Je vais vous parler des autres volontaires ici. C’est vraiment une grande partie de mon expérience au Sénégal, ils m’ont enseigné beaucoup. La plupart est européenne mais il y a des américains aussi. Jusqu’à présent j’ai rencontré plus de 40 volontaires. Je suis le plus ancien depuis longtemps mais je me souviens quand je suis arrivé. Il faut avoir des guides pour vous montrer tous les trucs de la ville. J’espère être un bon guide pour tout le monde. Ils ont des points de vue différents mais nous nous entendons quand même. Il me semble que chaque personne étrangère a des avis sur les Etats-Unis et chaque personne m’a demandé mon avis sue Donald Trump. Je souhaite que les américains sachent plus des autres pays parce que je voudrais avoir une opinion du président d’Italie.

Le seul coffee-shop en ville/The only coffee shop in town

Je vais vous raconter les mémoires les plus précieux et les plus riches pour moi. Je suis arrivé avec Laura, une française, qui a fait tout avec moi. Parce que nous étions nul ensemble, je me sentais plus à l’aise d’être incapable pour mes premières semaines ici. Elle a mangé beaucoup de Chocopain et ne me parlait que français. C’était bien pour moi parce que j’ai eu la chance de pratiquer le français tout de suite. Je suis très reconnaissant pour ça. Lewis était notre guide. Il nous a montré toutes les choses de Saint Louis, notamment comment prendre l’autobus et trouver les bons coins. De lui j’ai appris ce que les anglais pensent de leur pays, il est très intéressant. Rachel m’a enseigné un peu de dorien et je me suis amusé au travail avec elle. J’ai eu des très bonnes discussions avec Alicia (une suisse) et je les ai appréciés beaucoup. Nora, Salome, Jake, Emily et Vittorio sont inoubliables aussi.

Je suis très reconnaissant aussi aux sénégalais pour m’accueillir bien. Ma mère d’accueil m’a aidé pendant mes premières semaines et aussi Madeline (la plus jeune). Habib, un employé de Projects Abroad était indispensable. Il m’a enseigné les prix, comment négocier bien, où je peux manger et les quartiers de la ville. J’ai même visité chez lui. Après 8 ou 9 semaines, je connais bien aussi les propriétaires des boutiques, des hôtels et le coffee-shop. Quand j’ai eu une question comme « ou est-ce que je peux trouver une coiffure qui fait les coupes pour les toubabs », je leurs ai demandé. Cheikh, mon boss, m’a expliqué la situation de business ici et m’affiché ce qui se passe après on reçoit une licence ici. Il n’y a pas des jobs pour les étudiants après l’université. Sénégal n’a pas encore une économie orientée sur les services donc la femme de Cheikh qui vient de recevoir son master ne peut pas facilement trouver un job. Cela progresse un peu mais il y a beaucoup de chemins à parcourir.

C’est une belle expérience interculturelle pour moi et j’ai rencontré beaucoup d’amis. J’espère que j’ai amélioré mon français ici depuis je suis arrivé. J’ai peur de perdre mon niveau de français un jour, j’ai entendu beaucoup d’histoires où cela s’est passé. Saint Louis va me manquer, je la connais bien maintenant. Je suis enthousiaste pour mes nouvelles aventures mais je vais laisser des choses aussi.

Les repas comme ce repas vont me manquer/Meals like this I am going to miss

Maintenant il y a 5 volontaires chez moi. Il est vraiment bizarre mais maintenant j’ai des nouveaux amis avec qui je parle. Je suis désolé pour le retard du dernier poste, les nouveaux me rendent occupé de temps en temps. Après ça il me reste 2 postes de plus. Je vais essayer d’être à l’heure avec les deux, mais on verra parce que je serai en train de voyager. Vittorio est malade alors je dois l’aider cette semaine. Je me souviens mes premières semaines ici. Je ne veux pas remontrer à ce temps-là.

I want to tell you about the other volunteers I have met here. They are a large part of my experience here in Senegal and they have taught me a lot. Most of them were/are European but there are some Americans as well. Up until now I have met over 40 volunteers. I have been the “eldest” volunteer for a while now but I remember coming. You need to have a guide to show you how everything works in town. I hope I am a good guide for everyone. There are many different points of view but we all get along just as well. I feel like everyone who does not live in the USA has an opinion on our country and asks me what I think of Donald Trump. I wish that Americans knew more about other countries because I would like to have an opinion on the Italian president. 

