Hey Everyone!

Happy Fourth of July! We're been here in country for about two weeks and I've already had plenty of adventures. I'm living with a host family in Rosso which is a border town next to Senegal. Rosso is chaotic, difficult, and a trip to the market here is always an opportunity for me to make a fool of myself. I'm learning Hassaniya, it's a language similar to Arabic. My host brothers have been teaching me and hopefully I'll pick it up soon. The language barrier makes simple interactions way too difficult. The other night I cut my foot open on a rock and my brother ran off to get "in-namus." If I understood I would have realized that he was about to spray my wound with bug repellent. Oh well, it's not infected yet. I have about twelve family members, I'm not quite sure who's who but I know I have four brothers and three sisters all around my age. Last night we had our first sand/wind/lightning/rain storm. I was really scared. I locked myself in my room (just me and the bugs and rats) and when it was finally over I was covered in sand! I've had lots of interested gentlemen come around my house to check me out. I may not know the language but I do understand "hegela"= single, "zane" = good, and often "visa Amerik." I miss you all so much, almost as much as I miss vegetables.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Jack