About two years ago I had the most surreal cassette tape moment ever. I was doing grad school research in a little village in North Eastern Sierra Leone. We had traveled by land rover more than six hours past the end of the paved road, along dirt tracks, to an area where electricity and running water were still only figments of our imagination. The sun was going down and the only lights remaining were from the cooking fires across the village. When all of a sudden our driver popped his "Shakira" tape into the pickup's stereo and this group of kids started to swing their hips. And did they ever have some moves!! I'm not sure what surprised me more, hearing Shakira after listening to Celine Dione for ALL of the 6+ hours out there:), or watching music so swiftly supersede culture and traditions.
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