Hot

It is starting to get extremely hot here and it seems to raise a few degrees every day. My apartment seems to trap in the heat during the day but becomes quite nice in the evening. I have found a new appreciation for my apartment after the last couple of months of cursing the walls that have trapped me in at night. Once the sun goes down and things begin to cool off I sit outside in my courtyard and read for most of the night or write letters while listening to Bob Marley. I'm thinking about buying a new floor mat and some pillows and just making a little nook to relax in during the evening. I also finished painting and constructing my bird bath and plan on buying some more plants-- aren't they supposed to help cool things down? I have grand visions of what it could become and I feel re-energized to start making improvements. Instead of thinking of my house as a prison I want to start thinking of it as an oasis of relaxation-- a place to get away from it all. Sure I'll have the nightly wild dog wars raging on outside, but I'll have Mr. Marley to drown them out. I used to try and keep my music super low at night and be respectful of my neighbors, but since their children wake me up at 7am by throwing rocks on my roof I don't care anymore-- a little bit of jazz and reggae won't kill them. Some of the teenage boys in my neighborhood are starting to realize that I live here and have finally started opening up and talking to me, but in french of course. The teenage girls on the other hand-- they scare me. If there's a group of 3 or more and no adults are around they will harass the crap out of me! It's really weird! I don't say anything back to them because I don't want to be seen talking to them-- my town is very conservative and it would cause big problems if I was seen hanging out with a group of teenage girls. When the high school kids get out for the day the gendarmes follow behind them making sure the boys and girls don't mingle and do anything hashuma (shameful). It's even illegal to show public displays of affection even if you're married! You can begin to comprehend some of the complications this repression can bring on teenagers going through puberty and might explain the sometimes overt sexual harassment it can bring. That's one of the reasons why female PCVs find themselves being harassed so much by men here-- as Western women they're viewed as 'easy' and not constricted to the laws and traditions of the Muslim culture and traditions here. I recently just lost a friend who decided to go home because she was being harassed so much. Anywho I better get going-- I'll try and post pictures of the new home improvements once they're all done! :)

nshufk mn b3d, inshallah (I'll see you later, if God wills it)