Due to some administrative problems at the middle school in Kourou that are continually postponing the first day of school I am now on the move again and changing sites to Dalaba. Dalaba is the first town you hit on the road between Mamou and Labe and happens to be the exact opposite of Kourou. I will have access to electricity, constant cell service and best of all A DAILY MARKET aka control over what I eat! I do have to admit it’s a difficult change. Even after a mere 3 weeks at site, the idea of living in a town is daunting and somewhat overwhelming. Especially since I will now being teaching classes almost ten times the size of what I would have seen in Kourou. That being said I am excited for the conveniences that will be available and most of all I am excited to start working because sitting idle has been a dreadful thing.
Since I am changing to such a drastically different site I count myself lucky to have been able to experience the agriculture lifestyle of Kourou. It really is something else to live out in the middle of nowhere, dependent on the land and completely unaware of what’s happening in the world. I have so many stories that I would love to share but in an attempt to spare you from a terribly long blog entry I have decided to instead simply share with you the different blog titles that I had come up with in the hopes of one day posting. If you find any of them particularly intriguing feel free to leave a comment, send me (or my dad) an email, write me a letter or ask me in 2 years time... I’ll be more than happy to share. I have been keeping a journal detailing everything that happens so I will always have the stories readily at hand.
Alrighty then, here they are:
Babies Carrying Babies- a commentary on the babies in my compound, including how they are raised, hygiene issues (peeing and pooping stories mostly) and how they are generally left to their own devices
Guide to Greetings in Pular- key lines to either get you out of the never-ending salutation process or to impress
Hadia, Hadia, Hadia… Naa- a commentary on the impressive hearing of the villagers as well as interesting little social habits I observed (such as waiting to be called three times before bothering to respond- hence the title)
The Pump: Ettiquette and Survival- a plethora of pump stories even after just 4 or 5 trips to the pump
Living in a Polygamist Family- a compilation of my observations living in a family of one husband, three wives and 23 children including comments of the interactions, house situation and fiscal habits
Where Your Second Hand Clothing Goes- self explanatory?
A Day in the Life of Hadiatou Diallo- a day in the life of one of the girls in my compound who balances going to primary school and semi-raising her siblings
Thursday: Market and Cinema Day- a commentary on the charms and difficulties of a once a week market and video club
I am guarding three other titles because I anticipate they will be topics that come up again. Anyway I will leave it at that. I am currently in Labe waiting for my house to be prepared in Dalaba. I can’t wait to (hopefully) finally settle down! But for now I’m going to bask in the luxury of internet :)
(ps- Comments should now be working!)
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