beginnings

We arrived in Nguéniène yesterday afternoon and life is starting to follow a loose but pleasant pattern. We'll begin fieldwork tomorrow, a welcome change from the lazy ways we've fallen into. The village is relaxed and life is slow. We befriended a neighbor yesterday and convinced him to climb a baobab tree and retrieve some of its fruit so Julia could try it. The flesh is chalky and dry but just the right amount of tart and sweet. Meals are eaten from very large plates, three or four of us crowded around one, eating the portion directly in front of you and working your way from the rim to the center. We sit on straw mats on the front porches of houses, the meal is as communal as possible. In the afternoon, the Senegalese students make an impossibly sweet tea, something akin to thin honey with a frothy head to it. We're looking forward to learning the town and getting down to work in the next few weeks.