I want to share some of my most precious memories here. I arrived with Laura, a French girl, who did everything with me. Because we were both lost, I felt better about being incompetent for my first few weeks. She ate a lot of Chocopain and only spoke French, which was good for me because I had a chance to practice my French right off the bat. I am very thankful for that. Lewis (a English dude) was our guide. He showed us around Saint Louis, particularly how to take the taxis and the bus. From him I learned what English people think about their country, it’s quite interesting (but that’s a whole other story). Rachel (the Scottish girl) taught me some Doric and I had fun working with her. I had some great discussions with Alicia (the Swiss girl) and I appreciated them a lot. Nora, Salome, Jake, Emily and Vittorio are unforgettable as well.

I am very grateful to the Senegalese as well for welcoming me to their country. My host mother helped me a lot during my first few weeks as well as Madeline (the younger). Habib, an employee of projects abroad, was indispensable. He taught me the prices and how to negotiate them, where to eat and the neighborhoods in town. I have even been to his house several times. After 8 or 9 weeks, I also know all the owners of the stores, hotels and the coffee shop. When I have a question like “where do I find a barber who can cut foreigners’ hair”, I ask them. Cheikh, my boss, explained the business situation in Senegal and showed me what happens after someone gets their college degree here. There are not a lot of jobs for students who graduate from college. Senegal does not yet have a service economy and so his wife, who just finished her masters, is having a hard time finding a job. It is getting better but there is still a long way to go.

Le boss et moi

It has been a great intercultural experience for me and I have made many friends. I hope I have improved my French since coming here. I am afraid I will lose my level of French one day, I have heard a lot of stories where people lose their language skills after not using them for a while. I will miss Saint Louis, the town that I know so well. I am excited for my new adventures but I am going to leave some good things behind as well.

Now there are 5 volunteers at my house. It is really weird but now I have people to talk to while at home. I am sorry for the lateness of the last post; the new people keep me busy. After this there will be two more posts. I am going to try to be on time with the new ones but we will see because I will be travelling. Vittorio is sick and I have to help him this week. I remember my first weeks here. I do not want to go back.

Less then flattering face, but this is me giving a loan

They wanted to call themselves Team Simba, but I protested; it was so touristy. So they consented to “Team Tengeneza,” which means to create or make in Swahili. We were there to make a film, make a summit, make a difference.

Reuben, team captain, senior guide, is a sturdy and jovial mountaineer with the cheerful resilience of one who has been walking steep miles since he was a boy. His home is in the immense forest stretching out from Mt. Kenya, close to the town of Karatina, where his mother owns a tea farm and elders a Presbyterian church.

Reuben taking a breather during a long hike

Like many guides on Mt. Kenya, Reuben went to Nairobi to attend the Kenya Utalii College for tourism and learned the trade by working as a safari guide in Kenya’s famous game parks. He then turned his eye back on the mountain that loomed over his childhood and began to explore both its slopes and its economy. First he was a porter, then a cook, and finally a junior guide for his uncle’s small trekking outfit. His eagerness and aptitude led him to apply and gain a scholarship to the National Outdoor Leadership School, a U.S.-based wilderness educator. He studied mountaineering in Washington state and wilderness medicine in Wyoming before returning to Kenya as a fully qualified guide. This unique opportunity made him of the most experienced mountaineers working on the mountain, and he began to lead trips not just to Mt. Kenya but to the mountains of Tanzania and Uganda as well.

At the tea farm

Reuben has two small children, Eston and Nelius, with his wife Faith. They live in a small apartment behind the agro-vet that Faith operates during the day. Business on the mountain has been poor in recent years; whereas Reuben used to take as many as four trips to the mountain in a month, he has only led four trips this entire year to date. Thus, like every other guide, porter, or ranger that I met on the mountain, Reuben must have an additional and more reliable source of income. Like most, he owns and works a shamba, or farm. He specializes in onions.

The other porters, Peter, Timothy, and Humphrey, also told me they were farmer, although the others sniggered when Humphrey insisted upon this. It turns out he grows marijuana.

The squad

All the men are of the Kikuyu tribe, and for the days I was with them I grew accustomed to the soft rolling timbre of the Bantu language. Trust and friendship were obvious in the interminable laughter that rippled the cold night air around the chai boiling on an ancient kerosene stove.

