How to avoid being Sacrificed

So it's Monday and I'm posting and that can only mean one thing: Jake survived yet another weekend and the power is (knock on wood) still on. (PS - I'm terrified of writing that last sentence - especially the bit about the power - because it seems like everytime I say something like that the power goes out).

After almost getting killed (twice) by the Great African Escarpment (a note to geography students - the escarpment is very real and very very scary), making this mellinium's greatest archeological discovery (or maybe not), and hanging out under Africa (yes, I've been under a continent - you jealous?), Saturday's manifestation (that's French for manifestation) looked like it would be a piece of cake. Delicious chocolate fudge cake with a tall glass of ice cold milk (not that I'm missing American food or anything...).

The thing about Africa, though, is that there is no cake. Milk's very hard to come by too. So I was out of luck.

So Saturday night Brinan (my toubab cousin) and myself put on African/Muslim garb (the kind that we borrowed from our brothers) and some sandals and walked to the manifestation. Things are going along just splendiferioucly (no comment): guys are singing what I'm told was verses from the Koran, little kids are sitting in the middle of the tent with their shoes off, tea (or maybe it was really sugared up coffee) is passed around and we all partake in the general merriment. Then some guy starts talking Wolof. With my much less than splendid command of even the most basic greetings, this is (understandebly - sp???) a bit difficult to follow.

Then things start to get interesting.

A goat is brought out into the center of the tent. Without any gory details, his head ends up on the floor, blood spattering everywhere, and I'm eating raw goats meat (wait, I thought he said no gory details?)

Then a bull is brought out. Same result.

Then the marabout starts looking around the crowd. Uh oh. His eyes dart from person to person. He looks at my little brother. He looks at my toubab cousin. He looks at me.

He gives a little smile.

"Time to go" I say.

And that's exactly what happened. Well, almost all of it. Everything except for the part about the goat. And the bull. And the marabout and me (ps - do you ever get annoyed with my constant lying and then the "oh wait im lying" trick i pull??). Truth be told, it was kinda interesting, and probably would have been more interesting if I had understood more of it.

Oh but this is true. I swear to it.

We're walking to our adventures with the escarpment and I notice something that strikes me as odd...a bunch of bulls and a few camels are penned up on the side of the road. Then I look closer and see that theres a camel tied to a post. You know, like horses in the wild wild west. except this was a camel. and were in one of Africa's largest metropolitan areas. And here is a petting zoo that was apparently visited by some bedouin cowboy. Like I said...Africa's different.

So its later that afternoon (after escaping the escarpment) that were walking along the road back home and we notice that soem of the camels and cows are missing. In their places are piles. of meat. chunks of meat. theyve got pots fired up and are apparently cooking the meat (im actually really upset that i didn't ask for some...meat here is delicious - camel or otherwise).

Apparently I'm holding up some people's lunch plans (though why they would want to dine with me is beyond me). That's my adventure filled weekend - look for pictures tomorrow (inchallah - which means God (and probably more importantly electricity) willing).

Love
Jake