Algeria was pretty much a day run – arrive in Algiers (the main city) in the morning, go to the hotel to check in, go to the theatre, rehearse, perform, go to a quick reception, then back to the hotel, sleep and leave the next day. As we drove through the streets of Algiers I was struck by how few women I saw walking along the streets. The streets were crowded – just not with women. Those women that I did see were all dressed in identical outfits with one of their hands clutching their veil closed under their nose. I sank down on the bus seat and sighed. Another Muslim country where the dogs were worth more than I was. The men in Algiers seemed more aggressive than usual so it was decided that it would be safer for all of us if we did not leave the theatre for meals. Going to the hotel for a meal was out of the question – because it was about twenty kilometers away. Food (a couple of roast chickens and some oranges) was arranged to be brought to us at the theatre where we had to remain for the rest of the day. The theatre in Algiers was old and infested with cockroaches. And when I say infested – I mean infested. They were everywhere! They filled the bathrooms, covered the walls and were imbedded in the upholstered dressing room chairs. There was no safe place to sit. We ended up constructing clotheslines across our dressing rooms where we could safely hang our costumes until we needed them. All our precautions failed. Mid-performance, Lorraine started gyrating. A cockroach had found its way into her leotard and was desperately trying to escape its entrapment. It gave us all a good laugh.
Returning to the hotel, we decided to redo the roommate list. Normally, the women roomed together, as did the men. However, most of the company women were uneasy in Algeria (the whole worth less than a dog thing) so everyone decided to pair up boy/girl for the night. Every woman would have her own personal protector. I roomed with Brian. As we lay down to go to sleep, I looked over at Brian. Skinny, effeminate Brian – my best friend. “You know honey, if someone breaks into this room, I’ll probably have to be the one who fights them off of you.” Brian chuckled in agreement and turned over to go to sleep. The next morning the company gathered in the lobby to leave. Although our bus call wasn’t until early afternoon, the entire group was ready to leave at seven o’clock in the morning. This truly was the first time that no one was late for the call. How desperate were we to leave? The entire group sat in the lobby all morning long – waiting.
Finally we got to the airport. While standing in the ticket line, I ran into trouble. The man behind me in line kept moving closer – until I could feel his breath on my neck. His hand moved to my hip and slowly began to caress my butt. OK, you’re a foreigner in a strange country and you get into an altercation with a native. The police show up. So who do you think is going to come out of this one on top? Take in consideration the whole woman versus dog thing…and you get my dilemma. I thought a moment and did what I thought was a brilliant course of action. I pretended that someone called my name and I abruptly swung around (with as much force as possible) and knocked the man to the ground with my ever present, shoulder-held and incredibly heavy dance bag. I then turned to the man with a look of dismay, batted my eyes at him and apologized for my clumsiness. Problem solved.