This World Cup has made people aware of the existence of the Senegalese football team, a country located in West Africa, close to the Atlantic Ocean, because of the beautiful coastal scenery there, now it has become a desirable tourist destination. I used to work there for more than 2 years and met a lot of locals, during that time, there were beautiful moments and poignant memories...
In 2016, I joined a foreign trade company. That year, the company planned to develop business in Africa, and the leaders found the company's experienced old employees, hoping that they could go to Africa to develop. But these colleagues have already started a family, only want a stable and comfortable environment, do not want to work outside to work hard, and have found reasons to refuse.
Not long after I joined the company, I wanted to make a difference in my career, so the leader approached me and hoped that I could live up to his expectations, and to be honest, I also wanted to make some achievements, but when I knew that I was going to such a distant and strange country, I still struggled. However, the leader promised that at the end of the year, he could give me more bonus dividends.
Before departure, I checked some information and said that the local medical conditions were poor, and there were epidemic diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. I still had some panic in my heart, and the next day, I went to the hospital early, first got a physical examination, and then received two shots of vaccines, about the "flow brain vaccine" and the "dengue vaccine".
Everything was ready, packed up and flew to Senegal. On the day of departure, the leader also specially sent me off, saying that he would hold a celebration banquet for me when he came back next time, and let me take care of my body there. But looking at his affectionate eyes, I actually had a sad feeling of dying before I left the master, for fear that something would happen.
Finally, after an eighteen-hour flight, the plane landed at Dakar International Airport. But after getting off the plane, I still had a lot of touches in my heart, the name of this airport is very loud, but its first impression on me is like returning to a county-level long-distance bus station.
Experience when I first arrived in Senegal
The white lights shone on the ground, the passengers in the hall were in a daze, the red floor tiles on the ground had been stepped on blackened, the team moved slowly forward, and I handed my passport to the airport staff. When the staff member learned my identity, he hesitated, and then I was ushered into the next office, and I had a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, the staff member first scolded me harshly, saying that my yellow card (dengue vaccine card) was fake, which I spent more than a hundred years to do! He then said that if I could give them something "little stuff," I wouldn't have to open my luggage and check it. I understand what he means, the so-called "little things" are money. The feeling instantly annoyed me, and I wanted to lose my temper but tried to keep smiling, and under pressure, I gave ten dollars to everyone in the office. Although the money is not much, it makes me feel very unhappy.
Outside the airport, everything is all about it, fresh air, blue sea and sky, and a huge billboard that reads in English: Welcome to Senegal. My colleague Xiao Zhang had been waiting for a long time and asked me why it took me so long to come out, and I repeated my experience just now, expressing sympathy and understanding, saying that I had the same experience when I first arrived.
Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is a scenic coastal city, but the economy here is mediocre. Many houses are covered with graffiti, there are mothers with their children out to beg on the side of the road, and vendors who sell goods to tourists, these people look weak, as if a gust of wind can blow them down, their eyes are bleak, and looking at their living environment, it makes me no longer complain about what I just experienced, just as a charity, what is it to lose some money, at least my living conditions are much better than theirs.
Along the way, the car drove bumpy because the local road conditions were poor and only when it was in the city center, there were one or two traffic lights. In other sections, there are many potholes, and pedestrians really see the needle without the slightest awareness of avoiding vehicles.
Life of locals
Senegal practiced polygamy, and the rich could take three or four wives, but ordinary people still followed monogamy. During my time in Senegal, I also knew a Chinese who had lived there for 20 years. In the early years, he also came to work here, but after living for a long time, he gradually liked the living environment here. Now he does business here and marries a local wife.
In everyone's stereotype, African women's skin is dark, but it is not. There are also some African women who are of mixed race, and their appearance is also in line with the aesthetic views of the Chinese people. I have also seen the wife of this Chinese big brother, who looks very beautiful and temperamental, and their children are mixed-race and look very cute, but he has five children, and there is still a lot of pressure in life.
