Author Topic: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010  (Read 5741 times)

Anunikke

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #75 on: January 30, 2011, 11:42:28 AM »
Since when do vacation photos belong in ToT? Mod please.

When they expose people to a more worldly view and allow for discussion about worldly topics, and are more important to todays world than Nazi's in space.
You're confusing your own personal opinion with the description of this section.
 

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #76 on: January 31, 2011, 12:48:11 PM »
are you guys honestly arguing whether this does or does not belong in TOT, who gives a flying fuck? yall need a life, either talk about infinites trip, hate on him, or ignore the thread, but bring something to the table...
 

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #77 on: January 31, 2011, 10:48:42 PM »
My second day in Senegal...

My first day in Senegal I was mostly too excited to sleep.  So I was running on no sleep.  We hung out with the girl from Chicago and her Senegalese "business partner" Ali most of the day.  Just being around them and being out we met a lot of people and had them all over to our hotel and also went out that night.  The club we went to was kind of an American style club, and I wasn't really feeling it (because when you travel you want new experiences and it felt to much like back home), but my friend was.  Then later on that night, I started to like it there, and he started to say he was feeling sick and wanted to leave.  Without going into detail an argument did break out between my friend Idrissa and I, his cousin Dawda, and over a girl at the club.  The argument got so serious and spilled into some other issues, like family issues between Dawda and Idrissa and also arguments over money between some of us.  The arguments continued all through the next day.

My second evening in Senegal we went out with Ebony (the fashion designer from Chicago) out to the main mall/market in Dakkar, where she was meeting with some tailors and picking out some styles for the school uniforms back in Chicago she was contracted to provide.   But before meeting up with her Idrissa and I had spent the day over at Goree island.  Here are some pics and info about the world famous slave island...




Goree Island was one of the first settlements built by the Europeans in West Africa. The Porteguese were the first to make use of the island in the 14th century. Later the Dutch captured it, and gave it its name. But over the last few hundred years it has mainly been a possession of the colonial power of Senegal, the French.

Slavery is dramatized in great detail on the island. Although it has been disputed that the tales are greatly exaggerated by the 1,000 or so locals who live on the island and benefit off its tourism. Studies have shown that it was a major settlement and trading post, however human slaves were only a minor commodity on the island compared to the other goods being transported, such as beeswax, hides and grain.

However it has been so well-preserved over the years, in comparison to other European settlements in Africa, that it is still considered one of the best locations to visit for people seeking to better understand the history of the slave trade. The slave house located on the island is very well-preserved as you can see in the following picture...



First I have to post an old pic from my 2008 pics, because it is the best pic I have showing the overall layout of the slave houses.



This is me on the bottom floor of the slave house.  The top floor of the main slave house is said to be where the slave masters lived, while the bottom level is said to be where the blacks were divided up by groups. Then in the back is the place they call "point of no return" where they say the slaves were tragically shipped off to America, and "goodbye Africa".

Today the island is home to about 1,000 locals, and although people do get emotional seeing some of the historical images on the island, it is also home to beautiful beaches, resteraunts, concerts, and other avenues of entertainment/enjoyment.  Here's a pic of the beach-side restaurant.




I have about 30 pics of Goree Island alone, but I don't want to spend too much time on it here, as it wasn't a new experience but something I had done and written about on my two previous trips to Africa.







« Last Edit: February 01, 2011, 12:25:14 AM by Infinite- African West Coastin' 2010 »
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #78 on: February 01, 2011, 03:30:23 PM »
My second day in Senegal...

My first day in Senegal I was mostly too excited to sleep.  So I was running on no sleep.  We hung out with the girl from Chicago and her Senegalese "business partner" Ali most of the day.  Just being around them and being out we met a lot of people and had them all over to our hotel and also went out that night.  The club we went to was kind of an American style club, and I wasn't really feeling it (because when you travel you want new experiences and it felt to much like back home), but my friend was.  Then later on that night, I started to like it there, and he started to say he was feeling sick and wanted to leave.  Without going into detail an argument did break out between my friend Idrissa and I, his cousin Dawda, and over a girl at the club.  The argument got so serious and spilled into some other issues, like family issues between Dawda and Idrissa and also arguments over money between some of us.  The arguments continued all through the next day.

My second evening in Senegal we went out with Ebony (the fashion designer from Chicago) out to the main mall/market in Dakkar, where she was meeting with some tailors and picking out some styles for the school uniforms back in Chicago she was contracted to provide.   But before meeting up with her Idrissa and I had spent the day over at Goree island.  Here are some pics and info about the world famous slave island...




Goree Island was one of the first settlements built by the Europeans in West Africa. The Porteguese were the first to make use of the island in the 14th century. Later the Dutch captured it, and gave it its name. But over the last few hundred years it has mainly been a possession of the colonial power of Senegal, the French.

Slavery is dramatized in great detail on the island. Although it has been disputed that the tales are greatly exaggerated by the 1,000 or so locals who live on the island and benefit off its tourism. Studies have shown that it was a major settlement and trading post, however human slaves were only a minor commodity on the island compared to the other goods being transported, such as beeswax, hides and grain.

