Baaba Maal’s Podor, Senegal

Baaba Maal is badass, and we got to hang out on his compound! But of course, there is a story leading up to all this... You have already read about my "gift," and all that led up to hanging out at Baaba Maal's compound. I would never have guessed it would be forever known as the BM compound! That is not the point of this blog, so I won't go there. Baaba Maal is one of the most zen, understated, coolest dudes I've ever met. At 70, he is beloved by 10-year-olds and 90+ year-olds alike.

When we arrived at the event, all the women wore their finest attire; I wore a sweatsuit. It was so crowded I had a personal anxiety attack-it was too many people. There was no crowd control, and seemingly none was needed. Or at least that is what we initially thought. As special guests of Baaba Maal, we were invited to sit in reserved seating, and that is where all the trouble began.

As expected, everyone wanted to be in the seats, not standing with the masses. One of our fellow travelers served as a security guard and didn't secure his phone, which was stolen. As I walked through the crowd, I carried my backpack in front of me. I looked directly into the eyes of a young man who touched the face of my watch. I wasn't afraid, just perplexed-what would he do with it? I suppose anything was more than he had, but I wanted him to see me see him think about taking it. I shook my head no (as in, don't even think about it) and smiled. He smiled back and nodded, seemingly understanding that real-time gratification may cost a more considerable delayed gratification.

I don't know if I held him responsible for the bad taste in my mouth, which would have indeed happened if he had stolen my watch. If he had asked, I might have given him the money he might have garnered from selling my watch had he stolen it. It's weird, but I felt we connected. In that moment, he did a cost-benefit analysis and somehow decided that my experience as a Black American in Senegal did not need to include something so meaningless as a stolen watch. I wondered if his decision would have been the same had it been a diamond-crusted Rolex rather than an Apple watch?  In that moment, I remembered my dear sorority sister sent me this message:

"Embedded in the picture of the African continent is the Sankofa bird.  The head is turned backward while the body is positioned forward, reminding us of the power of looking back to inform our future (It is not wrong to go back for things you have forgotten)."

Ironically, he was just behind me when he touched my watch, and I was looking back at him as all of this was occurring. Perhaps he thought about Proverbs 6:1, "When a thief has been found, he has to pay seven times!" Or he saw the plea in my eyes to be true to the Senegalese Teranga. Either way, he affirmed my desire to return to help my Sept get what they need to thrive.

Back to the story... Getting to our seats was a process; when the opening was over, I have to admit I was afraid of what it would take to get back to the bus. I had no appetite to experience this situation more than once. This would ultimately be tested, I am sure.  As for tonight, we pulled up to our resort and finally checked into my room; I could hear my BFF's WTAF, and all I could do was laugh.  I sent Tony this picture and a couple others so he would know how I was living. The other photos are of the bathroom, which looks eerily similar to the one I used at Baaba Maal's compound. Could this be karma?

Fortunately, I brought the cocoon sheets I travel with everywhere, so I slept on top of the bed (leaving everything in tack) using my travel gear and got a little sleep.  The bathroom was scary; yes, I brought my own towels too!  Having lived abroad, I am generally ready for just about anything.  Podor, however, was a bit much, even for me. The actual concert was the next day, and I couldn't imagine going through the crowd again; I didn't think I would be lucky two days in a row. Some of our group opted to go to the concert to minimize their stay at the resort, while a few of us stayed in.  I worked on this blog and prayed that it would be over soon. We were scheduled to stay for three days, but Papa Dia worked with Astu to get us to Dakar a day earlier; praise God! 

We were scheduled to leave at 6A; I was up and ready to go. The concertgoers returned just in time to leave; apparently, Baaba Maal didn't perform until 3:30A! The concertgoers were literally up all night. Suffice it to say that Podor wasn't our favorite place to visit. I live for experiences, but even this one I will not regret never experiencing again. Baaba Maal is a force and a super cool human. He can have Podor, and is welcome to visit us in the States anytime!

NOTE: This was written 12/9 @ 10P, but without good internet connectivity, I had to wait until I arrived Stateside to clean it up and publish.