“This is just so Cliché”

Today was the last day of classes for adults. Because some new volunteers had come in last week, I was no longer teaching an adult class. I went to school anyway though because I had to practice for the ceremony on Thursday. I am doing a song with Katie (an Irish volunteer who can really sing) and Bashir (a Senegalese guy who loves to play guitar and make music) about AIDS. As it was so hot on Tuesday, we decided to go up on the roof to practice. This was my first time on a roof in Senegal, and the view was simply spectacular. It was about 6pm, so the sun was just about to start setting and you go to see this beautiful orange glow. Bashir, Katie, and I started practicing our song. Because the night classes don’t start until around 6:30pm, a bunch of the students and teachers came up onto the roof to watch us play. Soon we had everyone singing with us for the chorus “Take care, of your life, anyway. If not, AIDS will take, it away.” After our performance I handed over the guitar to Bashir who wanted to practice a new song with Katie. I walked over to the side of the roof to watch the sunset with one of the other volunteers, Krista. The sunset looked absolutely stunning. Krista turned to me and said “Look at us! We are playing guitar, on a roof, at sunset. This is just so cliché.” I laughed, but she was definitely right. I must have seen a scene like this in at least twenty different movies. But then again, who actually gets to live out those scenes in real life?