Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Productivity back

The last couple days, I have started to become more productive. Ramata went off to school in the morning yesterday, only to come back around lunchtime, saying school hadn’t started yet. In light of that, we got about three hours and 200 words of work done, which felt good. Then, this morning, since Ramata’s father still hadn’t come in, I arranged to work with her former lodger for a couple hours.

Around lunch time today, M. le Maire, Ramata’s father, showed up. Not sure why he was 2 days late. “External circumstances.” But no matter, he’s here now, and we can begin work tomorrow or maybe even a little this evening. At this point, I’m not sure how to interact with him. On the one hand, he’s my guest, but on the other hand, my linguistic consultant. He’s like my father, being Ramata’s dad, but also just a casual acquaintance. And on the one hand I feel responsible for entertaining him, but on the other hand, he spent 20 years in Douentza and knows the town and its people better than I ever will. I’m sure all of this will become clear soon.

It’s fun having Ramata here, almost like having a sister. She just tells me anything now, which is nice. I think from this point onward, things will start to settle into a routine, something I desperately want.

We destroyed a mud-dauber wasp nest today in the hanger. It was so gross—full of larvae and eggs. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

Other interesting sights as of late: a man riding his bike with a live goat draped around his neck and a man in an outfit made entirely out of the ridiculous shark fabric from this summer.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like things are starting to get in the groove again. Good news! Love your posts.

Baczooski said...

OH MY GOSH how much do I want an entire outfit made out of the shark fabric? SO MUCH.

Glad things are going well! I miss you!