Wonderland

TW: This post may contain severe Senegalese propaganda. The heat is melting your skin. You’re thirsty, but standing up requires too much effort. You prefer to find comfort in the smell of the tall mango tree from the garden and the sound of kitchen utensils clashing and the swaying of the red flamboyant tree you see from your colorful wax-printed bench on the veranda. Welcome to my grandparents’ house in Dakar, Senegal. Or rather, welcome to paradise, because you’re about to taste my grandma’s Ceebu Jen, our national dish. What is Ceebu Jen? Google will tell you this: “Translating from Wolof to 'rice and fish,' it is a savory, one-pot dish, often featuring seasoned fish, broken rice, and varied vegetables.” I will tell you the truth. It is the number one thing you’ll crave after spending hours in the market arguing with vendors, sweating like you’ve won a Grand Slam. That comparison is not that crazy, either. I will tell you Ceebu Jen earned its status as our national pride in ...