First Day of Week III

This morning I met with Guin Theuss, the host of "Hip Hop Selecta," an MTV-type hip hop show on RTS 1 (Radio TV Senegal's main national channel).  He is interested in making a documentary film about hip hop at FESMAN (Festival Mondial des Arts Negres - World Festival of Black Arts) that's coming up in December - this is the festival I'm studying.  He has interviewed a who's who of Senegalese musicians, and has promised to do what he can to help me have access to as many of them as possible who are performing at the festival.  So, for my first day of official research, I think I'm off to a decent start. 

Here are a few photos from inside the RTS studios:

Some tech guys taking a break:

And here I am with Guin Theuss:

On the way back I decided to take some random photos from my cab.  So, I'll post some of them here...  Sorry for all the sheep pictures, by the way (they don't look very sheeplike without their wool), but I feel like they deserve a little bit of recognition for their sacrifice - tomorrow is Tabaski, the Muslim holiday which celebrates when Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac but was allowed at the last minute to sacrifice a sheep instead because he had proven his loyalty to God.  In honor of this, families celebrate with a mutton feast.  It is one of the most important holidays of the year, people get dressed up, they see family they haven't seen in a long time, etc.  In general it's a very festive and happy occasion.  I will be spending it with Tabou, the singer I've been performing with.  So, here's a shout out to all of the sheep out there - enjoy your last day, and may you be happy in sheep heaven tomorrow...

Ok - I can't figure out what the problem is, but I can't seem to get the second batch of photos up.  I'm going to put them in a second post.

L'ENDROIT, TAKE II (but NOT Take Five...)
My second performance at l'Endroit went well, I think.  Tabou and I rehearsed once on Friday evening and once on Saturday morning.  I was pretty wrecked on Friday after the trek to get there, so I didn't play the greatest at that rehearsal, but the next morning went much better. 

On the way back from Tabou's Saturday afternoon, Cameron (former Fulbrighter - archeologist, doing follow-up research) called following up about plans to get together that evening.  I had spent an hour the night before trying to text him back without success - I hadn't yet figured out how to turn the automatic fill-in off, and I also accidentally erased his number when I was finally ready to send my text.  My ineptitude with cell phones is embarassing.  I told Cameron that I was playing at l'Endroit so couldn't go out somewhere else, but he said they'd come to hear me instead.  So Cameron, Kate (Fulbright-Hays, studies national education policy in small villages), Nate (Fulbright - studies colonial history of Senegal / Guinea border region), Lindsey (former Fulbrighter, not sure what she is working on - she's doing follow-up research for a while here), and Maggie (Fulbrighter, from Haiti, I believe - not sure what she's working on) all came to hear me play.  Also Thomas from next door.  It was flattering and comforting to have so many people come and support me - it made me feel more like I fit in here... 

I think I played well - the rehearsals with Tabou definitely helped, although I was disappointed that we didn't end up playing Malaika, which I really like (Miriam Makeba made it famous) - Tabou said her throat was bothering her because of all the smoke.  I'm happy to report that the Milim guys invited me up to play more tunes this time than last time - last time I played one, this time I think I played 5.  I had one horrible, utterly embarassing faux pas, though - which was that Gino, the guitarist, started playing Take Five, figuring that'd be an easy one for me to sit in on, and of course I thought I knew the tune, but as soon as I started picking it out, I realized I have forgotten it...  I was trying to figure it out by ear but was sounding awful and lame trying, so I eventually apologized and said it's been a long time since I've played it and thanks anyway, but I'll sit this one out.  GOD!  TAKE FIVE, PEOPLE!!!  Humiliating.  But Gino was really sweet about it, immediately telling me about a time when he had to play it in front of a bunch of Americans at the embassy and at the B section he accidentally switched to a key a half-step off.  Anyway.  For some reason, they actually asked me back up on stage after that, and then the rest of the night went great - I know that I sounded fine on the other tunes.  I have no problem with funk stuff, or with Cuban-ish stuff, or any tunes that kindly just sit on a chord for a while.  So, I think I was able to redeem myself. 

