Second Day In Senegal--Still Learning The Ropes

After yesterday's rough ride through the life of a rich white American in Dakar, it was time for the next installment. Naturally, it will not be without its problems. But it showed evidence of improvement.

So I woke up this morning and started interneting. From my room in the Hotel du Phare, it is hard to tell from noises if the bathroom is occupied because my room was right above the kitchen and so many of the sounds of the kitchen are like sounds of the bathroom. And I didn't have to be out until 12. So I figured I'd internet until 12 and then head out. But the electricity in our hotel, which came on in fits and starts at 6pm last night, went off at 9ish this morning. So, I showered, packed, and went down to turn in my key.

I only had one request of the front desk--would he give me two 5000 CFA notes for a 10000 CFA note. Last night I had a beer hoping to pay with a 10000 CFA note, but they wouldn't accept it. Fortunately, he gave me a 5000, 2 2000's and a 1000 CFA note. Then I was out to find the way to the road.

I was thirsty as hell since the only liquid I consumed since the orange Fanta the previous afternoon was a beer. So I was delighted to see a little grocer. I went in and grabbed a 1.5 liter bottle of water from the fridge--it wasn't cold. So I dug a little to find a cold one. Then I tried to pay with a 5000 CFA note. Nope--they wouldn't take it--too big. So I brought out the 2000 CFA note. The water 380 CFA or about 80 cents US. This sucks having a store of wealth that is too big to work with. It's like the gold bars in Cryptonomicon--too hard to manage despite the supposed value.

Anyway, I left the store and chugged about 1/2 of the bottle. I had a better pair of underwear--the leg section was around the chaffed part of my crotch, so I could walk. Also, my blister still hurt (and does now as I blog) but not too bad. So, rather than cab, I thought I'd try to walk it. So I headed north on the same road that goes to Dakar. When yo go north it goes to N'Gor. I headed north and ignored the scores of taxis beeping at me. It was a long way, but nowhere as long as to Dakar. As the road is close to the Atlantic, it's all nice. In the Dakar area, proximity to the sea is for the rich. At one point, a Peace Corps truck stopped in front of me. I passed it and he went on. I guess, he thought I might be a Peace Corp volunteer with my pack. I passed all sorts of night clubs and bars and restaurants. I kept going and going.

I started noticing that the buildings looked familiar. Was I on the way to the airport and not headed to either the Hotel or the dorm? I stopped to check my guide. Mistake? A taxi driver saw me consulting it and asked if I needed a lift. I told him I was going to the Hotel Cap Ouest. He said he knows it--I think--my French wasn't quite up to communicating with this guy. He said he would take me there for 3000 CFA. No. OK, how much? Like a moron, I said 2000 CFA. OK. I got in. In less than 2 minutes we were there. Dammit! I was almost there! He suggested that he take me around Dakar and show it all to me. But no way I'm going to trust a guy who just let me pay 2000 CFA for a 2 minute ride.

The Cap Ouest Hotel is also a bar, restaurant, and has a nice little beach. A very nice little beach.

So I went in and asked if they had a room. Yes, but it wasn't ready yet. It was only 11am. So they invited me to wait on the beach. I sat there on a chaise longue and wrote in my journal. I watched a fisherman. He had a "reel" like a homemade kite string winder. And instead of a rod to launch the hook and bait, he just swung it around his head like a slingshot and slung the hook out. He caught a fish shortly after I started watching him.

A guy came up while I was there and went through the whole spiel--Ça va? Ça va. English? Yes. Where are you from? The United States. Oh I have a brother in New Jersey. Oh, New Jersey is a nice state. Where are you from? Seattle, Washington--on the other side of the country from New Jersey. Is it your first time to Senegal (subtext: are you still a newbie sucker)? Yes. How long have you been in Senegal (subtext: Have you had an opportunity to buy what I'm selling already)? Two days. How long will you stay in Senegal (subtext: How many opportunities remain for you to buy the stuff I'm selling)? I have some stuff here to show you. I'm not interested in buying anything. Just look--you don't have to buy. (I've heard that before.) But I already bought everything I need. I went to Dakar and on the way, there were merchants just like you and they sold me everything I needed and even some stuff I don't need. So I really don't need to buy anything. Can I just show you? You'd be wasting your time since I'm not going to buy anything. Sorry. He gathered his stuff and started to move on. I wished him luck. The whole thing took about 3 minutes. A new speed record in shaking off the persistent Senegalese merchant.

