Aane esmi, aane esmi, aane esmi naaza-naaza-nazaaraani...

Ok, so maybe "My name is, my name is, my name is Slicka-Slicka-Slim
Shady" sounds a lot catchier, but Eminem didn't have to speak
Hassaniya. Aane esmi Naazaaraani means "My name is Naazaaraani" in
the dialect of Arabic I am learning here in Kaedi. Naazaaraani isn't
my name, actually, my host family calls me Amy most of the time, it's
easy for them to say and not as confusing as calling me "Mah", which
is my Hassaniya name, which they gave me despite the fact that it is
also their eldest daughter's name. Naazaaraani is the Hassaniya term
for "white girl". Literally translated it means Nazereene, as in, you
know, Jesus.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the comparison.

Nazaaraani is what is sometimes shouted at us as we walk down the
street. It doesn't bother me, and it is a nicer sounding word than
"Toubab", which is what they shout at the trainees in the Pulaar
speaking neighborhoods.

We are all split up now, and living with families, so aside from the
PCTs in our language class, the trainees don't see each other much.
Gossip, however, travels at the speed of light. Whoever said that you
can't keep secret in the desert sure wasn't kidding.

To recap the past 10 days:
Number of PCTs remaining after 5 days of homestay (of original 45): 43
# goats at my house: 6
days it took our bags to come: 6
sandstorms since we arrived: 2 large ones, assorted minor ones NOTE:
for the past 3 years, the first rains of the season have come on the
night the PCTs arrive in Kaedi, and we were no exception. The
Mauritanian staff was saying that we brought the rain. Combined with
the meaning of Naazaaraani this makes me very uncomfortable. If there
is a drought am I going to be blamed?
local languages I can greet people in: 4
local languages I can count to ten in: 1 (waahid)
local languages I can carry on a one minute conversation in: 0
camels sighted: hundreds
glasses of mint tea consumed: oh, thousands (it comes in shot glasses)

I am in the city till September, inshallah (God willing), so I will
try and take advantage of the internet access as I will surely not
have it in the village that will be my permanent site.
love
amy