Birthday Schmirthday?

Birthdays really aren't a big deal here in Africa. That's because a lot of people have no idea how old they are! There aren't the same systems for keeping track of that as there are in America, and parents have too many children to remember how old all of them are.

Nevertheless, when it came time for my birthday during the semester here in the Gambia, I decided to keep it American and celebrate, especially since it was my 21st birthday, which of course also is more of a milestone in America than pretty much anywhere else in the world, especially here where there is no age limit for consuming alcohol, and where most people don't drink, being Muslim. (There are plenty of bars and restaurants operated by Europeans, and stores owned by Christian Lebanese, though).

So what do you do for a birthday in the Gambia? For mine, we decided to eat at Luigi's, an Italian restaurant owned by an Australian man. (He also rents some pretty nice suites out, if you ever decide to visit the Gambia). Anyways, the head chef at Luigi's, Lamin, is friends with our landlord and often comes over to cook dinner for us, so we decided to support his restaurant. Since we are in with the head chef, we got the star treatment, including a full tour and free pizza. On top of this, the owner plays a segment from Planet Earth every night, projecting it onto a big screen so you can watch while you eat. Since we have been deprived of television for the past few months, this was quite a treat. The food was delicious and the waiters even sang and brought me a cake with candles, American style! The waiter who cut the cake smashed a piece into my mouth as if we were getting married, which was a little perplexing, but hey, American traditions can be confusing.

Then we met our Professor at Churchill's, a bar owned by a Frenchman. It was JulBrew night at Churchill's. JulBrew is the only brewery in the Gambia, and they are having promotional nights with contests and prizes at bars around the Gambia. It was also karaoke night, and the Brits were out in full force--Lots of British people vacation here. Anyways, one of them dedicated American Pie to us and it was overall a fun time.

When we decided to leave, we all piled into the back of our Professor's car. There were four people in the back seat and four people in the trunk. This probably doesn't sound very safe, but traveling in the Gambia in general isn't very safe, so it didn't seem like it mattered. Unfortunately, the policeman at our first checkpoint (there are roadblocks and checkpoints everywhere here), must have been feeling a little bored and potentially also thought it would be nice to collect a bribe. So he made us get out of the trunk and get a cab, then hassled Prof until he handed over some Dalasis.

Definitely one of my most memorable birthdays. Thank you, Gambia.