The other night I wasn't really feeling well and planning to go to bed early. READ: 9:00 PM. The sun goes down here at 7 PM so that's a long time to be sitting in the dark with a kerosene lamp and a flashlight. But, out of the blue, my host sister asks me if I want to watch a film. Thrilled at the prospect of watching a film, I agreed. I hadn't seen a tv and didn't know exactly how it would work becuase my village doesn't have electricity.
She took me to our neighbors back yard and there was a 1980's-style t.v. that was powered by a generator and just about every kid in the village was there waiting in anticipation to watch a movie. I was given a chair because I'm white and a guest still. Then after much ado, Police Crash 3 came on. I think that was the name of it. Anywho, it was a Jack Chan movie and it was dubbed in French, which didn't matter because I couldn't hear it anyway. But, Jack Chan theatrics make for some good laughs.
It was a poignant moment in my Peace Corps expierence because I looked around and saw 30 kids laughing hysterically, in someone's backyard watching a 12' t.v. run by a generator. And I knew I was in Africa.
p.s. My friend Jared says hi!
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6 comments:
Evening Ris,
Happy to learn you are participating
with your host family. Are all these
kids related? I guess it's true when
they say "cinema is a universal language"...Keep up the good work,
next time take pictures in the dark!
best, storylives
Salut marissa, nous venons de voir ton blog depuis le Sénégal; Te voilà donc arrivé en terre africaine, un très grand dépaysement certainement...Ici tout va bien pour nous : on bosse tous, les études les examens!!! Je prendrai plus de temps pour t'écrire plus longuement bientôt, nous t'embrassons Sylvie K et les enfants
Jackie Chan?! I'm so jealous! We only have Rambo here.
Hey Ris!
I'm glad to hear Senegal is going well so far!! I promise I will write you mail soon, things have been insane around here lately. I'm excited to hear about all your (albeit few) adventures so far. Do you need anything? I was thinking about sending a care package- like is there anything the villagers need? Let me know!
Sara B
Na nga def? Mbaa sa yaram jamm? Naka sa kër ga?
Senegal me manque!! I hope you love Senegal as much as I did : ) How's village life yet? Have you tried Bouye yet? The juice made from baobab fruit. That's definitely the food that I miss the most.
Can't wait to read about what lies ahead for you!
Much love,
Shannon
PS... I am going to come visit you before you leave, inchallah. I am going to try as hard as I can to organize a trip to Senegal and Morocco within the next two years to visit friends.
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