A little squash goes a long way

So I live in Niger 99% muslim. Women & men hanging out most certainly isn't an option. But ya know I've got that whole white skin thing happening for me so I'm pretty much exempt from a lot of the "harsher realities" (in my opionion) of the women here. Or at least I thought.

Enter Huma, my good friend and tailor. We've hung out a lot. He's really talented and I think he just enjoys the company of someone who isn't a "bush person"...as he is so clearly a Niameyite. Only wears western clothes, won't be taking more than one wife, wants 2 kids as opposed to 10...anyways he's been a really good friend to me and it's nice to hang out with him and his other guys friends. I've never realized how much I liked be friends with the opposite sex until it was nearly forbidden. So Huma had come to visit me in my village a few times we mostly just went on walks so I didn't go through the protocol of introducing him to my chief (read: HUGE mistake). Oh and my chief and everyone in my village knows him and has known him since he was little. Anyways Huma comes to see me one sunday afternoon and come into my concenssion with the door open and about 1.2 dozen other people in my concession working in my garden. We talk for a while and as the sun starts to set I walk him to the edge of Donou-dibi (as is customary) and then return back home.
Upon my arrival I see Musa, one of my chief sons and also a friend. He tells me the chief is angry at me, not happy, not even a little. I laugh as Musa and I joke a lot, he's convinced my nalgene bottle has special powers. So upon his request I go to my chiefs hut. Yea mad doesn't do it justice, furious is more like it. He yells at me, screams that I have a boyfriend and is clearly upset at my lack of respect for him (according to him). So I look to my other friends, as I'm pretty much apart of that family now, for some encouraging faces but nothing! I then scream back that I don't know what they're talking about that Huma is my friend NOT my boyfriend! They were all mad at me. The same people that were calling me "little sister" the day before wouldn't even make eye contact. Oh and as usual we drew a crowd.
Tensions were high so I suggested that we all sleep on it and return the next day. On my way back to my house I was called a prostitute. Yea....
The next day I headed to the market early and bought some squash to make what they think is american food...bascially it's just a puree and I put in thins peanut stuff for protein. It actaully is very yummy. When I return with nourishment in hand he and I (and onlookers) talked it out. Bascially he was mad that I didn't bring him to meet him. Plus the fact that he now calls me daughter I think he feels he needs to protect me more so than others. I took this time for a cross-cultural moment and explain that in the states in quite alright and almost the norm for girls and guys to socialize. They all would just keep saying "Irkoy berri" which is God is big...basically OH MY GOD! Oh Niger. All is well. My relationshio with dad, that's what I still call him is different and he notices it. Commenting on it to other people in the village. But in time all will pass and it's really a non-issue now.

In other news, haha...good transitions have never been my thing. I've seen elephants and hippos in the wild on 2 seperate occasions. I also went to Benin actually walked in and out of for a 21 hike through Park W. I have my bike now and that gives me great joy, plus a reason to wear pants. All is well in the Dosso region. I have met and begun to work with a local doctor who works with disabled children. We go around the village and talk with certain families about what they can do for their children and I go back during the week to check up on them and make sure they're taking their meds. Barkissa, the blind girl, she is elegible for a school in Niamey where they will teach her braille but now we are waiting on her fathers permission and he is on exode. I will be starting weaning porridge when I return and starting to talk more about breastfeeding. Oh the things I never thought I would do. Oh and I'll be making my radio debut in Birni in the coming weeks.

The new stage is here and will swear-in about a month from now. It's crazy how fast these 6 months have gone by and now I'm almost a "sophmore" my PC Niger standards. I've met many of them and all I can think is how clean they look. That's what all the PCV's said about us when we got here but I thought they were crazy. Team Dosso will be getting 5 new PCVs and my cluster is getting 2!

Health update: My hair is still leaving my head at a rapid pace. After talking with the good doctor I discovered it was a combination of a lot of things. Mefloquine (the malariaz drug I'm taking), sun exposure and I'm literally malnourished all are causing my golden locks find their new home inside my hair brush. We talked about switched drugs to the once daily medicine but because I am sick so often if I can't take it even one day my chances of contracting malaria are considerably greater. And although I think surviving malaria would be a neat story the idea of a full blood transfusion in Niger doesn't sound at all appealing. Oh and I think some of you might worry yourselves sick if I got malaria (mom, grandma & papa, adam).

Probably the best thing that has happened to me since my last post is I was able to go to church this past sunday. It's been the longest I've been out of church I became a christian. And not having any other christians to connect with was taking its toll on me. Which was odd for me. I expected to be sick a lot and I am. I expected to have to do unladylike things...and oh my lord I do...eehhh. I expected to have to be a more, lets say, conservative in who I hung out. But I didn't expect this hardship (term used loosely). It's good though I've learned A LOT from it. Church was good, I cried and then wwathced a movie with some of the other 20 somethings afterwards. It reminded me so much of home and I can't wait to go back!!!

Well I'm off to my village. Not too sure when I'll return but I miss you all and I hope you're surving your winter there. Hot season is already making its presence known so now comes the "hard part".

Take care and keep in touch.