My first weekend in Dakar: no running water, intermittent electricity, and smiles throughout

Cats at WARC, featured because I
know what drives Internet traffic

On my way back from the market on Friday, I heard someone on the radio announce most areas of Dakar would be without water for the weekend. I asked Moustapha, a boy from the neighborhood designated by Alioune (the head of my host family) to accompany me to the market, if this happened frequently. He replied it did, but that electricity outages were very rare.

The family work station -- study desk and 
reading spot, it has the best light
and greatest exposure to fresh air

Sand and dust abound 

Well, they may be exceedingly rare, but they do occur: I’ve spent the weekend without running water and only intermittent electricity. I’m currently writing this blog post at 4am on Sunday, seated at the family work station, pen in one hand, cell phone flashlight in the other, with a can of bug repellent nearby.

Walking around the neighborhood with Fatou, Alioune's granddaughter, I noticed that restaurants remained open for business; the only restaurant that boasts an internet connection in the area even proudly features generators. As Fatou and I stop in there to eat and upload my photos for my previous post, I asked her what she wanted: she said a hamburger (she loves hamburgers apparently – more on that in another post), and a glass of water. At home, the small basin of drinking water is reserved primarily for the men of the household.

I was wholly unprepared the first time the power went out in the middle of the night. Without the fan in my room, I became vulnerable to my two Senegalese adversaries, the heat and mosquitoes. I had two options: open the door and window to my room to let in a breeze, and with it seemingly thousands of mosquitoes; or attempt to close the curtains, and suffer oppressive heat and only hundreds of mosquitoes. Not a lot of sleeping took place that first night. However, the next morning, I discovered that the itch of mosquito bites in Senegal fades rapidly, and was able to get more sleep the following night by leaving door and window as wide open as possible to catch a breeze.

The gorgeous weather becomes
your enemy with no fan to provide refuge

The water basin on the rooftop

My glamorous toilet and
shower, with the makeshift
system used when there's
no running water

My host family on the other hand seemed rather nonplussed. Alioune asked me cheerfully if I had slept well. I lied, and said I did. I asked Alioune how he coped with no running water or electricity. He seemed concerned by neither, explaining his refrigerator and giant freezer would remain cold enough for about 12-24 hours. All in all, they have built-in coping mechanisms for short-term disruptions. The freezer will retain the cold longer than the refrigerator, and is big enough to accommodate the few things they store in the refrigerator, Alioune explained. As for washing, he showed me two giant basins of water on the roof, and various containers I could fill up to bring water to my shower to wash myself. They seem to accept such disruptions as part of life, and don’t even seek to understand the causes: “probably some repair going on somewhere,” Alioune said with a shrug.

A typical sight in Dakar -- children everywhere,
traditional outfits, and soccer t-shirts

The whole house is designed to let in fresh air

An open roof in the
center of the house for
fresh air and sunlight

The lack of running water, and intermittent power disruptions, did not seem to hinder daily life. Once I figured out the mosquitoes weren’t too bad, I slept great the second night, with my door and windows wide open to catch the air flow the house was designed to create, through a system of windows and an open  roof in the middle of the house. I had a great time seeing the neighborhood through the eyes of 11 year old Fatou, and am now going to visit the African Renaissance Monument and the imposing buildings of the Plateau, with Fatou who’s never been to see them before. It’s hard to tell who’s more excited by this next adventure. 

A preview of an upcoming post about my host family.
Here, Demba, who also answers to "Barca", watches
his first animated movie on my computer (Despicable Me)