So I just returned to post after spending a weekend in Maroua. It was really nice to be reunited with the rest of the extreme north crew as we were all a little shell shocked/malnourished from the first couple of days at post. I was so hungry I ate sphagetti Bolognese, brochettes, a cream filled donut and ice cream upon arrival and I still wasn’t even full.

Food wise, things are much better now because I got a frying pan, eating utencils, plates, bowls, glasses to actually be able to cook with. Then today was the market day here in town. I went with Madame Denise to buy some fabric for curtains. She is my proviseur’s wife and she said that they raise the prices too much when they see a white person. It wasn’t so much picking out a curtain fabric as it was finding something that they had enough of to make several curtains out of. And fortunately its pretty cute. I’ve pretty much gotten over the idea of things matching here since pretty much anything goes in terms of household and outfit combinations. I’m just happy that soon I will have something to cover up the windows with so my little neighbors won’t be peering in at me all day long.

Liz rode her bike in for the market so then the two of us walked around a lot. As far as buying food stuff goes, the prices are pretty much set and if it sounds expensive, you can just say “c’est trop cher!” and then they smile and give you a lower price. When I visited the market when I first came it had been pretty overwhelming. But this time, I knew where all the different sections were and I found macaroni, rice, tomatoes, onions, coconut, dates, eggs, bread, salt, garlic, potatoes and cucumbers. I had brought some lettuce back from Maroua so Liz and I made salads for lunch which was delicious. It took her a lot longer to ride here then she thought so she took the bush taxi back to her post afterwards. I can’t wait to get started riding my bike but it got a flat tire during transport here. I have the book and the tools to fix it but I have to find them and its pretty difficult cause I’m basically still living out of my suitcases since there is nothing for me to put anything in.

Returning from Maroua Sunday night was a bit more of an adventure than I had planned. The car didn’t leave until almost five, and then stopped en route for the evening prayer since its Ramadan. So it was pretty dark by the time we finally got back au village and there had been a lot of rain over the weekend so we were taking a different route then the one I knew. So then we went over a big bump and the trunk flies open and all my stuff goes flying out the back since I had about 8 bags of all the stuff I bought for my house. So we stopped and the guys got out and helped me pick up my stuff and I spent the rest of the ride hoping that my laptop didn’t die since it was in my backpack in the trunk. Then we got back to town and they loaded me onto a moto with a ton of stuff and they put the rest of it onto another moto. So, I’m wearing my backpack, one big market bag is in front of the driver, the two giant (empty) water bidons are sort of on my lap and I’m holding this 3yd long curtain rod in my hand, seriously looked like I was going into a jousting match and had anyone been in the street I think they would have been lanced. The big white moto helmet already makes me look like Darth Vader but this was just out of control. Anyways the road in front of my house is really uneven so the moto driver took a different way to go around it and then I got really confused about where we were and where my house was and the other moto with the rest of my stuff was nowhere to be seen. But then those two girls who had been helping me so much when I first came, all of a sudden come running out into the street screaming Claire, Claire. And I was like, “Ou est ma maison?” And they picked up my stuff and turned me around and we all went back to my house. And then my proviseur kept calling me during this asking when I was coming back and then he arrived at my house and said you’re having dinner with us tonight because you’ve just returned from your trip. So, I was a little frazzled to say the least but was definitely happy for some good food & it was super nice to feel like people in the village were expecting me and taking good care of me.