Femi Kuti, son of famed Nigerian musician Fela.

Brian survived his morning run. He must have been an odd sight; we saw Togolese runners train only at night. I began my mornings by listening to birds. My favorite bird is the pleplelu ('pel-pel-'loo). Its call sounds like the Three Stooges: whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, puh, puh, puh, puhpuhpuhpuh. I also heard that awful turkey that lived next door. I wanted to wring its neck.
    The day was low-key. We relaxed in the garden writing, talking, and painting with watercolors. The T-shaped house is surrounded by beautiful fauna one usually sees in hot houses. In addition to the flowers and fragrant bushes, the backyard boasts of an avocado tree and a mango tree. During avocado season, the Copes ended up giving away buckets of the fruit. Mango season is April and November. This season, the mango tree had only two fruits which we checked on every day.

I Believe in Soccer
That night, we planned to go out to dinner and a concert. We dined at a west African restaurant called Keur Rama. The food was quite good. I had le poisson fumé with a mysterious but delicious sauce.
    The restuarant had a T.V. in the corner and it was playing a soccer match broadcast from Italy. Manchester vs. an Italian team. James explained that they'd already tied 1-1 in Manchester. Goals scored away from home are worth slightly more than if you score at home. The game started quicky with Italy scoring 2 goals in a row. Then Manchester scored — a beautiful ricochet off a player's head.
    During dinner we talked a little about religion and how it affects childhood. Charlie's mother is a Lutheran minister; faith infused her upbringing. James focuses his faith towards football (soccer).
    When it was time to go to the concert, James lingered behind to watch the rest of the game. "I believe in soccer. I believe in worship!" He would meet us later at the concert.

Femi Kuti
We went to see Femi Kuti, known as Le Fils de Fela, (the son of Fela, a revered Nigerian musician.) The concert was held at the French Cultural Center, in an outdoor coutyard. I hadn't realized we were outside until a plane flew overhead.
    The concert was electric. Femi Kuti, who was in his 30's or early 40's, had enough energy to electrify all of Lomé! The back-up musicians played a terrific assortment of drums, bass, and brass instruments. Femi Kuti's played his alto sax, sang, danced and joked.
    At one point, Femi Kuti stepped of the stage and walked through the center aisle to the rear of the hall. The audience roared with approval. They also loved it when he spoke French.
    Eventually, Femi Kuti took off his shirt and performed the rest of the show glossy and topless. Oh, la, la!
    The show climaxed with Kuti's invitation to couples to show "how it is when a man takes his woman into the bedroom." Most of the couples danced sexily while Kuti played his alto sax. One couple, however, stole the show when the woman grabbed her man from behind and gyrated her hips against him. Another woman abandoned her man and started dancing in front of Kuti! The show was superb.
    After the concert, we joined some of the Copes' friends for drinks across the street at Boston Pub. (Funny name.) In addition to seeing Priya again (we'd met at yoga), we met a young French couple, Karl and Elizabeth.
    The conversation eventually switched to English. Brian later said that he would've preferred if people had continued to speak French, just slower. He didn't want English spoken just for his benefit. Charlie said later that they always end up speaking English because their French isn't fluent. In a group of 5 English speakers and 2 French, it made sense. •