countdown

I’m a creature of habit, which means Sunday nights are reserved for Masterpiece Theatre. Here in Dakar most of the television channels show programs in French or Wolof; the only English-language channels are BBC World and CNN. I’ve already written a couple of news items into my novel, which is nearing 7000 words. I wanted to write 5K words before I left but I’m only at 3500 right now. It’s 11am and my flight leaves at 10:40pm but the airport shuttle will leave at 7. I’ll see what I can do. Last night I took a break from writing to watch 2 old episodes of Inspector Lewis. I don’t know why I return to that show again and again. The new season of Endeavour has started; maybe I can watch that online today. This morning I got an email from a friend in NYC telling me about a 3-week residency in Scotland; it’s for Commonwealth writers interested in the link between Scotland and the Caribbean during the slavery era. The deadline is this Sunday, so I’ll have to get that application started as soon as I get home tomorrow. I wish I could snap my fingers and be back in Brooklyn. It only took 8 hours to fly from JFK to Dakar but I have to fly through Paris and London to get back home, and they’re reporting longer lines at airports due to heightened security risks. Both of my Senegalese guides told me that their country values peace, and when one compares Senegal to the rest of the region, it definitely seems immune to religious conflict and terrorism. My guide yesterday took me to the Grand Mosque; I wasn’t allowed to enter but there was a lecture outside the mosque and also a graduation ceremony at the adjacent Islamic Institute for children who had finished memorizing the Koran. Maïssa quietly performed the call to prayer for me and answered my many questions about talibés (Koranic students who are required to beg in the street to earn their room and board). We talked about magic, witches, and spirits, and Maïssa urged me to read the Koran so that I can tell the difference between “true Islam” and cultural practices that have no basis in the Koran. We wrapped up the tour with a visit to Marché Kermel, which dates back to the colonial period. Like my other guide, Maïssa shared the fact that The Autobiography of Malcolm X is one of his favorite books. So Malcolm is now featured in the first chapter of my novel…I wrote down half a page of notes yesterday, and I really hope I can find a way to fit everything in somehow. The left hand isn’t used in Muslim society, but here in Dakar it’s good luck to touch a baobab tree with your left hand—some say you can even make a wish. This trip has been such a blessing, despite all my anxiety. I need to hit the grounding running once I touch down at JFK, and I promise I’ll post my photos on Facebook (feel free to “like” my page: Author Zetta Elliott). Au revoir from Dakar!