r/Senegal

I don’t think i’m homophobic but I’m sure that I have homophobic views that I need to unlearn, knowing and unknowingly. I don’t have a problem with Lesbians (I’m guessing because i’m attracted to women as a man so the concept doesn’t completely turn me off) but in the context of homosexuality, when I think of two men kissing or having sex with each other, i feel disgusted and angry. What can I do to become less hateful? Serious response only

F(27) Senegalese American that would like to move back. I would like to move back and I have money saved up. I would like to buy wholesale and sell it fast. What do you think works best?

Pensez-vous que le manque d’affection ou de relations peut influencer notre bien-être mental et social au Sénégal

Bientôt un an que je suis au Sénégal je ne parle pas de mes sentiments, personne ne me demande si ça va où pas , des fois j'ai envie d'avoir quelqu'une avec qui discuter la faire un gros câlin pour me sentir soulagé et écouter mais j'ai personne ici au Sénégal.

Je me pose la question est ce que vivre comme ça longtemps n'aurait pas d'impact sur ma vie,mes performances ?.

https://preview.redd.it/al2xl3tiqb2h1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=27360d662ea926ced5adab3279d6a0b78ff08f1e

J'aimerais avoir ces sacs pour transporter des trucs personels dans le cadre d'un voyage. Où puis-je en trouver ?!

Hey everyone,
I will be travelling to Senegal in a week to meet my Dad’s family for the first time ( just found out about a year ago that my Father was Senegalese, things didn’t work between my parents and my father was never in my life. My Mother also hid this information from me for 34 years.) Anyway. I am coming to meet my sister, grandmother and other extended family and I am very anxious. I don’t speak French or Soninke so a lot of things will already be challenging ( I have arranged for a translator)
I would love some help with suggestions about airbnbs or hotels in Dakar. What gifts would be appropriate to bring for the family. How to conduct myself around my newly found family when I travel to Matam.
I would like to also do some shopping for Boubous or any “Senegalese” clothing.
This won’t be a tourist visit for me but I would love to go to some really good restaurants in Dakar. So any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated🙏

Hi all!

I am a graduate student (27F) from the US and I will be doing a fellowship in Dakar this summer (May-August). It was only recently confirmed so I haven’t had as much time to prepare as I would like. I have been brushing up on my French and researching the area I will be staying in (Ngor).

Any tips/recommendations/suggestions for me this summer? I’m thinking things to do in the city, general tips for an American with very basic French skills, or advice for a young single woman staying safe. I’ve lived abroad before so I feel pretty comfortable with adjusting to a new culture. But I would love to hear any specific things I should keep in mind for living in Dakar.

Thanks!

Sorry but this is a rant.

I just finished reading the latest Seneweb article about homosexuality and I’m honestly in shock. I’m not even trying to argue whether people support it or not because that’s not the point here. What disturbed me was the level of hatred, humiliation, and cruelty in the article itself.

It seriously made me uncomfortable reading it. At some point this stops being journalism and becomes something else entirely. It felt vicious. Mean. Dehumanizing. I honestly could not believe this was being published publicly by a major media platform.

What is happening to our country? Seriously. Have we fallen this low? Since when did attacking and degrading human beings become normal media content?

I’m deeply disturbed by what I just read.

I (26 M) have the chance to spend 3 months in Dakar for work. I speak French and English and would love to make a group of friends when I go. Does anyone have any good experiences/recommendations?

Bonjour à tous,

Je m’intéresse aux coûts de construction au Sénégal et je constate que les estimations trouvées sur internet varient énormément.

Par exemple, pour une maison de 150 à 300 m² :

• à Dakar vs Mbour/Saly vs Ziguinchor,
• en prenant en compte gros œuvre, second œuvre et finitions.

Si vous avez déjà construit ou avez des estimations récentes, ce serait super si vous pouviez partager vos chiffres ou vos expériences : écarts constatés, surprises, conseils… tout est utile !

Pour ma part, j’ai essayé de centraliser ces données dans un petit simulateur pour mieux comprendre les budgets réalistes selon les surfaces et les villes. Si cela peut aider certains, je peux partager le lien dans les commentaires.

Merci d’avance pour vos retours !

First generation American here and I’ve always seen our culture a super untapped and interesting market. My issue is not being in Senegal and knowing other Senegalese-Americans who are into anime/animation. I’ve tried fiver and the whole experience was awful lol, anyone think they could point me in the right direction. Looking to make animations utilizing Wolof, it’d be extremely helpful to have someone who understands enough English to help with scripting aswell.

I've been doing some reading on amadou koufa recently and learned that his org actively tries to recruit people from eastern Senegal using digital means. I don't have any on the ground experience in Mali but I've been to eastern Senegal and im assuming the institutional gripes are probably similar (eastern senegal, central/northern Mali). What repeatedly comes up in various papers (aside from sufi orders) is the idea of "Kal" or "the joking relationship" keeping the social cohesion in Senegal strong. Ive read the technical definitions but I am interested in how it manifests in everyday life. How do you guys view Kal? What are the boundaries? Does every generation participate? I think the closest I've ever experienced this sort of dynamic was when a Peul fellow told me Wolof people aren't real 😂.

Hi,

I am looking for tofu and/or seitan in Dakar. Anyone knows a place where I can find some?

Cheers

Why some women are willing to be 2nd, 3rd or 4th wives? I talking about young and attractive women that could’ve had any man but rather settle with a man who’s already married and probably has kids.

In Senegal, we talk a lot about entrepreneurship, but very little about how commercial activity is actually organized.

