Moving in!

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I can't seem to title a blog entry without an excalamation point because everything here is still so new and exciting! Friday I moved in with my family, who sadly doesn't have internet, and now I'm at school for my first day of classes. So much to tell you all about!

Friday afternoon our families came to pick us up... that experience was extremely stressful. We were all standing around waiting while people began leaving with designated family members, talking about our stress and getting worked up. Thank god I held it together because I was definitely on the verge of tears a few times. Ofcourse its nerve wracking, but the group atmosphere intensified the situation. Anyways... my dad came to pick me up with the youngest boy in my family, Mohammed. They brought their car and drove me home... the little boy is ADORABLE!! He was really shy at first, but kept peeking over the car seat to stare at me and then he'd hide whenever we would make eye contact. The dad was also nice, though the car ride was definitely a little bit awkward.

My house overlooks a little nighborhood park and there's a nice balcony that is very airy and has a great view. My room is on the first floor, along with the boys room, the kids TV room, and the kitchen. I have my own bathroom which is nice (I think the rest of the family shares one bathroom...), and a full sized bed which is very comfortable. The bathroom is definitely a step up from the dorms, but there still isn't any toilet paper (I guess that's not really common here) and there are no trashcans. AND a cockroach scurried out of the drain yesterday. I SCREAMED bloody murder, but then I killed it with my flip flop and all was well again. Also when I flush the toilet, a lot of water comes out the back and drains through the shower... it doesn't appear to be dirty water though, so I don't really know what's going on. In any case, I wear my flip flops in the shower and I don't think about it. We also have this big bucket of water that I guess you're supposed to let fill with water when the shower is running and then you use it to wash yourself off. I know I should do it too, but the water looks murky in thehuge bucket and I prefer the shower (I limit the time I let it running though, and turn it off when I wash my hair).

The second floor has my parents bedroom, the sisters room, a fancier living room, a bar area, and the balcony. There's also a roof you can go out on upstairs which is nice. The house isn't really decorated but its pretty spacious and very comfortable. There's also a coutryard downstairs that leads to an outside kitchen (there is also a little kitchen inside... the kitchen's are not at all like kitchens in the US, as you might imagine).

My siblings are also soooo nice! Mohammed is 6 and absolutely adorable... he might annoy someone who isn't used to kids, but I like his curiosity and he's good company when I might not have anything to do otherwise. If I really want privacy I can close my door and he'll leave me alone (most of the time... I need to lock the door when I'm changing though). I also have a 13 year old sister named Aida who is very friendly, inclusive, helpful... she's awesome. I probably spend the most time with her, talking, helping her with chores (she does a lot of the cooking in the house). She's really smart and mature for her age, and we've already talked about religion, racism, and superstitions among other topics. I have two older brothers as well... Tanor is 16 and Paibou is 23. Tanor is really friendly and smart... he speaks English really well, and knows all the lyrics to every rap/hip hop/r&b song written in the past 10 years. The oldest brother, Paibou, doesn't really talk to me at all except when he greets me and isn't at home very often, so I'm not sure what to make of him. Yesterday I was talking to Aida and her mom, and Matou (my mom) made some comment about Tanor being her oldest child, so I guess Paibou isn't actually their brother... I have no idea. Maybe he is their half brother, or an adopted cousin or something because he definitely lives their permanently. I think he might not speak French as well because I don't really hear him speak French ever. Although... Aida showed me a picture of her family with their host sister from last year and he had his arm around her, so maybe he'll just take longer to warm up to me. Who knows...

Tanor's friends actually seem to be quite taken by me, which is funny but kind of awkward. One of them came in the other night and told me I was beautiful in front of the whole family. I was just like, "Thank you..." Tanor was also looking through my pictures and kept saying they were "nice" (they use the English word as a compliment) and he told me I could give them to a modeling agency. Um, yea right, but I'm just explaining the slight awkwardness when it comes to our interaction. He's supposed to be my brother! But I think the novelty will wear off and it won't be too awkward, especially since he's still really friendly and talkative and we get along well. Not really related, but they also all LOOOOVE my ipod. I let Ahmed (short for Mohammed) borrow it yesterday, and then I went to use wireless at a friend's house. Apparently Tanor took it while I was gone, brought it out to hang out with his friends, brought it to the store... It's definitely a status symbol here and he was loving it! I'm going to have to be more strict about letting them borrow it though, because I don't want it getting lost or stolen. Ahmed always wants to go on my computer, but I normally say its sleeping which he isn't really buying but I don't take it out too much with him because it requires lots of time and supervision.