Once, when I went to his house, the eldest brother said that he would introduce me to a local girlfriend and showed me pictures of the other party. To be honest, my first impression was that this girl was beautiful. With her curly hair, high nose, and slender figure, I couldn't help but be a little excited. But at that time, I already had a girlfriend, and I politely refused his kindness.
Living in Senegal, you can indeed see many beautiful women. In the folk, there is also a legend of "Malian men, Senegalese beauties", and many supermodels have been born here. In order to be able to participate in beauty contests, local women have to buy a set of high-end cosmetics to dress themselves up on weekdays, and walking on the road, they can often see huge cosmetics advertisements. If you meet a woman you want here, sending them a set of cosmetics will quickly bring you closer to each other.
Senegalese men are well-proportioned, which has a lot to do with their love of exercise. On weekdays, men gather to do sports, either on the side of the road or on the beach. Although the beachside gym equipment has been worn off, they have an obsessive love for fitness. In the morning, the first rays of the morning sun rise, they have already taken headphones to jog by the beach, it can be said that they are very self-disciplined, if in summer, they do not shy away from showing six-pack abs.
In Senegal, two other sports are also popular, one is football and the other is wrestling. The children here can't afford decent football boots, but they love football more than many adults. Watching them run wildly on the court, it was like seeing myself when I was in college. In order to be able to integrate into them, I also participated in their football games and bought them a football to give to them, and since then, these little boys have seen me and chased me to call the boss.
Officially this pure love has laid a good football foundation for the people here, and it has also allowed them to win this year's Africa Cup of Nations, and even its strength has made it to the World Cup, and football has become a sport that locals are proud of.
Senegal's national sport is wrestling, and every year in a fixed month, a huge wrestling tournament is held in the stadium in the capital Dakar. Before the competition, people will sing and dance, use drumming and dancing to express their emotions, their sense of rhythm is very strong, even if you don't know any dance skills, when you integrate into this joyful atmosphere, you can make people forget their troubles. It can be said that Senegalese people lack material conditions, but their spiritual world is rich. Sometimes, my Senegalese friends around me also joke to me, don't look at your monthly salary, which is worth two or three years of our income, but our happiness is something you don't have.
A brief introduction to Senegal
Senegal's economy is homogeneous, with agriculture, fishing and tourism being the main sources of income. Peanuts are popular and a major export, and every year, a peanut contest is held, where the winner gets two bags of peanuts.
The fishing resources here are also abundant, there are delicious seafood, the price of lobster abalone is very cheap, come here, equivalent to achieving seafood freedom, when you relax, go to the bar to eat a French meal, order a bottle of red wine, listen to soothing music, life is just that. People here can't afford refrigerators, and often these seafood are disposed of at a very low price after they are caught.
There is also a local delicacy called "Jebujing", which is a traditional delicacy. In our opinion, we prefer to call it bibimbap. Most of Senegalese are Muslims, and they eat beef and mutton, not eels, crabs, pork and other foods they consider ugly, and lamb here is very cheap, selling for only 10 yuan per catty. If there are distinguished guests in the house, they will serve the guests by roasting whole sheep.
At present, Senegal's per capita monthly income is only more than 500 yuan, and it relies on planting, fishing and breeding on weekdays. There is a place called Rose Lake in Dakar, there is a lot of salt in the lake, and the locals rely on drying salt to earn income, and the husband and wife earn only seven or eight hundred yuan a month.
What it's like to live in Senegal
Senegalese are hospitable and do not have to feel inhibited to visit their homes, spend a long time with each other, and become close friends, but care needs to be taken to respect the customs of their place.
Senegal's transportation is inconvenient, there are few buses in the city, the road situation is complicated, if the rainy season, the car driving on the road, the small half of the wheel will be submerged. In rural and remote areas, people rely on donkey carts and bicycles for transportation, but this is inefficient.
Senegal's sanitary conditions need to be improved, common local diseases such as malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, etc., come here to work and travel, need to pay attention to not drinking raw water, but also pay attention to food hygiene.
Written in the last words
Living in Senegal, there are almost no worries, there is no pressure to work, more contact with nature, if you feel tired, come here once, you may be able to forget a lot of troubles, but at the same time pay attention to personal protection.