Bursting Heart

This week I began a three month intensive French course at the French Institute. Monday I drove home from class as quickly as possible as I missed the boys. When I entered the boys' room, Laird looked at me, gave me a huge toothless smile, and squealed with delight.

I thought my heart was going to burst.

Yvonne and the Kitchen

Yvonne is an incredible cook. She has natural ability to look inside the refrigerator and pantry, see what we have for ingredients, and put a dish together. She never follows a scripted recipe unless she is making something she has never made before (like when we asked her to make Falafel). Her recipes are all kept in her head, and her Senegalese specialties are recipes that have been handed down in her family.

She usually starts cooking around 2 pm. This week, I have joined her in the kitchen for her cooking sessions as I want to discover the secrets to her dishes. I bring the boys downstairs and we all sit in the kitchen. It is not only a time for me to see how she cooks, but also a time for us to talk with each other.

Yvonne supports many people in her household. She has 5 children, grandchildren, and even has some of her sisters children living with her. Two of her sisters were killed by rebels in Casamance when they were sleeping. She left her husband many years ago, which is a very brave thing for a Senegalese woman to do. It's hard for any woman to do, but here in Senegal there are cultural reasons why women should never leave. It is deeply frowned upon, no matter what the reason is for leaving.

She said she left him because he hurt her.

And that is when I noticed the many scars on her back. Arms. And legs too.

My time with Yvonne in the kitchen is something I look forward to every day. It's not just about learning her secrets to her creations, but a time to get to know her and learn about Senegalese culture.

Today we are making Ratatouille.

Toubab

In Dakar, the Senegalese call anyone with white skin 'toubabs'. (pronounced like two-bubs). Last week Yvonne and Monique told me it was time to 'get rid of that toubab thing'. They were talking about the Baby Bjorn that I use, a front backpack style baby carrier.

So, after going to the market and picking out fabric, Yvonne and Monique helped me get the boys on my back African style. According to them, they say carrying babies this way makes for a stronger spine, better head control, and has babies sitting up and walking faster than any other baby. Hmmmmmm, not sure if I believe that. But one thing that is for sure, is that Laird and Dylan LOVED being carried this way. I think it's because the way their bodies fit in the fabric is reminiscent of the way they were in the womb; it brings them comfort, the constant motion of mama moving around is relaxing, and it makes them feel safe.

But don't tell Yvonne and Monique that.

And then someone came home from work and wanted to try it too. Yvonne and I have never laughed so hard.

12 Weeks Old!

And on Wednesday, the boys turned 12 weeks old. What an eventful 12 weeks it has been!

Laird

Dylan

Monique, Dylan, and her son Peter

Yahoo!

Laird and Dylan's Room

...is somewhat finished. This weekend I added the final touches to the room with painted surfboards and hibiscus flowers.

Ngor Island

Last weekend Richard and I headed to Ngor Island, a small island just 1/2 mile off the coast of Dakar. Paradise is what we had found.

Ngor Island is the home of the Ngor Right and Ngor Left waves...always big and considered 2 world class surf waves. And indeed the wave was big. If you have ever seen Endless Summer, you will recognize a lot of the footage.

Richard surfed while I relaxed at the Restaurant La Maison d'Italie under a seaside umbrella. The beach is calm and beautiful... with many buvettes on the beach where you can have a cold drink. To get there, you take a pirogue over from Dakar (about 500cfa or 50 cents) round trip.

Heaven.

Waiting for the boat at Ngor Beach.

These are the colorful pirogues that take you to the island.

A view of Dakar.

Restaurant La Maison d'Italie cabana

A view of Dakar from Ngor Island

Richard heading out to the Ngor left.

President Abdoulaye Wade and his Ego...I mean, Statue

We were hoping to see Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Raul Castro, and Robert Mugabe frolicking together in the pool of the Meridien hotel.

But it was nearly sundown, too cool for a dip, by the time we got there and saddled up to the tiki bar.

“We have thirty presidents in the hotel tonight,” our waitress said as she handed us our drinks. “That is why security is tight,” she added, pointing out the soldiers sprinkled around the hotel grounds and strolling the beach out front.

It was big weekend in Senegal, one in which roads were blocked off by men with machine guns, military ships cruised the normally quiet coast, helicopters buzzed overhead, and Dakar’s premier hotel was booked solid by some world class pariahs and their delegations.

The occasion: Senegal’s 50^th anniversary since independence from French rule…and more importantly perhaps, the official inauguration of the African Renaissance monument, a bronze statue of a family unit looming taller than the statue of Liberty over Dakar.

Senegal’s 83-year-old president, Abdoulaye Wade, hired North Korean labourers to build the monument as an ode to Africa’s progress since the colonial era, brushing aside criticism that the project was a huge waste of money in an impoverished country suffering from crumbling infrastructure.

A local imam put the final touch on public outrage on the eve of the inauguration by declaring a fatwa on the statue. He declared it idolatrous, but he may also have found the woman’s super-mini loin cloth and skimpy blouse an odd portrayal of progress in a predominantly Muslim country.

“It brings to life our common destiny,” Wade said of the monument during the inauguration the next day. “Africa has arrived in the 21^st century standing tall and more ready than ever to take its destiny into its hands.”

As it turned out, there was no Ahmadinejad or Castro in the crowd during the inauguration ceremony. But Mugabe – a man many blame for rapidly destroying Zimbabwe’s ability to feed itself -- was there listening intently.

So was Gambia’s firebrand leader Yahya Jammeh, who for a while said he had an herbal cure for AIDS, has repeatedly jailed high level members of his defense forces, and who has threatened to kill local human rights activists.

Laurent Gbagbo, the ever-enduring president of Ivory Coast was also there, taking a break from arduously prepping for elections in his civil war-scarred country that are now about five years delayed, much to the consternation of voters and the international community.

“I don’t worry about these things. I just want to work and be happy,” said Monique, our nanny. “For me, the real problem will be if they block the road when I try to get home.”

Another problem could be when they check out of the Meridien. No one expects them to pay a cent.

This is a picture of the statue from our rooftop.

Happy Easter!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday.

xo

And look who's smiling now!!

Oh dear...what happened?!

Habre Update

It seems that one of Hissene Habre's house guards is in a bit of hot water. Habre, who was out for an evening stroll around his compound, discovered his night guard sleeping on the job. We all wonder if we will see the guard again.

Below is a picture of our brand spanking new trash cans. (I'm not kidding, they are new.) Richard has not yet sent a response to Madame Habre as I am still contemplating what to serve for dinner when we have them over...beef, chicken, or a lasagna.

Got it!

And here is the smile from Laird that makes me melt.

Dylan is always making us laugh!

Dylan conducting while listening to Jack Johnson.