Well, we are finally here! The plane rides and layovers were so long, the layovers way longer than the plane rides. But it worked out because we were exhausted when we got here so we were able to sleep through till the morning, even though in the states we would have still been up. It's a 6 hour difference here from central time.
Yesterday we started right in on observing the culture. Two friends from the University came and were our guides for the day. Lindsay and I were paired up, and our guide took us to spend a good part of the day with his family. They prepare food and cook all day long. They make extra so they can sell it in the evenings. There are 13 children in his family. He was quite surpised when we told him that Lindsay had only 2 siblings and I only had 1!
His mother had a large bucket of corn that she was preparing. She would rub the kernals with her fingers to get the loose stuff off of it (I don't know what it's called; like chafe?), then she would scoop it into a flat dish with a lip on it and separate the corn from the chafe stuff. Then she would flip the plate up so the chafe would fall off the plate into a bowl; she never lost a corn kernal. She was diligent and fast with it that the chafe was the only thing that spilled off the plate, no matter how close the corn got to the edge! All the extra stuff that they didn't use in the cooking went to the animals. They had a few goats and a couple cows.
The cows here a brauma, and like the goats, they just walk around freely. The goats will come home on their own in the evening. The first day you have a goat, you're sposed to show him where his home is. The next day, you go and get him when it's time to come home and show him where home is. Everyday after that, he goes home by himself. I wish all animals were like that! Goats and sheep look the same here. You will think all you see are goats, but you are also looking at sheep. To tell the difference, you have to look at the tail. Sheep tails go down, goat tails go up. Once I get some goat and sheep pics posted, you'll know what I mean. I guarentee you won't notice the sheep without looking at the tails. Lol
Crystal and I are going to get a goat when we get to the village so we'll have milk. We can also give the milk to our neighbors and to mothers with little kids. We have to milk it everyday, so we'll have extra to share since it's just the 2 of us. We'll probly learn how to make butter too, which would be awesome!
We got a few proposals yesterday. Each time, our guide would just laugh and tell us, "There's another.... and another..." Right now it's hard to tell the difference between a proposal, a greeting, or asking for money. We drove through the market, and people were coming to the window trying to sell things (like phone cards and such). One guy was sitting on a skateboard and rolled up to my window. I thought he wanted money, so I just kept saying no every time he said something. When our taxi drove forward again, the guy said something as we left. Our guide laughed and asked if I understood. I asked if he had wanted money, and he laughed again and said, "He said he'd be waiting right here for you when you came back! He wants to marry you!"
They eat with their hands here too. You scoop it up and throw it in your mouth. Lyndsay and I didn't experinence this yesterday, but the other girls did, and it sounded like a sight to see!
The heat isn't too bad yet, this is the cool season. It's like Arizona just before summer hits.
The layover in Casablanca was really fun. We met a few people and played with some kids. They were going to Africa to visit family. One girl we met is a student in NY, but lives here. She helped us a lot, especially when we needed a translator when the shuttle driver was speaking to us in French and we didn't understand him. Everyone speaks French, so of course, everyone automatically thinks since we're white we speak French. It's funny, but now I wish I knew French. I never thought I needed it, so I didn't bother with it. Oops... The girl we met gave us her number and wants us to come over sometime to visit and hang out in her pool. We are going to try to meet up with her before orientation ends.
Well, I'm going to end here for now. We will have internet access all day on Saturday, and I'm sure I will have some stories to tell!
Love you all!
