I hope this post goes up!

Where do I start? This seems to be the first time I've had reliable internet access (inshallah) since getting here and it is on a borrowed computer. I'm not sure if I explained to everyone, but we could only take one bag to CBT site (Community Based Training) and they advised us not to bring anything too flashy... thus solar chargers, iPods, laptops, etc. ended up in storage for the time being.

I live with a host family 10km up the road from Rosso with no electricity or running water. There are a couple boutigs (tiny stores which are made of corrugated tin) in our village where you can usually find onions, canned condensed milk, packets of laundry detergent and camel biscuits. Camel biscuits are hard, dry, nearly flavorless cookies which have become quite addictive and I usually eat them at least once a day as a snack in class or with my family. They suck the moisture out of your mouth as you eat them so they end up forcing you to drink lots of water. Sometimes we eat them with little bitter peanuts.

I won't try and put down every detail of my fun-filled days here, but please ask me questions... I'm starting to forget what's normal about what I do and how I live. And I can't form sentences properly in English--my brain is trying to make room for more French and Hassaniya.

Here are some fun stats for you:

Breakdown of bugs seen in percentage:

Ants 41%

Flies 39%

Dung Beetles 11%

Rain Cows (Giant neon red mite that comes out after the rain) 7%

Mosquitoes 1% (they usually see me, not vice versa)

Hab Haabes (a crustacean-esque arachnid with lightning speed and hand-sized diameter) <1%

Camel Spiders <1%

Scorpions <1%

Fleas <1%>

Total pounds lost since leaving US: 20

Number mosquito bites (despite netting AND repellant, they still find me): roughly 24 active, many more deactivated

Number of local marriage proposals: none, surprisingly. One of my CBT sitemates accidentally told her family I was engaged and word travels fast in a village where we are the only news.

Well, I have to go back to my training sessions. Email me! Even though I can't check it very often it's still nice to find a message waiting for me when I do. Send me letters! I haven't gotten any of the ones you've sent yet, but they say it's usually like this during training.

I hope you all are doing well! Maa salaam!

It Takes Children To Raise A Village

In my village, PK-10 (the mile-marker that acts as it's name), the children are what make the world go around. While parents and other adults like myself are too fatigued by the heat to do anything more than lounge in our own sweat, the kids run errands and do chores. If my host mom is sitting on one side of our tent and my host dad is sitting on the other side, she will yell for a kid to come from several houses down to bring a cup of tea from her to my host dad.

I've made it my goal to learn Hassaniya at least well enought to get the kids to help me with the garden. I can currently say "I want lots of poop/butter (the words are very similar) in garden. Children come! Take (as I hand them a bucket)! Poop/butter!" Most of the time they just laugh at me but I think I'm starting to make progress with them.

I'm on a borrowed computer in Rosso, so I can't write much for the time being. My computer and solar charger are in storage as I was only allowed to take one bag to my PST site. For the next few days if anyone wants to call me you can get my phone number & country code from Lindsey and I'll turn my phone on for a few minutes at 10pm my time, 3pm Pacific. If my battery runs out it should go right to my voicemail... Hope all is well, I miss you guys!