No mbieyete daa?

Mbiyetemi ko Salymata. Njettetemi ko Sall.

What's your name? My name is Salymata. My family name is Sall. My Senegalese family has given me a new name, Salymata. I mention my family name, Sall, because family names and family are very important in Senegal. Senegalese people view themselves as all part of one big family, and acknowledging someone's family is an important way of showing respect.

In my new family, I have four sisters, and one brother... that I've met. I also apparently have two more brothers and a sister who are older and live in Dakar. My sisters are named Aissita (21), Diarra (20), Mariam (19), and Marietou (12). My brother's name is Boum-Oumar, and he is 13 or 14, I think. My father's name is Oumar Sall and my mother's name is Aminata Lih.

I'm closest to the sisters, and spend most of my time with them. Aissita is the quietest, and 'le plus sage,' I think. Diarra is the most mischievous, and also my closest ally in my quest to learn Pulaar. She cracks me up and is a slave driver on the vocab words. Mariam is the most confident and the Senegalese equivalent of a teenage social butterfly. Marietou is the sweetest and the best dancer.

Boum-Oumar is like a little monkey, always doing gymnastics around the house and has the funniest, widest grin. My father is a retired French teacher, a pious Muslim, and a very kind man. My mother has the happiest smile.

As for me, I speak the worst Pulaar. But the family seems to like me nonetheless, and hopefully I will master the language soon so I can distinguish myself within the family in my own way.