How to make attaya

This was posted on the Friends of Senegal and The Gambia yahoo group, and I thought it was funny.

How to make attaya (traditional tea):

1. Send small boy over to Momodou to get the kettle and glasses.

2. Welcome Momodou for 5 minutes when he returns behind small boy.

3. Argue with Momodou, and Fatou who wandered over, about who is going to get the sugar.

4. Go knock on Toubabadu's door to ask for sugar but Toubabadu has gone to Kombo, again.

5. Return to house to find Momodou, Fatou and two of their friends.

6. Tell new arrivals that they need to go buy sugar, but they only speak Mandinka (or so they claim.)

7. Give the small boy the dalasi you finally wormed out of Fatou to buy the sugar.

8. Small boy returns with sugar from the bitiko and some Nice biscuits.

9. Send small boy off again to get coals from your mother, who is busy growing, harvesting, pounding and cooking your lunch.

10. Spend 45 minutes making attaya while everyone (Momodou, Fatou, 2 mandinkas, 3 small boys and 4 goats) tells you how you are doing it wrong.

11. Drink tiny glass of attaya with the 6 friends you didn't have before you bought the attaya.

12. Briefly have heated argument about whether Jammeh (president of The Gambia) is insane and then crash from sugar high to nap away afternoon.