Kettle Shopping - Greetings go on Forever in Senegal

Saying hello can take a long time in this West African country

When Senegalese greet each other they go through a rather long routine of questions, and below I will recite the exchange when we sent shopping to buy a kettle for boiling water:

 

After looking around, we enter a shop and Boubou our Senegal representative says "I know this guy, he used to live in Dakar!"

Boubou: Hello my friend, how are you?

Friendly Shop Keeper (FSK):  Boubou my friend!  I am fine, how are you?

B: I am fine, how is your family?

FSK:  My family is good, how is your family?

B: My family is very good, how is your goat?

FSK: My goat is good, how is your chicken?

B: I don't have a chicken but if I did, he would be fine.  I had chicken for dinner last night and it was really good. How is your donkey?

FSK: My donkey had babies and they are fine, how is your foot?

B:  My foot? my foot is fine, how is your grandmother?

FSK: She is good, getting older, how is your cell phone?

B: I have a new phone! it is soooo good!  How is your brother?

FSK:  My brother is good, he just got a goat and a chicken ... How is your cousin, second removed on your mother's side ... ?

And this goes on and on and on ... takes forever, all we wanted to do was buy a kettle.  

So finally they finish the greeting.  Boubou looks around the shop and springs the question "Do you any kettles for sale here?"

FSK: No

Boubou: Okay, bye.

We walk out.  

HA HA HA!  The greetings take ten minutes and the shopping takes ten seconds!  It was hilarious, I'm still laughing ...  It was good fun!

Eventually we found the proper kettle we were looking for.  You have to be persistent ...