Like Reuben, as boys these men hauled water up steep hills every morning and evening; now they haul luggage for up to ten hours a day. Reuben’s company outfits their employees better than most, but it’s not unusual to pass (or be passed by) porters with chairs, tables, crates of eggs, gas canisters or iron skillets strapped to the outside of their already bulging packs. Mt. Kenya is challenging terrain even with the lightest pack–the scree, the angle, the altitude–and I saw many porters (including my own) panting, coughing, and grimacing as they slogged upwards.

A star-spangled journey

Team Tengeneza cheerfully put up with my constant videography; I filmed them walking, cooking, resting, chatting, and more. Reuben took me to his farm, introduced me to his family, and sat through longs interviews about working on the mountain. Filming a documentary is, I’ve learned already, mostly about relationship, getting people to be comfortable enough around you to just be themselves, to let you see life as it really is. This took time, and I had a number of other guides, porters, and clients tell me to shove off, but with patience I was gradually able to ask the questions I really wanted. Why do you work here? For the money? For the view? What do you think of the wealthy white tourists that give you work? What about the British alpinists who still operate as though the mountain is theirs?

Joy, resentment, humor, and truth slowly emerged from these men. My team learned to trust me and to let me sit with them around the kerosene stove. They have a hard life, but a good life, and I’m just beginning to understand it.

It’s a unique privilege to work in such a beautiful place.

I just spent 10 consecutive nights on Mt. Kenya, Kirinyaga, the heart and lifeblood of the country that’s inherited its name.

The imposing alpine ridgeline

Ascending Mt. Kenya has been described as similar to just walking north from the equator, except that every thousand miles north is only a hundred meters up; you essentially pass through every biome on earth within a few days. When you arrive at the gate of Mt. Kenya National Park, you have already driven up out of arid savannahs, through lush farmland and into a dense deciduous forest, all in the space of a few hours. Hiking inward from the northernmost gate near the village of Sirimon, you literally cross the equator as you traverse a jungle rife with buffalo and elephants. After watching the trees grow shorter before your eyes, you emerge after only two hours of walking into an impeccable moorland dressed in heather and moss that would not be out of place in Braveheart. Another day’s hike sends you across mountain bogs and frozen tundra a mere 40 kilometers from tea farms and grazing cattle down below. Here the equatorial climate (summer at day, winter at night) encourage the alpine foliage to swell to unusual sizes–lobelias as tall as grown men and many-headed senecio forests–hibernate instead of die, and to bloom just once in their decades-long lifespans.

A Seussian landscape

By 14,000 feet, most vegetation has given way to barren slopes, great moraines where the legendary glaciers of Mt. Kenya used to sit. Even in the last 30 years, the mountain’s glaciers have shrunk at a disconcerting rate. The great white blanket that the Kikuyu believed their god to sleep upon is no longer there, but even the rocky scars it has left awe the imagination.

Above this line of life, rock and ice dominate, and Mt. Kenya is famous for its intimidating cliff faces, arduous routes that draw alpinists from across the globe to test themselves on Africa’s greatest rock climb. The climbs are so demanding that less than 1% of park visitors actually reach Point Batian, the highest peak in Kenya.

Ascending the technical routes. Cold, hard, and scary.

Most are satisfied with the still demanding trek to Point Lenana, the third highest peak. To avoid the regular snowstorms that immerse the mountain in dark clouds by midday, climbers of any peak must wake many hours before dawn and struggle up the steep scree under a breathtaking African night sky. One can watch tiny pricks of light from headlamps slowly ascend the mountain like a line of brilliant ants.

Reuben on the dawn patrol

On a truly clear morning, the sun reveals the mountain’s monolithic cousin far away to the south, Kilimanjaro. Next week, I’ll be there.

A startling clouded sunrise on Pt. Lenana

Par rapport aux paies de l’Occident, rien ici n’est efficace. Aucune boutique n’accepte les cartes sauf qu’à Dakar, il faut toujours garder de l’argent liquide. Cela a des conséquences. Il est impossible d’avoir une taxe de vente alors il y a moins de revenu pour le gouvernement. Et parce que personne n’a pas un compte bancaire, chaque personne est payée avec l’argent liquide aussi, donc encore il est impossible d’avoir un impôt sur le revenu. Je n’ai pas envie du gouvernement. De plus, il y a un impôt foncier mais c’est seulement pour les maisons finies. La conséquence ? Beaucoup de maisons qui ne sont pas finies.

