Aana ismee Salma!

Once again, I am sorry to report that I don't have any photos for you all today; I came to the "cyber" sraightaway after class and didn't think to pack my camera cord. I have taken a bunch, especially me in my hostsister's "mulafa" (full-length veil worn by almost all the women here in Rosso), which I'm excited to show you all. I bought my own mulafa last weekend, which my host sister insists I wear to class every day,but considering I can't walk very far at all in it, I'm not planning on that any time soon.
Since my last post, I've moved out of the Peace Corps trining center and into my host family's house, which is in a different part of the city. My host family is very kind, and their house is quite nice by Mauritanian standards. We have electricity, and one spigot with running water and a TV. We have a shower head and toilet, but without running water inside the house, these things are just for show. My host family is kind in their attempts to teach the "tobab" (white person) how to live African style. Bria, my host mother, has 5 kids, and 3 live at home: Sidi, Umu, and Mame (a boy and 2 girls). There's also 2 oldersons who come to visit on the weekends from Nouakchott. The older boys speak French the best, but everyone speaks a little bit, so we are able to communicate. I'm learning Hassaniya (an Araic dialect), so we actually speak a mixture of the two. Every day (we have one day off each week), I have class with four ther trainees; our teacher, Sy Samba, is awesome. He dances around when we're reciting conjugation charts, and today he made tea for us during our mid-morning break. I'm leaning how to say things like, "I like tea without an ubsurb amount of sugar."
I'm starting to be able to explore the city on my own. I can greet inHassaniya (extremely important here) and canget by with Frenchfor most basic transactions. I'm glad to havethat skill, since about halfthe trainees have little or no French experience.
At this time, I think I can only complain about the heat. Today was a lot hotter than it has been (93, not considering the humidity), and it's difficult to find a cool place. And when you want to cool down, you have to remember not to show your knees or lie flat on your back! They say that the rain should come any day now, and it usually gets really hot before a storm. It should be cooler after the rain, but the streets flood and the mosquitos multiply. I'll let you know which I prefer.
On a more positive note, I've sarted running in the mornings with another trainee. We have to get upbefor 6, but the sun rise in the countrysde outside of tow is beautiful, and the mental relaxation is well worth it.
Finally, sorry about the typing. Thekeyboard has Arabic characters, and then a weird key order, so I'memploying the hunt_and_peck method. I'll try to post again next week, maybe in Arabic!
(Oh yeah, in true Cortney fashion, I have adopted a new Mauritanian name: Salma. My host family gave it to me the day I arrived at their house. It's the name of the first grandchild -- cute!)