Is It Super or Fat?

While the rest Senegal will be mulling through the early part of the week, next Tuesday has a lot of meaning to American ex-pats living here. For me, it will be twice as meaningful.

Super Tuesday is when more than 20 states will hold their caucuses to determine who they will support in their party's convention as the next candidate for the president of the United States. Granted, I've never been quite so excited about the primaries before in my life. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I'm overseas (though I've lived overseas before but never during a presidential election), or maybe it's that a non-incumbent will be our next president, or maybe it's even that since we still don't have a satellite or cable hook-up, I'm watching entirely too much CNN live stream online.

Tuesday, 05 February 2008 is also Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras. I am quite nostalgic this year about being so far away from my home town. I was able to take PapaGus and Gusi last year to carnival so they could experience their first Mardi Gras. They screamed themselves hoarse; they had so much fun...yes, even Gusi who was only 10 months at the time. They both quickly learned how to jump and scream for throws and since Gusi was a cute little baby we got LOTS of loot. I mean LOTS. I never got that much loot when I was little!

So, what would I do if I had one wish for 05 February but wasn't allowed to leave Dakar? I would sit in front of one television watching WWL cover all the parades, eating king cake and red beans & rice, then turn to my other television and surf through all the news networks to see how the primaries were going. Unfortunately I won't be able to do much of either as I'll be in airports or on airplanes the entire day, returning from London after some routine prenatal care. Perhaps I'll at least get to see the Super Bowl game since I'll be in London Sunday night. Though I will be torn...I went to college in Boston and have come to love the Pats but the Giants' Eli Manning is a NOLA boy and that means a lot too.

On a happier note: maybe I can find some king cake in London? Maybe Frank Davis knows where I can find one?