High Fivin' and Thumbs-Up!

High Fivin’ and giving the thumbs-up is alive in Dakar. Most jokes are accented by a high-five between friends, even if one of them is the object of the joke. Sometimes the high-five is a low-five that resembles a failed handshake. There can be up to ten consecutive high-fives in one sitting. I wonder if people get tired of slapping hands or if it’s just the pulse of the conversation. The slapping is never hard and both parties always laugh. It is a nice flare to a joke that I have become accustom, yet am afraid to practice. I think it’s because many of my jokes don’t work in French, so I am left laughing to myself.

Anyway, the thumbs-up is a little cheekier because it can be used with sincerity and with sarcasm. If a taxi driver is making an illegal turn and the police see him and don’t pull him over, he will give a thumbs-up as a silent thank you. However, if a car rapid cuts off a driver, he will also give the thumbs-up punctuated by cursing and fist shaking. It’s a way to communicate, “f you,” without saying it.If you ask for the check at a restaurant or you want the waiter’s attention, you can give him or her the thumbs up sign as a way to call attention to yourself. Other methods are whistling, snapping, and pssting; therefore, thumbs-up is less obtrusive and rude. It’s a kind non-verbal “thank you,” with a little bit of sass.

What is important is that the thumb, while in the up position, generally rests on the curled index finger. It does not protrude and waggle around, but lifts itself up to the first joint, like an unfurling snake resting on the rest of it’s body.

Those are today’s observations in non-verbal communication in Dakar.