Niyu Ma! (Greet Me!)

Until today, I'd never heard this phrase outside of a classroom. Because greetings are so important, I always imagined that if someone had to tell me to greet him, I would be a little embarrassed.

Today, as I was headed to Partners, I ran into a little girl; I said "bonjour, ca va?" and when all I got was a giggle, I kept walking. But then she said "Toubab! Niyu ma" I went back to her, where I shook her tiny hand and greeted her properly in Wolof. She also discontinued her practice of calling me toubab, and asked my name, to which I replied Aida. She thought this was great and asked my last name, and I said Samb. This is my Wolof name; I'm named for one of my aunts. I could not figure out what she said was her name, but we talked a little bit more, and as we did some of her friends (siblings?) also came to be greeted by the toubab. They were all highly amused by the whole event, and it got me smiling as well, especially if I asked them if they knew how to dance. That really fired them up!

I don't know how I'm going to walk down a street without saying "Ca va, na nga def, or assalaa malekum" It's a way to feel more connected to the world around you. Everyone smiles and returns your greeting as if they knew you. Love it!