A Weekend Report

Another weekend in Dakar. Spent Friday night hanging out with Peace Corps volunteers. There are HUNDREDS of them here in the city because of WAIST (West African Inter-regional Softball Tourny) that happens once a year. We went to The Viking (a bar downtown) and listened to some quality music. The next day Carrie and I went to the American Club to watch softball games, eat hot dogs and real candy bars and hang out at the pool. It was really relaxing.
Last night was a lot of fun. I went to the opening of this movie that our maid here at Tostan was starring in (go figure! turns out that not only is she a maid and a movie star, but shes also a belly dancer!... I love it!) Anyway, when we arrived, it was like walking into the Academy Awards. There were beautiful women wearing evening gowns at every enterance, we had to have letters of invitation to get in, there were speéches before the movie, etc etc. The funny thing is, when the movie started, it was not only in Puular ( a language really different from french or wolof) with NO subtitles (aka we didnt understand a single word!!!), but it was also just like a home video! ... its funny to see how tastes vary so much in terms of different peoples' appreciation towards the arts.
We ended up leaving 3 HOURS into the movie (afterall, the whole thing was shot on a couch in someones living room, so it was a bit hard to follow!). I had gone with a girl I met here who is doing her PhD on female genital cutting, and her friend who had flown in that afternoon from France to go and surprise his Senegalese girlfriend who was working at a restaurant downtown Dakar. After the movie, we killed time by going to our favorite burger place (Ali Babas...mmmm!!!!) until about midnight and then went to the restaurant where his girlfriend was working... man was I in for a surprise! This was not just a restaurant, this was THE most posh place I have ever stepped foot in! It was a bar/lounge/restaurant where everone was decked to the nines in sleek black dresses and diamonds (I definitely felt funny in my Reef sandals, bright blue capris and American Eagle button up shirt!). As it turns out, President Wade's son eats there every Friday night! The prices were through the roof, but we decided to hang out and get a drink. We were treated with so much hospitality... it was really great! I'd love to go back there some time. It truly was more ritzy than anything I have ever been to in the States.


Alright, back to Thies I go! I'll post again soon.