On Age

Age is something I can see myself struggling with over the next two years because there are so many layers to it. Let me start with a brief apology, I'm not really organizing this entry, just writing my thoughts... sorry if it's a little all over the place.

I am, in American terms, a fairly young adult. Being in my early twenties I feel like I'm granted certain freedoms and am not expected to be totally mature. I'm at the age where it's fine to be unmarried, have no kids, not be totally sure what I want to do in life, and be doing something like the Peace Corps that gives me a ton of experience while not really adding anything into my IRA (if there was a way to detract from an account that doesn't exist, it would actually be doing that). Also, at my age (in American terms), it's become pretty normal for someone to have their college degree, be living on their own, be in charge of their own finances, those sorts of "independence factors."

If I was Senegalese, depending on where I lived and on my family wealth, I might be married and have kids. If not, I might be in high school, maybe (but probably not yet) university. I would spend most of the time not in school helping the other women in my family around the house, cooking meals, watching other kids, etc. Even if I was a guy, I would be in high school with maybe a year of two left to go.

The fact that I'm in Senegal, but a foreigner, puts me in some weird age twilight zone. Some older lady told me I needed to go to school but was totally satisfied when I told her I had finished university already. There are high school students older than me that treat me like I'm an elder.

Then there's the whole issue of curtsy/genuflecting. It's traditional in Senegalese culture for women to do a little bend of the knees when they shake the hand of someone older/more respected than they are. The first time this came up was during training in a culture session when I explained to my professor that I, frankly, didn't care I wasn't curtsying to anyone. My reasoning was simple: it's not part of my culture, I see it as demeaning (men don't bow, only women do), I think it could possibly slow my work down (I'll admit not doing it might also cause some problems), and if I were to meet Barack Obama (probably the person I respect most in the entire world) I wouldn't curtsy, so why would I curtsy for a village chief. So far, it hasn't gotten me into any trouble and I've been playing the "foreigner card" quite well. Today, however, I was at a crossroads. I went to meet the coach of the local soccer team to potentially set up work opportunities (I might be planning a tournament now... we'll see) and his mom shook my hand and told me to curtsy. It was in Wolof so I had no clue what she was saying and finally someone else in the room translated for me. I realized I could either just curtsy, not make it awkward, and move past it. Or I could stick to my guns and not do it. For those of you who know me you can guess what I did... for those of you who have your doubts, I simple laughed a little, smiled, and continued my conversation with the coach.

Who knows if I'll ever be able to figure this age thing out - probably not - but it's pretty reflective, I feel, of a lot of cultural things there. The question is basically, how should I be regarded culturally? What cultural standards am I supposed to follow?

Who knows... but I'm sure as hell not curtsying to anyone!

KO