I was going on a walk with my brother Khadim, about the second week here. In Senegal it is very important to greet people, even those you don’t know, so when Khadim and I walk together I can never tell who his friends are, and who is a stranger that we just met. A group of 5 or so men each younger than 30 was hanging out by a boutique that sells cold drinks, and Khadim greeted them and shook each of their hands. The formal introduction showed me that he didn’t know these men, but I shook hands with them and the group of us ended up chatting. They pulled out a few chairs from the back of the shop, and Khadim, I, and two of the other guys sat down. Then they offered us attaya (tea, a Senegalese tradition) and Khadim accepted. The guys brought out three glasses of attaya (attaya glasses are about the size of shot glasses). I couldn’t help but laugh to myself about how sketchy the entire situation would be were I not in Senegal. “Hey strange men, I don’t know, sure I will hang out with you! You have a drink, I would love to have some, oh look it comes in a shot glass, isn’t that the cutest thing…” that would be the last I was ever heard of. Thankfully, I am in the land of teranga (Senegalese hospitality), and this type of thing is normal.
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