POWER OUTAGES AT GIGS:
Remarkably, last Saturday was the first time there wasn't ONE outage the whole night!!  That's pretty incredible, actually.  Normally, the power will go out at least 3 times during a show.  What happens, though, is that everything continues as if nothing happened.  The only difference is that now you can't hear the plugged-in instruments - they stop playing and clap polyrhythms instead.  And the audience joins in and claps in various rhythms to keep the pulse and energy going, and they also sing back-up vocals.  The saxophonist just continues soloing, treating it like a long, extended break, and eventually the power comes back on and the bass and guitar fill back in.  But I have to say that the energy level while the whole club is in total darkness and everyone is participating in the performance, keeping the momentum going and moving the music forward, is incredible - so much so that when the lights come back on, I always feel this slightly palpable pang of disappointment from the audience and the musicians... 

RIDE BACK FROM TABOU'S:
(Exerpted from my illegible journal scrawl as we bumped along):  sand - rubble - furniture for sale - clothes shops - fruit stand - fans for sale - kids playing old fussball game - taximan singing along to techno song (the one the Saturday Night Live guys cruise to when they keep pulsing their heads to the beat), goats being led along by their master (enjoy your last few days, fellas), pieces of tires in the sand, the sound of an electric saw, kids laughing and dancing, a woman with a huge, heavy basket on her head, rubble, kids playing soccer in a sand "field", family watching traffic go by, Wolof radio station mentions Tabaski (the Muslim holiday coming up Wednesday), a kid walks by with a ziplop baggie on his head like a hat (?!), a kid on a horsecart, something foul-smelling (sewage?, fish?), a plant nursery, people fixing a flat tire, horns honking, Fanta billboard, a mosque, car rapides (colorful - blue, orange, lots of decorations), the sputtering of diesel engines, a giant mango tree, a Catholic cemetery, the Renaissance Statue (President Wade's pride and joy, and considered an embarassment / eye sore /  waste of money by most Senegalese residents)...

WOLOF 101 (x = "kh")
Na nga def?  = How are you
Mangi fi = I'm fine
Nyata le? ... Wanyeko.  Fi la dekk.  Serna. = How much?  That's too much.  I live here.   Lower your price.
Amuna xales, jangelekat la. = I don't have any money; I'm a student.
See you soon (a tout a l'heure):  leggy leggy
Til next time (a la prochaine):  Ba banenne

So, I thought I'd take some pictures of my domicile for you...

Here's my room looking out onto the courtyard and past it, the kitchen (note the fan, aka "ventilateur," which pretty much controls whether I live or die here...) -

An expanded view - you can see a little bit of my bed and my messy desk.  And the curtains which Simon (host dad) kindly fixed for me today - when I first arrived and tried to close them so I could change to take a shower, the pole fell down just as I was in the process of almost, but not quite, draping myself in a towel - a great way to start Day 1!

Here's Run guarding my box of vino tinto - I haven't opened it yet.  So far I've only tried the blanc (nasty) and the sangria (not bad).

This is my neighbor Thomas, from Normandy - he rooms next door to me.  He is studying sociology at the university here.  He's playing Jenga with Pierre (5).

Pierre, le méchant (naughty boy), knocked them all down...

Here's my mosquito net - kind of quaint, like something you'd find in a princess's room (at night you unknot it and tuck it all around your mattress and close yourself in...)

Here's Run practicing aerial menouvers for his next action film:

Yesterday I met Tabou for a rehearsal (in French, rehearsals are called "repetitions" which I think is an apt phrase).  It took maybe 1 1/2 hours to get to her place, which is on the other side of the city.  We gave up on cabs - they are starting to raise their rates because of the upcoming Tabaski holiday.  So we took a car rapide: 

from the internet cafe / music club to Dior (sp?), then a calando (a group taxi - but not a yellow cab like the regular, single-hire ones - these are unmarked, you just have to know / ask) from Dior to Casbah (Tabou almost got knocked down in the mad charge to dive into the cab - there are only a few places and a ton of people; on the second try, I dove into the front seat while she dove into the back - surivival of the fastest car divers! - catch the rest of you later, SUCKAHS!), then another from Casbah to Corniche Hamosis, and then a cab to Comico II, her place.  It was a trek.  We didn't start rehearsing until after 10pm.  Then we ate dinner around 11:30pm, and at midnight we grabbed a cab (not easy in her neighborhood that late) to the jazz club "Face 2 Face" (pronounced "Fass du Fass") where Milim (the group we opened for last Saturday) was playing.  Another great set, all in good form.  Tabou wanted to continue on to "Just 4 U" (Jahs - fohr - yieu) to hear the guitarist play his second gig, which was starting at 2:30am.  I regrettedly told her that I was simply not capable of another trek to another club, being the old lady that I am (she's a sprightly 22).  I was falling asleep.  I also had no money for cab fare or drinks if I wanted to save enough for the ride back the next day.  So, we went back and crashed - I fortunately got to stay with her sister, who has a fan (Tabou hates anything cold - cold drinks, "cold" meaning ventilated rooms, etc).  This morning I bucket-showered, we ate breakfast (buttered rolls and Nestcafe) and then we started rehearsing - we practiced for 2 hours or so and then she had to go tend her mother's clothing boutique and I needed to get back home to eat lunch, rest up (undoubtedly tonight will be another late one), catch up on email / blogging, and in general get ready for tonight's gig.

