Taking friendly to a whole new level...
Well, I've been here in Dakar for 3 weeks now and I thought that I had been settling in quite well here at the office.
That is until today, when one of my co-workers asked me why I was always so unfriendly to everyone. This had me truly confused. I knew coming to Senegal, that greetings were an extremely important aspect of societal interactions. So, I had been trying extra hard to be sure to greet everyone - in a way that we be completely excessive in the United States - to ensure that I was not being rude. I thought I was doing a good job... But, I guess I still haven't quite mastered the art of greetings Senegalese style. Sigh. I am realizing that it is necessary, any time you enter a room, to be sure to greet everyone there, either by shaking hands or making eye contact and saying hello. It doesn't matter if there are 2 or 20 people - be sure to say hello to everyone. (and this is generally regardless of the fact that you may have just said hello to them a couple of minutes ago!) As I sit at my desk, which is on the way into several other offices, I am greeted again and again as people pass by, sometimes 2 or 3 times in a day - or more. This makes focusing on my work fairly challenging. At home in New York, I had gotten pretty good at tuning out all other distractions so that I could really get down to business (totally a survival tactic!). So now, when I am concentrating and forget to look up from my computer to say hello to passers-by, I am inadvertently laying down a pretty serious insult. Oh dear. This is only compounded by my sheepishness at trying to join conversations at coffee breaks or during lunch. Most of the staff will transition seamlessly between French and Wolof, and I therefore generally have no idea what is going on. Another challenge altogether! While I am desparately trying to get my French up to speed and to cram some Wolof into my brain as fast as possible, there is no chance of me keeping up with their conversations. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to do my best to improve my greeting skills - and at the very least, keep smiling!!! :)