Maqngi fii rekk.

I have titled this post with the answer to a common question: Nanga def? (How are you?) People are constantly greeting each other here, and greetings can continue for up to 10 minutes sometimes. When you wake up, you greet everyone in the house. When you come back, you greet everyone. When you enter a store or walk up to a vendor, you greet everyone. When you pass someone on the street, you greet them. Etc. etc. Maangi fii rekk simply means, I am fine.

After being in Mboro with my family for 5 days, I returned to the training center in Thies with my fellow Peace Corps Trainees. It was interesting to compare stories of our experiences and nice to speak english with everyone. But after 2 days of gardening training, medical information sessions, and security information regarding the contentious election tomorrow, we were sent back to our host families.

I walked into the compound to discover about 30 people piled into the courtyard and every room packed with people. A cousin had been born the previous week, and the baptism was that morning. I was immediately introduced to all these people and was able to hold the baby - Fatima - who was extremely small due to a premature birth. It was a very festive atmosphere in my house. Everyone was dressed up, my mother was playing with the little children (which I had not seen before), more people than usual were coming and going, and there was delicious food for dinner (a sheep is slaughtered for the baptism, and it tasted really good with the lettuce and onions).

It is nice to be back here in Mboro and has already begun to feel like home. Plus, my Wolof is slowly improving, so I can speak a bit more to everyone.

In addition to being in Mboro to learn the language, we are also responsible for creating a garden at the local school. This has involved double digging plots, adding supplements to the soil (which is essentially a sandbox), planting seeds, transplanting small vegetable plants, and creating a compost pile. Students from the school are very helpful with this, doing most of the work for us, though it can be a bit overwhelming at times when 40 kids are running around a small area. But they work so hard and all want to help out which is great; our garden will definitely be able to continue after we leave which is great!

So, to give a general idea of my schedule here in Mboro: I wake up around 830, eat breakfast, study Wolof, and talk to the family. At 930 I walk to my teachers house which is about 5 minutes away. Class lasts until sometime between 12 and 1. Then I return to my house, spend some time with my family, study, nap, eat lunch (around 2), and return to my teachers house around 4. We generally have class again for an hour, then go to the school to garden. After gardening (usually around 7), we sometimes go to the market or buy a soda at a shop before going back home. Then I study a bit more, talk to the family, sit by the tv with them (they watch a lot of tv), and eat dinner (usually around 9/930). As soon as dinner is over, I go to bed and read for a bit before going to sleep. And then mixed in the day is laundry and showering as needed. Quite a lot of downtime, which is good because learning a language is not easy.