My New Home

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This morning I woke up knowing I had spent my last night in air-conditioning for 4 months. We had some more orientation and a Wolof class, but the big event of the day was meeting our families. It was so nerve-racking, wondering what the house would be like, the people, the food…

We had to meet in the auditorium at 5, where the families came and heard a little speech, then left with their Toubabs (white people). Well at least some of them did. 5:30 passed. 6 passed. 6:30 passed. There were three of us left homeless. It turns out that my (and Lauren’s) family thought we were being dropped off at the house, so she didn’t know to pick us up. But Hayden was worse off, the coordinator accidentally wrote down one family as two, so she really is homeless. Eventually our host mom found us and brought us home, and Hayden too. So right now there are three of us in my house, but Hayden will be leaving eventually.

Our host mom is so nice! My new last name is Cisse, in case anyone is wondering. She’s laughs a lot and is really patient. She keeps asking us if we want to eat or sleep or shower, and she told us to treat this as our home. She was asking me how I was doing, and I said something along the lines of good, but I miss my mom. She said, “How can you miss your mom, I’m right here!” Sorry mommy… 😊

I haven’t decided about my host dad though. He’s super-Muslim. He asked us what classes we were taking, and Lauren and I told him we were taking History of Islam. He told us that there was no way we would understand Islam because we weren’t “believers”. Then he asked us repeatedly why we were taking the class and didn’t listen when we tried to answer. Then he spent a large chunk of dinner telling us about his trip to Mecca. I mean it was all really interesting, but it did freak me out a little. We’ll see how it plays out.

There are a couple other people who live here, but we haven’t really met them yet. I think there may be some kids here. Everyone else seems to live on the first floor while Lauren and I live on the second. I’m kind of confused, but that’s just the way stuff works here. Houses are open, with people moving in and out and visiting all the time.

Dinner was yummy. Shockingly, I like a lot of the food here. Some of it is spicy and onion-y, but a lot of it is just fish and rice and oily stuff. For my first meal at my home stay, I ate a scary-looking piece of fish (with big long fried fins), bread, and couscous. Plus there’s plenty of fruit available. They laughed at me when I asked if I could have another apple after dinner, which I took as a good sign.

My bedroom is nice, but it’s hard to get used to sharing a room. I haven’t done that since 3rd grade. It has pretty yellow covers (for JQ- that’s a confiture) with matching curtains. Lauren and I each have a twin bed and we share a fan. It is so so hot at night, even with the fan. I kept waking up, probably because I was drowning in my own sweat. Yuck.

All in all, I’m pretty excited. If I can just get to where I can sleep in the heat, I think I’m going to like living here.

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Photos

Bathroom
This is our bathroom. Their isn't really a shower, just a showerhead and a drain on the floor. I always soak the whole room.

My Bed
This is my bed. I took this picture on the first day, so it's a bit messier now.

Comments

[Kathy Howell]

WOW!
It seems this place is very interesting, but better you. I think I will stay right here in good ole Chattanooga, Tennessee. I am glad to hear that you like the food. That is a biggie!! Ryan's roommate only lasted a few days. He moved back home this w/e....homesick. :-( Poor Ryan. I am enjoying reading your blogs. Keep em coming! Be safe!! Love you, Kathy