It was nice to see that the CD player I gave Ma'alem Seddik last year is still in good working order and being used regularly. Apparently, someone made him a bunch of copies of old American music as when he put on a CD, something smooth jazzy and definitely from the 80's, and I asked, "Who's that?" he said, "I don't know," and handed me a stack of CDs. I flipped through them, seeing everything from Supertramp to the Beatles, most whom he had never heard of. I picked out the Beatles and said, "This one is good. Try this." It was surreal for me to be sitting in his wood shop listening to the Beatles but nice to hear English and completely understand. I translated the lyrics into French when the guys asked me what McCartney was singing about.
I was able to give Najib and Sidi Mohammed their CDs and both lit up when I did so. It gives me such great pleasure to be able to do something nice for the guys/men there. Then later, towards the end of the evening, I went back into the music room and started playing around on the guimbri, Hassan showing me a couple licks and tricks. At one moment, during a song, I heard Petit Sayd chuckling and peeking around from the workshop room to watch me play. "Ma'alema Tamara!" he said. When I left, Ma'alem Seddik gave me some nice encouraging words about my playing. I don't feel shy playing around just a few of the older men there; in fact, it's probably good for them to see me trying to play, even if I'm still a debutante, so that they know I'm serious and not just coming there to hang out.
