Excursion to Thiès

My mother is warming up to me a little more, or at least, I’ve spent a little more time with her. The family saw fit to include me in some drama two weekends ago now, which I guess is a good sign? They asked me on Friday if I wanted to come with them to Thiès, which I knew was a town somewhere out side the city. I didn’t know why we were going, exactly, but I was excited that my mother wanted to include me in something she was doing, so I said yes. I figured we were going to a market or visiting someone or something. My Lonely Planet says there’s not much in Thiès aside from a really cool tapestry factory, and I thought that maybe I could take a look in there while everyone else was haggling over rice or whatever. I was a little less excited when they said we were leaving at 7 AM, but I was still ready to go. The party was going to include me, Kiki, my mother, her friend Helene, and her brother (so, my uncle), who’s name I’m not really sure of. Every time I hear anyone say it, I think they’re saying Desiree, which can’t be right. It’s a bit of a Rural Juror situation.

We left the next morning (at like 9, not 7, thanks for making me wake at 6 for no reason, guys) in the family car. It took us about 2 hours to get to Thiès, first because it is a little ways away, and second because of the traffic jams. It was a nice-ish ride though. The landscape isn’t much to look at because there hasn’t been any rain here for months (it’s the dry season), so all the grass is brown and dry and none of the baobab trees have leaves. Senegal has adopted the baobab as a symbol because they’re so long lived and useful, but I have to say, they’re totally ugly. They’re kind of cool to see on the sides of the highway, because you know that the only water nearby is stored in those trees, but man, they are weird-looking. But aside from the baobabs, I got to see a tiny bit of Rufisque, which is an old colonial city. There’s not much there any more, but even just driving through, you could see how it could have been bustling and pretty once.

There’s also a really great cement factory, if you’re into that kind of thing.

We finally got to Thiès and pulled up to a very nicely kept complex that felt like a monastery. Turns out, it was a school that Kiki had been going to for a while but apparently failed out of. We were going there to pick up his stuff. I stood around while my mother and my uncle talked to the priests for a while, and then we got back in to the car, at which time the two of them, the uncle in particular, started berating Kiki for doing badly in school, squandering his opportunities, and letting the family down. This continued until we got to another school, where Kiki and my mother went to talk to someone, and my uncle spent a lot of time explaining to me why Kiki was such a disappointment. It was brutally awkward for me, but they invited me to come with them and they at least knew why we were going, so I guess it was alright with them that I was there.

The ride back was just as long, if not longer, because the traffic jams were worse. Vendors take advantage of the stopped and the fact that everyone has to have their windows open (because no one has working AC in their car) to try and sell things to people. I guess it works; my uncle bought an air freshener.

When we got back into Dakar, my uncle pulled the car over to a restaurant and insisted on buying me a Coke and a hamburger while everyone else sat in the car. That was also awkward, but they didn’t seem to mind. And omg, it was delicious. The Senegalese put a fried egg and French fries on their hamburgers, which made this the densest burger I’ve ever eaten, but the sheer fact of beef, ketchup, and non-baguette bread in my mouth was glorious.