Life in Mbagne

Hi,

This is Lauri's dad writing for her. We call her almost every week and get the latest news. She has access to a computer only every few weeks so she asked me to try to update everyone on the latest happenings.

Ramadan ended last week and everyone has a big party when it ends. Lauri joined with some of her American friends and participated in a big eating fest. She ate from 10 to 4 and was absolutely stuffed and had to go back to her house.

Although Lauri was sworn in to the Peace Corps a month ago, she has yet to do much significant work. They plan to open the center next week. She worries about her ability to speak Pulaar, the local dialect of Arabic. However, she said later when she thinks about how little she knew 2 months ago and even 1 month ago, she knows that she has made lots of progress. I am sure that when she starts working with the local girls in the classroom her abilities will grow rapidly. Her mentor tells her not to worry and everything will be fine. The mentor has probably gone through this with other PC volunteers.

It seems that the young boys like to harass her by throwing sticks and rocks at her door. Lauri grabbed one of them and took him home to his mother. The mother said to call the police next time and give him a good rap on the head. I reminded Lauri about some local boys here who liked to throw rocks at her. Seems that some things do not differ around the world. I remember getting into rock fights when I was a boy. Good thing no one was hurt.

Lauri is enjoying herself in Mbagne. The time flies by during the day because the days are getting shorter. She gets up in the morning, tidies up the house, visits others for tea, and goes to the market to get the day's food. She has termites in her house and spends some time each day trying to kill them by pouring salt water on them. An exterminator is a possible future option.

That's it for now.