The Gentlemen's Scrabble Club

Malik, my host brother, invites me to his friend's house on Saturday night to chill . I have no idea what to expect, but mostly a bunch of dudes sitting around playing poker and smoking cigars . We walk into the house right around the corner from the beach, and I immediately love it - we're at "The Professor's" house, with a patio that is covered by a grass canopy with pillows and mats spread out . At a little card table, these two old men are playing not poker, but Scrabble. I immediately think of Mom and Aunt Amy battling it out for Champion of Scrabble. Malik introduces me to The General, who is probably fifty plus, with little spectacles, a bald head and a great wheezing laugh. He's playing against Cheikh, also known as Le Colonel. I meet Zappo, Diallo, Lando, DJ, who all live in the neighborhood and are musicians that repeat and play together every night. The atmosphere is chill and cool and "à l'aise" as they say in French. I join The General and Cheikh at the card table, where they sit for hours, smoking one Excellence cigarette after another and battling over French words that most I've never even heard of . As soon as Malik walks in, he sits down and takes score . Between all the guys here, who are all different ages, different backgrounds, different ethnicities and different work, but they all come together at The Professor's house on the weekend to play music, play Scrabble and discuss (and smoke a few joints here and there). Im enraptured the whole time to see this tight knit group, who are so nice and friendly with each other .for example, Zappo does everything to make sure that everyone is comfortable and has what they need, even if we're not at his house.
Later, we all go down to the beach and bring guitars, djembes, tam tams and percussion and play for hours. Once again, I feel like rhythm and music is flowing through me and my foot doesnt stop tapping .
The guys remind me over and over again "On est ensemble" or in Wolof "No farr" which is their way of saying "We're friends and we're in this together." Big Mo and Lando tell me that they are brothers, because there's a certain point in a friendship when you bypass friendship and become brothers. I also meet Laye, a doctor in the Senegalese army - we talk about Socrates philosophy and go on for hours talking about history, colonization and philosophy. I think I've found my new hangout spot.