BLOG NEWS: I've published posts (below) for the final two days of my Christmas trip to the Republic of Guinea. All 12 days now have pictures and updated, proof-read copy.
GUINEAN NEWS: Political unrest erupted in Guinea over the weekend, resulting in one reported death. A national strike has been threatened for Thursday--on the one-year anniversary of the riots that left 130 dead last year. We pray for peace in Guniea, and for those of our students who are trying to return to Dakar from there.
DAKAR NEWS: There has been no further trouble in Dakar since the riots that broke out the Thanksgiving weekend, protests centered on two issues: rising food prices, and the razing of un-licensed boutiques (we would say stalls) in various markets around the city. The government relented during the holidays. The holidays are over. No news is good news?
SCHOOL NEWS: We've just kicked off the new semester with a day and a half of interesting and useful meetings (really!). Classes resume tomorrow.
SHOPPING NEWS: You're probably suprised to see shopping listed as a news item, but it's an interesting story. Dakar has a moveable market called Fëgg Jaay [FOOG-ee jie, or FOOK-ee jie]. It's mostly clothing, mostly used (perhaps including something you donated to Good Will or one of its equivalents last year), plus some new items that are often knock-offs of name brands. The city sets up two rows of booths, framed with heavy pipes, down the median of one of the city's major roads, leaving an aisle down the middle for shoppers. Each booth is about 6-ft. square. Most are covered with tarps for shade. They stay up a day or two, as people from that part of town shop, then are taken down, moved to another street, and set up again. Each Saturday morning, the Fëgg Jaay appears in all its glory on a mile-long section of a street not far from my school. On Sunday, it's gone, with piles of trash every few yards all that remains.
Fëgg jaay means "shake and sell." Some vendors have so much the clothing that, in addition to hanging it from the poles, they pile it high inside their booths. When you find something in the middle of the pile, wrinkled and dusty, the vendor pulls it out, shakes it, and tries to sell it to you for "a good price."
I went to this market last Saturday and was delighted to find a handsome windbreaker, two pair of pants my size, and two or three shirts, for the equivalent of about $20! Then, at another, permanent market in a nearby neigborhood, I bought two brand new shirts for about $3.50 each. Until now, I've done all of my clothing shopping on my visits to the States. No longer!
PHOTO NEWS: Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera along to the Fëgg Jaay. I'll try to remember to post a picture of it another time. Lacking that, I've included two pictures of boabob trees, one God-made, and one man-made--complete with hanging fruit and roosting birds. (Click on the picture for a closer look.)
Posts
