Let's Just Pretend we're not in Africa

Since we don't have classes on Friday a bunch of us decided to go up to the posh neighborhood of Les Almandies. It is the most Western tip of Africa, but that's not it's only draw. It has a number of resorts and a nice, small beach. We were able to buy lunch at a restaurant and swim in their pool all afternoon. We found it to be a pleasant break from getting hassled to buy goods from locals. We didn't even have to leave someone with our bags because we were the only people at the pool, it was quite refreshing. Not only that, we were able to eat salads because we were sure they bleached the vegetables since it's a restaurant for mostly French tourists. For a few hours, we forgot that we were in Africa.
Saturday, our program arranged for us to go to Ile de Goree; the last stop for many slaves leaving for Europe and the Americas from Western Africa. It was a gorgeous island with a great beach, much calmer than the ones we've been going to thus far. We visited the Maison des Esclaves, the building where slaves were kept before boarding ships and a history museum. Despite the picturesque surroundings, we couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy while touring the island due to its disturbing history. After leaving, one of the local guides who helps out with our program invited a few of us, Jenna, Cecilia, and I back to his house to break the fast with his 'brother' at sundown (we discovered that it was really his cousin, but in Africa people don't often distinguish between the two terms.) On the way we got pulled over..for no reason. It's pretty ridiculous, the police can pull you over and ask for identification even if you haven't violated any traffic laws, its the same if you're just walking down the street. If you don't have proper ID, the corrupt officers will ask you for a bribe. As an American citizen, I can threaten to call the embassy, but Senegalese people don't have the same luxury. We stopped at La Galette to pick up some French pastries, they were delicious and cheap. We got two chocolate croissants, a roll, and two donuts for Cecilia and I for only 2000 Francs, a little under US$4. He also stopped by the Marche HLM, which is like their fabric district and took us in the back where the clothing and fabric was made to meet his brother who works as a tailor. When it was finally time to 'break the fast' we ate our weight in French pastries because Oumar and his brother/cousin insisted that we keep eating, or they would be insulted. This was despite the fact that we hadn't fasted and they had. They insisted that since we were guests we were to make ourselves at home and eat as much as we would like. We spoiled our dinner, but it was worth it. We also tried the local tea, kinkiliba, which tasted a little like Chai tea; I'll definitely be having that again.