My Neighbors

9-24
There's a little girl who is terrified to even look at me. About 5 years old, she comes around my compound on her mother's back, squinting her eyes as hard as she can. The other day, she was sitting on the bench outside of my house with my host sisters. When I came out, she imedimmately thre her hands to her eyes and ran away, much to the amusement of my host sisters.
9-18
Today, two women came and one thrusted her baby at me and wanted me to breast feed it. Women in the village are constantly breast feeding- wheather its their own cild or someone else's- its just a community resouce- she almost yanked my breast out of my bra to feed it. "No, no- I can't do it."
"Why?"
"They're... too small" I said.
"No they're not, they're big!" Oh well thank you, but really. I explained to her that I can't breast feed because I've never had children. This is unbelievable to them. I'm not married. Even more autonishing. Then te game begins- who are you going to marry? My mother is convinced it is going to be the head nurse at the health center, even though he already has a wife, I could be the second. And apparently, word got around that I was staying for five years instead of two. Plenty of time to get married. And once I do, I'll have to stay at least that long.