So, a long, wordy update... 

Coming soon:

1) description of sights / sounds / smells during my rides to Tabou's and back (I wrote in my journal part of the time on the way back - it's almost completely illegible, but I'll try to tease out what I wrote!)

2) power outages at gigs

3) an invitation for Tabaski...

4) Wolof 101

Sonatel Updates: 2 & 3

Sonatel update # 2:  This morning before I left for the embassy I excitedly hooked up my computer to see if my internet would work.  I was pretty sure there'd be some problem or other, and of course I was right - it didn't work.  I didn't have time to deal with it because I had to leave to go deal with Visa paperwork.

Embassy update:  I have now completed all necessary paperwork for my visa and just have to wait - could take a week, could take a month.  In the meantime, I also took care of all of the paperwork to get my official MAGIC BADGE, which was minted for me today - fresh with a beautiful passport-esque (as crappy as my desperate Argentina one) photo on it.  With said MAGIC BADGE, I have serious power:  no more security scans and signing in and handing over all electronics in order to enter the building.  Nope - now I just flash my handy MAGIC BADGE, and all doors instantly open.  It's pretty amazing.  Suddenly I'm treated like a movie star.  Pretty sweet.  So I have hassle-free access to the embassy cafeteria (not bad - had grilled cheese and salad there today), the bank (not only good for getting cash, but for getting small change for the cash you have - people get really pissy here if you don't have small bills, and nobody wants to give away theirs to make change for you - 10,000 CFA bills here (= $20-ish) are pretty much useless at most places), the post office (WAH - no letters yet... HINT, HINT, HINT, HINT*), the computer lab, etc. 

When I was at the embassy, I met 3 other Fulbright students who were also there at the same time for the same reason - visa and badge stuff.  One girl is studying something to do with health care, the other one, I don't remember what she's studying, but I remember her husband is from Cameroon.  And the third one is my mate, my peep - Karima.  I can tell she and I are going to get along famously.  She's the only other person doing music-related research, and our interests overlap considerably.  She was awarded a prestigious Fulbright-MTV scholarship, and is doing research on how traditional Senegalese griot music is intersecting with hip hop today in Dakar.  She's very interested in FESMAN so of course was happy to hear about what I'm doing, and when she found out I did my master's thesis on the Festival of the Desert in Mali, she was psyched - she's always wanted to go.  We have discussed sharing a Wolof teacher together so it will be cheaper - this will be good for both of us because neither of us has gotten very far with it yet - we both got here the same day, Nov 2.  So, I'm happy to have met somebody today whom I know will become a good friend. 

Sonatel Update #3:  After I got back from the embassy, I decided that instead of heading straight to l'Endroit (internet cafe) like I normally do, I would go home and try to get online again.  It didn't work again, but then I looked at the installation DVD that came with my modem, and it occurred to me that I was probably supposed to do something with that before anything would work.  So I loaded that in and things started looking promising.  Even better, the DVD installation instructions were in English.  So I cruise through 'til I get to the page asking for my net ID and password.  I had already come up with a password, but I realized I didn't know what my net ID was - I checked through all of my Sonatel paperwork and where it said net ID, the line was blank.  Hm.  So I called the Sonatel helpline and the lady told me I was supposed to put in my phone number.  Ok, cool - so I go back and it looks like everything should work.  It let's me pass on to the next thing, so I think I'm golden.  Then, it looks like the only thing left is a last check-over to decide if you're worthy of service.  Well, all green lights until.... the last one - the internet still wouldn't connect.  WTF???    So I call Sonatel again and the person tells me that it takes 10 days for the ADSL connection to work.  This must have been what the person was telling me when I thought he was saying I'd have to wait up to 10 days for the installation guy.  Sigh.  So, bottom line - still no internet for a while...  if they count 10 days from when I subscribed, that'd be Nov 20.  But I don't know if they mean regular days or business days...  if the latter, I maybe won't have access 'til the 24th.  In which case, my November subscription will really only consist of a week of service.  Nevertheless, I've done everything I can and eventually it will work and then, YAY!

