We went out Sat night for Rebecca’s birthday. We first headed out to this great Vietnamese restaurant, Le Hanoi, where I was too full to finish anything. Not quite sure what came over me, it had been hours since I had last eaten, and I hadn’t eaten that much. I was also so pretty tired, but Rebecca had been wanting to go out for weeks, so I forced down some coke and tried to wake myself up. Then, we took off in a cab, picked up her friend, Zita, and headed for a club where Vivian Ndour was going to sing (Youssou Ndour’s sister, for those of you up to date on popular Senegalese music). So going in, the security guard wanded us and then forced me to check in my leftover shrimp at the booth!
At the club, we met three Senegalese friends of Rebecca’s. They seem like the partying time, there was one in particular who liked being center of attention. But we had our little group formed and we were dancing, when all these guys started getting in the middle of it and showing off their moves - and boy can they move! And it was such a stark contrast to this old fart toubab that looked more like an earthquake was happening when he tried to keep the rhythm than someone trying to dance. White men can’t jump AND can’t dance. That should have been the title of that movie. Anyway, the circle got really crazy and everyone was trying to jump in the middle, it started off with the 7 of us and quickled increased to about twenty. Of course, it also quickly ended when the song was over, but it was really funny shouting and encouraging all the people to show everyone what they got.
We ended up waiting a looooong time for Vivian to come out, but when she came out, it was nuts! She was really beautiful and really good. I went and found a stool to sit on, while everyone else was standing and trying to stand on the stairs to get a better view. I was definitely lucky… hehe it was the stool for the security guard, but he didn’t seem to mind.
We finally returned home around 4 in the morning, and I was exhausted. I along with the little shrimps I had to check before being permitted to enter the club. They made good hangover food… gotta replace Wendy’s somehow.
So my computer was fixed! The guy at computer repair shop was quite eccentric. I was so ecstatic they fixed it was I hopping up and down and he was so excited he touched my cheek. It kinda creeped me out, but he was so excited that I was so excited, you could see the satisfaction emanating from his gleeful response. Of course, I was ten times more excited when he asked me who was paying for the part. Well I told him I was of course! But he asked me if an organization or anything like that was paying for it, and of course I told him I was a student! There’s no organization who will pay for my computer repair! And so he charged me about half of what I should have paid! Only in Senegal… so I ran off a happy camper. ; )
This week the new semester started. And of course up until today, at least one prof hasn’t come every day. You know yesterday we didn’t have class because the cleaning lady decided to clean the room? I mean the prof literally walked up to the room, poked his head in, shrugged and walked off. Since when does a cleaning lady take priority over education?? Ack!
I also finally met another Rotary scholar who has come to study in Senegal! He was fob, got in last night/this morning, and I happened to go to the Baobab center today and ran into him. He’s australian, but definitely has another ethnicity. But still, it is so nice to meet someone in my program! I’ve been toute seule this year and it stinks. Next year, there are three! Still, I’m glad it worked out the way it did.
At this point, I think I’m having a crisis over what is next. All these questions and concerns are creeping into my mind, like should I go home when the date is scheduled? Should I stay and try to find a summer job? What happens when I go home? How will I adjust to living there after living here? I’ve created a little life here. How do I leave it? Where do I start when I go back home? How do I cope with how much I have learned? I know so much about Africa that I never knew before. Only crazy people like Stephen would know about juju here. Will my service project be a success? I don’t know…
I met a lovely Rotarian the other day, she’s from San Francisco. She asked me if I could do anything what would I do? No limits. I said I would consult non-profit grass-roots organizations in finding profitable ways to make money in developing countries. I think that would be so much fun! I suppose I could work in micro-financing, but I’m talking like getting into an NGO, providing expertise for a year or so and leave them more financially independent than when I found them. But I don’t know if such a job exists. Oh well it’s a nice thought anyway.
