i love that i have a chance to warm up to you beforehand

i love that i’ve been taught about griots, how to pronounce it correctly, and their purpose in society. about doing things for your older sisters and brothers if they tell you to and the respect that is there. about baobab trees and how griots were buried in the trunks. how the audience in mali is called naamu & in the call and response technique it is also their response. that i know what a libation to the ancestors will look like. that the epic of sundiata is behind the lion king and all its awesomeness. how women are supposed to gain weight. how bamana is the same as bambara. how there are totems for families and about the west african hierarchy in polygamy and the senior wife. gosh, these last two semesters & my classes all about africa have been invaluable to me. i love how He placed a west african in my path before i go. i absolutely adore His ways.