Who doesn't love a little Bob Marley?

So picture this....you are sitting in a little amphitheater that is line on all sides by palm trees. As you look ahead you barely notice the band on stage against the breathtaking backdrop of palm trees against clear skies, smattered with a few fluffy white clouds, and sprinkled with bright shiny stars. A cool breeze and some amazing Bob Marley hits from the live band made last night amazing.
May 11 is the anniverasry of Bob Marley's death, and, as one of our translators said, "if you are African and speak english you have to love Bob Marley." The french cultural center here has a concert in commemoration of this day each year. A group of us girls from the ship went and really had no idea what to expect. We were just told there would be lots of people and live bands playing Bob Marley songs. Honestly, we all were thinking we need to stay together and be safe since any big groups in Africa can get out of hand at the blink of an eye. When we got to this venue though it was a really nice outdoor amphitheater and a wonderfully fun and relaxing night....just lots of people chilling and listening to some good music...and of course as the night went on everyone was on their feet dancing to the music. They even played some of Marley's songs in the local languages...very cool.
We were very sad we had to leave at 1015 to be back by our 1030pm curfew here on the ship. Howere I am happy we didn't leave any sooner or we would have missed the very important community health demonstration. In between bands a group of community health workers got on stage and had a wooden penis (the kind you can buy at the local craft market...not kidding) that they proceded to use to demonstrate how to put a condom on for HIV/ disease awareness. We all just stood there with our mouths open. It was pretty funny. Welcome to Africa.... You just never know what you're gonna get to experience!:) It really did not suprise me though, considering how open they are with public health. In Liberia too, you would see semi graphic billboards with a man raping a woman saying something about how rape is bad, or others about safe sex, or knowing you and your partner's HIV status. You sure wouln't see these posters, billboards, or demonstrations in the states...but it is good that they are so open with it here and really are working hard to educate people.
Anyway, it ended up being one of those random gems of a night that I will stay in my memory. I guess there are concerts on a pretty regular concert at the same place, so I'll have to make my way back again:)