This post has been sitting in my “draft” box for several months now, but better late than never right?
We had such a wonderful week in the village! Our first day we arrived, we unpacked our belongings and were greeted warmly by many neighbors. Muluka took me around part of the village the following day to greet people. I was very impressed the entire time with how well Muluka and Daoud hosted us. She shared food with us several times, took me to visit and meet village women, came to visit with me several evenings after dinner, offered cultural advice, and just generally made me feel very much welcomed and cared for. Daoud was faithful to check in several times during the day to make sure we were cared for and had what we needed. He is also clearly concerned that the village accepts us and that we feel welcomed.
Visiting with the women provided much encouragement for me. When we were first introduced to this village two years ago, I was only at the beginning of my Makai language studies and was unable to converse to any extent with them. Now, I still have a long way to go to increase my vocabulary and clean up my grammar, but I can have conversations, make some jokes, ask and answer questions, and just generally enjoy visiting with them. They, too, recognized the growth in ability, which was encouraging for me. I also connected with multiple close relatives of people I know here in Abeche, which was also special.