and on the twelfth day ... she ate RICE

starting to worry slightly that it's only been twelve days here and i'm already getting sick of rice. that's not entirely true. i'm more sick of the idea of eating rice and what loading up on carbohydrates at 8pm is doing to my body than the rice itself. lately i've been picking off the toppings and eating around the rice, with a few spoonfuls of rice for good measure, and so not to offend the cooks. the fish is good for protein, but i have to just swallow without looking or thinking too much about it, and ignore the crunch of the small bones. slowly slowly, i'll get used to it.

but today, i had to come into fajara to register with the american embassy. and fajara has a supermarket, so i stopped and loaded up on TERRIBLE foodstuffs that included a jar of pringles (bbq flavored), animal crackers, a kitkat and a lemon fanta. never shop when you're hungry, they say. but my real aim of going to the supermarket was to find a tupperware container so that i can buy some fresh vegetables like cucumber, carrots and tomatoes and make myself a salad. i am desperate for some vegetables! they don't sell carrots and cucumbers everywhere, but the american peace corps guy i met showed me the stall in brikama where i can find them. and i'm hoping to find a few on my way back in serrakunda today.

the weekend at the hotel was lovely, if quiet, but that is exactly what i wanted. it was a small hotel (12 rooms) tucked away down the dusty streets of fajara and once-inside, was practically self contained with a pool and tropical trees surrounding the area, a restaurant, bar and even a book-swap. (though most of the books were in german). i got there on saturday afternoon and didn't leave all day. on sunday morning, i got up and went for a long walk down the beach, and then back to the hotel for breakfast, and then back to the beach to sit under a cabana and read and enjoy the waves crashing. very peaceful.

this is week two and it is the final week i am giving myself to piece things together and get things organized before i really jump in and GO here. tomorrow i am going to the school to talk about how i can be of use there and where they need me the most. i managed to run into the other english woman who teaches at the school full time in the bus garage in brikama yesterday, so she and i talked for about an hour about her experiences (mostly good) and what i can do. and it's going to be hard to know any more than that until i just get in there and start! but as i am attempting two projects while i'm here, the teaching and building up of the nursery school, i've decided to try to split my time with mon/wed/fri at the school and tue/thu working on the nursery school. apart from just building it, i also want to leave them with an idea of curriculum and how to run it so that they have a training manual for any new hires and/or volunteers.

ebrima's brother is in town from senegal staying in the compound and he continues to ask me to be his african wife. he is not the only one. i've had several offers. one even formally wrote me a note and handed it to me as i was leaving the school asking me to call him immediately and without haste because he would like that we get married straightaway if it would please me. (i should find the note and copy it here, it's actually quite funny!) but i don't know ... i think i'll hold out for a better offer! :)

the children in the compound continue to amuse me. i love them, they are the sweetest children - so loving and so generous and each with their own distinct personality. haddy is the oldest, at 8 years, and she is the mother of them all, barking orders and commanding respect in her tiny shrill voice. she is also a singer and is constantly teaching me new songs, and also loves to be photographed: 'meagan, you take picture of me now?' kumba and yabo are both 6 years, and equally as loving, though yabo is quieter in her affection. kumba has the most mischievous grin but is entirely respectful. and the little ones, all around 3-4 i would guess are equally as adorable. the way they play together, without crying, or fighting or competing. it's as if as early as 3 they understand the lesson ebrima spoke to me about the other day. 'today is for you, tomorrow is for me' ... when there are treats to be shared, they are shared equally, when someone is hurt, they all do the comforting. there is none of this 'me me me' 'mine mine mine' 'no no no' so commonly heard in western children. they are amazingly obedient.

that said, i have no idea what the women are yelling when they talk/yell - they could well be saying 'get your little ass over here or i'm going to smack you so hard ...' but i doubt that. sometimes sitting with them is like playing that game of watching foreign movies and self-dubbing. i can only imagine, based on their gestures, eyes, expressions and intonations, what they are possibly saying. and much of it would still probably get lost in translation.

jeneba asks me into her parlour every night after dinner. she has the parlour with sofas and chairs (think sutherland square sofas after about 10 years) and a TV and radio and all the amenities for evening entertainment. usually the teenage boys are in there, dancing and singing, and the girls sometimes dance too. dancing to african music from a warbled cassette. it's fun to watch them. but after awhile, i get tired, so i excuse myself and head to my room to read.

i'm still working out the relationships of everyone on the compound. each day i learn something new - but it's interesting to watch how they interact. the 'wives' seem to get on much better with each other and with the teenage boys, with whom they are probably closer in age, than with their husbands. in fact, what little i do see of the husband-wife interaction seems obligatory and somewhat stilted. and in fact, ebrima spoke to me today about his wife and how he is only married because his mother wanted him to have a wife because if you do not have a wife in africa, you are not a man and something must be wrong with you. he had a previous wife but she gave him troubles because she would go out to the dancehalls until 2am. so they separated. i can't imagine i'll understand african relationships in the 3 months i'm here, but slowly slowly, i'm trying to ask questions, without appearing nosy. when i asked jeneba what she thought when she first saw her (arranged) husband, she said 'nothing. i did not think anything.' which, in itself, was quite telling, i thought.

in any case, i must slowly make my way back to the village. fortunately, i have not discovered that i am impatient person. in fact, i am growing used to waiting for everything. waiting without exasperation. won't i be the model customer at the milwaukee DMV?

until next time ... xx