Pilgrimage Part 3: soaking it all in

For the next few days, I just enjoyed the time with my family - my host family from Dakar and new adoptive family in Touba. It was a lesson in Senegalese culture... in the end, a total of 7 days straight of rice and fish, prayer, boubous (Senegalese clothes), discussions about my husband or lack thereof, horse-drawn carts, slaughtered animals (everything from rooster to camel, and a lot of sheep), and religious chants.

It was a hard week - being fully immersed in it all without the company of another American. I never realized how much I relied on people from my own cultural background; people who can reassure me that I am completely within my rights in choosing to be 20 and without a husband and 4 children, that I am not stupid and without hope if I cannot uphold my own in a philosophical debate in Wolof, that I shouldn't be blamed when people can't get visas to the United States, that I shouldn't be obligated to give away my iPod or my sunglasses simply because I am an American.

But it was a wonderful week as well. I am blessed to have been able to experience this pilgrimage with my family. It allowed to recognize aspects of Senegalese and Mouride culture that I had not seen before, or just taken the time to notice before.

Enjoy the pictures and side commentary!

(rocking the look)

(my nephew, Serigne Cheikh Houna, sitting in his father's chair - already getting comfortable in his future seat)

(my brother Babacar, just back from the mosque)

(Babacar and I)

(my biggest fans at the house)

(camels herded in from the north of Senegal and Mauritania - unaware of what is to come... it certainly doesn't help their case that they always spit at me - and so delicious! although mostly all I taste are the spices)

(the archways marking the entrance to Touba)

(crazy traffic, still, 2 days after the day of Magal)

And so I leave you with an image that is something that we see everyday but that is still remarkable, that is a beautiful site in Minnesota and in Senegal...

For how frustrating life can be here sometimes, I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am. More than once a day, I catch something out of the corner of my eye, I catch my breadth, and all of my troubles seem trivial.