Finally I got my room. Whew! It's an OK room. 20100 CFA in total which is still too high for me. It's on the first floor and has a fan. I wasn't willing to pay for AC. There is WiFi in the room. A toilet and shower are also inside and not shared.

I went out and had a beer and wrote into my journal a little bit. Then I interneted a little bit. Then I decided to head off and see if I could find the Via Via with the cheap beds.

I walked through the village of Yoff. Yoff is actually a sizable village. I was just on the major road looking at all the neat stuff.

Then I passed a man in a robe made of about 4" x 4" colored squares--all colors. The usual spiel--Ça va? Ça va. English? Yes. Where are you from? The United States. Oh my brother and I lived in Washington, DC for university for 2 years. He now lives in New Jersey. Oh, New Jersey is a nice state. Where are you from? Seattle, Washington--on the other side of the country from New Jersey. Is it your first time to Senegal? Yes. How long have you been in Senegal? Two days. How long will you stay in Senegal?

He claimed to be a guide and wanted to show me around. I told him I was just out for a walk and didn't need a guide--I just needed a quiet walk. Then we asked to me look at his outfit. Like I said--colors squares. He said he owned a jewelry store just down the street but that he closed it today because his wife was having a baby today. And a baby comes into the world as a stranger. So in Senegal, the tradition is to find the first stranger after the baby comes for good luck. And lucky me--I was the first stranger he saw. He said that his outfit is the outfit you wear when a new baby arrives because it has all colors--like the planet and the baby should be born into a world without racism. And he said I am not a racist. Then he told me to hold out my hand. I held out my right hand. No--this tradition requires the left hand because it is the lucky hand. So I held out the left hand. He pulled out a little white package folded up. I had no idea what was in there, so I jerked my hand away. No, he said, I have a present for you--when you have a baby, you must find a stranger and give him a present. He told me to put it into my pocket. I told him I'm going to put anything into my pocket if I don't know what it is. So he opened it. It was a very attractive gold necklace.

Interesting...a scam involving jewelry again--just like at the bridge just south of the Louvre that I blogged about a month or so ago. I don't get these jewelry scams. Anyway, I said it looked too expensive. He said I had to take it because if I didn't, it would curse his baby with bad luck. And he was so lucky to meet me because I'm not racist like Germans or the Dutch who, he said while lifting up his robe revealing a little leather ball by his kidney, get a voodoo curse. He said he was happy I'm not racist because he wouldn't want to have to give me a voodoo curse. So I said, "Ok......."

Now, the next part of the tradition is that I need you to give me a paper that I rub on my forehead while saying a prayer (he said it like "pry") and then I give the paper back to you. A paper? I don't know that I have a paper. A paper money. A ha! So that's what he's up to! I was wondering where this would lead. I carefully slipped a 1000 CFA out of my wallet. I didn't trust this guy any further than I could throw him. 1000 CFA is like only US$2 and the story is was already worth that. So even if he took it, and I never expected to see it again, it would be OK--more annoying because I lack small bills than the fact it was being taken.

No, he said, he needed a bigger bill. I said the 1000 CFA note was all I could give. Then he got mad. He asked if I wanted trouble...maybe a voodoo curse? Maybe a knife?

OK, now he said "knife". End of everything. A threat to my person is not an acceptable way to run a scam. I pushed the necklace into his hand and stepped back. I pointed at him and yelled, "You just threatened me with a knife! A knife!"

He smiled--just like yesterday when I got mad at the guy with the RayBans, Montblanc pens, and Louis Vuitton wallet that were either fake or stolen. Did he smile because he got me mad? Did he smile out of embarrassment that he had to degrade himself and his country in this manner? I wish I knew. Anyway, that ended that. I walked to the end of the road and then turned around an came back going through that intersection about 10 or 15 minutes later. He crossed the street to the other side when he saw me coming.

So these scammers/shysters use a few different tricks. 1) give you a "gift" to try to create a desire for a reciprocal obligation, 2) telling you that you are not a racist, 3) they unfold their scam slowly--you wind up spending a lot of time with them, and 4) persistence. They are harder to shake than anyone in Morocco.

July 24 21:03 Senegal local time