Heading out tomorrow

It continues to be hot. Quite hot. My only consolation is that Malians are remarking at how hot it is, which means it’s unusual, which suggests it may end soon. I hope so. I especially hope that it cools down or is somehow inherently cooler in Tongo-Tongo, since we’re slated to leave tomorrow morning. This also lets us avoid the usual crowd of Sunday visitors, who become rather tiring rather quickly.

I’m working on learning some Fulfulde. Seydou has a friend whose name I will not even try to spell who insists on only speaking to me in it, and I’m picking up some words. Specifically, I can carry on a more extended greeting ritual than I could before (it ended at “hello”) and say some key phrases like “come and eat.” Insha’allah, I’ll have a decent grasp of both Fulfulde and Tommo-So by the time I leave.

It’ll be good to have Ramata in the house again. Things are awfully quiet without Jeff and Abbie. I’ve been doing a lot of reading (currently: The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka) and also making headway on my Tommo-So grammar. Starting Monday, it’s back to elicitation and getting new data, which is tiring but obviously essential.

Hopefully, I’ve finally rounded the corner on jetlag. Last night was the first night I got any sort of decent sleep since I left home. The night before, I lay in bed until it started getting light, frustrated and thirsty but not wanting to leave the safety of my mosquito net due to the slew of large grasshoppers which are the Bug of the Moment. Yesterday, I bought a double-sized mattress, which allows me to stretch out without fear of running up against the mosquito net, where crowds of hungry mosquitoes accumulate, pinned there by the strength of the fan. The combination of the extra room and a good ol’ Advil PM knocked me out.

Anyhow, off to the village tomorrow. I should be back on Friday, if all goes well.