We're moving...what>!>!>!?!!

My house v. 2.0

I take back all the information I offered about my house! When I got home from school today, my family had already begun the process of moving to a new house in a neighborhood called Mermoz. I was told at the beginning of my family stay that they would be moving, but I guess I missed the part where they said it would be today. I tried to ask my host brother on the first day, but he didn't seem to know when we would be going. Turns out, it was this evening. I got home from school, after walking for more than an hour down the muddy muddy Rue de Ouakam, and the house was pretty much empty! I stuffed everything in my backpack, Maman called a taxi, and we were off to the new house! This created much hilarity because I was entirely shocked and my mom couldn't think it was any funnier. She spent a lot of the cab ride talking about it. Actually, thinking about it now it is so funny. My face must have been hilarious. To make matters worse, though, I was an hour late from school because I waited for the rain to stop and apparently my mom never received the text I sent, so she was confused as to why I was taking so long! Good thing that people don't really seem to be in a hurry to do most things. Maman returned to the old house with Khadim to stay the night before they move everything else tomorrow, so I am in the new house with our maid, Moustapha, and his wife (whose name I can say, but couldn't ever imagine spelling without seeing it written down first- I think it may be spelled 'Jarra' but I really don't want to say that with any certainty). Moustapha made attaya (delicious as always. Minty and strong) and is still sitting and smoking his hookah like always. He is so friendly and always asks me how my day went. I feel a bit like a hermit when I am just around these three because I don't speak Wolof and they speak that all the time, but it is actually nice to just sit and think without feeling the need to join the conversation. The new house is very nice. It is similar to the last one: four bedrooms (of which I have only seen mine and my maman's...I have to use the bathroom that is attached to her room), two baths, a courtyard, sitting room, and kitchen. I like how open and connected the houses are around here. Everything flows nicely and it isn't a problem if things get wet or dirty because it is all tile and can be fixed in a second. It is nice that in this bathroom (as in the last one) the shower actually pours down on me. It is all cold water, but that is actually nice because it is so hot all the time. When you get out of the shower, the humidity attacks you and you never really dry off before you start sweating. That is alright by me though because lately it has actually been very nice. Even the most humid days feel like the scorchers we occasionally get in the midwest and WARC has air conditioning so the worst part has been the walking. I may be saying these things prematurely given that I have only had to deal with the heat a couple times, so I guess stay tuned to see if I change my mind about any of it soon!!! The only thing that is going poorly for me are my feet. My chacos have given me blisters for the first time, so I will have to switch to closed-toed shoes for awhile. Bummer since I love wearing my sandals, but when I am walking around all the time I guess I better keep it comfortable. It is super nice that this new house is only 30ish minutes from school, as compared to the hour and a little bit that it was before. I only had to do two days of that though so I should be glad!

To discuss food for awhile...

The food here is delicious! There is lots of chicken and fish, but I actually have had quite a bit of diversity chez moi. The meals are always served with some sort of grain/starch, usually rice, but french fries are offered to mix things up occasionally. This base is served with sauce, some vegetables, and meat. My family has served fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and fruit as well. The watermelon was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten! So refreshing. Right now everyone's schedules are wonky because of Ramadan. People wake up really early and eat breakfast at 5:30 in the morning before returning to sleep. They fast all day, and then at 7:30 pm (19:30), they break fast (there's a space there). My family (and I think others) break fast with dates. Then they drink instant coffee with lots of sugar and (at least at my house) eat eggs on french bread with cheese spread. I think this varies a lot between houses, but it is pretty good. Then two-ish hours later my family eats a full dinner! Sometimes it is much later though. My first night, my family ate dinner at nearly 11:00 pm (23:00---yes that late) and last night I went to bed around 23:00 and they hadn't eaten yet! My family eats with their (right) hands out of a communal bowl. This is the traditional way of doing meals, although I hear a lot of people use a more individualistic approach with separate plates and forks as well. Whenever I eat with the family, they always make fun of me for not eating anything (“mais...tu n'a pas mangé!”). I think the teasing is less extreme in my house than some (I am looking at you Joseph Whitson!) as my family seems to understand that I am serious when I say I am full and usually only ask me a few times. Meals/food/eating is an arena where Senegalese hospitality is very apparent. Meal times are communal and everyone is always well cared for.