the round house

I thought that I would share with y'all a picture of my new living arrangements. As you can see, it’s called the round house. I can’t believe that I have been in this place for almost a month now. I call it my home, but I am also very aware that my time here in very limited. As I’m getting closer and closer to the end of my African adventure I can also see the end of my research with the Fulakunda. These last months I have and will be doing a lot of research, but what do I do when I’m not going from village to village asking questions? Well I have found that I spend my time much different than I did in the past.

I don’t live in a neighborhood like before. I live on a compound with other missionaries. There is one family that lives here along with many people that come and go for short stays, and there’s me. I haven’t decided if I’m here for a longer short stay, or a short long term stay. Because I don’t living in a neighborhood, I don’t know my neighbors. I never thought I would have said this, but at times, I miss all the little kids in my old neighborhood that would bug me every time I pulled my bike out of my garage.

One thing that I do enjoy is that my house is much closer to a restaurant. The way it works here is I walk in with a big bowl, give my greetings and tell the cook that I want one plate. She fills up my bowl and uses a cloth and ties a sack so you can carry the bowl filled with hot rice home. I give the cook a dollar and make the 3 minute walk back home. Most of the time, I don’t even know what’s in the bowl until I get home, but it’s always a yummy African dish which I know that I will miss when I come back to the states.

Before I know it, December will come and I’ll be looking back and thinking of all the things that I miss about my little round house.