On Fridays the office closes early (1pm). My French lesson (see yesterday’s entry) is nearby, but it’s not till 5.30 meaning I had a few hours to kill, so I took a walk down to the main market in Dakar (Marche Sandaga). It’s impossible to walk around this part of town without being constantly hassled and you have to be on your guard the whole time against pickpockets and new found ‘friends’ who want to show you their uncles/brothers/fathers shop. The Sandaga itself is in an old colonial building and is the main food market for Dakar, but the surrounding streets are crammed with stalls selling just about anything.
On arriving at the Insitut for my French lesson I saw a flyer for a Griot concert – so I bought a ticket (as a member this cost me approx $1) and then went to my French class. Took some time to find them – they’d switched rooms but hadn’t bothered to tell anyone – but once there I enjoyed the class – most of the other pupils are locals, so their first language is Wolof. Took a little while for me to get going – I’m joining part way through the course, but hopefully I’ll be able to catch up.
The concert was not till 9pm and the lesson finished at 7pm, giving me time to have a leisurely beer at the institut bar, while doing my French homework. The concert took place in the cinema, the band was a five piece band – 3 on stringed instruments (xalam and ngoni I think) one on some sort of percussion instrument and one singer. It was all in Wolof so I’ve no idea what they were singing about, but it was all very lively and great fun.
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Glad to hear your brushing up on your French will be useful when we come for holidays in your french villa as I can not speak a word of it.
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