Nokubokk

"We're together." I keep hearing these words, whether in the city or the village or on a bus. "We're together."

In Wolof, the language most widely spoken in Senegal, there is no response to "Thank you" that's equivalent to our English "you're welcome." What's said is "Nokubokk" which means, "we're together." In Serer (the language spoken in Palmarin) the answer is "In nderoo" which translates to, "we're together." And even though in French one could say "De rien," I most commonly heard "On est ensemble"... we're together.

Instead of taking immediate and selfish credit when thanked for something, the Senegalese seem to refuse the recognition and instead honor their responsibility to look out for and help their fellow man. It's this type of togetherness that I found most beautiful in the village of Palmarin.

Chris's Peace Corps site for two years, Palmarin sits on the west coast of Senegal and boasts majestic baobab trees, flourishing mangroves, and hundreds of types of colorful, magnificent birds. Palmarin is divided into 5 small sections, and Diohonor (pronounced JoHoNor) sits fourth in that count. This is the village that I called home for a short 5 days which seemed to last a lifetime. I felt immediately at home as small children began to play hide and seek with me, laughing as I ducked behind corners and shrieking when I emerged. They didn't care that I can't speak Serer or used the wrong verb tense in French. Giggling is universal. And besides, We're together.

(i take no blame for the misspelling of every wolof and serer word i use. there's no real right way. im just making it all up :)