Now I have 3 hours until I meet Tabou here for a rehearsal (we're meeting here but going to her place which is a little ways away).  I tried practicing today and it was frustrating - horn not working well (it's still cranky about being here, apparently), nothing sliding through my fingers or ears as well as it was earlier this week...  So, that's it for now.

*  My address again:

Melissa Reiser
2130 Dakar Pl.
Dulles, VA  20189-2130

WRITE ME PLEASE! 
Also, I've heard reports that the diplomatic pouch HAS actually worked for people for sending stuff / small packages - people have received cookies, T-shirts, etc this way - but it isn't guaranteed, so it shouldn't be anything valuable obviously.  It's the same address as above.  Not that I'm asking for anything!  Just hearing from you would be great - via snail mail, email, etc...

Sonatel update

So I had to leave earlier because the Sonatel guy called and was ready to come by to install everything.  I'm not sure how long he was at the house - maybe an hour or so.  Lots of loud drilling and banging, lots of chords and cables...  But now it's all finished.  I had him show me how everything hooks up since I'm completely incompetent in these matters - so looks like it's all set and ready to go.  But he said I had to wait until tomorrow morning for the signal to work.  So...  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Hopefully the next time I post, it'll be from my room!

Yesterday I went to Sonatel with Simon, my host dad, in order to get internet hooked up in my room.  I'm not exactly good at dealing with computer-related things in English, so it was a little difficult signing up for all of this stuff in French...  But finally everything got squared away, I registered for my own telephone line (but don't call it - too expensive - I have to pay to receive international calls - 34 cents a minute), subscribe to a monthly DSL / wifi package, buy a modem, etc.  So now it's all taken care of except for the installation.  I am to wait for the service technician to call my cell phone, sometime within the next 10 days, to make an appointment to install everything.  So, we'll see... I'll keep you posted.

I also met with Tabou yesterday to discuss the possibility of working together some more.  We are going to rehearse tomorrow and then on Saturday evening we're playing at l'Endroit again (the same place we played last Saturday, and also the internet cafe where I'm typing right now - it's about 1 minute from where I'm staying).  She gave me a list of tunes we'll work on - some I know, some (most) I don't.  We'll do some tunes by Cesaria Evora, Miriam Makeba, Baaba Maal, the Eagles (! - Hotel California - sorry, Geoff), Bob Marley...  The others I need to look up - she told me they were standards that I shouldn't have trouble finding online.

So, that's the news... 

Sonatel guy just called!  Gotta go...

Week II begins

Today marks the official beginning of Week II - I got here last Tuesday morning.  So, congratulations to me for making it through Week I.  Now only five more weeks until my hubby comes to visit!  (Still sounds like / feels like forever away...)

Nothing too exciting to report, but here are some highlights:

1) Tomorrow I'm meeting with Tabou, the singer / guitarist I performed with on Saturday, so that we can discuss potentially rehearsing / performing more together.  (YAY!)

2) I'm meeting an Embassy person on Friday to finalize the paperwork necessary to obtain my visa and also to get a clearance badge, which will give me access to the bank, the mail room, the cafeteria, etc. without having to ask for an official escort.

3) I went to WARC (West African Research Center) yesterday and spoke briefly with the director about my project.  I asked him for any help he could give in putting me in touch with FESMAN III organizers.  He called an artist, Kalidou Kasse, who's on the Festival organizing committee, and told him about me and my project.  Mr. Kasse told him to tell me to call back in 15 minutes, which I did, and then he told me to call tomorrow morning (meaning today) at 9:30am, which I did.  But I was never able to reach him, so I had to just leave a message.  So, thus constitutes my Fulbright research so far.

4) I practiced - Tom Waits ("Little Man"), Sammy Fain ("Secret Love"), Cesaria Evora ("Ess Pais").  Some of the music I played on Saturday night with Tabou was Cape Verdean (we played "Soldade," which Cesaria Evora sings), so I want to practice more improvising over these chords / forms. 

Here's Run helping me practice:

Run posing with my first big Dakar purchase, a cell phone:

 Some reading to keep my chin up (thank you, Geoff and Kia, for the book loan!):