Today the center hosted a party for the trainees and their families. In all honesty, it turned out better than I, and many others, had hoped for. Only one member of every one's family was allowed to come and at some point in the mid morning, PC drivers sortied out to collect the family members that were to come to the center, and so this left the trainees with some time to do nothing. Finally! Somewhere around 11 I went to put on something nice and figured I could wear nice western clothes since Friday is the ceremony and I would be wearing my grand boubou. I threw on my polo, a pair of jeans, and my chucks (none of which I have worn since arriving) and sat around and waited for my host mother to straggle in. When she arrived, she was disappointed to see me not wearing my boubou, so I had to go change. I got many compliments on it and it was better than anyone else's. Unfortunately no one will be surprised tomorrow at our swearing-in ceremony.
My host mother and the other family members from Tivaouane were the first to arrive, so we ended up sitting around for a good hour and a half before we finally lethargically moved over to dinner. People just don't move fast here. Lunch was great. We actually had chicken, which is a real treat here. After lunch, the music start, and that was the highlight of the day! What fun is was watching all the musicians and people dance.
The style of dance here is much more chaotic and the influence in many western dances is evident, as in Samba. Someone who wants to join in on the dancing will run in, dance for a minute or two, then proceed to the sidelines for a rest. It's a bad idea to have many people dancing at once, because, well, someone will get a broken nose!
After the music, we had a small reception and each family received a certificate stating they had hosted a PC trainee. The Senegalese love certificates and the Peace Corps passes out one for every event. Following the reception, all the families went home.
Now, it's onto Dakar!
3 comments:
Ryan you're looking good in your bou bou. Watch out for all the babes in Konuagal you look like a good catch. Congrats on the official status, now begins the fun part.
Wow! The bou bou is amazing...is there a trim on it? Kind of looks like a cardinal's or pope's robe. What's the fabric?
So interesting! Did you dance? What kind of instrument is that flute-like thing being played in the pics?
Eat Mo' Chicken! (hahahaha)
mom
Congrats! So proud of you love the outfit. I bet it was amazing. Nice to put on the chucks. Still looking for stuff for christmas. Giving out your blog to tons of people. They all love it. We miss you so much. The good luck sign is still up. Have so much fun ryan
Renee
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