The Incha'Allah Tense

My studies in Wolof are coming to an end and I feel more gyped than a fat kid at a Jenny Craig surprise party. This language does not have the conditional, subjunctive, or pluperfect tenses or any of their more compound variations. But it does have the Insha’Allah tense. Insha’Allah means simply “God willing” and this tense is used to express uncertainty as in “Insha’Allah it rains this afternoon.” It is also used to dispel laziness, such as “I can, Insha’Allah, finish building my house before I die.” There is also future Insha’Allah as in “I will, Insha’Allah marry an American and listen to Aye-kon all day on my cell phone.” Above all, though, there is the most important Conditional Insha’Allah found in such extraordinary expressions as “IF Insha’Allah it, I would have 5 wives and listen to Aye-Kon all day.“ This tense is very useful and seems only to appear where one finds a fire and brimstone concept of God.

A door-to-door salesman stopped by our house today selling household telephones and my host father bought one, though I fail to see why. I’ve yet to see a house phone in any other house and everyone has cell phones. I think it might use as a status symbol or as a conversational piece, though I would love to see all the cement block covered with plaster before we add decorations. But hey! We now have a phone. After the purchase, my host brother proceeded to build a shelf for it and it, for whatever reason, rests so high on shelf that I can’t see the buttons. I’m 5”10’’. Without seeming over patronizing, one of my favorite things to do here is observe how the population uses technology.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. I was really hot, tired and bored, and I started thinking about all that I had in the states what I didn’t have in Senegal. It transcribed into my wanting a cheeseburger and telling my host sister that we do more than play “musical shade” to amuse ourselves back in the States. The food here is so monotonous. Except for one plate, all means have either rice or couscous, and I rarely have couscous. The one exception is a fish sauce with salad and bread. It’s my favorite because it offers variety. I get so hungry hours before meals, but within a few spoon full’s, I’m no longer hungry. I guess that’s the way it goes with a diet based on empty carbs. I’ve never eaten so much fish before and it’s not uncommon to have it twice a day for both dinner and lunch. Breakfast is always sugar with a little bit of coffee and bread with chocolate or butter. A few times, I’ve had the previous night’s dinner on my breakfast bread and I hate that. I’ve decided that when I move in with my permanent family in my site, I will make breakfast and dinner on my own. That way, I can break up the monotony and it’s just WAY too hot to cook during the day!

Recall my oldest host brother and oldest host sister are actually my cousins and my host brother lives permanently with his aunt and uncle (my host parents) and his sister is here visiting. My host mother has left for Kaolack, which is a city in the south. Her brother is getting married and my host father gave her the money to travel there for a few days. Unfortunately for my host sister, she has to stay here until Tuesday the 20th because someone has to run the household. This is a problem because school starts on Monday the 19th and she lives in a city on the other side of the country. My host mother doesn’t see this as an issue. I don’t think she herself has an extensive education. At least my host sister won’t miss too many days.

In other news, I’m broke! I need to keep a spread sheet to find out where it all goes. The Peace Corps gives us CFA 29000 ($50) every two weeks, but I just can’t save it! I had a bunch saved up in my refrigerator fund, but it’s all depleted. I’m not sure what it all goes, but I can say that cold drinks are so much more appealing now and it’s so hard to refuse a trip to a restaurant with English speaking people. And I bought my grand boubou. It’s a piece of art that consists of a pair of pants, a shirt, and a large over shirt. All the pieces are white and the over shirt will be embroidered with silver. It cost a pretty penny, but it will be worth it for our swearing in ceremony. Also, Peace Corps gives up beaucoup money for “settling in” expenses, but I want to make sure I have enough for a fridge. I’m going to tap in to some American funds. Da Da Da Dummmmm!