Recuperation

Today was a day from recuperation after the hectic work leading up to the wedding and the wedding day itself. This meant that everyone was in a bad mood, slept most of the day, and that we didn't have lunch until 5pm. I had to break into my secret stash several times in order to sustain myself until then. And even then lunch wasn't all that good and it was cold. Disappointment.

The activity of the day surrounded returning all of the chairs and bowls my family had rented for the event. Obviously, this created chaos. I helped stack all of the chairs and then was nominated to be the counter of the chairs because they assumed I was the best counter since I'm a toubab. Unfortunately, my number was three shy which almost gave my mom a heart attack. She started ranting and raving and every other adult in the family also had to count the chairs. We were short. The chairs have mysteriously disappeared along with four large platters. Yeah, it was a mess and everyone is in an absolutely terrible mood.

Other than counting chairs most of my day was spent napping or picking rocks out of rice. No one really seems to understand how incredibly tiring it is to speak in two foreign languages all the time and be tested on my Wolof and then ridiculed for bad it is. Yesterday was a long day for everyone, including me. So apart from resting, I picked the rocks out of our rice for lunch and dinner (we are having the traditional sweet rice Sunday dinner... not my favorite). My sisters hate this task because it's incredibly tedious, but I'm good at since it takes no skill other than being able to spot the black rocks in the white rice so I'm allowed to help with this cooking task. I actually like it because it gives me something to do while everyone is sitting around. I still feel like I'm doing something.

Tomorrow will be my first regular day since Christmas. I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. I was really excited for some family time after being away, but now I'm ready for some obligations to pull me away.