Three marriage proposals in one day in Dakar, Senegal

I never thought I was such a stunning girl that men would fall head over heels upon seeing. However, in this case, things got a bit different; besides men asking me to marry them, I never thought women would propose me for their husbands. Sounds insane I know, but I took it lightly.

I landed Senegal all excited to explore the beauty of the country, its people, and traditions and of course the food. All set for the day ahead with a trip to the Gore Island, I was ready for my adventure.

As soon as I stepped on the boat to go to Gore Island, I saw a lady staring at me and after a while she
decided to approach me. I was almost shocked when she asked me if I was married or not, and upon hearing that I was single, she proposed the idea of marrying her husband as it would make the entire family very happy. I am sure the fish swimming beneath the boat gasped in shock as well. I started to play a game of Q&A in order to understand her intention. Turns out that I would be playing the role of a third wife and not second. We didn’t agree with the terms and conditions because I told her I want him for three weeks per month instead of one as I
would be the new wife. She told me we should share equally and have family dinners on the weekend. I declined the offer.

Every country has its own cultures and traditions, and whatever is abnormal for me might be normal for somebody else. One thing was sure that the woman on the boat made my morning and there was more to come, even though she thought she got upset by my refusal and thought I was greedy.

Once the boat parked at the deck, I felt the vibrant energy of the island and its people. It is wonderful to experience different cultures around the world and it makes you realize that your life is so different and better compared to theirs, yet they are happy than most of us, taking one day at the time and not stressing with the greed for power.

In our group were seven girls and a man, and while strolling on the island looking at the architecture of the houses, we passed by a group of men that stopped our colleague to congratulate him for his harem. They actually thought that all of us were his wives and he was being told what a lucky man he was to have all seven beautiful girls. We couldn’t stop laughing and all of us gathered around him to make him feel good.

The sunny day along with the breeze of the sea was very uplifting. There were only positive vibes around. The people of the island gave a different energy and a mysterious calmness that was hard to find anywhere else in the world. If you looked around, there was just poverty and modesty, yet people were smiling and happy.

While going up the hill through an alley that was full of paintings of undiscovered talented artists, a kind faced man walked after me. He politely introduced himself and asked me if I would want to be his fourth wife. I didn’t see that coming. I thought he may want me to buy his paintings because a second marriage proposal in less than three hours was more than one could expect. I thought it was my golden hair attracting the men in this part of the world, but I realized it was not the hair. it was me.

I had to refuse politely in order to not hurt his feelings since he was so kind and I lied to him that I was already taken. It was funny to watch the disappointment on his face, but I have to say that I didn’t have a good feeling when I saw them jumping straightforwardly with proposals. He was so kind that he gave me one of his small paintings to remind me of him.

While walking further up the hill with my colleagues, making fun of my proposals, we stopped at a shop selling sand paintings. This is where my third marriage proposal popped up. In fact, this man was not letting me go until my colleague showed up and told him he was my husband.

Now I look back at my first stay in Senegal and I always remember it with a smile of my face. Not only did I end up with three marriage proposals, but the people were too nice and humble, and they were willing to share the little they had in order to make you happy. I hope they remain humble and keep spreading the positive vibes I got from their country. I won’t say it is easy to understand their culture and customs, but if you try to get to know more, you might end up with a different way of looking at life and become rich in knowledge that others pay to get.