A Second Grader's Birthday Party

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so on saturday night Jarry and Fatou Ngoneh were getting all dressed up. they asked me if i wanted to go to Laila's (pronounced la la) birthday party. laila is in grade 2. she is from sweden and turned 10 on friday. so i said "sure."
by the way, i'm currently in senegal and the keyboard doesn't make sense. the q and a have switched, the w and z have switched, the m is after the l, and the comma, period, and apostrophe are all misplaced. it's very difficult to type.
we drove to laila's house which is near to abc 2 and went in. we sat in the living room for a minute until we greeted her mother, and then we went out back to where the party was. people were everywhere. family, friends, and teachers. i sat down in a chair where i remained for the rest of the party. it was fun to observed the cultural difference. the activity i can only assume was glitter. girls were walking around with glitter all over them. for the most part people just sat around and talked. then they served the food which was some incredibly spicy orange sauce with vegetables and a crab right smack in the middle. my throat burned with each bite and it took a while to get through half. then laila's mom brought out fanta as a drink. spicy and carbonated do not go well together. there was african music blaring the whole time, but people didn't start dancing until the hip hop came on.
all in all, my least favorite part of the night was watching first and second graders dancing like girls in music videos to a song called "do me." my two favorite parts of the night were watching a little boy in an oversized suit walking around and a three-year-old girl trying to dance.

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Comments

[mom]

Hi honey, the party sounds a bit confusing and maybe overwhelming? I can tell you weren't a fan of the food. In today's Globe G section, there is a recipe for African peanut stew that I am going to make for us to try, it has peanut butter in it so maybe it is close to what you are having when you are back at your homestay house. Hope the next 2 weeks go well while you are on break and that you find some blander food to eat. It is really cold here today; about 45 but with the wind it feels like the 30s. I walked the dogs early this am and there was a good frost on the ground still. By the time you get home it will be spring and the magnolia will be blooming, and all will be well. Miss you and love you--mom

[Leel]

Hi Katy dear
I am so enjoying your blogs. Perhaps if the food is too spicey we can arrange to cater your next meal from our nearest Taco Bell. I believe it's only 16,532 miles away. You are such a wonderful person and the fact you enjoy teaching and learning the culture and eating te food and putting up with everything that comes your way is so amazing and so y-o-u. Here's a big hug and kiss, honey. Love, Leel

[Baba]

Happy Easter. It is hard not being with your family over these special holidays. We also are without family as we elected to stay in Tucson until May. The cactus and all the flowers and trees are in bloom. It is beautiful and warm. We love it here, but will be glad to get home and see the family again. We will have two new dogs in the family, one yellow lab and one black lab. Take care and know we are very proud of you. Much love Baba

[Christina]

Glitter
Kate! I miss you soo much! And I'm reading like 6 of your posts in my chemistry class because, well, why would I ever pay attention? And I literally almost laughed out loud when reading the thing about the girls with the glitter. Remember how from like grades 4-7 we wore glitter everywhere? I sure do, especially at the dances (remember getting ready for dances together in your old house?) I just thought that was so funny and so cool that girls are the same in every culture pretty much. Your experiences make me so jealous and I can't wait to see you when you come home so I can hear more! <3 Christina