The result is that as soon as one business seems to be doing well, ten others open around it — not because there is enough demand, but simply because people copy what they see working.

That is not always healthy competition. Sometimes, it becomes a form of collective saturation that ends up making everyone poorer.

Heyy 18F here from morocco! My older brother lives in Dakar for his studies and I was wondering if some of you have app recommandation or anything really to try to learn the wolof (i don't need to that quickly, it can take as much time as it needs) so that I can impress him lol and also because I don't know any african language and I thought that it was a shame. So yeah if some of you have any advice, really it can be anything, i would thank you for sharing it with me!

Bonjour à toutes et à tous, je suis une jeune femme de 23 ans j’ai quitté le Sénégal après mon bac pour faire mes études ailleurs. Mon père était bien d’accord à l’époque mais presque 5 ans après j’ai l’impression qu’il est devenu un peu radical ( côté religion) il a même dit à ma mère qu’il a regretté de m'avoir laisser partir. Le pire c’est que à l’époque j’avais fais des concours au Sénégal et j’avais même réussi à avoir de très bonnes écoles donc partir n’était pas un must pour moi. Mais comme quand la possibilité s’était présentée il n’avait montré aucune objection j’avais choisi de partir pour l’expérience et pour satisfaire ma curiosité naturelle.

Je précise quand même que depuis que je suis venue je fais bien ce qui m’a emmener dans ce pays même si c’est pas facile. Je valide chaque année malgré mon domaine d’études un peu pointu, je vais très bientôt être diplômée en plus je m’efforce de ne jamais demander de l’aide financière à ma famille et aussi je suis assez discrète je ne crée jamais de problèmes à ma famille. Du coup ça me fait un peu mal qu’il ait dit ça d’autant plus que récemment il est aller plus loin en disant que si je reviens par exemple en vacances je ne retournerai plus en ici et tout ça sans penser une seconde à mon avenir.

Ça m’inquiète énormément parce que j’ai trop peur pour mon avenir. J’ai sacrifié 5 ans de ma vie, sans famille avec moi, j’ai perdu des amis, Dieu seul sait comment j’ai souffert ici dans la solitude. J’ai toujours tout gardé pour moi, les problème, les soucis et souffrances par peur de déranger et maintenant voilà que toutes ces sacrifices risquent de tomber a l’eau.

Je voudrais que vous me donniez des conseils svp sachant que je ne crois pas que la négociation avec lui soit une bonne idée.

Dites moi si j’ai tord mais j’ai l’impression de laisser à mon père trop de pouvoir dans ma vie ce qui peut avoir des conséquences néfastes pour mon avenir surtout si on part du principe qu’il ne sera pas toute ma vie à mes côtés pour m’aider.

I am considering visiting Senegal for the first time. I don't know how long I want to stay there, maybe 2 weeks maybe 5, unsure. The issue is: it says it is necessary to have proof of onward travel. As I won't have a return ticket, this makes things difficult.

As I would also like to maybe visit Gambia I thought to buy a bus ticket beforehand but I have not been able to get into the Dem Dikk app as the sms confirmation texts don't arrive. I thought to buy a plane ticket instead but it would cost so much more, plus I do not know what day I want to go so it is not a great option either...

I also thought about getting a refundable return ticket with Iberia/Vueling but both seem to only to credit refunds not cash refunds.

Any other ideas or personal experience?

For context I am Polish, but I would be flying from the UK.

Oookaay, nuyoo guys,

Before anything, I just want to clarify that this is my personal opinion about one recent topic. That I am not trying to get the nerve of anybody or whatever related. I may say nonsenses as well, but it’s just an opinion.

Jajeuf.

I have seen the Serigne Modou Kara’s extrait about Democracy. I don’t usually pay attention to the so called Nostradamus-es of this country but this one kinda stroke me. I don’t care about the geographical theory that Senegal will be an island soon and that Touba will be this and that BUT the statement « Touba should have its own autonomy », now that is for me, a declaration of a « war » that might happen soon.

Hear me out. Maybe he didn’t mean that, but we all know how some fanatics (specifically his supporters) are thinking. One signal and they would try to make it happen. So to say stuff like that on television, that could work on some minds. Words are powerful and to each its own perception.

While the guy did say a lot of stuff in the past, I considered it as a Marvel thing. Every community brags about their leaders and holy places, extraordinary anecdotes and direct affirmation about God being straight with them, that’s fine. It’s a global thing. But this, for me, is like a power testing. And that should be stopped immediately before someone else put another dangerous show tomorrow.

So how far should a free speech be allowed ?

Hi everyone

I’ve been reflecting on something lately and I’d love to get your perspective on the social pressure in Senegal, specifically regarding status symbols.

It feels like in our society, looking wealthy is often more important than actually being financially stable. I’ve noticed two main things:

The big sheep phenomenon: During Tabaski, people are willing to spend 700,000 FCFA or even over a million on a sheep (like the Ladoum) just for prestige. Some people even go into debt or spend money they don't have, just so the neighbors can see a massive sheep in front of their house. It’s not even about the religious act anymore; it’s about the "trophy."

Luxury cars vs. Reality, l

I saw someone mentioned it there in this subreddit, ,ND I agree, I see a lot of people prioritizing a flashy, big, luxury and expensive car to maintain an image, even when their basic needs or long-term investments aren't fully covered.

My question is: Why are we like this? Is it the weight of family expectations? Is it the fear of what people will say

How did a sheep or a car become the ultimate measure of a person value in our country?