Il est vrai que le gouvernement a besoin de revenu pour faire l’administration, mais c’est en supposant que le gouvernement n’est pas corrompu. Mais ici il est corrompu et tout le monde le sais. Malheureusement/heureusement il n’y a pas toujours des manifestations comme au Venezuela. Les gens acceptent la corruption et espèrent toujours que la vie va s’améliorer. Je n’ai trouvé qu’une personne qui aime le président. Ma mère d’accueil et mon guide pour mes excursions m’ont dit que la richesse nationale c’est aux gens qui ont le pouvoir, jamais pour les pauvres. Et sans taxes, il n’y a pas d’amélioration pour la condition de vie des misérables via l’administration. Avec tout ça, le changement est-il possible ? Je ne sais pas, mais j’espère.

Comment est-ce qu’il est possible de faire le business au Sénégal ? Je pense à ça toujours, notamment pour les compagnies américaines. Les risques de business sont forts. Les traces des business sénégalaises (sauf que ceux qui sont très grands) n’existent pas vraiment. Je pense qu’il sera très difficile d’imposer un contrat s’ils ne respectent pas les termes. J’ai aussi vu beaucoup de cas de discrimination entre les propriétaires et clients. Si un propriétaire ne vous aime pas, il mentit sur tout ou il peut changer son avis sans prévenir et le jour avant votre départ vous êtes sans un mode de transport.

Pour les consommateurs, je ne sais pas comment je peux présenter un nouveau produit dans le marché pour une chose alimentaire. Chaque jour tout le monde achète la même chose (vraiment toujours, personne n’a un frigo) et la fidélité à la marque est très forte. Mais comme tout le monde, si un produit est moins cher et en haute qualité, cela peut changer la situation, mais les marges ici pour les produits alimentaires sont presque rien. Vraiment c’est quelques centimes. Je ne vois pas la valeur pour une compagnie qui veut essayer d’entrer dans ce marché. Cette une histoire différente pour les articles de luxe comme un IPhone ou Land Rover. Il y a quelques milles de clients pour les deux au Sénégal, et il y aurait de plus si tout le monde a l’accès au crédit. Le marché n’est pas le plus grand mais assez grand pour entrer.

Samedi il y avait un match de foot à Dakar pour le championnat et bien sûr le stade était plein. Mon boss Cheikh y a assisté. Pendant la prolongation, l’autre équipe (l’équipe qui ne vient pas de Dakar) a fait un but. Ensuite il y avait une catastrophe. Les supporteurs de Dakar attaquent les supporteurs de l’autre équipe. 10 personnes sont mortes et plus de 130 ont été blessés. Tout était annulé après ça, même le concert qui allait se passer à Saint Louis. Il est fou que ça s’est passé mais quand même rien ne me surprend.

Dans une semaine je vais partir de Saint Louis à Ziguinchor, une ville dans le sud de Sénégal, après la Gambie. Je vais rester là-bas avec des missionnaires pour une semaine et ensuite une autre semaine à Dakar avec les missionnaires différents. Je serais un peu plus enthousiaste pour le voyage si les modes de transport ici étaient sûrs, mais malheureusement je dois attendre le jour de départ pour chercher mon billet. On verra si je dois passer deux semaines à Dakar.

In comparison with countries in the West, nothing here is efficient. No stores accept credit cards except in Dakar, you always need to have cash on you. This has quite a few consequences. It’s impossible to have a sales tax and that hinders the governments revenue, and because nobody has a bank account, they get paid in cash, so it’s also logistically impossible to have an income tax. I do not envy the government. In addition, there are property taxes but only for finished houses. The result? There are a lot of houses that are not finished.

It’s true that the government needs revenue to finance public works, but that is assuming the government is not corrupt and will put the money to good use. But here the government is corrupt and everyone admits it. Unfortunately/fortunately (depending on your political point of view) there are not protests everyday like in Venezuela. The people accept the corruption and hope that life will get better. I have only found one person who admits to liking the president. My host mother and my guide for the excursions told me that all the national wealth goes to the people with power, never to the poor. And without taxes, it’s not feasible to improve the lives of those not so well-off through public services. With all this, is change possible? I do not know, but I hope so.

