Tu comprends? Tu comprends?? No. I can't speak French.

Sarah

Having been out of internet range for a while, we're now in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Like everyone else here the keyboard is french-speaking so expect some unexpected spellings...

We flew into Dakar a week ago, after saying an almost-teary goodbye to Sweet Salone (Jessie's not really the weeping type and I'd already used my quota of tears the week before after an arguement over a pair of paper glasses zwith the 5yr old boy who lived witht he family we were staying with...). We immediately noticed the difference in everything that changes when a country has its own (relatively) thriving economy, like Senegal, in comparison to receiving one third of its GDP as aid. Street lamps, motorways, running water and electricity as standard, real buildings not corrugated iron huts.. Dakar feels like a 21st century city where Freetown feels a little like an 18th century trading post.

Having said that, Senegal still has its fair share of problems and although the kids don,t look so obviously ,alnourished, there are still plenty of young boys begging on the streets and the attitude towards waste collection is very third world.. (Beach, street and and open ground all serve as open dustbins. We're not just talking chewinggum wrappers here. The other day I saw a cow's head, minus skin, lying in the gutter of a busy street. A COW'S HEAD. ON BUSY STREET. WITH NO SKIN. minging.)

The French did many great things (minus the slave trade and other horrors of colonialisation) for West Africa, one of which is coffee, pastries and baguettes. However, I was starting to feel less enamoured with all things francais after eating plain baguette for the 4th meal in a row during Ramadan. The indignant response i get to 'je ne parle pas bien francais' which is along the lines of 'how rude of you come to visit our country when you can't speak french, what on earth did you learn in school?' makes me feel about 2 inches tall... even smaller than I feel anyway considering all Senegalese women are gorgeous, about 6ft tall and always immaculately dressed, be it in western clothes or colourful flowing boubous (tunics and skirt or trousers) and headscarf.

Anyway, one week left now and we're heading to some beaches south of dakar, and praying fopr a little more sun than sierra leone! xxx