One of the more difficult assignments I had in Senegal was photographing a woman who was HIV positive. A Finnish freelancer contacted me about a story she was doing on Senegal’s relatively low HIV rate (1%) compared to other African countries. Many doctors attribute this to under-reporting because it still carries such a huge stigma, especially in a Muslim society. The 33-year-old woman who agreed to talk to us shared with us her story of finding out she had HIV, which her husband also has, and having to hide it from everyone she knows for fear of being an outcast. She told us she could no longer have children because she feared her family would ask why she could no longer breast feed. It was then she broke down in tears. It was hard for me not to do the same.

It’s time for goodbyes in Dakar. The other night, at a double feature showing at my friend Gina’s, pal Kim stopped by a few hours before her flight to bid adieu. She brought with her a funny little Senegalese fruit called Mad. I mentioned mango season before, but I forgot to add that Mad fruit are, in many ways, just as popular right now and visible on every fruit seller’s small tables. I didn’t know what they were for a long time, or how to eat them, but I would see cab drivers chewing on their seeds and spitting them out the window, just like you would with watermelon seeds. It screamed summer. The only problem I have with Mad is how hideous they are. They look like they’re in a constant state of decomposition. The one I bought below is pretty standard, actually. So how do they tell if they’re ripe enough? Apparently the ladies who sell them just know.

Anyway, Kim was so enthusiastic about us learning this tradition, I had to share. Only three day before my plane leaves and I’m still learning new things! Here’s a quick step by step for eating Mad.

So to start you slice off the top, which reveals the brain of the fruit, flesh-covered seeds nestled into a hollow gourd.

Next you scoop out the pulpy seeds into a bowl to add sugar and spices. Alternatively, you can do all this inside the gourd itself like the Senegalese do, but for sharing purposes it’s easier in a separate bowl.

Add sugar to cut the tartness…

…and salt and any other spices to taste. I put in a few sprinkles of cinnamon and a dash of chili powder for kick. I think honey would also be a good substitute here.

Stir vigorously to break up the seeds and incorporate all the add-ins.

Eat up! Take a seed, suck on it for a bit, discard. I like to spit the seeds into the hollowed-out fruit. It tastes like a cross between mashed bananas and a tart mango. You don’t actually eat anthing because the pulp is tenaciously attached to the seed, so just chew and extract the juices. As they say in Wolof: naax na!

Spit cup.

Here are some pics of the Jazz Festival I went to over the weekend. Stand outs were Chico Correa & the Electronic Band from Brazil and Mina Agossi, a French vocal jazz artist.

Here’s some Chico Correa recorded by some person at the bar I was at in St. Louis:

This will likely be my last post on Gavelwrench before migrating over to juliaritchey.com again. I’m spending the last two weeks in Dakar contemplating life choices, applying for jobs and getting ready to see friends and family. It’s been a nice start to 2011. Hope to have a strong finish as well. Merci, Afrique!

A komodo dragon I came across in the awful resort town of Saly, Senegal.