October, ...already?

I dont think i have ever sat down and written everything that I have wanted to in an email or blog entry since comming to this country. Oh well, such is senegal, with a little luck i can get through this one here today.

Ramadan went, and it was ok. It is nice now that things are reutrning to thier 'usual' rhythm, not that there was ever really a pattern to the days. Like i had said before, I fasted for three days, not really anything crazy, the people in the village either thought it was good or they just didnt understand why I was doing it in the first place, or they often thought both at the same time. Otherwise, I had lunch on my own mostly, or with the kids and folks not fasting and didnt really do much.

The millet harvest has begun gradually. I went out with my brothers one day and it was really cool out in the fields with them and cutting millet candles from the stalks until my body gradually informed me that I was, in fact, allergic to something, no, everything that was in that field. I went out in the morning and the afternoon, had nice cool baths after each, sneezed my head off all day, my arms and hands were red and itchy. After dinner I had a benadryll and passed out.

I also have gone out to pick beans with my mom and aunt. That was pretty fun too and a good bonding moment with them. I am, as a matter of fact, not allergic to much in the bean fields, but my nose likes to run for fun anyway. While out there a couple peanut plants had been uprooted so we helped ourselves to the raw, fresh, moist peanuts. They taste and have a texture kinda like water chestnuts at that point, but they were a cute treat. The official peanut harvest doesnt begin for a little while yet and i am just trying to help with what i can, trying to learn as much as i can about the daily life month by month of the people of Louly.

Then Korite was last week, after the fast had ended. My family wanted me to dress up nicely so I ended up wearing my sabador (big fancy green outfit hangning next to my door in picture in my hut), but then once i was out and about, not really anyone else was wearing anything nearly as special. I guess the sereres are just too chill. I mean, dont get me wrong, they were not in just any old dirtly clothes, ;ostly clean t shirts and pants with only a few holes, i just kinda felt even more awkward than usual. The food was good though, the first time i have had chicken in the village, and it was a pretty fun day.

The next day was a funeral though in Mbour and so, dressed again in my fancy outfit i went out to sit awkwardly again, but at least with people just as dressed up as me. The guy who had died was a great-uncle of mine and they say he was around 100 years old. Also, his father's name was the same as my senegalese name, Ndiouma, so the constant joke around me was that my son had died and i should be more upset and go see the burial at the cemetery. I thought that was a bit much, but i offered my concolences and made small talk as best i could and made it back home in one piece.

Since then, only mild craziness in the village this weekend. I introduced the children to my frisbee, which has gotten the name 'ndig kaga', simply meaning 'that thing'. The older kids mostly think it is silly and takes away from valuable football time, the younger kids think it is hilarious and love to imitate the silly things that i do. I cant really kick a soccerball straight to save my life so i feel it could be a worthwile alternative. Then, at the summit of the random mountain, a group of students doing an exchange program in dakar came to stay in my village, at my house even, for the weekend. Most were senegalese students but two who came were americans. While they were supposed to be in a 'french emmersion' i was able to steal time with them to speak in english. They were really cool and it was an interesting diversion in the village and to some extent i got to help show them around and talk to them about life in rural senegal. We also had really good food in the village, and even a drum-dance thingy on saturday night that was really fun.

Gosh, well now, school is about to start next monday and i am getting started on some potential community projects - latrines may be a highlight in my future- and i am also starting in on a serere dictionary -so far over 200 verbs and the nouns are presenting many a challenge. It is still hot here, but the evenings have been noticably cool as made evidence by the lack of sweat-soaked sheets. Rains and winds and weeds and bugs glalore. I remain generally healthy and serere is gradually getting easier. French and wolof are whole other stories though. No dice.

well, i made it a whole two hours and no power outage, yay!
Peace.