new normal

21 April 2009
In the last blog, I talked about getting into a routine. It occurred to me that routine includes some things I would have thought pretty bizarre just a few months ago, 7 to be exact.

The List
• Sweating constantly, day and night
• Wearing the same clothes for a week
• Hours of free time everyday
• Washing my hair twice a week, maybe
• Washing half of my laundry, then doing the other half a few days later, when my hands have healed
• Having the same exchange about 20 times a day
o mbrike? (what is there?)
o Anta (nothing)
o kuy kuy aya? (are you good?)
o kuy kuy dagay (it’s good)
• Having to remember in what language to greet certain people, French, Fulfulde, or Guiziga
• Greeting everyone, always, even in the city
• Holding babies in church, on the bus to the market, but only the ones who don’t scream when they are near me
• Sitting at other people’s houses, not talking and not feeling awkward
• Watching my friend Lowal cook couscous and sauce, then eating her, her grandmother, and little cousin off the same plate, finishing by asking for the bowl of water to wash the food off my hands and saying to le, or that’s enough
• Kids playing cards in the “living room” while I read, marveling that I can pay attention with the noise, which is usually shouts of I ca du!, or I am going to hit you!
• “Work” consisting of meetings, visiting people, and random conversations, over beans and beignets or waiting for a car
• Going shopping always including arguing, very politely, with the vendor, for anywhere from 5-45 minutes, and always finding out later I paid too much
• “Exercising” involving pumping water, carrying water, and biking to the paved road for food and to charge my phone

I am running out of things to say, can you tell?