Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Slowly learning the language...

As you may have noticed, I changed the blog title because I discovered that "bedouin" is the plural form of "bedou"... Hence, I am a Minnesota Bedou...  Singular. The language will likely be the most difficult thing to learn. Pronunciation is important and even the slightest incorrect inflection causes confusion. There are "glottal stops" and "back of the throat constrictions" all used at different times and in different ways, all with different meanings. That said, I am learning basic greetings and polite exchanges but am still a little shy about speaking the language. And while English is the official second language, I do not want to offend.

I attended a "New Orleans Theme Night" at the cafe on the compound this evening. All cajun food. Good stuff. Then I dropped by to listen to my coworker Steve rehearse with his band, "The No Name Band". Man, they are good and they can play pretty much every genre of music on the planet and play it well. I am looking forward to listening to them at their gig at the park tomorrow. Should be fun.

Working at getting out and meeting a few people, but I am just as happy, if not more so, just keeping to myself. I seem to be busy enough. I very much enjoy my long walks around the area and my running laps around the compound. Though we were told to be a bit more cautious about walking given what happened the other day (not here, but elsewhere) so my long walks will have to stop for a while.

Weather again was amazing. Still a little dusty out, but more clear today than yesterday. Driving is still crazy and it seems that every day either on the way to or from work, sometimes both, we avoid an accident only by luck or by chance. Still not looking forward to driving. I am thinking stinky taxis may be worth it. They are everywhere and if you walk even close to the street you have to constantly wave them off. I may get the nerve to take a taxi ride tomorrow. We shall see. And the adventure continues.

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