Chatting with Alphonse

Someone once told me that whenever you are somewhere you don’t speak the language for a long time the children will become your best friends. Some shit about how children are free of prejudice. She was talking about her experiences in some indigenous village somewhere in Latin America. I was skeptical of the generalization. I remember being a child, and children are cruel, mean creatures that are often the MOST prejudiced members of any society. Yet she was right. After three months here my best friend is a shy, passive, skinny nine year old boy, Alphonse. We play hide-and-seek, and soccer and wrestle. In addition to being a physical work out, hanging out with him also makes me have to think too. He makes me bust out the English-French dictionary when he asks me random questions like “Why do the Arabs make war on America?” and “Can I keep a star? What would happen if I tried putting one in my pocket? Would I lose it?” And of course there are lots of questions about Michael Jackson, like this one earlier today:

Did Michael Jackson ever come to Dakar?

I don’t know. I doubt it.

But I saw him. When I was a child.

Alphonse you are still a child.

When I was like 3 or 4 y.o.

And you remember that?

Yeah, he had his hair like this (arching his arms over his head in the shape of an afro).

Michael Jackson stopped being black before you were born.

Are you sure there are not two Michael Jacksons?

Yes.