The Art of Saying Goodbye

Nin i xa lungtango fonda jee

Isa tonda nganya jee

If you see a foreigner's forehead

You will soon be seeing the back of his head, too

You will spend two years in your village, making friends - as well as jokes - that you otherwise never would. You will spend endless moments memorizing names and faces and dependents. Then one day you will tell them it's time for you to go, and they will come with their drums and their voices and their blessings and you will dance and you will spin until all of their faces become a blur that you hope is not permanent. They will come in the night with more blessings and gifts of cloth and before long you will fall asleep under the stars with the taste of sugary tea and salty tears on your tongue.

In the morning, they will tell you not to cry while they try to keep their cheeks dry. The very, very old and the very, very young may never remember you. But all together - the young and the old and those inbetween - make a complete family that over the last few years has loved you and fed you and tried, against all odds, to understand you. 

Finally, you will ride away and they will no longer see your forehead, but the back of your head as you vanish slowly down the path.

Full Sky, Empty Belly

It was the beginning of things, back when it was all still being figured out - who did this or that, and who was responsible for this or that. One day, all the animals of the forest convened and decided that the first and foremost thing to organize was who made meals and when. They couldn't go around having folks starve, so they would all designate one animal as the cook.

"I know how to cook," piped up Rabbit.

Hyena glared at him. "So do I."

Lion calmed them down and took the floor, as lions are wont to do. "You both shall cook!" he declared. "And we'll decide who is better at cooking."

Rabbit and Hyena set about the forest collecting their ingredients.

Rabbit hippety-hopped around, in a manner only rabbits can do. He was a finicky eater and insisted on using only the best and freshest ingredients. He nibbled a little on this and a little on that, testing everything he came across in the forest. The things that tasted good, he nibbled on a little more, and then a little more. Pretty soon, he had nibbled his way through most of the ingredients in sight.

Hyena, however, took a different approach. He skulked through the bush for awhile, observing everything with his little yellow eyes. He thought if he could add meat to his dish, his meal would be deemed the winner. There was plenty of fresh meat, in the form of his fellow animals, but Hyena wasn't up to making a kill that day, knowing it wouldn't win him any friends. And he couldn't find any carcasses already lying around. In the end, out of frustration and weariness, he lay down.

Later that day, all the animals of the forest re-convened - excitement in their yips and roars and barks. They would be eating 2 meals that evening! Yet when Hyena and Rabbit showed up empty-handed, there was obvious disappointment written all over their faces.

"What happened?" Lion first inquired of Rabbit.

"In order to use only the best ingredients, I ended up eating ALL the ingredients," he said, hanging his head in shame.

"And you, Hyena?"

Hyena giggled in embarassment. "No meat to be found anywhere!"

And so, none of the animals of the forest had dinner that night (with the exception of Rabbit, I suppose).

To this day, the Malinkes say that if you look up at the night sky and there are no stars in sight, it was Rabbit that prepared dinner that evening. If all the stars are clearly visible, it was Hyena who made the meal.

BFF

I suppose if we had grown up together in the late 80s in small town Alabama, Ramata and I would have been blood sisters. Or at least I would have written her a note that said "Would you like to be my best friend? Check 'iyo' or 'o'oo'."

But we didn't grow up together. In fact, Ramata and I only met two years ago in small village Diakhaba. Which is why it was such an honor one night when she came to my house and presented me with gifts of cloth and jewelry. My host dad Sina explained "Ramata's asking you to accept her as your best friend. What you do you think?"

I accepted with an effulgence of energy, donning the jewelry and prancing around the compound showing off my new gifts.

I don't know exactly what it means to be a best friend here. I do know that I went through a series of good friends in village, and all of them either moved away or got married or faded into the hazy background, like the mountains of Guinea. But Ramata and I are bonded by ceremony, and ceremony means something here.

I bring her coffee and popcorn, visit her new granddaughter at the hospital in Kedougou. I cook with her and take naps next to her in the heat of the day. When I was sick for days with a stomach bug, Ramata brought me a special breakfast every morning and said she couldn't eat or sleep from worry. When I leave Diakhaba in a few weeks, she's warned me she won't be able to accompany me to the road to say goodbye because she'll be crying too much.

Mme nterri musoo nyinya, foo nse fakha.

