T A B L E_T A L K What travel essentials can you not do without? Make a list in the Wanderlust area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y Absinthe makes the heart grow By Taras Grescoe On a pilgrimage in Barcelona's bohemian barrio (04/22/98) Seduced and sated in Costa Rica By J. Kingston Pierce From morphos and macaws to coatimundi and poison-arrow frogs, this tiny Central American country offers a mind-altering overabundance of wildlife (04/21/98) Running with the bulls By Andrew Taber Horny tradition: Dodging pissed-off bovines in southern France (04/20/98) Road Warrior By Brent Gregston Frankfurt: Where to eat, stay and play (04/17/98) Mondo Weirdo An unforgettable introduction to Beijing (04/16/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Passages archives		africa solo____ A filmmaker learns a lesson on giving from _________ three small children in the heart of West Africa. [ E X C E R P T ] FROM "AFRICA SOLO" BY KEVIN KERTSCHER STEERFORTH PRESS 258 PAGES NONFICTION [Editor's Note: In need of a break from American life, filmmaker Kevin Kertscher packed up a backpack and set out to cross the African continent. The following is an excerpt from his book, "Africa Solo," recording his journeys.] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BY KEVIN KERTSCHER | For six days Henri and I moved slowly towards Niamey, trying to sell car parts along the way. In every town Henri seemed to know some strange and disreputable character -- usually a European who had crossed the vague line between native and foreigner. Though most of them would probably have been in jail if they had stayed in France or Belgium or Germany, here they lived like petty lords. "Come to Africa, be a king," seemed to be their motto. Though there were few fences anywhere in Niger, these expatriates always had big gates, full-time guards, and cook/maids rushing around their three-room homes. They all held a condescending view of the Africans that at times was outright disdain. "You can't trust them to do anything right the first time," they would say, or, "They have no concept of time. A day is a minute to them." These shop owners and tradesmen and black marketeers would greet Henri as a comrade-in-arms and then try to maneuver and exploit him in the most amicable way. They all seemed to have the same deep corruption and loneliness that he had, and they would take him in as kin for a few hours and then be glad to send him on his way. I sat in on some of these meetings, but often I would just roam around the town a bit, or watch the cars as I read or wrote under some tree. Whenever we stopped in a village, kids would appear. They would crowd around my car so that I could barely open the door. And then they would follow me wherever I went asking for "gifts." "Monsieur, cadeau! Cadeau!" they would yell, holding out their hands to me and to Henri. "I'm famous all over Africa," Henri joked. "Everywhere I go they call out to me. But they all think my name is Mister Cadeau." N E X T+P A G E+| Reversal of fortune