How is it possible to do business in Senegal? I think about this every day, notably for American companies. There are a lot of risks doing business here. The records of Senegalese businesses (except the ones that are very large) don’t really exist. I think that is would be very difficult to enforce a contract if someone does not respect the terms of agreement. I have also seen many cases of discrimination between owners and clients. If an owner does not like you, he lies about everything, or he can change his opinion without warning and the day before you leave you can be without a mode of transportation.

As for the consumers, I don’t know how I can introduce a new product to the market for something people need daily. Every day, every one buys the same thing (truly every day because no one has a fridge here) and brand loyalty is quite strong. But as with everyone, if a product is less expensive but higher quality that could change the situation, but the margins here are almost nothing. Pennies, at best. I do not see the benefit for a company trying to enter this market. There is a different story for luxury items such as IPhones or Land Rovers. There are several thousand customers for those products in Senegal, and there would be more if people had access to credit. The market is not the biggest but big enough to be worth entering.

Combien de baguettes est-ce que je peux mettre dans la voiture?/How many baguettes can I put in the car?

Last Saturday, there was a soccer match in Dakar for the league championship and of course the stadium was packed. My boss Cheikh was there. During overtime, the other team (the team not from Dakar) made a goal. After that it was a nightmare. Dakar’s fans attacked the fans of the other team. 10 people died and over 130 were wounded. Everything was cancelled after that, even the concert in Saint Louis that evening. It is kind of ridiculous that happened, but it does not surprise me.

In one week, I will be leaving Saint Louis for Ziguinchor, a town in the south of Senegal, past Gambia. I am going to stay with some missionaries there for one week and then another week in Dakar with different missionaries. I would be a little more excited for the trip if the way I was getting there was sure, but unfortunately, I have to wait until the day I leave to get my boat ticket. We will see if I have to spend two weeks in Dakar.

A walk around town with the walking clubs of Saint Louis

La teinture/Dying clothes

Le temps passe si vite, je reste ici pour seulement un mois de plus. Il est bizarre parce que le travail me semble très différent maintenant. Nous avons eu beaucoup de bénéficiaires qui ont déjà fini la formation au bureau. Ça reste seulement leurs plans de business et présentations. Mais il est super parce que nous donnons des nouveaux prêts chaque semaine. Malheureusement, le modèle de microfinance ici n’est pas suffisant. Nous dépendons sur les volontaires et leur argent pour financer notre projet. Je ne sais pas si nous aurons assez d’argent pour les 10 femmes qui vont commencer les cours jeudi. Nous cherchons les chemins pour recevoir les dons, comme l’octroi de l’union européenne que le bureau va essayer de gagner.  Nous faisons les bonnes œuvres ici et ça me rendrait triste si nous devenions dire non à une personne qui n’a pas les moyens pour nourrir sa famille.

De la poisson, de la mangue et du riz/Fish, mango and rice

Sinon, il était difficile pour moi de m’adapter à la nouvelle mode de vie pour les volontaires. La majorité reste ici pour seulement 3 ou 4 semaines et ils traitent le séjour comme des vacances. Ils n’ont pas besoin d’apprendre le mode de vie parce qu’ils ne restent pas ici pour assez de temps. J’ai pris presque 8 semaines pour être à l’aise avec tout ; je connais bien comment prendre un taxi, négocier un prix, saluer quelqu’un, habiter avec ma famille d’accueil, trouver un bon resto ou même bien me reposer. Quand je suis arrivé, tout le monde allait rester ici pour longtemps, et nous avons posé beaucoup de questions sur le mode de vie ici, les questions qui n’existent plus, celles les plus importantes que je pense les nouveaux volontaires ne sauront jamais. Je me sens un peu responsable pour leurs bien-être comme le plus ancien volontaire et ça me rend triste qu’ils font la plupart de choses tout seul. Mais s’ils m’ont besoin, je suis ici.

Après on reste ici pour longtemps, on entend beaucoup d’histoire très tristes. Maintenant, la plupart de femmes sont veuves qui n’ont pas les moyens pour soutenir leurs familles. Normalement leur grande famille les aide ou même leurs enfants s’ils sont assez grand pour travailler, mais leurs conditions de vie sont les pires. Si un de leur famille (comme la fille d’une bénéficiaire que j’ai rencontré hier) tombe malade, elles peuvent presque ne rien faire. Il y a des maisons où tout le monde dort par terre chaque nuit parce qu’il n’y a pas assez de place sur les matelas. J’ai vu aussi les maisons sans toilettes et le sol est la terre. San parler des cuisines qui sont les places parfois les plus sales dans la maison. Vous auriez un mouvement de recul si vous voyiez les maisons ici.

