1. Are you married? (even if you look 15 years old)
2. Do you wanna be my 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th wife? (Senegalese men are
legally allowed to have 4 wives)
3. I love you so much (it’s your first time meeting them)
4. Can you cook Ceebujen? (Ceebujen is a senegalese dish of fish and rice
with vegetables)
5. Give me your phone, t-shirt and blah blah (so culturally it’s normal if
they like something of yours, they will say give me that)
6. 1 cup of cafe touba shared by 12 people (People eat food from one big
bowl so it’s to share 1 cup of coffee with many people)
7. Kai fi/Come here (I don’t know why but men like to say come here even
though you are in talking distance)
8. Touch your hair (especially girls and children they love playing with
your hair)
9. Why don’t you have butt like her? (Women love to compare here)
10. Your husband will divorce you if you can’t cook
11. Marriages can happen even if the groom is not present
12. Every kind of celebration like wedding, birthdays and baptism happens
at night usually starting at midnight (The day is too hot to do anything)
These are some of the things that were surprising to see and hear in
Senegal. There are lots of amazing things about Senegal so don’t judge
Senegal or senegalese culture based on this list. This is just what you can
expect to hear and see if you come visit Senegal.
