We took a sept place home to Dakar. It was Thanksgiving Day, a fact which had escaped us until a Senegalese who works with Americans pointed it out to us later that evening. Abraham and I bought the whole back seat to ourselves — three “places” — so that we wouldn’t have to spend 4-5 hours packed like sardines.

Like most sept places and buses, this car was decked out in Islamic symbols. The decals on the rearview mirror are of the founder of one of the several Muslim “brotherhoods” in Senegal. In a nutshell, a brotherhood is a group whose founder believed he had a “direct” relationship with God (Allah) and who imparted to his followers the way to reach God in this life such as through hard work, humility, etc. The brotherhoods are run by powerful Marabouts who wield enormous political influence. This is something unique to West African Islam.

Abraham working, as usual. This man can work in any space (or lack of space), any kind of noise. Today’s office gave new meaning to the word “cubicle.”

Most of the other passengers fell asleep during the journey. These two strangers became acquainted without even realizing it.