DAY #2: Teranga
Teranga is a Senegalese word for hospitality, and yes, it is the most cliché and the most beautiful thing I can talk about that country. Anyone really going to Senegal will learn this word on their first days there, but it takes more than a couple days to understand what it really means.
Teranga is random invitations from random people to do random things just because people like having people around. It is eating until you think you are full, and then eating some more because everybody is telling you to do so. It is talking to strangers in the streets knowing they will find it the most natural thing in the world. Teranga is knowing you will never need to beg for help, for anybody around you is more than willing to help. It is having to greet people every time you pass by, for the sake of it, for the sake of human connection. It is feeling welcome anywhere, because you truly are, because people truly want you to be there. It is shameless dancing, silly jokes, loud laughter and community bowls. It is not having to worry whether a social event will be fun or not, because people's energy will always make it enjoyable. Teranga is selflessness, it is love for people, and it is one of the most beautiful and real concepts I have had the chance to experience.
My gratitude of the day is for the enchanting practice of Teranga, and for all those who allowed me to see how genuine it is. If my faith in humanity has been restored after Senegal, Teranga is the main reason for that.
