birthday celebrations

As some of you may know, my 21st birthday was February 17th. Having my birthday in Senegal was a great experience, even though the drinking age here is 18, and therefore it wasn't as culturally significant as it would have been in the US. It was a great day, so I thought I'd share what I did, and what other people did, for my birthday.

My adventure began the night before (the 16th) at around 11PM. I took a taxi up to Colleen's house. As soon as I arrived, they placed a cheesy green hat on my head. Apparently, it's going to be a tradition-- I'm the first to wear it, followed by Maudlyn, Emily, and finally Colleen.

We then walked to New Africa, a nearby bar which was listed in the Lonely Planet guide as being packed with salsa dancers and good drinks. When we arrived, however, the place was totally deserted. (I expected as much-- after all, it was a week night, and while people party until the mid-morning on weekends, the streets are essentially empty on weeknights after 9.) However, we found a corner table and ordered non-alcoholic drinks (Fanta Cocktail for me), and settled in to wait for midnight.

Once the special hour arrived, I ordered a drink from the alcoholic menu called the "Zombi." Unfortunately, it tasted appropriately undead. Still, we had a good time taking photos featuring the drink, with the backdrop of the bar's glittering lights.


After the photo-op, a joking comment I had made a few hours previously came true ("Wouldn't it be interesting if you could stick candles in some beignets and use them as a cake?"):

I had a beignet cake! A beignet is kind of like a doughnut hole, but deep-fried. Needless to say, it was amazingly delightful (though it would probably give my mom a heart attack and, if I eat enough of these things, will probably give me a heart attack as well).

The bar started closing up soon after midnight, so we resolved to come back another time (when there'd be actual dancing), and went back to Colleen's house, where we (okay, I) finished off the beignets. We all went home, and tried to get a few hours of sleep before class in the morning.

Later in the day, I received a pleasant surprise-- yet another cake! The director of WARC (and, incidentally, my African Literature teacher) had remembered my birthday, and had bought a cake from Les Ambassades in commemoration. The cake read "Joyeux Anniversaire, Claire" and had a rose. It was beautiful. A few other friends had also remembered my birthday, and bought me Frosties! It's the little things that count.

When I went home in the evening, my family and I ate our regular dinner (including fish, because they're Catholic, and it was Ash Wednesday)-- everyone was there, because they knew it was a special day for me. Then they sang "Happy Birthday" first in English, which was endearing and hilarious, then "Joyeux Anniversaire" in French, and then my dad sang what apparently is the Jola birthday song, in Jola-- a language no one else in the family speaks. It was beautiful, and awesome.

Thus ends the saga of my birthday, an event which I will not forget. It featured American, French and Senegalese culture, music and food, and I loved it a lot. So many people contributed to its awesomeness. I'm grateful for friendship, in all its goofy and lovely ways.