It was our last night in Yagoua and we were invited out for dinner. Our driver was to pick us up at 7:15 p.m. and we were to arrive at Jacque's house around 7:30. Well, our driver was a little late and we had one quick last stop to make, to greet a woman who hadn’t been home when we tried to visit her earlier. So it was nearly 8 p.m. when we finally arrived at our host’s home.
As our jeep approached, the only light I could see was a small beam coming from beyond an outdoor wall. We parked by the wall as Jacque, Augustine and Marcos came around to greet us and usher us to the other side. There, on a nice brick patio were two tables. One had a lantern on it and the other, nearby, appeared as simply a shadow in the darkness. The lantern-illuminated table was nicely set, confirming that this was to be our dining room for the evening.
Augustine directed: “Annie” – pointing to a middle chair on one side of the table. I sat down and he sat to my left, after directing Solveig to sit on my right. (This meant I had English speakers on either side of me…thoughtful details.) Solveig and I looked at each other, wistfully mentioning something about our last night in Yagoua. It was feeling bittersweet… We were eager to get home, yet still not excited about leaving.
While our host gathered sodas for us, I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the sky. What I saw literally took my breath away. It was stunningly gorgeous: the night sky of Yagoua.
While I’m basically a city girl, I did grow up in a camping family so have sat around many an American campfire, gazing at night skies far removed from city lights. But I had never seen anything like this. It was truly captivating. The sky was charcoal black and there layers upon layers of stars – thousands of sizes and intensities... I did not want to look away. The expanse above me had so many dimensions; I could have stared at it forever! Then Augustine brushed his hand against my arm and said, “There was a bug,” and suddenly I was back.
We were served beverages, talked a little, and then it was time to wash our hands and visit the nearby, shadow-in-the-dark food table. I was to go first, and wondered how I would find and view the food in order to make my selections. Augustine came to the rescue with a small flashlight he shone over each serving dish so I could see to fill my plate. It was a lovely spread, which had been generously and beautifully prepared by Jacque’s wife. Yet I confess I was slightly distracted worrying about how I would get through this meal without accidentally eating a bug. It was nighttime in Africa, after all. And was so dark I could hardly see my plate or its contents...
Conversation over dinner was mostly in French, although Augustine and Solveig tried to keep me in the loop with their translations. At an early point in the dinner the lantern was moved closer to me so I could see my food, but when I felt a bug in my hair and asked Solveig to remove it, our attentive host quickly moved the lantern, and it’s following of bugs, to the other end of the table. I decided at that point that I preferred the ignorance of darkness, anyway.
After the meal, I asked Augustine – an attorney by education, a businessman by trade – what he liked about living in Africa. He thought a moment, and said, “I love our solidarity. I would miss that very much.”
Solidarity is a concept that seems rather foreign in the U.S. We are all about independence here. And while independence isn’t all that bad, it’s not all good, either. We really do need each other… But do we acknowledge it? And furthermore, do we value it?
There are many things I liked about Africa. Along with the hospitable, dear people…the unforgettable night sky will always be near the top of my list.
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