Just really integrated, or am I losing my mind?

Written Thursday, 17 April 2008


Yesterday, after a long day of biking in the hot sun, interviewing candidates for the SeneGAD scholarship, and greeting every single person I passed in Dialacoto, I was finally biking back to my village (at 3:30 pm – the hottest part of the day – not smart!) I passed a cow on my path, and I was on the verge of asking it "Do you have peace?" when my brain caught up to me and I remembered that while greetings are very important here, that doesn't include livestock.

I think I am losing my mind, at least temporarily because of the heat.  Or maybe I am just so integrated here that I am better at following the country's customs than even the locals are.  After all, who's more polite – someone who greets a cow, or someone who ignores it?