The Good Old Days... ?

So, Senegal remains one of Africa's most dynamic countries, one of West Africa's great movers and shakers, a cultural treasure-trove for literature, art, and music.

It's also a treasure-trove of secluded French ex-pats and high-class Senegalese who will cringe daintily at your French grammatical mistakes. The rest of the country, despite illiteracy, can read the writing on the wall and has fallen in line with the value system, understanding that survival is best pursued through manipulations of a France-aligned hierarchy. (Begging is big.)

Food: As a proper "almost-France" country, the food is delicious and varied. Baguettes are fresh and hearty, and peanut butter is packaged under "groundnut paste" and oddly textured.

Best Eaten: I actually left the airport during a layover and spent over $10 to go into the city just to go back - a fifth and sixth time - to The Best Pastry Shop In The World. You cannot imagine. France can compete.. but only just barely.

Quote: There was a French family along with us on the boat trip, a very sweet couple with two young children who sang in nerve-shattering high-pitched French for most of the ride. It was darling if you're into that sort of thing, and even better because the kids were sheltered from the midday sun by a nice big umbrella.. held, of course, by their black "adult companion".

Despite the choral concert David and I spent the time intently discussing the possible relationships between this family and their obviously local 'friend', piecing together the clues: he never seemed to interact informally with the parents, occupied himself with keeping an bored eye on the kids, did not participate in conversation on board, and was always holding that umbrella - so much so I began to call him the Umbrella Man. He held it for the kids, then he held it for the mother, then he held it for himself a bit because no one else wanted shade, then he held it for the kids again at the parents' request.

We started to make fun of it, but it kind of made me feel sick in my stomach. Of course, that doesn't take very much these days, but still. We were both reminded of a quote from an archaeologist who spent some time in the area - "Colonialism hasn't ended for the French yet."

Worst Experience: Getting into a taxi on my last day in Africa, being so excited about seeing my family that I was friendly to the driver, and realizing that he was passing up the airport to go somewhere totally different just as he began to explain to me in several different languages that he loved me and wanted to kiss me. He quickly discovered my much frostier side. Needless to say, I henpecked the crap out of him at top volume until we pulled up at the airport lobby.

Best Experience: Dakar is great fun to walk around, and an incredible city. Between the pastries, the fruit market, the hip-hop scene, the bustle, the buildings, the boats, and the sprawl I am going to miss Dakar.

Could I live here: No.. I occasionally forget a preposition when speaking; my French isn't nearly good enough.