oh the places we go

so, another nice few days have passed and i feel like a breakthrough or two have taken place here. i think language has gotten a little better after a nice chunk of homework to help me out. i have realized that i like homework as it challenges me to use the stuff i am learning--which makes sense, right.

also, i have learned more about other friends' experiences here and that has helped me keep a good perspective on what to expect during my time here immersed in this incredible place. also i am realizing more and more what it is about living here. that may seem really elementary, but it is funny how your expectations can be rattled and then be suprised by what is actually happening. we travelled to a nearby beach the other day and on the way there and back we drove past some shanty towns. these are low, low income neighborhoods, if you will. it didn't look like some folks had electricity and/or running water. i had seen another area similiar a few days before. that really struck me. even today on my walk home from some study time, i noticed how some of the abandoned buildings reminded me of sights/places i had seen when working down in New Orleans post-Katrina. there is such a dynamic here that is hard for me to fully understand. of course i want it all to be rationalized, but life doesn't seem to work that way here in this place. i am starting to see the local people here through different Eyes. and i am grateful.

i am also grateful for my roommate/friend. she has done a great job of getting to know me and today i finally thanked her for that. sometimes i feel i can be hard to get to know.

well, i leave you with a couple of photos from the last few days...

fun day at the beach--i was really excited!

mmm good--my first NA fish tacos!

oh chihuahua

starting with the recent holiday here...

life here has proven to be full of so many smiles, laughs, smells, questions, and greetings. i am really thankful for the opportunity to be here and experience life here in NA. language is coming along and i have been given more and more homework, which i think has been extra helpful in getting me moving in the right direction. i was out of class a day this week in observance of a local holiday and the day proved to be full of exciting events. my friend and i started the morning out by taking a nice long walk through the local forest that serves as a really nice retreat from the city noise. in trying to get to the fish market, our taxi driver was rerouted several times due to closed off streets (due to possible protests). the driver was great and tried to get us as close to our destination as possible. we ended up opting for veggies and beef for lunch instead which actually turned out well as i got to prepare my first actual meal since being here. check out this fun video to see how this all goes down:

then from there, we went to go meet up with a friend and as we were walking to our meeting spot we saw a lady come out of this dome/triangle sort of thing that sits close to the sidewalk with her pants down! she i guess couldn't want to go to the bathroom until she got home. that was very suprising to see, especially since she was giggling about it. i guess when you get older, you have the right to do those kinds of things?

later that afternoon we went on to walk through the older part of the city and then decided to make our way back home. on the way we found ourselves drawn to a park that had music blarring from within. to our surprise there was a fun gathering to celebrate the local holiday. what was even more fun was that what we were hearing was the chicken dance in French, then we heard the hokie pokie in French, then the macarena in French as well. i got some video of a song that was really hilarious:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-314521148426509729&hl=en
sorry, to have to give you a link--for some reason it would not embed

just the other night i was invited to join a friend that was going to a local family's celebration that takes place seven days after the baby's birth. it was really nice and we got all dressed up for the late night/early morning party:

top left: me before going out; top center: the happy parents being surrounded by belly-dancers; center: the band with the blue drum; bottom left: just before dinner which was served just after midnight; bottom right: they got me up to stomp on the barrel drum

here is a link to a video with the evening's events:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7750360720898841037

fab, darling

and these are the fabulous shoes i got in the medina!

hey!

i am so excited as my computer is finally exposed to NA Internet!
yeah!
well, i wanted to give a quick update on just a few things:
*struggling a bit with language--trying to not get too discouraged
*enjoyed an exciting afternoon at the medina yesterday and bought some fabulous slides that all the locals here wear (photo soon)
*got to see how to retrieve an Int'l package from the post office today (hope i get to go do that myself soon--wink, wink)
*thankful that my roomie is interested in cooking Weight Watchers style!
i just couldn't resist leaving a post on here to celebrate the Internet on my PC!

eating with your hands

Well, I am back from an exciting last several days. I am very thankful for the extra memory card I got for my camera before leaving because I have been taking so many pictures! Right now I am listening to some of my language vocab while typing up this post.
This past week at language we decided that I was slowing down my classmate, so I will be on my own in class for a while so I can catch up. Which I am very thankful for as this is vital in me actually getting to know the language—it’s not about a grade like it was for me in high school. I had the opportunity to join a couple of friends to tour around the city a bit more and we ended up being able to enter the Palace grounds. This was way cool, cause other friends have asked to get inside and have been turned down.
I am trying to think of the best equivalent in the size of the Palace grounds and think maybe 2/3 of the U of A campus may be a good comparison. It was quite large. Here is the entry gate:

Then it was off to another city for a couple of days. This was great as it allowed me a lot of listening time. It has been hard for me to put the words/dialogues into context of how they are used out on the street. I was glad to be in a smaller area as well. It was neat to see a different part of NA. We stayed in a local home (well very large home) that accommodated quite a group of us. Here is a photo from the 3rd floor of this rihad:

For lunch on Friday we had the traditional dish that is served on Fridays and it was fabulous. Friends claim it to be the best in this part of the world. This particular serving was the largest I have ever seen in my life:

Our hostesses actually gave us spoons to eat, but traditionally you can eat it with your hands.

Later that afternoon we toured around a bit and saw the King’s Palace in this particular city. He has many all over the country. It was very nice as you can see here:

Later that early evening we went to local friend’s house for coffee and tea and many sweets. It was a lot of fun and a good time for me to take in some language.
The next day we were taken through the medina (old city) and it was incredible. So many sites, sounds, and smells to take in. We were on foot hours at a time, so it was quite a workout, which is good as they serve so many sweets here. For lunch we dined back at the rihad for another traditional meal and this time we ate with our hands. It has become seemingly normal practice and it was actually quite an honor to not be given forks to use.
Check out some photos from the adventures around the old city:

this is what local brides are carried around on during the wedding reception here—we walked through an area where they were making them

these are some photos of a tannery we visited—it was quite stinky and interesting to watch at the same time

here are some examples of the finished product

and here are some exciting photos of local food options found in the medina

inside a very old and active mosque in the city that we were actually able to go inside and see:

And a photo from the train ride back:
As you can see, there is a lot to take in here. I am trying to learn as much as I can and hoping that I will have the memory to keep it all in check. Just got back from visiting our maid’s house where I was able to watch video footage of her daughter’s recent wedding. It was a lot of fun to visit her and try to pick up new words, eat loads of sweets and drink mint tea (my heart is racing from all the sugar), learn about how weddings happen here, and especially meet some of her family. Also doing laundry today which is fun as we have our washer out on the veranda and we hang our clothes up to dry—it has become a fun process. I hope you are well.