However it has been so well-preserved over the years, in comparison to other European settlements in Africa, that it is still considered one of the best locations to visit for people seeking to better understand the history of the slave trade. The slave house located on the island is very well-preserved as you can see in the following picture...



First I have to post an old pic from my 2008 pics, because it is the best pic I have showing the overall layout of the slave houses.



This is me on the bottom floor of the slave house.  The top floor of the main slave house is said to be where the slave masters lived, while the bottom level is said to be where the blacks were divided up by groups. Then in the back is the place they call "point of no return" where they say the slaves were tragically shipped off to America, and "goodbye Africa".

Today the island is home to about 1,000 locals, and although people do get emotional seeing some of the historical images on the island, it is also home to beautiful beaches, resteraunts, concerts, and other avenues of entertainment/enjoyment.  Here's a pic of the beach-side restaurant.




I have about 30 pics of Goree Island alone, but I don't want to spend too much time on it here, as it wasn't a new experience but something I had done and written about on my two previous trips to Africa.






I gotta ask you man. And be honest. Do you ever get people actin funny towards you when youre out there? Because youre...you know...white. And Im not bein a smartass either or anything. Its an honest question. Maybe not even just being white, but a white American. Youre visiting spots that have a long history of really bad shit happening to these peoples ancestors, carried out by yours. Obviously you have nothing to do with it. But sometimes there is still resentment you know?
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #79 on: February 01, 2011, 06:46:49 PM »

I gotta ask you man. And be honest. Do you ever get people actin funny towards you when youre out there? Because youre...you know...white. And Im not bein a smartass either or anything. Its an honest question. Maybe not even just being white, but a white American. Youre visiting spots that have a long history of really bad shit happening to these peoples ancestors, carried out by yours. Obviously you have nothing to do with it. But sometimes there is still resentment you know?


It's a fair question, and it's something I thought about and considered...

...but let me tell you, most of that shit was just in my own head, in my own imagination.  See, coming from America, let me tell you, black people in America are very racist in comparison to locals in Africa.  See it's easier for blacks in America to think of whites as evill, and not knowing what it is like in other countries, blacks in America can come to think they live in great struggle, poverty, and oppression.  However, on the other hand; blacks in Africa look at blacks in America and think that they are living a very nice life with many opportunities that they don't have in Africa.  Also, blacks in Africa see whites coming there in today's times generally on business, or tourism, or through aid and charity organizations and usually their time in Africa is of benefit to the locals there, because they are spending their resources over there, and often the locals are beneficiaries of that.

Another factor is the historical.  Local blacks in Africa know about the tribalism that existed there, and the tribal warfare.  Because in some ways those tribal frictions are still alive.  They know that they weren't just one harmonious family that the whites came and seperated and enslaved.  The locals there know that they were fighting against each other and enslaving each other for centuries in tribal warfare.  Blacks were being sold as slaves long before whites came on the scene in Africa, they were sold across tribal lines, or to other races and groups in the region such as Berbers or Arabs.   They were going to be sold to the highest bidder.  It just so happened that Europe became wealthy after the Renaissance, and whites were to become the highest bidder on African products, including slaves.   This is not to make light of the brutality of slavery as it existed in America, and Africans are aware of that, but they understand they played a role in it and they have to take their own share of the blame.

So, to answer your question, racism is not present in Senegal and Gambia, West Africa.  I can honestly say that, there is no racism.  I'm telling the truth.  And most the time I thought there was racism it was just in my own head, in my own imagination.

Let me give you an example.  One night we were all sitting around waiting for the 10 oclock local news.  There was an interview being done of a TV Journalist named Clive Smith.  Clive Smith grew up a British Citizen but his parents were Jamaican immigrants.  He is doing films in Gambia, Africa about daily life in Africa to expose the West to the beauty of African life that isn't usually shown on TV.  He does good work.  However, in the interview he was going on and on about how "mistreated" he was growing up in Britian, and how the kids in school used to tease him, and they would make jokes about "was your skinned burnt, can it come off if I touch it" and this kind of teasing that goes on in school.  He said he ran into a local African woman with a baby, and the woman said, "Please take my child to Britian with you!".  He got angry and he said that he would never subject them to the kind of racism he faced growing up, and then went on to say that Africans should stop accepting second hand products such as computers from the West and that they should kick out all the white aid organizations "exploiting" the country.  

I looked over at my friends, and I was waiting to see their reaction to all this being said.  And straight away they said, "This man is a fucking racist.  He's been growing up in Britian, gotten his education there, and they've allowed him to come up to such a level where he has his own television show, and gets his work played on the BBC, and he's going to complain about racism and tell us not to accept anything else from whites.  When we are sitting here without computers and without a lot of these things, and if they want to give second hand products to us we have to take them and appreciate that!"  

Hope that helps explain the feeling of people there.  Really, their culture naturally is open to outsiders, whether they be Arab, Indian, Japanese, or any race, they are hospitable and open, especially to people who show an effort to learn the local languages and culture of the country.  Also, with my background of 10 years of being involved in Islam, that helped me get around some race issues as well, and helped make it easier for me to be close and accepted more readily by the locals there.

