Dakar, Senegal- AmeriCON's
2011 World Cruise · Dakar Field Note
Foreign LandMy Friend, My Friend
Near the end of a 110-day crossing from Los Angeles to London, Dakar turned shopping into endurance sport and “no” into the opening bid.
I did not realize I had so many friends in Senegal.
“My friend! My friend! Buy my steering wheel. Buy my shirts. Buy my...” Street peddlers would follow you for blocks trying to sell something. They would not take “no,” even in very French, for an answer.
I was having a Sophie’s Choice meltdown over choices. One street vendor was such a nice guy—the Oskar Schindler of African carved art.
The Approach
Tourist Season in Full Bloom
In Dakar, every sidewalk could become a sales floor and every greeting could become a negotiation.
Molière had a saying: Le plus grand faible des hommes, c'est l'amour qu'ils ont de la vie. Man’s greatest weakness is his love of life.
I could become absolutely misanthropic when local enterprise turned into a game designed to separate me from my cash. Some days you have the mental energy for it. Other days, not.
“My friend! My friend!”The unofficial opening line of Dakar commerce
The Hustle
A Chao Is a Unit of Chaos
The market offered carved art, impossible objects, relentless charm, and a working definition of persistence.
The Pressure Map
Seven Places Where “No” Was Negotiable
Dakar joined a personal atlas of places where the informal economy could become full-contact travel.
Swaggerific
Timeshares, hair braiding, and the legendary Two Scoops—street salesmanship with Wilt Chamberlain numbers.
Face to Face
Candy, cigarettes, mobile minutes, and the occasional unofficial tax for pointing a camera at the landscape.
Every Hand Out
The 2011 field note records the author’s difficult encounters with poverty, begging, theft, and the visible consequences of caste.
Watch Your Pockets
A lesson in keeping your change—and your attention—close in a crowded tourist corridor.
So Much Junk, So Little Time
Tacos, bootleg DVDs, cut-rate clothing, and the abundant informal economy of Gringoville.
Buy My Carpet
A salesman’s injured pride, a nine-year-old business card, and the longest-running pitch in the wallet.
Do You Speak English?
Under the Eiffel Tower, the found-ring routine began with one apparently innocent question.
Read the Companion Story
Los Angeles to London in 110 Days
This Dakar field note belongs to the larger 2011 World Cruise: one long route, many foreign lands, and enough encounters to recalibrate the meaning of home.