I’ve been in Senegal for two weeks now. This is my first
time to Africa, and it certainly won’t be my last. For the most part, it has been
an easy transition, but I’d be lying if I said that my first couple days weren’t
completely overwhelming. It is one thing to be a foreigner here, but I get the
impression that my experience is strongly influenced by the fact that I am tubaab – a Wolof word that describes me
as a Caucasian, and implies that I have wealth. Senegal isn’t special in that
regard; people the world over tend to assume that “because you are white, you
have money,” which is a phrase I often hear. The onslaught of vendors just takes
some getting used to.
