Lifestyle > Train of Thought
Infinite African Westcoastin' Travel Blog 2010
TraceOneInfinite:
--- Quote from: QuietTruth on February 08, 2011, 03:45:58 PM ---Wow, why they use so big of numbers, lol, damn.
--- End quote ---
Yeah there's probably a reason for it, but to me it doesn't make sense. I mean why not just knock off some of those zero's?
TraceOneInfinite:
--- Quote from: Fraxxx on February 08, 2011, 09:42:53 AM ---Keep posting man, that's some interesting stuff to read. I have a couple of friends who shared first-hand experiences but they're all with at least one African parent so it's cool to get the experiences of a complete outsider (although it's your third time there and all). You get me?
--- End quote ---
I feel you man, and your comments are definitely appreciated.
Yeah, I've been jealous before hearing about people going to places like this through family connections and so on. I was young enough, curious enough, adventurous enough, and slightly crazy enough to just take the risk and go on my own in 2007. And now that it's worked out for me, and I can now say that I really know my own way around these countries, it's a good feeling. It wasnt an easy process in the beggining, and there were still challenges everyday, but what always got me through was my interest in the culture over there and the high value that I placed on all the experiences whether good or bad. And in Africa the life is so active and inter-active that you don't have time to get stuck dwelling upon something that didn't go as planned.
TraceOneInfinite:
DIDDY DIRTY MONEY
Remember this photo was after we had just taken a 9 hour flight from Senegal, West Africa back to America, so both of us were very tired. But it was cool how I met this girl.
When I was at the airport in Senegal, I heard a group of Americans talking with really heavy East Coast accents. At first I was kind of dissapointed by them, just because I wasn't looking forward to going back to America and being around Americans everyday, and I was thinking, "damn, back to America again", lol. But after over- hearing how polite they were with the airport staff, saying things like, "You are our ancestors, we are going to miss you guys so much". Then I started thinking they were pretty nice people, not just on transit through Senegal but Americans with a real sense of appreciation for the culture.
So then we were taking a bus from the airport to our plane, and the girl got on the bus, standing right next to me. I'm still not thinking anything of her, because I don't listen to the radio or watch MTV/or BET anymore like I did in the 90's so I don't keep up on new artists.
So anyway, she is standing there, and I say something like, "Guess it's back to America." And she replies to me, "Yep, back to the Fitnah." Now, fitnah is an Arabic word from the Qu'ran, and I was just dressed in regular American clothes, so she didn't really have any way of knowing I was a Muslim. Even though Senegal is a Muslim country, you still have white, Christian Weterners there on business, or as missionaries, or with the peace corps. So I kind of took notice of her using that word with me, and realized from eavesdropping on her and her friends convo that she and her two male friends (maybe brothers) were probably Muslims.
So we take the flight and get to the New York airport. At the New York airport I'm waiting in a long line next to them at immigration. So I start convo with her and her people, just asking about their East Coast accents and if they are from New York, and she says she's from Philly, and her male friends say they are from Boston. They could be her managers or brothers or both. I then ask her, "so how did you know I would pick up that word you used with me, fitnah". And she was really cool, and she said it was just a feeling you get around people, that you can just feel people and know who they are. So we bonded over that and started exchanging some Muslim greetings and so on like that.
Then, they ask me why I was in Africa and I ask them, she told me she was in Senegal for the music festival and that she performed as an artist. She told me her name was Diddy, Dirty, Money. I thought to myself, "What a stupid and unoriginal name, to put "Diddy" in her name". I was still thinking she was just an aspiring artist and not a professional artist.
Then we are taking those airbuses to transit on our flight from New York to Atlanta. I start talking to them about Senegalese music, and some of my favorite artist, and I give her a copy of a Viviane Ndour album, because Viviane is my favorite singer from Senegal and I saw 3 of her shows while I was there.
She thanked me and then she pulls out of copy of Last Train To Paris. I look at the cover and then I realize, "Ohhh Shit, I know who this girl is, I've heard the song "Hello, Good Morning". And I'm seeing the Interscope label and all that.
So now I realize who I've been talking to all this time. She signed the album for me, and I got the picture you see here. I talked to them for a while more after that, about Interscope Records, I even asked her some questions about Jimmy Iovine and Eminem and Dre and we had a real nice discussion, she was very down to Earth and it was all love.
Triple OG Rapsodie:
^ why are u reposting this a month later? and lol @ hoverhands
TraceOneInfinite:
--- Quote from: SPICE TWO on March 10, 2011, 10:53:11 AM ---^ why are u reposting this a month later? and lol @ hoverhands
--- End quote ---
My hand is resting on a rail, it isn't hovering in the air, we are sitting on a bench in an air bus. I was already sitting like that and she leaned in for the photo, I was more worried at that time about showing her album cover with my right hand because she had just signed it and given it to me.
And really I am still only just beginning to write about my trip. I'm a writer and that's what I like to do. It's how I free up myself, and free my mind. This trip was a rare experience where I had no obligations or responsibilities for around 40 days, and I was in an environment where I also had no social restrictions or social expectations. It made it easy for me to be 100% myself. In America, it's possible for me to be myself, but I have to exert a great deal of energy defending myself and defending my identity to others. America is a melting pot and your personality is always being challenged, atleast that's how I feel. I wish it weren't like that, but even now as I speak I am defending who have a problem with it. So that's just how it is.
We all have our muses and things that inspire us in life. Africa is a muse for me. It's a constant source of inspiration. It's people, it's culture. It is a place that is full of life. The survival instinct there is very strong. In America it is possible for a person to go through the whole day as a robot, just ants getting along in the ant colony. In some ways it's almost required of us, because it keeps things stable. But to live in a robotic state like that in Africa, is to fall behind and suffer. It's not for the faint of heart. If you don't speak up, if you don't put your heart into what your doing there, then you will certainly be left behind. It is heavily overcrowded in many places, government and private services do not run as clockwork like they do in America. So to get your needs met socially and otherwise you often have to fight for them. The region has so much to offer, but everyone wants to do everything at the same time there. In America the life is diversified, there is something for everyone. Whereas, in Africa the culture is one size fits all, most everyone loves it and is similar, and trying to do the same thing at the same time.
If there is a concert during the week or during the month, then it is THE concert, that everyone is either going to, or wishes they could go to. Not only that but everyone wants to show up at the same time, late at night. Because nothing is rushed in Africa. You have to wait till the weather cools, then get some exercise, swim, play soccer, or whatever you enjoy around sunset. After that, everyone feels like eating around the same time, after eating everyone wants time to let their food settle, drink tea, smoke ganja, and so on... then everyone wants to spend an hour or so getting dressed and prepared to go out.. then it takes another couple hours for everyone to meet up and catch rides and the traffic is terrible and things just don't move fast, your always waiting on someone or someone is waiting on you... then finally everyone ends up going to the big event at night at the same time. Whether that's a club, or concert, or other function in the city, like Reggae nights at the beach, or some kinds of cultural festivals, and so on.
Some people might think that this is bad, because it doesn't offer for enough diversity, and what if you were not into the culture and liked something else. Well, another great quality about the life there is that you can't sit on the sidelines with a frown on your face. It won't be long before the people will engage you, and they will change your mood quickly, nobody will allow somebody to stay in a bad mood before you have 4 or 5 people encircling that person and finding a way to engage them and cheering them up; by nature everyone there knows the right words and actions to do this, and it happens often.
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