Almost Done!!!!!!!

Well, I’m almost done with training, and glad to be!!! The family loved all the gifts (I gave them some Wisconsin type stuff beanie babies, squish footballs, a picture book of Wisconsin, and pictures of myself with them - thanks Mom!!!) and they bought me some soda and crackers when leaving too. So a lot has been happening as of late, so I’m sorry if some of the stories get a little abbreviated in the process.

One morning I got up for language class and went to wait by the boutique for the girl who lives by me before walking to class. She was a little late so I went to her house. I found another trainee (who was a nurse in the US) standing outside her house looking very confused. I asked her what she was up to, and she responded that she was looking for the other girls’ house. So we both went in… the reason she was there was because there was a birth there the previous night!!!!! So the poor girl who lived there woke up to someone screaming at 4ish in the morning. She went out to check and all the adults left to go get a car to take this woman to the hospital. Well… in the meantime the little baby wanted out of the womb asap!!!! So there’s no electricity, so this girl provided the sole light for the birth with her flashlight on the cell phone! Then… the baby was born onto the concrete floor (where the kids pee and food is cooked) with no sheet or anything: just out onto the concrete. Then another lady comes by and cuts the umbilical cord and leaves. So after the baby’s out and all, the mother preceded to clean up everything with an old mulafa (that’s it). The girl was trying to explain that they really should use bleach and water to sanitize the area as much as possible… but they really didn’t speak French. C’est la vie!!!! Needless to say, we were slightly late to language class.

Speaking of language class… that’s done now too! A little bit scary, but I feel like my facilitator did a great job with the limited time. He taught us all of the structures for future, present, past and imperfect so that once at site we can work on it ourselves. Word on the street is that Ramadan is a good solid month of reading, studying and otherwise creativity of all sorts. Surprise surprise people are not too interested in doing anything in 120 degree heat when they don’t eat or drink all day. Apparently they become rather nocturnal and sleep all day to pass the time… we shall see!

And an update on the coup… the marches and such are not as prevalent now (at least the state-run ones). There was however a fairly large protest in the northern port city, and the military subsequently arrested the former Prime Minister again. I think he’s under house arrest now. I don’t get much news… other than what I read and get translated from the Arabic news casts at home. Oh well.

And Olympics… sadly I saw pretty much none. I saw a few news clips from Phelps’ races and such… but it was all in Arabic. So surprise of all surprises, I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying!!!! Oh well… I’ll catch London.