Ramata and Fatoumata

Jewels

Abdoul Aziz Mbaye

 

 

Dusk was just settling in when we sat down to watch the spectacle in the park. It was Culture Week in Kedougou, in honor of the arrival of the Minister of Culture from Dakar, and we were here for the rap concert. And what a concert! Lyrics in every language and every topic - some lambasting the government for not providing much-needed resources, others against the foreigners for stealing what resources they do have. We were up on our feet clapping and laughing and hooting and hollering when who appeared, but our Jaxanke language instructor all the way from Pre-Service Training in Thies - Falaye! With his 50/50 hat that read "OBEY," he was easily the coolest kid in town. And not just cool, but a man who can make things happen. So during a lull in the music, I leaned over to him and whispered "Can you help me get an interview with the Minister of Culture?"

This is how, the following day, I found myself sitting in the restaurant of the nicest campement in town, craning my neck to see if Abdoul Aziz Mbaye was done with his breakfast. Falaye and I ordered orange sodas and tried to look like professional journalists. Eventually the Minister finished his omelet, dabbed his mouth with his napkin, then he and his entourage headed our way.

When he got near our table, Falaye and I stood up. M. Mbaye took one look at Falaye in his OBEY hat, and said "Ah, c'est toi le rappeur d'hier soir!"

"The biggest wealth isn't gold, but knowledge."

I smiled. "Non, M. Mbaye. Moi, je suis une volontaire de Corps de la Paix et lui, c'est mon collegue."

"Et qu'est-ce que je peux faire pour vous?" he asked.

"Si c'est possible, je voudrais faire un interview avec vous."

"I think it would be possible," M. Mbaye responded.

I paused, taken aback. "Do you speak English?"

In his deep, gravelly voice, he replied "Of course. Fluently."

At this point, one of his entourage stepped forward. "I'm sorry. The Minister doesn't have much time. He has a flight to catch to Dakar. You may ask one question."

"One question?!" I thought about how I had stayed up late into the night with my flashlight and my notebook, formulating bleary-eyed questions. "What about 8 petite questions?"

"One," he answered sternly.

I opened my notebook. I gulped. "Juuuust ooooone question," I said slowly, filling the silence that ensued while I tried to choose the best question. I began, "Peace Corps has three goals. And two of those goals stress the importance of cultural exchange." I explicated. I amplified. I hemmed and hawed. If I was going to be granted only one question, I was going to be eloquent. I ended by asking, "What is the one thing you would want us volunteers to share with Americans regarding Senegalese culture?"

M. Mbaye answered without hesitation. "I would want Americans to know about our expertise in urban culture. Just yesterday before the rap concert, a graffiti artist named Doctah did a mural on the stadium wall. Check it out! When it comes to urban culture, Senegal ranks #3 in the world." [N.B. I did not ask for sources to confirm this. What I can confirm is that Senegal is a pretty cool place.]

Something in Wolof.

At this point, Mbaye's bodyguard had turned his back to us to take a phone call. I took advantage of this moment to slip in a second question. "In terms of culture, how does Kedougou stand apart from other regions?"

Mbaye gave me a sly smile, acknowledging that I had broken the rules. But neither of us could help ourselves - he wanted to answer the question as much as I had wanted to ask it. "Kedougou is a melting pot of all the ethnic groups that exist in the countries surrounding Senegal [Guinea, Mali]. There are more jewels on the land here than there is gold under the land."

"A government minister AND a poet!" I declared.

At this point, the bodyguard had ended his call. He walked over to me and took the notepad and pen out of my hand. "For the rest of your questions, you can email them to me." He copied down his contact information.

Later, after the entourage had left, I went up to the bar to pay for the sodas. Leon - the bartender - and I had become friends after an incident in which I had tripped over his friend's motorcycle and broke the mirror off. As I was handing the money over, Leon asked if I had had a chance to talk to the Minister.

"He was in a bit of a rush," I said.

"Well, he had a late start to his day," Leon explained. "He was at the rap concert until midnight. Then he came back and sat around the pool until 4am chatting with his friends."

As I walked away, Leon called out "Watch out for those motorcycles!"

Falaye and I walked out into the stifling Senegalese day, passing by Doctah's mural.

When I leave here, I won't miss the gold in the ground and all the problems it has brought. But I certainly, certainly will miss the jewels.