Henri, Music, and Ice Coffee

The week before we left for Kedougou was full of many different activities. On Saturday morning, one of my classmates discovered a small kitten outside her house. The kitten didn't appear to have a mother, so Elsa picked up the kitty and brought him to school. Since our program is mostly girls, Henri quickly won a place in our hearts. Elsa and the others gave him so much unconditional love.

As much as I hate to tell you there is a very unfortunate ending to this tale. Poor little Henri passed away in the third day we got to know him. His size made him defenseless against other outdoor livestock. However, what I can tell you is that he received more love in the last three days of his life than some cats do in their entire existence.

The same week Henri came into our lives we also spent studying kora, African dance, and djembe. All classes were quite enjoyable, but I think my favorite would have to be djembe. As beautiful as the kora sounds, it helped remind me of why I first became a trumpet player. There are only three valves, so there are less combinations to remember. And when a trumpet player is moving from a 3 valve trumpet to a 21-string kora, it requires a lot more thinking than I previously thought.

Hopefully during my next update I will get to dive into our trip to Kedougou. There is so much to tell about what I learned from the village stay there.