Teranga!

"Vous soyez la bienvenue!"

That's the phrase I hear everywhere I go in this country. It means: "You are welcome here!"
In Sénégal they pride themselves on "teranga," the Wolof word which means "welcome."

Today I went to Soumbedioune, a fish market on Dakar's coast nearby where I live. My Sénégalese friend Mahmound, who I met last summer in Spain, has insisted a thousand times that I be sure to go there, so I figured it was a good place to spend my first free Saturday in the country.

When my friend Erin and I arrived there, I was impressed by the massive number of handmade and hand-painted boats. It wasn't the bustling fish market that I imagined, though. It was more a laid-back area ruled by fishermen. As we walked around silently, I wondered if maybe we could go on one of the fishing boats.

As we were walking, a man came up to us and introduced himself as Waly the fish salesman. We started talking and, a few minutes into the conversation, I told him I wanted to go on a boat.

"Hold on," he told me in French, "let me just ask a friend."

15 minutes later we were boarding a fishing boat and heading out into the Atlantic with a fisherman named Pap. My friend and I each gave 5,000CFA (almost US$10) to help with gas, and we spent the next 2 hours taking turns driving the boat around, taking beautiful photos, and swimming in our underwear.

When we returned to land, Waly took us aside and grilled us 4 flying fish (poisson voleur) which we ate together, piping hot, with our hands.

Then he took us to a store and bought us bags of water (you bite a corner off and suck it out of the bag) before directing us to his home.

Now, I'm not a fool. I know better than to go home with someone I've only known for a few hours.
But things are different here. People here are really, truly friendly.

Waly took us home not to try and make a move on us, but to meet his 4 young children and wife. And while the kids bounced around on the couch showing us a one-armed naked doll, his wife prepared us a plate of yassa (spicy rice and fish) to share.

Waly wanted to share his home and family-- to welcome us to his country and show us the meaning of Sénégalese "teranga." A boat ride, fresh grilled fish, water, yassa, and an introduction to his entire family... strangers have done nice things for me all over the world, but Waly certainly tops the list!

And then, when we finally parted ways, we promised we would head back tomorrow so he could give us a walking tour of the area.