Toubab

Every day when I walk to school I get stared at. Because I'm a white girl and I'm in the minority here and I stand out. At first I was pretty uncomfortable with getting stared at, but now I just greet the people who stare at me, and then they greet me and stop staring.

Yesterday I met a woman who had spent three years in Hartford, Connecticut, and it occurred to me how much I miss Seattle and Smith. The thought that it's going to be three and a half months before I get to see a movie in English is pretty sad to me. And I miss the convenience of American stores - everything you need is there (and plenty of things you don't need) and prices are fixed so there's no need to barter. Here, you get everything in the market and you have to bargain prices down.

Today we are going to the National Arts Village, which is in the middle of the city and actually seems like a village, but artists live there and have their studios there, so we get to take drumming and dancing there, and eventually art classes, which is all pretty exciting.

Also, I have recently discovered that Carambar fruit candy is really good, and Biskrem cookies are too, and it's cheap and easy to buy mangoes and bananas off the street for like 25 cents.