Jai Fonde

Yesterday my host sister Bineta tapped my butt lightly and exclaimed, jokingly, "Jai fonde!"  I'm taking this as excellent encouragement in my efforts to mange bien (eat well). Jai fonde (pronounced, roughly, jay fonday) is an expression referring to the size of a woman's derriere, as it were, in a generally positive way. Obviously, I was incredibly flattered by my sister's acknowledgment, whether she was kidding or no. The attitudes toward food, eating, and body image are much different here than they are in the U.S. So far I am loving it. Generally women are encouraged to eat more, because a larger, healthier woman is a sign of a good family. Also, the Senegalese seem to be much more open about discussing changes in body weight, which they warned us Cosmo-educated, Victoria's Secret-consuming American ladies of during orientation. Personally, I've been enjoying a refreshingly different approach to food consumption since I've been here. 


In my Education & Culture class (in English) on Tuesday, our professor (a Fulani Senegalese man) began the lecture with a discussion of love and Valentine's Day in which we compared desirable characteristics in the opposite sex between Senegalese and American culture (heteronormative discussion, I know. more on that later). At one point, after explaining the desirability of larger women, he threw out the term "fleshy floppers" which I am still trying to interpret.


Over dejeuner (lunch, the largest meal of the day in my house) one day three of my aunts (my host father's sisters) explained to me that "il faut bien manger" so that no one would think my mother was crazy. If I don't eat well (in other words, if I appear too skinny), people will think that my mother is crazy for not feeding me well. I assured them I definitely did not want anyone to think my mother was crazy and commenced with the tucking in (comme toujours!). I'm usually the last person eating at meals, and I am always offered more bread (have to stock up on those carbs so my dear mother looks sufficiently sane!), which I absolutely love. We have bread at nearly every meal here. Its of the fluffy French bread variety, which I especially enjoy. Breakfast in my house consists of bread and spreadable chocolate with a mug of Nescafe. What could be better?