Well, I have done it again! And I really have achieved happiness

After swearing that I wasn’t going dancing this weekend, I went dancing Saturday night. And let’s just say that it was my second best night dancing here in Gaborone.

The afternoon started with a visit poolside with the Dingwa brothers, Lawrence & Lesley, and Chenai. The plan was concocted to attend the Alliance Française of Gaborone’s la Fête de la Musique, which was taking place that afternoon and evening at Botswanacraft.

The afternoon started with a visit poolside with the Dingwa brothers and Chenai. Once we had officially concocted our plans for attending the Fête de la Musique, I did a quick change into dancing outside suitable clothing. Our first stop was at Railpark Mall for Chenai to pick up jeans and top to wear as well.

Let me just say that shopping with the Dingwa brothers is certainly an experience. As one of those females that is does not enjoy shopping I tend to only hit the malls when I have a purpose/need to. However, as Lawrence always seems to manage with me,  my perspective has changed. Lesley deserves credit too! Both of these brothers have impeccable style but don’t tell them I said so.

While waiting for Chenai as she browsed and tried on jeans, I alternated between dancing around the aisles with Lesley to the music playing overhead to them selecting items that they thought would suit me. Truthfully I haven’t had this much fun shopping in a long while. Other than being caught enthusiastically dancing between the racks  in the Jet store no serious harm was done. And I had the delightful experience of being blinged out by the Dingwa brothers who chose and purchased a sparkly silver, feather and rhinestone necklace and silver bracelets to adorn me. Now I really was ready for a late afternoon and night of dancing!

But we had one more stop to make. Chenai needed to change into her new outfit so we made a quick pit stop in Block 9 at a fellow Zimbabwean’s house for her to change. And yet again, I left my distinctive trademark on the neighborhood. Our hosts were outside with great music playing on their car stereo. You guessed it, Cheryl just had to get the ball rolling with a dance pre-party. While that was not such a bad thing….the problem was that this house was situated at the end of the street in what would be considered an African cul-de-sac. Directly across from the yard that we were in were two Combi vehicles, their drivers and other men just hanging out. Guess who got a perfect view of the performance?

Once again I can only marvel at Lawrence’s continued commitment to be seen in public with me, let alone introducing me to his friends and families. Talk about a sucker for punishment.

But the night was just getting started. Off to Botswanacraft and the promise of 30 different musicians, bands and DJs awaited. Upon arrival we met by one of my favorite dance partner’s Richard (remember my dance fest at the wedding in Mochudi? https://cheryljdalziel.com/2013/04/11/my-saturday-in-mochudi/). Richard makes the perfect dance companion that is for sure! and he was about to earn a gold star for his efforts that night.

While la Fête de la Musique was great after several hours we were inspired to move on for more serious dancing leaving the crowd of hundreds behind for a more manageable dance floor. My hero Richard knew just the place, a little club near Broadhurst that truly delivered.

I can only say that my pursuit of happiness was answered a hundredfold. As Richard promised, the place was clean (even the toilets thank heavens!), the music was fantastic and a dance floor made for dancing. I was barely up the stairs when I burst onto the dance floor in full rocking mode – yes, the music was that good! Although I was the first person on the dance floor, I was by no means the only one. I was quickly joined by the other members of our gang.

What contributed to making this such a spectacular evening was the fact that I never once danced alone. In fact, I had the fun of multiple dance partners and let me tell you competition was fierce. What woman wouldn’t enjoy dancing with two or more handsome men at once. And dance I did. For an old white chick I held my own lasting on the dance floor as long as or longer than my dance partners who were mostly twenty and thirty year olds.

This night was also an epiphany for me. I will never again say that I am not a good dancer. My dance abilities have obviously improved vastly since my arrival in Botswana almost nine months ago. I am now confident that I can hold my own on the dance floor with my African friends. Several of my male dance partners complimented my dance abilities and coached me on new (and I might add sexy) dance moves. I was also complimented by several women who said they wanted to become my friend because I was so awesome. I also secretly enjoyed the moves of one woman in particular whose jealousy of me getting the attention of dancing with three or more young handsome men at once caused her to move in on our territory. Sadly for her she came up empty handed.

Never satisfied, I can’t wait to plan my next dance outing, which will have to include my usual dance companions Sheila and Erin, who sadly were not part of this weekend’s outing. Don’t worry ladies, there is more where that came from! The pursuit of dance happiness will never be completed but every moment is to be enjoyed!!! And now I know a good place to start the party…..