Now sometimes, you would get little kids, who had never seen a white person before.  So when they would see me they would start running and laughing and playing games, and they all call me "two-bob" which means white person, calling me that as if it was my name.  But it is all playful, it is not done in any bitterness.




« Last Edit: February 01, 2011, 07:12:48 PM by Infinite- African West Coastin' 2010 »
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #80 on: February 01, 2011, 07:07:22 PM »
Very educational.
 

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #81 on: February 01, 2011, 07:18:25 PM »
Very educational.

Thanks... it's actually a deep subject.  There are many factors, another interesting one is this...

I know in Gambia where English is their second language, and other African countries like Ghana where English is the second language Reggae Music is huge.  Sometimes the mainstream views Reggae music and Rasta culture as possibly being anti-white, but the stuff I was hearing and seeing over there was the opposite of that.   To me, the Reggae music/Rasta culture that is so popular with the youths there plays an important role in spreading positive messages of togetherness and unity amongst all races and people on Earth.  A popular catch phrase over there that comes from the music is "One Family".  When you greet people coming or going, often you hear "One Blood, One Family", these are catch phrases that come from the influence of Reggae and Rasta music on their culture; and at the same time it was taken in naturally by their culture because they had always been open and hospitable people.  Many of the slaves that ended up in Jamaica and were pioneers for Reggae music came from Senegal and Gambia and other regions of upper-West Africa.

Here are some photos from a Reggae concert I attended once reaching Gambia.  It was so crowded.  Africa doesn't run by time, and they don't believe in forming straight lines.  So everyone heads to the concert around midnight and fights to get into the door all at the same time.  My friend had to smooth over the soldiers just to get us into the parking lot, then again he was able to talk a soldier he knew into letting us into the concert and then still we had to leap down from the upper deck to the lower lawn, it was kind of dangerous but we moved on adrenaline.  The performance was by Busy Signal, and he was crying because it was his first show ever in Africa, and he was overwhelmed with emotion, he even had to stop the show at one point, here are some pics...









« Last Edit: February 01, 2011, 07:55:07 PM by Infinite- African West Coastin' 2010 »
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #82 on: February 03, 2011, 04:27:47 PM »
Illi. 8)
 

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #83 on: February 07, 2011, 08:36:48 PM »
how much did it cost for your total trip?  I've always wanted to go to Africa but never really knew places to go that were safe, after reading your blog I think I might want to visit senegal.
 

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #84 on: February 07, 2011, 09:08:31 PM »
how much did it cost for your total trip?  I've always wanted to go to Africa but never really knew places to go that were safe, after reading your blog I think I might want to visit senegal.

I spend 3,000 a month there when I go... And most my time is actually in Gambia, I love Senegal but if I would of spent most my time in Senegal it may of been roughly 5,000 in one month.   

You could get by spending less and you could also easily end up spending a lot more.  It just depends on a lot of factors, like what kind of people you are around and the places that you go.  I did a lot of things the local way, so I was able to save a lot of money by avoiding tourist prices, yet at the same time when I did things many times I would be paying for others and not just myself.

You have to decide your goals before you go.  If your goal is to be as cost-efficient as possible, then there are certainly Gambians and Senegalese generous enough that they would even let you stay with them for free and pay for a lot of things for you.  Or if you want to take the opposite extreme and do everything on your own then you will end up paying the tourist price for everything, although you will save money by not having to spend on others.   Then there are many ways to go in between those two extremes just find what works for you, and if you want to discuss more just hit me up.
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #85 on: February 08, 2011, 08:11:22 AM »
You spend American dollars there?
 

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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #86 on: February 08, 2011, 09:19:46 AM »
You spend American dollars there?

No, I can go to the ATM and draw out money over there and it automatically converts it into their currency.

So 3,000 US Dollars =  78,000 Gambian Dallasi

or...

3,000 US Dollars =  1,500,000 CFA   (Damn, I was a Millionaire in Senegal!)    ...but don't get it twisted, it nearly evens out anyway, like if the price of lunch in America is $5.00 then the price of lunch there would be like $3,000!   

...btw, you would be surprised how mixed up tourists and locals both get over the exchange rate.  You may be confused and ask a local a question about the exchange rate and they won't know the answer either and just start bullshitting.   I've been to Senegal 3 times now and I still feel confused about the exchange rate there sometimes.
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #87 on: February 08, 2011, 09:42:53 AM »
Keep posting man, that's some interesting stuff to read. I have a couple of friends who shared first-hand experiences but they're all with at least one African parent so it's cool to get the experiences of a complete outsider (although it's your third time there and all). You get me?
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #88 on: February 08, 2011, 10:31:18 AM »
You spend American dollars there?

3,000 US Dollars =  1,500,000 CFA   (Damn, I was a Millionaire in Senegal!)   

Yeah well Im a thousandaire in the US!
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Re: Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
« Reply #89 on: February 08, 2011, 03:45:58 PM »
Wow, why they use so big of numbers, lol, damn.