It was incredible..but because of my difficulty with speaking French, I thought I had to return home earlier than was actually necessary...so I was only able to see the group preform one time. It was still great. After talking with Alioune, the father of the three younger children in the house, I figured out that it's alright with them to stay out late so I can get my money's worth. I'm slowly learning that it takes a lot of time to learn what is actually expected/required/allowed here...
What I have learned so far, is that Sundays are very sedentary days. I was able to help "faire un melange" of the spices in the grinding bowl for the lunch we had. But lunch was at three. Which is of course fine, but it's hard to know what to do for the entire morning when you don't know what time things start, and people are generally sitting around and talking, in Wolof of course. So I spend a lot of time trying to find out what people are saying through their gestures and faces. Turns out you can actually understand a lot even went you don't know the language. I know this is not some original thought, but I've never had to experience it. It's pretty incredible.
Also Sundays seem to be the day when so many people are coming and going and eating and giving gifts that one can lose track of who actually lives in the house...
I think I was also invited to watch a basketball game tonight..so we'll see if I understood correctly. Alioune has a friend who plays basketball, and he says his favorite player is Iverson, so at some point we can play, and I can be Roy (as in Brandon, from the Blazers). Sounds good to me.
I also saw some female soccer players yesterday, who invited me to play with them. I was on my way to a meeting so I couldn't play (which ripped my heart apart...) but they said I could play with them another time. It also sounded like they usually play in a different neighborhood though..so we'll see if I can find them again.
Another one of Alioune's friends has invited me to his house, because he says his house, and my house, are one in the same. Everyone is welcome. Plus, his wife is learning English, so we could help each other. My neighbor also wants to learn English, so I should have a lot of people who can help me as well, so hopefully next time I go to a concert I can speak fluently enough to understand the expectations..
These pictures are from our quick visit to Village des Arts, last Friday. We will be returning for workshops (for Batik, ceramics, glass painting), and they also have rooms you can rent for projects, and also for sleeping in. It seems like artist/hippie/relaxing heaven - sand is everywhere and the atmosphere is incredibly chill.
He started with this and less than a minute later...
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