I write all these stories down in my diary (and blog) because no one would believe them otherwise. I got a taxi to go downtown to the big market to get some adapter power plugs. I mentioned to the driver that I was also interested in going to a little market strip that had djembes and such. He took me there first. A little touristy but such cool things like crocodile purses, and wood carvings, and small versions of musical instruments. *Then* the driver to me to the *real* place to get a djembe. In the 30 minutes that I was there, I got a mini-lesson on a rhythm pattern, he helped pick out a good drum to fit me, and I got a "professors" price, and I bought myself a real Guinean djembe drum. Goat skin, painted design. The real thing. Then we went to the downtown market and I got my plugs and then went home. Loved having a taxi-driver-chauffeur that stayed with me!
What struck me when I got back, though, was that I *didn't* learn what I wanted to learn. What the name of the rhythm was, how many times do you play the pattern, what hand starts, what does the rhythm look like, when do you add other rhythms, etc. All very western, theoretical, "SikLik" questions. So, it comes down to this: I didn't learn what I wanted to learn. Maybe I can learn what they want to teach? Working on it.
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