what's in a bucket?

i'd like to dedicate this post to the most useful object in country... my bucket.

seriously. living with as few of commodities as possible you start to get creative with what you can use something for. for example...

a bucket by all appearances just seems to be a plastic container with a lid into which you can put things. however... fill it with tasty treats from back home and my bucket becomes my own pantry. if i fill it with water and put a cup in it it becomes my very own bathtub/shower complete with shower head (the cup). if i go back to the well and fill it up with water again...presto! a washing machine powered by human (my) hands! if you sit on a bucket you got a chair. if you stack two buckets on top of each other and then sit on my bed you have a table. if you stand on your bucket you have a ladder. *note, it is better to turn the bucket upside down before standing on it as the lid tends to collapse. my bucket is my cutting board, my sink, my dresser top, my defense against rowdy kids, my place to hide from big scorpions. to me, my bucket is everything. who needs all those extra things when you got a bucket? i guess what i'm saying is that you learn to appreciate the things you have a whole lot more when you use a piece of plastic for every little thing you do.

thanksgiving went amazingly awesome. we (our regional house hosted) had approximately 47 people from all over senegal including one volunteer from mauritania, and a couple from england who wanted to celebrate with us. everyone arrived wednesday and had stew for supper. thursday the men of the region killed the turkeys (yep, we found turkeys in this country) and grilled them as well as five chickens. they even successfully deep fried a few. meanwhile me and a few other volunteers cranked out dinner consisting of mashed potatoes, stuffing, casseroles galore, fruit salad, deviled eggs, cornbread, and ten different pies. enough to literally feed an army. plus we were able to watch the dark knight and part of the new bond movie before the power went out on a "big screen" outside (a sheet with a projector). fun was had all around and it was indeed a great thanksgiving. plus i got to drink out of a boot. need i say more? (thanks joeber!)

the goat update: i want to keep as much money as i can in the village so i have been dead set on buying my goat in the village. so the other week i went around to a few herders i know and discussed my desire to purchase a goat. lucky me, i got a hit with one of my close friend's family. i told them i would come back on sunday to buy the goat. they said, "great, see you sunday, inshallah..." (note to blog followers on a previous entry about that word. i should have gotten the hint...) so i go back home tell my dad and uncles all about the goat i am going to buy. they look at me and shake their heads and say, "go buy a goat at the market sunday". i explain that i want to buy it in the village so that a family i know will get the money. they smile, look at me and drop the subject. sunday rolls around and i head over to go buy the goat (after coming from the market with my weekly purchases). i greet the family and my friend realizes that i've come for the goat. she looks at me and says, "i forgot you were coming...we took the goat to the market to get sold." inshallah... so i do the walk of shame back home and there is my dad and uncle with a knowing smile on their faces. "next time you go to the market and buy it" they tell me. no duh, i want to tell them but i don't think it translates. besides, how am i going to get a goat back to my village on my bike?

inshallah...