By Jacob Carey

Going fishing and talking to the guides the best that I could, made me realize I’m not so different from the people of Senegal. They live a laid back life and don’t seem to be in a rush or get upset over the little things, they’re just living life and having fun. At home in the Bahamas, I live a very similar lifestyle. No stress, fishing and socializing as much as I can. Living like this makes the people happier and healthier. 

On one of our first days in Senegal, we went out on one of the pirogues.  Pirogues are long, skinny wooden boats.  They’re probably 25 feet, with a motor almost midship in an inclosed part of the boat.  It was only a 15 HP Enduro, made by the Mexicans.  Our first stop was in the middle of the river.  We anchored but didn’t quite hold, drifting slowly as we dropped shrimp to the bottom.  I used a hand line.  At the first spot, we only got a few hits and didn’t catch anything.  Then we went to a second spot by a channel marker that seemed more promising.  We dropped down again and did pretty good.  I caught a stingray.  Mare caught a black carp (carpe noire) and Lillian caught a toadfish that the call “crapeau” here in Senegal.  It was fun.

We stayed for a while out on the water and went to another spot by the mangroves.  We didn’t get much luck there either but it was beautiful.  The whole time, we were guided by Bidi and his friend.  They were probably in their early 30s and had clearly been on the water their whole lives.  They were quiet.  At first I figured it was just because of the language barrier, but I think it was actually because they were focused on helping us.  They were very nice and helpful.

The guides reminded me of Mare (my roommate of 3 years) and I. Although they were working they were also messing around with each other and trying to push the other off the boat. As Mare and I work together at the Christchurch waterfront we are always messing around, trying to make the other laugh or get upset. For us this makes the work go faster and although we had a language barrier I believe they do the same.  Being on the water isn’t really a job for them, it’s a way of life.  They said they’re fishing on the water everyday, whether they have a client or not.  They’re out there all the time, just like their ancestors.  Dibi is also a swimmer.  He’s faster than me but it felt like we had that in common (I like to use fins).  There wasn’t a line between his personal life and his working life and I felt he wanted all of it to be happy and good.  I was able to talk with Dibi even though we didn’t have a common language.  We used hand signals and smiles.

This is the kind of lifestyle I want to have, a not so serious laid back life where everything is connected and I am able to feel the right balance. I think that in America there is a big issue with being caught up in going to work making money and going home to repeat. Having a life revolved around working and making money is something I never want to have because it leaves you stressed and doesn’t always leave you time to do things you enjoy. I will always strive to live a life like the Senegalese working enough for what I need and spending the rest of my time socializing and doing things I love, like fishing and boating. 

I also had the great honor of starting in the West Africa tickle fighting league. The tickle fighting is very similar to Senegalese wrestling except the first to giggle loses. Although the tickle fighting league started as a joke it has sparked curiosity for Senegalese wrestling and I’m hoping to see a match before leaving.