N'arba

3/19/08
So that brings me to everything that's happened since I started living here yesterday afternoon. So far it has been quite a trip. The main character is my neighbor/caretaker/self-appointed surrogate mum, N'arba. N'arba is 70 years old, tough as nails, and has taken it upon herself to make sure that I am properly cared-for here. Because of her, I feel like I have someone looking out for me. She is Kungiya--women's leader--so everyone knows her and she knows everyone. I was particularly thankful for N'arba yesterday. As soon as the car drove off, she took my hand and we started a tour of all of the homes where a child had been born that day. Yesterday I held no fewer than five newborn babes, complete with umbilical cords and exhausted mothers, in the dim and musty rooms of five mud huts. One of the features of my village is that the paths are all twisty and turn-y, with mud walls and homes all over; it's an absolute maze, meaning that I often have no idea where I am relative to my home, meaning that I don't think I'll be able to find all of those babies to check up on them again! Although with N'arba's help, anything is possible...