9. My baby sister plays with matches all the time and no one seems to care. She's only 1 ½ years old.[1]
8. Most of the time, the latrine stinks, but sometimes, it doesn't.
7. My host uncle is the coolest. He sells condoms at his boutique, “Not for a profit, but as a service to the community.”[2]
6. Everyone watches TV while they do their prayers.
5. My host father takes me to community meetings I can't understand, but I can tell he really cares about improving life in Boghe.
4. One time, I ate dinner with my left hand and nobody said anything, although I'm sure they noticed.[3]
3. All the men spend the day in shorts and no shirt, so I do the same at night in my mosquito net.[4]
2. Every time I come home, they're so happy to see me.
1. It may be a case of Stockholm Syndrome, but I think they're the nicest family in Boghe.[5]
[1]There's a completely different concept of safety here. People do things that are so dangerous, so often, it's amazing anyone lives past 12. Every time I see my baby sister playing with matches, I think, “Wow, that's not safe. She's a real Mauritanian.”
[2]This is an extremely conservative place and many people would deny that anyone is having sex without marriage. My host uncle puts his reputation and business on the line by selling condoms, especially to teenagers.
[3]This is a major faux pas. In case you didn't know, there's no toilet paper here. That job goes to your left hand and a teapot of water.
[4]Again, very conservative culture, in some families this would be totally unacceptable. What a relief when I realized my family was more concerned with comfort than being proper.
[5]I'd like to add to this that, when I left Boghe and arrived in Nouakchott, my host family called me to say hello and ask when I was coming back. It was the nicest thing they could have done and as soon as my 3 month lock down in Nouakchott is over, I will go visit them.
