On feeling like a fool and a pig: Day 2 at site*

I woke up today without needing to be woken up! I even managed to get a little privacy from the family’s latrine by tying my sheet to my “shade structure.”

Now, Clarification on that. Yesterday I was still asleep by the time the sun had fully risen, this is not how it works apparently because my host dad decided to wake me up. Next clarification, there is a section of fence missing that closes of my back yard from the rest of the compound. This particular missing section also happens to block my view of the family latrine from my outside bedding spot. I get my own latrine in my backyard by policy, which is really nice for sanitary reasons (although I suspect someone used mine last night). Final bit of clarification, yes, I do sleep outside. The inside of my hut has been maintaining a fairly constant 100ºF (according to the thermometer hanging from the wall, so this is really a more accurate description of the wall’s temperature), as such I have spent the last 2 nights sleeping under my “shade structure.” The quotes are because it really provides more of a Shade Grid since it is only the bamboo framing that will one day hold a roof and provide me with shade and rain blocking. The fact that it doesn’t provide shade doesn’t matter at night, and I’m willing to risk getting wet to sleep where it is cooler. I still wake up sweating though. Anyway, last night, I hung up my bed sheet to act as a temporary fence so I don’t have to worry about peeking in on anyone using the latrine.

The day started slow, my host dad disappeared early; apparently running off to Mali, possibly for a funeral. So helpful neighbor boy came over and tried talking to me in French only (if you aren’t aware, my French is very limited to survival phrases). After a while he pulled me over to his family compound, I greeted his mother and the woman who was visiting, then he and I started to pull apart mango pits to get at the seeds so I could plant them. (only 485 to go). After that I decided to take a walk over to the school to check on the status of the well there and if I might be able to plant some trees there.

Still needs to be dug deeper, the pile of rocks behind throws me off every time.

On my way there I greeted everyone I passed, which led to only one attempted conversation… luckily I had prepared by reviewing the word for ‘well’ and have already mastered the verb ‘to go’ in Malinke (both slightly different than Mandinka).

Lunch was plain rice with peanut sauce - tasty, but feels like a side more than a meal. Since dad was apparently in Mali it was up to me as the oldest to do the work. I waved this duty on to my oldest brother (about 10 years old) since this was only my second lunch with the family. So he split the rice in half and poured the sauce onto the half that remained in the bowl and we started eating. We finished the first half and my youngest brother left the bowl. We’re down to me and the oldest brother… he reloads the bowl with the second half of rice, peanut sauce is poured on, and we continue eating. Well, I continue eating. He took one handful and left the bowl for me, so I at it, all of it. I’ll be honest, it was only difficult for my last two spoons full.

After lunch I decided it was time for another walk… to the hill with the supposed cell phone reception (reso). I found the hill, not the reso. Making my mother proud I decided not to double back and took a new route home. I made an effort to take a few of the conversations past greetings a few times. There were 2 main themes to these conversations 1) I am not the volunteer I replaced, he is in Kedougou; 2) I only speak a little French, but I am studying Malinke (little by little).

This endeavor made me simultaneously proud of my efforts and embarrassed of my language skills. Case in point was the teenage girl helping to make dinner with her family saying in broken English, “You do not like the English do you?” I’m sure this was her saying that I don’t speak English… well I do, I just can’t understand mumbles, sorry.

So, I returned home feeling proud and inadequate so I poured water over my head to cool off.

FUN NEW PRACTICE: Bucket Bathe into a benwar (big bucket) and use that to water the plants in my backyard! **I’m pretty sure one is a Baobob!

Then it was dinner time: millet couscous with leaf sauce. SO tasty that even now that host dad is back I decided to continue eating twice as long as everyone else. It’s good, because then I feel like a pig for eating a lot at the same time as I lose all kinds of weight because I have no protein in my diet.