At the beach

First, just a couple pictures of the place where I make batiks and the people there.




Tahan'ci and I went to the river with Abdul Azeez and Tahiru (two of my batik artisan friends) yesterday afternoon. The experience was blogworthy. We didn't really know what to expect. The big Niger river cuts through several countries in West Africa, and it cuts through our city here. We had heard of people washing clothes in the river, but mostly, our experience of it had been driving over it in taxis. Other Americans have gone to swim in it without picking up any crazy diseases, so when they asked me if I wanted to go, I agreed. I had been expecting to see just a few people along the river and in the water. Instead, as we took the 10 cent canoe ride to the other side of the river, we came upon a packed beach. The 18-30-year-old bracket was out there in full force. We put down our mat next to some of Azeez's friends and set up the little teapot over some coals to make tea. Tea-drinking is a huge social activity here. A common cup is used, and everyone is poured a tiny little strong, super-sweet sip of tea each round. There are usually three rounds, each with a distinct flavor as the tea leaves lose their potency. Then, some of us went swiming, me in my ankle-length skirt and gray t-shirt, which seemed the safest option. It was striking, but not surprising, how practically everyone at the beach was young and male. Lets say a 250 to one ratio of guys to girls. Girls here are married before they are 20 much of the time, and before then, they are kept on a much, much shorter leash then their brothers. Men are often not married until they are around 27, and they wander the streets freely with their friends. One of the other BU students went swimming with her host-sisters, who live by the river, so I think that girls might just stay away from the big beach, with good reason (there are so many men.) There was one small group of girls who set up their mat nearby, but they were clearly not model daughters. They took off their head coverings and wore short skirts into the water and bras or tank-tops in the water. Tahan'ci and I didn't see that as permission to whip off our shirts.
The guys were having a fabulous, playful time in their big groups. A group was breakdancing in the sand and getting really dirty. A large mass of them were chanting songs and splashing in the water. Everyone was very happy to be cooled off. Tahiru washed his pants in the water. We talked about genies that grab people and pull them under water. We discussed the crocodiles and hippos, who stay away when there are lots of people in the river. We listened to very familiar songs from the Ivory Coast and Nigeria, and, of course, some Celine Dion (absurdly popular here.) Just like when Larai and I went to a wedding with about seven of my batik artist friends, it was so nice to get to hang out outside of the work context. All of us have made it clear (at various points earlier in the semester) that we're not interested in dating any of them, so now we are all on the same page about hanging out as friends.