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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Letter from Senegal: modesty blaze | Letter from Senegal: modesty blaze |
| (30 days later) | |
| Having lived in the midst of the Sahel for the past two years, I have still not got used to the intermittent brownouts that roll through during the hot season. They are aptly named because of the colour they change the sky. The hot dust-filled Harmattan winds that blow in from the north came on quickly. The late afternoon temperature began to rise. Within minutes, the sky above and the air all around were sepia-toned and filled with fine particles of sand. | Having lived in the midst of the Sahel for the past two years, I have still not got used to the intermittent brownouts that roll through during the hot season. They are aptly named because of the colour they change the sky. The hot dust-filled Harmattan winds that blow in from the north came on quickly. The late afternoon temperature began to rise. Within minutes, the sky above and the air all around were sepia-toned and filled with fine particles of sand. |
| I took shelter in my hot cinderblock room, closing the door and shutters and drawing the curtains in a futile attempt to keep silt and sand from coating my belongings. Luckily, the power stayed on, so I was able to use my most valued possession: the oscillating fan I'd bought when I first arrived in Senegal. | I took shelter in my hot cinderblock room, closing the door and shutters and drawing the curtains in a futile attempt to keep silt and sand from coating my belongings. Luckily, the power stayed on, so I was able to use my most valued possession: the oscillating fan I'd bought when I first arrived in Senegal. |
| What seemed stiflingly oppressive to me did not affect the neighbours who'd come by earlier to pick up the plastic chairs that my host father rents out for parties and events. Soon after the 7.30pm call to prayer, I heard the sound tests from their rented speaker system and then the amplified drums that would accompany their celebration. | What seemed stiflingly oppressive to me did not affect the neighbours who'd come by earlier to pick up the plastic chairs that my host father rents out for parties and events. Soon after the 7.30pm call to prayer, I heard the sound tests from their rented speaker system and then the amplified drums that would accompany their celebration. |
| After splashing my face to cool down, I noticed that the water returning to the sink was brown and that my whole body was covered in grit, which prompted me to strip down and rinse off with a quick shower. I then patted myself dry and crawled back under the mosquito net, unclothed. Being completely naked in this conservative Muslim country is a rare event, for anyone, and it felt a bit risque. Although women are not shy about walking around topless, especially in the extreme heat, being totally naked is something that rarely happens, even in the privacy of one's own room. I recently learned that some women even keep their bottom halves covered with a crocheted wrap skirt when showering. That night, however, I didn't hesitate to disrobe. It was too hot to care about modesty. | After splashing my face to cool down, I noticed that the water returning to the sink was brown and that my whole body was covered in grit, which prompted me to strip down and rinse off with a quick shower. I then patted myself dry and crawled back under the mosquito net, unclothed. Being completely naked in this conservative Muslim country is a rare event, for anyone, and it felt a bit risque. Although women are not shy about walking around topless, especially in the extreme heat, being totally naked is something that rarely happens, even in the privacy of one's own room. I recently learned that some women even keep their bottom halves covered with a crocheted wrap skirt when showering. That night, however, I didn't hesitate to disrobe. It was too hot to care about modesty. |
| The hum of the fan did not completely drown out the drone of the mosquitoes and flies that zoomed around the net attracted, no doubt, to my headlamp. After a while, smashing mosquitoes between the pages of my book became more of a hindrance to reading, so I turned off the headlamp and resigned myself to a restless night. | The hum of the fan did not completely drown out the drone of the mosquitoes and flies that zoomed around the net attracted, no doubt, to my headlamp. After a while, smashing mosquitoes between the pages of my book became more of a hindrance to reading, so I turned off the headlamp and resigned myself to a restless night. |
| "Just two more months of this," I thought, "and then the rains arrive." | "Just two more months of this," I thought, "and then the rains arrive." |
| Every week Guardian Weekly publishes a Letter from one of its readers from around the world. We welcome submissions – they should focus on giving our readers a clear sense of a place and its people. Please send them to weekly.letter.from@guardian.co.uk | Every week Guardian Weekly publishes a Letter from one of its readers from around the world. We welcome submissions – they should focus on giving our readers a clear sense of a place and its people. Please send them to weekly.letter.from@guardian.co.uk |
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