Le grand Bal! the annual grand bal

Earlier in this blog i mentioned the talented artist Youssou Ndour. Well now is the time to discover the greatness of this senegalese musician . On november 26 and 27 , In the midst of New York city he will be having the annual grand bal at the Nokia theathre in times square.

VIP tickest are 70 dollars and standing tickest are 50 dollars.

I must go remember he is one of my favorites. My friends and i are planning the adventure together , so i started saving because it is going to be rather costly!

A trip to Senegal!

this is a great agency if you are under a budget .It offers the cheapest airplane tickets to get to Dakar . I use them everytime i plan on going home.

I am so very excited , because i'll be spending christmas with my family.

It's been a good two years i haven't seen my mother and sister. i miss them so much . I never thought it would be so hard being away from home.

when i was

in the last years of high school i was excited and happy about leaving home. i was dreaming of my new life as a student , with all the freedom possible, having my own place and all.

My mom when she would get mad she would say , you'll understand once you start doing everything by yourself.

What i realized over the years is that my dear mother was so right. It 's hell being away from home , even if you have friends. they are not always there for you. But one thing is that it makes you a lot stronger and you understand life better, wheter it is relationships with your friends , or being a broke student all the time! lol!

A great writer , writes a great proverb!

In Africa, A grandfather that dies is a library that burns.

by Hampate Ba.

I love this proverb because it is so true. Grandfathers and grandmothers through their experiences acquire a lot of significant knowledge and become a wealth of knowledge. when a grandfather dies , what dissapears is a fixed memory of the past. The natural memory and the dialogue has an effect on how we receive the message . Today , the artificial memory(thecnology , computers) dominates, even the bookstore.

the soccer team! "Les lions"

This is a picture of the soccer team. The guys on this team are very popular in senegal . I am not a great fan of soccer but this group of talented men participated to the growth of my interest in soccer.

the Senegalese soccer team became popular during the 2002 world cup. they reached the quarter finals. I remember how excited everyone was back home. the whole nation was behind the team and everybody was proud.

The senegalese president! a political issue.

Abdoulaye Wade is the current president of Senegal. The citizens of Senegal had a lot of trust in this old eighty two year old man. We thought he would bring change. he ran for president four times beginning in 1978, before he was elected in 2000.
What irritates me is the fact that nothing has been ameliorated. things have become very expensive in Senegal and we are facing shortages in rice , water and bread; this has never hapenned in the history of Senegal.
This raises questions between "man "and "power". These political leaders are obviously not fighting for their people.
Critics claim that the Wade's presidency has been marked by corruption and constraints on freedom of the press and other civil liberties.He has also been criticized for excessive spending .
We need change!!!!!!!!!

Goree island! "LA MAISON DES ESCLAVES"(the house of slaves)

The island is popular with tourists, especially African-Americans because of the symbolic status it has assumed as a place where African slaves were shipped off to the Americas.

An old Dutch slave house on the island has been turned into a museum and offers a glimpse into the horrific conditions these slaves had to endure before they embarked on their journey. For three centuries, the Africans who were reduced to slavery and embarked from Gorée Island were shipped to America (mainly south Louisiana) and the West Indies. It is said that before embarking, the slaves were labeled with their masters’ names. On the ships, they were jam-packed into holds, living in inhuman conditions. Many died before they reached land.

Persecuted in Senegal find refugee in New York! (from the New York Times)

Mr. Mbaye, 24, is an entertainer from Dakar, Senegal, known for his dancing, singing and storytelling.
Though Senegal passed an antisodomy law in 1965 that forbids “an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex,” homosexuality has traditionally been quietly tolerated in Senegal, particularly among the creative class of musicians and artists .
In February, a Senegalese magazine published photographs of what was reported to be an underground gay marriage and said that Mr. Mbaye, who appeared in the photos and is gay himself, had organized the event.six months later, Mr. Mbaye said, he was harassed by the police, attacked by armed mobs, maligned in the national media and forced to live on the run across West Africa.
In July, the United States government gave him refugee status, one of the rare instances when such protection has been granted to a foreigner facing persecution based on sexual orientation.

Happy eid mubarak to all!(happy celebration to all, blessed festival )

It's the end of the ramadan , so we celebrated . My friends and I got together for the special occasion. We decided to cook a great feast. We had oven roasted lamb meat with potatoes and for dessert we had a senegalese pudding called "Thiakry". The gathering was fun and warm.