reflections on a religious city

Hi everyone! I'm taking some time out of writing my final report to check in, although at this point I feel like there's no way I could possibly capture my experience to share it. I'll do my best. I'm still in Touba wrapping up my internship. I'll be returning to Dakar next Friday for concluding activities and then I'll be flying back to the States on the night of May 10th. I won't mind coming back to Dakar if only because the water won't be as salty!! All the water in Touba is really salty and it's starting to bother my throat and my teeth, although I suppose it won't have done too much damage by the time I go. My internship has gone extraordinarily well. I've been very well integrated and immersed into the inner workings of the organization, and I've had plenty to do for the most part. I haven't had any major conflicts or cultural misunderstandings, which I'm thankful for. All of this stands in contrast to some other students' internships, which haven't had enough for them to do, which have left them bored.... and some students have tension with their families. It's kind of hit or miss if you get placed in a good internship or not, but it's also a question of how you approch it. All to say that I feel fortunate that it's gone well and that I've gotten something out of it.

My daily activities here are all over the board. Among other things, I've been.... teaching French, teaching English, teaching the basic principles of microfinance, participating in a sewing class therefore learning to make Senegalese clothes, doing assessment visits to a village outside of Touba so my organization can start doing a local development project there (building a well, building latrines, establishing a vegetable garden to give the women some income), observing the inner workings of a microfinance institution, hanging out at microenterprises, and meeting the local public authorities. I also had the opportunity to go to a health awareness presentation put on by a youth association for the entire neighborhood, which was theater-based and awesome. Of my own initiative, I've been interviewing Senegalese emigrants in Touba who have returned to visit their families, and I've interviewed the family members of Senegalese who are abroad. I'm writing my final report on the impact of emigration on the stability and prosperity of Touba and its surroundings, as well as the role of emigrants in local development.

I feel like I've learned a lot. I visited a hospital built solely by the voluntary contributions of Senegalese emigrants abroad, which cost 6 billion CFA (approximately $14 million in today's economy) to build. It's run by the state now but it's hitting some financial struggles. I've gained much more insight in the role of Islam in society and economics here, particularly the role of the Mouride brotherhood's leading family. I've struggled a lot with my own feelings toward gender roles, free choice, obedience, education, and so on. I feel that I've integrated well and my Wolof has gotten much better, but I don't know that I could spend months and months here without really struggling with the need to conform to this very conservative and religious society. Touba's a really special case, kind of like the Vatican, in that it is run completely at the discretion of the Khalif, who is the head of the Mouride brotherhood of Islam. The entire city is owned by the Khalif and his family, and until recent years Touba didn't pay any taxes. State law enforcement is scarce at best because the city operates under its own principles and is in practice almost completely independent of the State. Literally whatever the Khalif says is applied and the entire population complies. The Khalif is more powerful than the President here.

Among the things that are forbidden here: any kind of sports or activities of that nature, alcohol, cigarettes, playing cards, women wearing pants, hotels, night clubs, prostitution, etc. ''It's a religious city,'' is the repeated phrase. My cousin's dying to play soccer here and can't. He knows how to play because he used to study in Thies, another city nearer to Dakar. Once he was playing soccer in the street by our house and he was arrested by the police. He would have been taken to the station and fined 12,000 CFA (about $30, a lot of money here) but he twisted away from the guy holding his arm and ran for it. The other dominant characteristic that makes Touba particularly conservative is that women cannot show their legs here at all. Floor-length skirts only, and that goes for me too. To enter the mosque, women must be veiled covering their head and shoulders, but their face can show, and that also goes for me too. I've gone twice although I can't enter too far in because I'm not Muslim, and the sensation of wearing the veil feels weird to me. Just because it's not part of the culture I've grown up with, I've felt very confined at times by the social expectations surrounding me. I feel like I watch what I do very carefully. I've been dying to move more freely, laugh more.... people here tend to be more solemn than most Senegalese. On the days that there aren't school, the teenagers just sit around and sleep, which is apparently all that goes on in the summertime too. There's just very few activities. There's a lot of gender discrimination, what we would consider old-fashioned sexism (the belief that women can't handle money, women spend money on luxury items instead of family needs, women don't have the same inherent capacities as men to be active participants in the economy, and so on). This is NOT true across most of Senegal, however. Women in Touba are systematically denied the right to an education, although that's starting to change with the youngest generation. Almost all of the adult women in Touba are completely illiterate and speak no French, only Wolof, although they've attended Koranic schoools. Women get ordered around a lot. It's hard for me to see what their perspective is on the whole situation due to the language barrier. I do know that many women here prefer monogamy while the men prefer polygamy (which is accepted by Islam and encouraged among men here). It's also common practice here to marry within the family, which means that relatives marry each other. I know we in the U.S. see that as weird or unnatural but it's accepted as just how it works here. For instance, my host mother and father are also first cousins. They've got five kids, but the parents also hit their children on a daily basis, which I just flat out don't agree with.

That being said, Touba's been a really interesting place to live and I'm very glad that I've been here. I feel like I've gotten frustrated and critical lately but I know that at other times I feel much more enthusiastic. I know I'll look back on it differently as well. It's just very complex. Look for a more positive post later on. I've truly loved hanging out with my family here and the staff of the organization I'm with are incredibly courageous optimistic people with their hearts and heads in the right place. It's been inspiring to watch them and learn what works and what doesn't, recognizing that they're doing their best. I've been learning to cook ceebujen for when I come home to the States, and I've been asked endlessly when I'm going to convert to Islam. People respect that I'm Jewish here and want to learn more about Judaism, as I'm the first Jew they've ever met. What's most important to them is that I have a religion and I'm observant, no matter what that religion is. People also like to tease me about Dave. I mentioned that I had a boyfriend which they immediately interpreted to mean that we're engaged to be married, because that's the only context in which someone has a boyfriend here. You don't date at all here, you're supposed to retain your innocence etc. until marriage. So the women in the family have taken to teasing me all the time about ''Daouda'' (the Wolofization of Dave's name) by predicting what year we're going to get married, how many children we'll have, and when Dave will take a second wife. When I play along and say it will be just me, no second wife, they think it's hilarious. Which I think is hilarious. So it all ends well, despite the extreme awkwardness of it all. My cousins who are around my age enjoy discussing with me in French, both as an opportunity to practice their French and to do some cross-cultural learning. I've had some really deep and insightful conversations with them.

It's looking as though Dave may come to Touba on his way to Dakar for a day, to see the Grand Mosque (the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa). Then we'll go to Dakar together. That's about all for now. I know I'll be doing a lot more reflection and gaining new perspectives on my experience in the days and weeks to come. Most of the time when I'm so integrated here I don't do any active analysis of my own, I just live it, so I really only clarify my opinions when I step out of it. We'll see what this looks like in hindsight. Love you all, talk to you soon.