Saturday, January 30, 2010

Code de la Route


Now that I consider myself an expert Dakar driver (i.e. it doesn't require almost 100% of my concentration just to operate our car), I have had some time to appreciate the nuances of driving in our bustling metropolis. Every city has its driving culture and Dakar is no different. The following is my initial attempt at codifying Dakar's unwritten driving rules.

Hand gestures: There are two main hand gestures that one needs to master in Dakar traffic. The first is the thumb's up sign. The thumb's up sign is a slight variation of the thank you wave that Americans give to fellow drivers after being let into a traffic lane or after being allowed to turn in front of opposing traffic. The slight variation here is that the thumb's up sign can be used whether your fellow driver has let you into traffic (which sometimes happens), or if you have simply forced yourself into a lane by refusing to yield to the driver who technically has the right of way (a much more common occurrence). In the latter case, the thumb's up gesture actually means, "Yes I know I just cut you off but I will diffuse your anger by showing you the thumb's up sign as a combination thank you/apology for driving right in front of you."

The other important hand gesture is often the responsibility of the front seat passenger. When trying to turn or to merge into an impossibly dense mass of vehicles (i.e. most rotaries and intersections during rush hour), you often have to rely on the kindness of other drivers. The way to ask for a favor is to roll down your window, stick most of your arm out, and wave your hand up and down in a gesture that means "yes there are a million cars that are trying to merge here but have pity on me and let me in." Although drivers are quite aggressive here, most will yield if you employ this version of "pretty pretty please."

Turn signals: Not everyone uses turn signals reliably when they are approaching an intersection and actually planning to turn. Nonetheless, there are a few instances when most drivers will employ turn signals to alert other drivers to current road conditions. In the first instance, the driver uses the left turn signal to tell other drivers that there is an obstacle ahead that requires drifting into the left lane (most often a taxi or other public transport vehicle that has stopped to drop off a passenger). My favorite use of turn signals is when drivers use them not because they are actually turning, but because the road itself is bending to the right or the left. This use of turn signals means, "don't think that you can just keep driving in a straight line because the road is about to bank to the right, so let me use my right turn signal so that you will notice that the road is turning and you should turn with it."

Horns: This dimension of traffic communication remains a bit fuzzy. There are many things that can be said with a honk of the horn, including:
"I see you."
"Do you see me because you are coming right at me?!"
"Yes I see you but I don't like what you are doing!"
"This is not a good place for you to stop in the middle of the road to let off your passenger!"
"If you don't accelerate I am going to ram your rear end!"
I still need to figure out if there are honks of different durations to indicate which message is being conveyed, or if the context itself conveys the meaning of the honk.

Perhaps the most important honk is the one that drivers use for pedestrians who are walking in the middle or on the edge of the road. This honk is to remind pedestrians that they are actually walking in the road and that if they should be nudged by a passing car, it is not the driver's fault, because they are the ones who are choosing to walk in the road. I was hesitant to blare my horn at pedestrians initially. Then my research assistant explained that if I were ever to brush a pedestrian, I would receive the hostile query, "Well why didn't you honk at me if you were about to hit me!" Fair enough.

Gender: One road rule that I might resist in the United States, but which is actually quite advantageous, is a kind of road chivalry based on the assumption that women don't know how to drive. While this edict is indeed patronizing, it does have some advantages. Since women don't know how to drive, male drivers give us a wide berth, they don't get too upset when we cut them off, and in general they try to stay out of our way lest we suddenly lose control of our cars and go careening into them. And if it means I'll get where I'm going that much faster, let's hear it for a little vehicular sexism!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Culture shock


One of the reasons we had a pretty low-key Christmas was that we knew we would be going on a six-day river cruise down the Senegal River starting on January 2nd. With some minor lobbying I was able to recruit five other people to join A, myself, and our guest S who was visiting Senegal for two weeks.

The cruise seemed like an ideal way to entertain a guest with no language skills and not much experience with third world travel. Six nights, all meals included, and excursions scheduled every day--seemed like a perfect break from the hustle and bustle of Dakar and a way to see some cool sites on the Senegal River. And yet we were in for a few surprises.

On January 2nd all of the cruise passengers convened in Saint Louis for a last luncheon on land before being bussed up to the cruise ship in Podor. One of the first things that I noticed was that our group was not in the demographic that typically signs up for the cruise. A and I were holding down the senior end of our group (late 30's), while our five companions were early 30's, late 20's, and early 20's respectively. We brought the average age of the cruise passengers down by about 30-40 years, as they seemed to be almost exclusively French retirees.

Aside from noticing the age gap, it wasn't until we got on the boat that more subtle (and not so subtle) differences became more apparent. At the top of the annoyance list, the smoking! French people smoke like it's good for you, and I'm not exaggerating. First you need your get up and go cigarette around 6:30am, then there are your after meal cigarettes, your late morning and late afternoon cigarettes, and your winding down getting ready for bed cigarettes. I am all for live and let live, but the close quarters meant that we were often, if not always, inhaling second-hand smoke.

Another less annoying cultural difference with greater novelty value was the French bathing habits. There were only a few luxury cabins with interior bathrooms, so most of the 53 passengers had to share the public toilets and shower stalls located around the boat. There were lots of French passengers of a certain age showering in pairs, walking around in towels, and generally showing a lot more skin than one might see in a group of American retirees. Viva la difference!

Given the age, language, and cultural differences between our group of seven and the rest of the passengers we pretty much kept to ourselves. Early in the cruise we claimed a table for seven in the dining room, and it seemed that most other passengers also sat with the same crowd every night. This system seemed to be working just fine until the night when we arrived for dinner and found a group of three sitting at our table. No worries, we picked another table and settled in for dinner.

Unbeknownst to us, the domino effect would send our new table's former occupants to a table where they would be firmly rebuffed, which began what is now known as the "international incident." There was cursing, huffing and puffing, anti-American insults, and even threatening throat-slashing gestures as the displaced party stomped around the dining room. They even went so far as to threaten not to pay their week's bar tab (a hefty amount, I'm sure) if they did not get their original table back.

The cruise staff calmly explained that there were no reserved tables on board, and ironically the offended party of six had to break bread with the original offenders, the party of three that had taken our table in the first place. We weren't quite sure whether to be amused or offended, but at the very least we were falsely accused since we were table refugees ourselves.

Lest you think that anti-American spirit won the day, our fellow passengers made it clear that "fraternite" would persevere. One woman came over to our table immediately and in an apologetic whisper said, "don't worry, we're not all like that." Other folks made jokes with us at the expense of the offensive six. The clearest indication of our fellow passengers' feelings was the pariah-status that the group of six came to occupy. While everyone was coolly polite, no one took any meals with them for the duration of the cruise.

And so the cruise ended without further hostilities. But I think I can speak for the rest of the group when I say we were all relieved to get back to the real Senegal where we understand the cultural values, social habits, and local mores so much better. So much for the civilizing mission.