Meal time has definitely been the most culturally awkward experience thus far. First of all, we don't eat till 9 or 10 which I've been getting used to because we don't normally eat till 3, but its still late to go without snacking or anything. My family does not use utensils though they aren't completely traditional either. It is acceptable to use both hands to break up a piece of meat or fish (normally you aren't supposed to use your left hand at all). The first night they offered me a fork and I thought everyone was using a fork, so I accepted. Then I was the only one and it was really difficult one handed! Since then, I've just been using my hands like everyone else. I think we might use spoons for rice... we'll see! I accidentally put my left hand in the bowl the other day and immdeiately pulled it back--hopefully I didn't scar anyone. They don't have a table either, so we eat in this random corner of the first floor, on the ground and its not very well lit. People don't tend to drink while eating here either, which is hard because the food is pretty spicy... I've been drinking anyways though--apparently it isn't rude if you do. I definitely make a huge mess compared to everyone else, and hope they don't watch me eating, but atleast I'm trying! All in all, I think dinner time will take some getting used to. The other interesting thing is that the kids never eat with their parents. That has actually made things quite complicated because I have gifts to give the family, but I don't see the parents very often so I haven't had the opportunity to give them yet. I am determined to do it tonight!

To give a quick chronological overview of the weekend... I got there Friday and we ate dinner and watched TV (as I was warned, the Senegalese watch TV all. the. time.). Saturday I spent the day with Aida at her end of summer camp celebration. It was exhausting... we were gone from 10 in the morning till 9 at night. The camp was organized by the cultural center, which was cool because the actual show featured traditional Senegalese dance and music though this famous singer didn't end up coming. Aida kept introducing me as her sister which was funny because all the little kids seemed very perplexed... a few asked me how we were sisters if we didn't have the same last name, or asked if we had the same parents... basically how we could be black and white and sisters, but in more polite terms. We also all ate together, me and 60 African kids... I was getting lots of looks but I'm not really surprised by it and its easy to ignore. We came home at 9, and Aida got in trouble for coming home late. That was definitely awkward because I thought we were going to say hello to her dad, and then he starts yelling at her. He actually yelled at me too, and I was just like, "I'm sorry, ok, etc..." I understand why he was upset because it was pretty late and Aida is only 13. Even if I'm 20, I'm a foreigner so my age doesn't count for much. Even when we were out and coming home I was thinking it seemed a bit questionable to be travelling alone together. I had no idea we had a curfew though, so now I know for future reference.

Sunday I went into downtown Dakar with the group, which was hot and exhausting but fun to finally see the city. There are some wide avenues that look somewhat European, and then the typical market places as well. The city wasn't too busy on a Sunday and the market wasn't very crowded. But it is definitely exhausting sticking out in the market, with 8 vendors stalking you throughout the city... I'm definitely perfecting the art of warding off vendors--the key is to avoid eye contact altogether, say no thank you and then completely ignore them, and try to walk away to a different part of a group. Its been pretty effective, even if I'm being rude. Oh well! They seem to bother me a lot less than everyone else. Sometimes when we refuse adamantly, they call us racist, but you just have to keep walking... After lunch in the city (that seriously burnt my tongue and the roof of my mouth!), we came back to our neighborhood and met some of the other host families. Finally I went home, showered, watched some TV, and then went to a friend's to get a quick dose of wireless internet. I helped Aida with the cooking last night, and ate something oatmeal-like (I hate oatmeal so that was quite a feat) and eggs and bread. Today is supposed to be the first day of Ramadan, but the moon wasn't visible last night so its most likely starting tomorrow. (Sidenote: the family is Muslim, but the mom's side of the family is Catholic and they celebrate Christmas, so I guess its somewhat hybrid). Apparently I will either be bringing a sandwhich for lunch or eating rice with Mohammed who isn't fasting yet.

Alright, this might be even longer than my first blog entry, so I'm going to stop at that. I might post some pictures later, but I'm in the computer lab right now. Hope all is well with everyone, and I'd love to hear how you're all doing!

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