The Art of Going Out

This post, two days of memories in the making, has trumped my other post-idea: the smells of walking to school. (which is incredibly fascinating, actually...)

The idea for this post started two nights ago, around 9 pm. It was Friday night, and my body was literally aching to dance some salsa. So, I resort to my trusty Lonely Planet which tells me that there is a great little bar that has an amazing salsa scene. The Lonely Planet also divulges that leaving the house before midnight is simply ludicrous. Therefore, I set my alarm on my portable, take a shower and fall asleep for a couple hours.

Two hours later, around eleven forty five, I am rudely awakened by my alarm. I quickly get out of bed, throw on some clothes and depart. While walking to the club, which turned out to be more of a hole-in-the-wall dingy kind of place, I was extremely self-conscious while wearing one of my favorite dresses that I go dancing in all the time. Even though I was wearing leggings, it still felt like I was inappropriately dressed. I made it to Chez Antiou and was befuddled as to where it actually was. Turns out, it was a box inside someone's house (chez means at the home of), so the name was literal.

I walk in, alone, because while I was on my way to the place, the other girl I was going with texted me to tell me she wasn't going to make it. The door creaks open to reveal a dimly lit bar, disco ball and lights at no cost. I head to the bar where it is empty. I order a Coke. After several minutes, some Congolese man approaches me (probably more to do with the fact that he felt bad that I was alone, sitting near his friends than him wanting to talk to me). He tries to speak to me in a fantastically broken English which results in some strange sentences, then resorts to French.

In my head, I had set 2 o'clock as the time where I would start home. Now, in Senegal (as you will see later in the post) that is when things start to get hot. But, being responsible and all, I decided that I should go to class in the morning with more than a couple hours of sleep. (Since most of you probably know how horrible I am to deal with on little sleep!) I let this gentleman know that I will be leaving, and try to pay my bill. The coke costs about $1.25, approximately. I pull out a ten- dollar bill (please note that there is no ten dollar bill, but a 5000 cfa bill, I just thought American terms would be more relevant (: ) The bartendress who has been flirting shamelessly with every male in the joint, informs me that there isn't weccit (change). Therefore I wait. The Congolese man decides that his friend will pay for me and he will walk me part of the way home (which is completely normal here. It's called teranga which probably would be translated to hospitality. They're extremely proud of it. So much so that they named their soccer team "The lions of teranga" which strikes fear in the hearts of all of their opponents.). I try to refuse, but due to the lack of change, I end up accepting and leave.

Now, half way home, there is a little shack that I have seen several times, but never looked at twice. He tells me that they often play salsa there, and thttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8880851411971221974hat everyone dances. Enticed, I agree to go in for a few minutes. No one is dancing, unless you count the males sitting in their chairs watching their crotches/ stomachs (completely ridiculous). After a few songs, some other kind of music comes on and the dance floor is packed by people dancing seemingly merengue (which I believe here is pachanga). It was a great watch, but I never participated, due to the spineless man who brought me to the place that wouldn't dance. We left. "You have class tomorrow and you can't fail your exam" Therefore I went home. I arrived home at 2:45-3 ish (relatively early) and stayed up documenting my night. (Which included an "I spy Dennis Rodman" moment) I went to bed. Overall enjoyment on a scale of 1- 10, I would give it a 4.5. It was interesting, but not too great.

Last night, Youssou N'Dour concert. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PPsExdN2C8) One of his songs from his new CD.

Great idea, he's a legend here. Most popular singer in Senegal. Also not smart enough to schedule a concert before 2 AM! (Which means that it will start later) We meet around midnight to go out. I do the same thing as the night before. I sleep first, go out second. I get dressed and Hannah and Joleen come to the house. We meet up with some others and head to the same bar (second one) I was at last night. After killing an hour and a half, we proceed to head towards the concert hall place. We hail two cabs, costing us a total of 4 USD. At the concert, there are numerous amounts of toubabs (whites/foreigners). We wait for a while after arriving and finally his band starts to play. I think my favorite part was that the bass player led the band. After a few songs, Youssou himself comes out, looking adorable in a purple striped shirt and geek glasses. We spent the next two hours dancing and enjoying ourselves, yet cursing the fact that we don't speak enough Wolof to understand him. Also, Youssou has a dancer who looks like he is on crack. He was amazing, but still, something a little strange and crazy about him. The concert ended around 4 ish, and we started towards the house. We walked a ways so we didn't get ripped off by the taxis outside the concert place. I arrived home around 4:45.

Here's the thing. I went home after the concert. But do the Senegalese? No. They party like freaking rock stars and go out dancing afterward. Drenched in sweat (my fingers were pruning... that's how drenched I was), but still looking fabulous, these people head out for round two, staying out til the sun comes up. Honestly, it's an art form. I am completely impressed by these people who sleep all day stay up all night. It will be a goal I will work towards, little by little. One night, I will stay out until the sun comes up and I will love it... but for me, at least, I will have to continue to sleep first and go out after.

My apologies if this post is incoherent, as I slept little last night and the night before.

Je les aime...

Kate

Ps. I will go eat now, and then pass out in the heat. :) Sundays are my favorite.

Pps. I bought thirty (yes... 3-0) yards of fabric yesterday. And It was super cheap and I'm going to make dresses tomorrow! :)