Jexugu toubab bu tey

Here's the toubab joke of the day, though we've actually been chuckling about it for some time now. To the addled toubab mind, the innocent name of this Mermoz preschool becomes an inscription both morbid and foreboding. It's a bit mean-spirited, but it was humour like this that got us through some of the rougher initial encounters with Senegalese, and developing nation, culture. I was thrilled when I realized one day that I actually understood the title: Sunu+y = ours(plural); doom = child.

There's another nursery school, with an even more inexplicable name, just down the Route d'Ouakam: Le prescolaire Lady Oprah Winfrey. It's front wall is jovially decourated with a bright mural, showing children from around the world dancing and playing together. All of these schools actually seem rather sweet.