"Il faut bien manger"

"You must eat well!"

These words are usually followed by my host mother patting my stomach and giving me a stern face to make it very clear that she wants me to return home with several extra pounds as a souvenir. 

It is hard to believe that it has already been a month since I arrived in Dakar! As I began to learn the rhythm and routine of living with (and as a part of) a Senegalese family, I have found that meal times have become both my favorite and also the most stressful times of the day. 

I am so thankful that I live with a family who is rather traditional with how they prepare and serve meals. This means, of course, sitting on the floor with 5 or 6 other people and eating around one large bowl, usually using either our hands or a small spoon. I have found that the interactions and mannerisms displayed during this time tell me so much more about this culture than I could ever have imagined. 

Because we are all sharing one bowl, each person is responsible for his or her own section. Usually in the middle of the bowl there is a pile of vegetables and meat that is shared between everyone. Let the eating begin! 

What makes this event stressful is not knowing where exactly the boundaries are between my section and the person on either side of me. While I am trying to be polite by being careful to not move outside of my portion, I need to continue reminding myself that it is just as impolite to not finish what is in front of you. Just when I have finished what I consider to be a reasonable portion of the bowl, and my pizza-slice section is scraped clean, my host mother (or sister) is quick to push a new pile of rice in front of me, and I must start all over again. 

During our first week of orientation, we learned, what has turned out to be one of the most important words in our Wolof vocabulary: Suurnaa (I’m full). After that first week, when I forgot it and had to keep eating until I thought I would explode, I have made sure to use it as much as I possibly can! Despite how much I love the food here and how excited I am to bring these cultural experiences back home after this semester, Oumy can only eat so much!