9/22/10
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Mali's independence, there were a lot of parties going on, including one hosted by the Mayor's office, where I'm employed. So, I went along with my Adama, Moussa and my sassy mom, Aissata. It was a night of salsa dancing at the local bar/brothel (every bar I've been to seems to have these two functions). I was curious to know how men and women dance together in a culture where you're barely allowed to touch the oppoisite sex in public. It was interesting to observe how much space there was between couples. One point during the night, I was dancing with this guy, but there was at least a foot between us the entire time. These large gaps between people lessened as alcohol took it's effect, and more prostitutes came out as the hour got later. The next night, I went to a youth dance party to see if things were any different. They were, but they were more extreme than the adults! There was a dance stage, and there were only males dancing up there and groups of girls were watching them, which is totally opposite in the States. I went along with Adama, so I asked her why the girls and boys weren't dancing together, and she explained that it was too early for them to dance because some adults were still there, but they would leave around 11:30pm and this is when the real party would begin. At first this made sense, but then I looked around and noticed that everyone looked at least 18 years old. However, in Mali, a youth is anyone who's under 40 and not married. We had to leave before the boys and girls got together because her husband said that she could only be gone for one hour. She has to tell her husband everywhere that she's going and ask for permission if he's not attending with her. This would get on my last nerve, but she explained that all Malian woman must do this or it is reason for divorce! This is another reason why I will not be marrying a Malian.
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