I Love My A PHI!!!

There were a lot of good things that happened this week. But the only one I feel like writing about right now is how on Saturday I had the esteemed pleasure to watch the probate of new line of Alpha Phi Alpha’s Tao Omicron chapter at Davidson College. Thanks to the wonders of technology, and the kindness of my friend Emily (who I’m going to buy a steak for when I get back to school) I was able to watch the probate via Skype video from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Emily brought her computer to the show, and got there early to make sure that she (and I for that matter) had prime seating. 

I’ll admit that when Emily and I came up with this idea, I didn’t know if the Senegalese and Davidson wireless – both of which have tendencies to not work when you most need them – would allow me to really get a good look of the show. I wasn’t pleasantly surprised however, when the quality of the video was near perfect. I could see everything just as if I was there.

The probate was scheduled to start at 10:06, but like most probates, it didn’t start until around 10:45. The time difference from the East Coast to Senegal is 4 hours. Not horrible considering where I am, but I felt kind of shady walking to the University’s library at 2 in morning. I knew that the library closed at 11 p.m., so the day before I told the guard there of my plans and bribed him with a kilo of clementines. With the sweet scent of citrusy fruit in his hands, he was more than happy to bend the rules for me.

Since I was online about an hour before the show started, I was “there” before most other people got there. So when people began assembling outside of the Union for the show, and saw this girl in the front row sitting with a Macbook on her lap an hour before the show, they naturally went over to see what was up. Much to their surprise, they saw my face covering the entire screen. People went crazy. This ended up being a common theme for the next hour. People would come up and I would hear (“Emily, what are you doing with your laptop out here – OMG it’s Clint!” I loved it, and was great to get to see so many people whose faces I haven’t seen in a while. When I heard the screaming and chanting ensue at around 10:45 p.m. (2:45 a.m. Dakar time) I knew it was time to sit back and watch the show.

The Phive Pillars of Phrozen Elevation, as the line is known, handled their business just like I knew they would. It was the best show our chapter has ever had. As much as I love being here and Dakar, this was the one time this semester that I really wanted to be back at school. Shout outs to the Neos and welcome to the Pham: Damion Samuels, Justin Hua, PK Kyei, Eddison Wilkinson, and Jordan Starck.

A PHI A ‘til the day I die!!!