state of confusion for as long as I’ve been listening to Bambara and French in Mali that I was taken aback to hear proper English from the Kenya Airways man. The fish wasn’t half bad and I smiled as I took bites of watermelon served in a little side dish, thinking of Mlle. Pasteque and the adventures in the field.

It’s tough being in Dakar, staying in an apartment with a view …

I’m sitting at the kitchen table listening to the waves and the sounds of a drum circle on the sand below the apartment. The sight, smell, and sound of the ocean ...