Je pense souvent à comment améliorer les conditions de vie ici sur un niveau gouvernemental. Il n’est ni bon pour les talibés ni les daaras parce que l’Etat ne veulent pas toucher aux daaras. C’est un problème parce que tout le monde soutient le système des écoles coraniques mais personne ne veut les enregistrer avec l’Etat pour recevoir un subventionnement. Il y a quelques écoles franco-arabes, ça veut dire les daaras qui enseigner au même temps le coran et les études normales. Mais on les trouve rarement. Environ 1-2% de la population de Sénégal est un talibé et il y en a plus de 1 000 à Saint Louis. Ces gens-ci ont besoin d’une éducation pour contribuer au bien-être du pays.

J’espère que je ne radote pas. Une petite histoire : quand j’étais au Québec et faisais le programme d’immersion, je n’ai pas remarqué vraiment l’accent canadien. Maintenant, après avoir entendu beaucoup d’autres accents, je trouve que l’accent canadien est gros. Je le trouve intéressant que je remarque ça maintenant.

Ba beneen yoon « A la prochaine » !

Time is passing very fast, I am here for only a month longer. It’s been weird as work is quite different now. We have had a lot of beneficiaries who have already finished the training at the office. All that is left is their business plans and presentations to Moctar. But it’s cool because we get to give new loans out about every week. Unfortunately, the microfinance model here is not self-sufficient. We depend on volunteers and their money to fund our project. I do not know if there will be enough money for the 10 new women who are going to start classes this Thursday. We are looking for ways to get funding, such as the grant from the European Union that the office is trying to get. We are doing really good work here and it would make me sad if we had to say no to a person who doesn’t have the resources to feed their family.

On another note, it is hard for me to get used to the new way of life for the volunteers. The majority are only staying for 3 or 4 weeks and they treat this trip like a vacation. They don’t need to learn the way of life here because they are not staying for longer enough to make it necessary. It took me 8 weeks to get used to everything: I know how to take a taxi, negotiate a price, greet somebody, live with my host family, find a good restaurant or even how to find a way to relax here. When I arrived, everyone was going to be here for a long time, and we asked a lot of questions about the way of life here, the questions which seem to no longer exist. The most important questions I do not think the volunteers will ever ask. I feel somewhat responsible for their well-being since I am the most experienced volunteer here and it makes me sad that they want to do most things by themselves. But if they need me, I am here.

Pardonnez le visage d’Amina mais ici les volontaires font le soin au daara/Excuse Amina’s face but here the volunteers are disinfecting sores of the children in the daara

After being here for a long time, one hears a lot of very sad stories. Right now, most of the women are widows and do not have the resources to support their families. Normally their extended family helps them or ever their children if they are old enough to work, but their living conditions are the worst. If one of their family (like the daughter of a beneficiary I met yesterday) gets sick, they can do almost nothing to help them. There are houses where everyone sleeps on the ground because there is not enough space on the mattresses. I have also seen houses without bathrooms and where the floor is dirt. That’s without mentioning the kitchens that are many times the dirtiest rooms in the house. You would cringe if you saw the houses here.

I often wonder how we can better the living conditions here on a governmental level. It’s not good for the talibés nor the daaras that the State does not want to mess with them. It is a problem because everyone supports the system of Koranic schools but nobody wants to register them with the State to receiving funding. There are several French-Arabic schools, which are schools are teach both the Qur’an and regular studies, but those are few and far in between. Around 1-2% of the Senegalese population is a talibé and there are more than 1,000 in Saint Louis. These people need an education so they can contribute to the well-being of their country.

I hope that I am not rambling. A quick story: when I was in Quebec and doing the immersion program, I did not really notice the Canadian accent. Now, having heard a lot of other accents, I find the French-Canadian accent very thick. I just find it interesting that I am noticing it now!

Ba beneen yoon (until next time)!

Elle voudrais payer ses études (ici on peut le faire avec $80 par mois)/She would like to pay for her college (here you can do that with $80 a month)

Ibrahima a un rêve d’une place dans le marché/Ibrahima dreams of having a store in the market

Mor veut vendre des friperies dans les quartiers de Saint Louis/Mor wants to sell used clothing in the neighborhoods of Saint Louis

Les billets de la Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO)/The bills from the Central Bank of the Western African States