smashing plates and chongololo

11 Oct 2009 2 Comments

by prentiss darden in Uncategorized

image courtesy of ny public library

i came home last night from a greek party in gaborone where bellydancers with lit silver candelabras perched on their heads danced between tables.  i saw the greek lady there who sells plants at riverwalk on the weekends.  the same lady who asked yasemin if she was greek.  when she told her she was turkish, the old woman’s upper lip lifted into a snarl, her eyes slanted and she muttered, “good luck” before turning her back.  the dancing girls came out again, one wearing wings of silver and the other, dressed in red, with golden fabric.  they popped their hips from side to side and twirled like whirling dervishes, the fabric creating circular swaths of luminescent metallics.  there was more dancing with fire and swords in between meal courses.

courtesy of ny public library

plates were brought to our tables and before long an unruly guy at a friend’s table launched the first plate onto the dance floor which landed with a satisfying smash.  slowly a few well-placed launches accumulated and then, as if a dam wall burst, the entire hall of people rushed the floor and smashed plate upon plate.  i preferred to get a good wind-up and smash close by.  this technique sends the shards scattering off at high speeds across the floor.  strings of people with arms hooked around each other encircled the floor dancing by kicking one foot up then the next, stepping on the smashed bits and hollering “OPA!”

*~*~*

later that night at home, i stand in the bathroom brushing my teeth and looking into the mirror at smudged black lines around my tired eyes.  i feel a small tickle on the pinky toe of my left foot.  ”mmm, probably a mosquito,” i figure, lazy to look down.  i look anyway.   to my complete surprise i see a gigantic black worm inching onto my foot!  argh!  chongololo! why do you surprise me like this?!  not knowing whether or not it is poisonous, i take a piece of tp, grab all four inches of him, pick him up after i drop him (good thing he has a hard shell), and toss him out the window.  i hope i didn’t wake up lexy across the hall with my surprise.  i turn off the light, walk down the hall into my room and am again surprised by a giant spider splayed across my floor.  eish.  i let him stay, knowing he’s harmless.  yes, it is summertime in botswana and we don’t have screens on our windows.  i better get used to these little (and i mean big) creatures.

image courtesy of onredhill, creative commons

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