my pet

I don’t really know her that well yet, so I haven’t given her a name. And I cant decide whether to go Senegalese, maybe Fatimita. Yea I kind of like Fatimita. And while I am tempted to name my friend I have only seen 3 or 4 times throughout the last few months, I don’t even want to give a last name, say maybe Gaye or Diop, to the family of cock roaches stopping by the last few days. Now a wall-roaming gecko I think has more staying power, and thus, it is now decided she is to be named Fatimita.

Sometimes I think about the pluses and negatives of living in a city versus a village in Senegal. I have electricity and can buy eggs and icecream treat things(though I think ive maybe bought this once. The village volunteers coming into a city go far more hogwild.) Everyone in Louga city will never know me (though large amounts of people seem to) and thus I am often white person entertainment, followed by white person who speaks wolof entertainment, followed by tests of how much wolof does this white person speak, rather than a person.
300 person villages get accustomed to the toubab, people outside of my neighborhood are catching on slowly. Hearing a kid scream “bonjour Madame” or “toubab, toubab” can literally ruin your day if you let it. “Dude im not fucking French you little brat. Haven’t you seen me here before? My NAME is NDAYE. DEG NGA?!?!”

haha so. Anyways, I am kinda earning some village cred with all these critters hanging out in my room. Down south they have to use their candles to look for snakes under beds. Here I just turn on the light and find my chaco to kill the little (ok huge and speedy) cockroach.

Message to Fatimita: please don’t come on my bed, I will be really really freaked out. I have intimacy issues. Please stay on the wall for now. We’ll negotiate as time goes on. Cockroaches aren’t scary anymore. The little snake that was in my room that I had to leave and squeamishly scream outside while my brother removed, well that might always be scary. I don’t want to make any promises, but maybe one day we can snuggle.