merci, Mariam!

Mariam and I met in 1997 when she came from Paris to spend a year at NYU.  Yesterday we sat in a cafe on campus and marveled at how much has changed—on campus, in our lives.  We’ve both lost our fathers; we both want a transnational life; we both cherish moments of solitude.  I spent last night listening to the amazing CDs Mariam gave me as a gift—Rokia Traore’s Tchamantché (which means “balance”) and Didi Bridgewater’s Red Earth: a Malian Journey.  Can’t get “Dounia” out of my mind…makes me yearn for fall.