Koriteh and lots of attaya!

Today was a very eventful day! The moon had appeared last night and as a result it was now officially the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the festival Koriteh.  I woke up with that familiar breakfast craving for tapalapa and chocolate spread (ummmmmmm….).. As I headed out of the house to ask Omar (my local tapalapa dealer) if he had any, I realized that there was an unusual air of excitement, much like the atmosphere on Christmas day. I also realized as I stood there in trousers and a sweaty t-shirt that I was dramatically underdressed. The streets were crammed full with people wearing vibrant coloured fabric, dazzling sequins (mum you would have been in your element!) and elegant high heels. In a flash I went back into the house to change into my one Gambian dress (which was still underdressed but was a massive step up from my sweaty t-shirt)..   We spend most of the day sat under a tree with our neighbours drinking the local attaya (which is a very strong, very sweet and apparently very addictive tea). The preparation of attaya involves lots of pouring.. from shot glass to shot glass… from shot glass to pot… from pot back to shot glass… We were also invited to a party in the evening by our other neighbours which was definitely the most bizarre evening yet. We thought we were going to a small Gambian gathering but ended up in a mansion with a massive TV screen being waited on hand and foot. Apparently the husband of the woman used to be a professional football and is now teaching PE in Sweden . All in all, a bright and eventful day.