Thankgod
That is the name of the gentleman I just spent my Dubai time with - seriously, his name is Thankgod. How could I make this stuff up??
When I left the heavenly business center/internet cafe, the West African guy I referred to earlier was out there with his friend. This time I knew he would greet me, so before I passed I greeted him first, met them briefly, then walked away. I hung out in duty-free for a brief time before I thought, I can spend the next four hours reading a book and finishing it and having to buy a new book here (I was tempted by Alexander McCall Smith's other series), or I can go back upstairs and hang out with some Nigerian footballers.
That was the clincher, that they're Nigerian. I have a huge prejudice against Nigerians. So I went back upstairs and that's where I've been. Sometimes I amuse myself, the people I strike up conversations with.
But it was enlightening and entertaining and comfortable. Enlightening because I started off with, "Why you West African guys gotta do that whole 'hello' thing after we walk past?" And they (Thankgod and Vitalias) laughed, embarrassed, and 'fessed up - it's about not knowing the person and not knowing the reaction and not wanting to be shot down. And they told me what they had said about me after they saw me the first time, their conversation. It was somewhat edited for content, but what is it about West African men loving my walk? I swear, I got complimented for my walk so many times in Ghana - men there like a woman knowing where she's going and what she's doing and they don't want no stinkin' victim.
And something else I love about West African men is that they can be really explicit about wanting to screw your brains out and make you see Jesus and fireworks, but defusing that while saving face for everybody is easy for me. And West African men are capable of thinking with both heads simultaneously. Thankgod's debaucherous intentions for me were evident and I could see him eyeing me and picturing me in his hotel bed, but we had great political discussions (especially when he raised his eyes up above my chest, but apparently he thinks my breasts are pretty interested in the Liberian election too).
The best thing they said about me is that I'm "simple." I have never been called that before in my life, and I like it. They just meant that I am friendly and open and don't have a lot of hangups with getting to know people and don't make complications unnecessarily. Which is a load of bunk and they're totally wrong of course, but I like that I can present myself that way. Entertaining.
And comfortable, because I was born on the wrong continent and I think I was supposed to be West African - my personality fits right in there more so. But I do have to figure out a better strategy for dealing with the whole jesus thing. I just smile and look away, as they mention Jesus Christ, God, blah blah blah, 37 times a minute. I appreciate people's faith and would never pick a fight about it, but ease up a little already, ok? But what on earth could I really expect of a man named Thankgod?
I wonder if I could change my flight to Chennai for one to Accra ... Good grief I want to be there more than anywhere else. Sigh. Next year, next year.
Oh, Thankgod and Vitalias are on the national Nigerian football team and are traveling to Kuwait. Nigeria is already out of the World Cup, but Ghana qualified. Footballers always entertain me for their self-confidence.
Oh, and good news - just got booking confirmation from my first choice of lodging in Bangkok - good location, cheap, a restaurant run by renowned Thai chef, and the shared bathrooms will make me really eager to get back to the US.
When I left the heavenly business center/internet cafe, the West African guy I referred to earlier was out there with his friend. This time I knew he would greet me, so before I passed I greeted him first, met them briefly, then walked away. I hung out in duty-free for a brief time before I thought, I can spend the next four hours reading a book and finishing it and having to buy a new book here (I was tempted by Alexander McCall Smith's other series), or I can go back upstairs and hang out with some Nigerian footballers.
That was the clincher, that they're Nigerian. I have a huge prejudice against Nigerians. So I went back upstairs and that's where I've been. Sometimes I amuse myself, the people I strike up conversations with.
But it was enlightening and entertaining and comfortable. Enlightening because I started off with, "Why you West African guys gotta do that whole 'hello' thing after we walk past?" And they (Thankgod and Vitalias) laughed, embarrassed, and 'fessed up - it's about not knowing the person and not knowing the reaction and not wanting to be shot down. And they told me what they had said about me after they saw me the first time, their conversation. It was somewhat edited for content, but what is it about West African men loving my walk? I swear, I got complimented for my walk so many times in Ghana - men there like a woman knowing where she's going and what she's doing and they don't want no stinkin' victim.
And something else I love about West African men is that they can be really explicit about wanting to screw your brains out and make you see Jesus and fireworks, but defusing that while saving face for everybody is easy for me. And West African men are capable of thinking with both heads simultaneously. Thankgod's debaucherous intentions for me were evident and I could see him eyeing me and picturing me in his hotel bed, but we had great political discussions (especially when he raised his eyes up above my chest, but apparently he thinks my breasts are pretty interested in the Liberian election too).
The best thing they said about me is that I'm "simple." I have never been called that before in my life, and I like it. They just meant that I am friendly and open and don't have a lot of hangups with getting to know people and don't make complications unnecessarily. Which is a load of bunk and they're totally wrong of course, but I like that I can present myself that way. Entertaining.
And comfortable, because I was born on the wrong continent and I think I was supposed to be West African - my personality fits right in there more so. But I do have to figure out a better strategy for dealing with the whole jesus thing. I just smile and look away, as they mention Jesus Christ, God, blah blah blah, 37 times a minute. I appreciate people's faith and would never pick a fight about it, but ease up a little already, ok? But what on earth could I really expect of a man named Thankgod?
I wonder if I could change my flight to Chennai for one to Accra ... Good grief I want to be there more than anywhere else. Sigh. Next year, next year.
Oh, Thankgod and Vitalias are on the national Nigerian football team and are traveling to Kuwait. Nigeria is already out of the World Cup, but Ghana qualified. Footballers always entertain me for their self-confidence.
Oh, and good news - just got booking confirmation from my first choice of lodging in Bangkok - good location, cheap, a restaurant run by renowned Thai chef, and the shared bathrooms will make me really eager to get back to the US.
posted by NOLA at 7:50 AM
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