Foreign countries seen from a distance: 2 New babies in the village: 2 Months it took me to figure out what the two-year-old girls say when they curse at each other: 9.5 Screaming matches between co-wives: 1 Minimum number of times the generator was run for the sole purpose of charging the family cellphone: 1 [...]
One year ago today, my stage arrived in Senegal. I don’t have anything particularly profound to say about this—it’s the first big milestone, but in two months we’ll hit the one year at site mark, and after that it’s all really just a countdown to COS. (I hear time keeps speeding up, especially in that [...]
In my village, keeping up with the Joneses means keeping up with the Bahs: a few years ago the chief’s son sent money from Spain for a concrete block, tin roof batiment, so last year my family knocked down a row of huts and built their own batiment. Batiments aren’t particularly superior to huts—water seeps [...]
One of my dad’s cousins, Jodie, recently made a trip to Bay St. Louis and Waveland, Mississippi, with his wife Suzanne and her sister; they were bringing supplies to Suzanne’s brother, who lives there. He emailed photos to friends and family afterwards. The images are heart-breaking—bricks and foundations are all that’s left of some buildings. [...]
Today is the first chance I’ve had to check the news on Hurricane Katrina. I’m stunned and heartsick. It seems that what the storm left of New Orleans will soon be destroyed by the survivors. As far as I know, all my Louisiana friends and family are OK—Baton Rouge wasn’t affected nearly as badly as [...]
Village men who work abroad (in Spain) currently visiting the village: 1 Goats killed in his honor: 5 Typical meals per day during the rainy season: 4 Number of those meals that consist solely of milk and couscous: 2 Kilos of rice for one meal for the household and for the household + guests, respectively: [...]