Our families and friends have already experienced how terribly bad the telephone connection is in the Sahara desert. A real conversation is hardly possible. .
So, I thought I would use the blog to describe what I have been doing here the past month..
I have learned how to...
-dress myself in the traditional “melheffa” that Ida and I wear every day.
-sleep on the floor with all the women in my family (around 8 people in a small room)
-carry 10 liters of water on my shoulder the few kilometers back home from the “store”
-make the sweet Saharawi tea which takes about an hour (believe me, it sound easier than it is)
-write and read basic Arabic words and tell myself that I understand a basic conversation (thanks to my teacher Mohamed)
-greet someone in Hassanya (the dialect of Arabic spoken by the Saharawis). This ritual can take up to five minutes! Jekel al Hier.
-milk and feed goats (this needs to be done twice a day)
-do “the dishes” in cold water without soap
-dance like a Saharawi, but not near the oldest man in the family. He can not hear, see or even be near people who talk about dancing or music.
-not shower for a month, but still feel pretty fresh(!).
-wear “henna” on my hands and feet in beautiful patterns
-speak in Spanabic (a funny mixture of Spanish, French and Arabic) with my family and people I meet.
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