la rhume

11/20/2008

Hi Folks,

Its been too long since i've written and this is going to be short so sorry bout that. I seem to have attrapp-ed la rhume (that pure franglais baby...it means i have a cold) and possibly an eye infection, so here i am, the un-healthy health volunteer spouting health advice to people and sniffling. I'm told its the "saison du vent" (windy season) and everyone gets sick now, which certainly seems to be the truth given that its been insanely ridiculously windy all day every day for the past week, and everyone at my house has the sniffles (these things travel fast in the land of the communal cup, bowl, tea casse, everything). Its also evidently the season of eye infections, i was warned, i reluctantly gave up my contacts and picked up my sunglasses so that now i stumble around in blurry darkness, and still i seem to have a slight unhappiness in my left eye. It's not hard to see how this could have come about in a land where waste management doesn't really exist and its not uncommon to find both the feces and the bones of various animals in any given square foot of ground, when the winds pick up its not just sand they're blowing in your eyes if you know what i mean.

Still, its hard not to remain positive in the land of so many friends! I have millions of friends, i made three more on the way here. I made three friends, received one dinner invitation, and was told twice by random people that they will be returning to the US with me. A friend came over last night, he was a friend of my host brothers first but now i think he might come over half to see my brother and half to pester me, and he told me that i read too much and need to talk all the time so that i will speak pulaar in two months. Why you ask? So we can get married of course! A friend found me on my way to work yesterday and invited me to his house, me and any other white female friends i might like to bring along. I have gotten 4 business cards, 3 phone numbers, 2 dinner invitations, and a partridge in a pair tree since the last time i wrote an email. Everyone is just so friendly! Its weird though, they all seem to be men. Okay, so i'm not really this naive, i get phone numbers because i refuse to give out mine, i get dinner invitations for my friends because i refuse to go and they think if i can bring a friend i'll be more likely to come, and i never actually got a partridge in a pear tree through it would have been a nice gesture. Its not easy to make female friends here, mostly because the women work constantly, and the mens sole household chore seems to be making tea, the nature of which is purely social anyway. I drink 15 or so tiny cups of tea a day and talk in some interesting combination of languages with men during all my free time. This has been very informative and from our talks i have learned how to effectively stave off marriage proposals, at least for the time being. I HATE KIDS. that all you have to say. Men here want wives for the sole purpose of keeping their house and raising their children and as i am an american who can barely wash clothes let alone cook who doesn't want children, i am virtually unwanted...unless i can bring them to the states with me, then they might be willing to compromise. I love getting all womens rightsy on them, evoking the children debate and reminding them that as men than can have no possible comprehension of what childbirth is like and therefore have no right to tell me i have to have children, men here aren't used to women who stand up for themselves. "No babies for me, no thank you" works better than "I have a finace" or "i'm married" here. Interesting.

Thats all for now,
I have to go do some work or something now, Love and miss you all!

Shelby