Safe arrival

Hello from Brikama,
All is safe and well. I had my first kora lesson with Moriba Kuyateh, and I'm still recovering from the time change. Things got a little interesting in Dakar. At 6:00am local time yesterday, I was followed by a pack of hagglers about my age while trying to find the terminal for my next flight. Fortunately, there was another toubab close by to help me out. French is widely spoken in Senegal, while English is not, so I had quite a few people greet me in French. Once you get to the terminal, you must display your flight ticket, which provided me respite from the hagglers. After a five hour layover, the next flight was only 35 minutes into Banjul, the Gambia. As if things couldn't get any more interesting, they did. To put the experience in short, I got out of a situation with a security guard ok, but let's just say it could've been a lot worse. There was a major cultural misunderstanding that took place, and that's where I will leave it. Fortunately, Moriba showed up just in time to help me out. I maintained my calm throughout, which also helped tremendously. My mbira also came in handy, as the guards asked me to perform. Overall, everything is well, and I will be in touch with you all later.

Love,
Sean