Roll out the welcome mat…
I invite you to experience two flavors of the typical introductory conversation that takes place in my line of work.
Example One:
Person M: “Hi, my name is blah blah blah.”
Person X: “Hi blah blah blah, nice to meet you.”
Person M: “Where do you work?”
Person X: “I work for [insert itinerant organization here].”
Person M: “Cool. How long will you be posted here?”
Person X: “Oh, only for a couple of months. What about you?”
Person M: “Me? I’ll be here another two years. I’m sure you’ll have a good experience during your stay- there are lots of great people around. Will excuse me for a second?”
[Person M then wanders off in search of a make-believe person who must be urgently located.]
Example Two:
Person M: “Hi, my name is blah blah blah.”
Person X: “Hi blah blah blah, nice to meet you.”
Person M: “Where do you work?”
Person X: “I work for [insert itinerant organization here].”
Person M: “Cool. How long will you be posted here?”
Person X: “I’ll be here for the next three years.”
Person M: “Nice! What’s your name again?”
Equally the best and the worst part about working for organizations such as the military, foreign service and international NGOs is the manner by which you meet new people. When you’re out
sur le terrain, it is an inescapable part of reality that your contemporaries will be entering and exiting your life on a continuous loop at varying intervals. It’s a bit like you’ve got a seat on the Tilt-A-Whirl, and you’re just as much a part of the ride as everyone else. For better or for worse.
While I do grow weary of continually spitting out the Reader’s Digest version of my life in under 30 seconds, I will say that the people I meet and whose names I remember- that is, the people who end up sharing a significant portion of my life experience- are well worth the trouble to get to know. Together, you get to share in some pretty unforgettable experiences that will bond you for the rest of your life.
After you’ve lived somewhere for awhile, things that once looked odd now seem commonplace. And well within the realm of reasonable replication.
The seasoned eye will not walk out her door and see a dilapidated and potentially life-threatening form of transportation. Instead, this Crayola beauty takes the appearance of a chariot that will whisk you off on adventures that are only limited by your imagination.
It’s come as you are, you motley convocation of toubabs bound by a common dream and affection for one of our own who is coming to the end of her rotation in Senegal.
Only the finest Panasoaenic boom box has been purchased in order to provide maximum luxury aboard our Senegalese Mystery Machine.
And before we know it, we are out on the town.
You may think that we see a lot of odd things while on the road in Senegal, but I can tell you that nothing looks as weird to locals as a car rapide full of joyful toubabs careening through Marché Tilene and bound for Plateau.
It’s a special brand of fearless and joyful spirit who seeks the line of work that we do, and these are the folks who you gradually get to know and consequently hate to see leave your sphere. It’s okay, though- we’ll all leave this place with shared memories that no one else has- ones that no one else will never begin to understand like we do.
Um, because I firmly believe in all of us keeping our day jobs, I’m going to stop here and just allow you to enjoy a bit of the soundtrack of what will likely go down as our best night in Dakar. I hope you enjoy at least a fraction of what we experienced.
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test and don’t ask why
It’s not a question but a lesson learned in time
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth it was worth all the while
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
