Babies!

As time in village winds down, I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye to my babies- all three of them. I'm talking about my puppy, Kodee, and my two nephews- Amadou (2) and Sajo (7 months). These three, although none of them can talk to me (maybe that's why I love them so much), bring an infinite amount of joy to my life. Kodee is the first one to greet me in the morning, with joyous barks and a wagging tail, followed closely by Amadou who runs to me (often naked, having just woken up) with arms spread wide, waiting for me to pick him up and give him a morning kiss. Sajo, in the mean time, is being held by his mother and when he spots me walking across the compound with Amadou in my arms, he breaks out into a giant toothless baby grin- priceless.


I made the decision a couple months ago to not take Kodee back to the states with me. I came to this conclusion after an extensive pro/con list. In the end, it came down to the fact that she will be much happier here, living in my village, than at my dad's house in San Francisco with a small yard or in the apartment that I will most likely occupy upon my return. She is a village dog that loves to go out to the fields with my host dad and brothers (there are numerous times when she's gone to the fields herself long before any humans made it there), who has friends she plays with, who has lots of space to run around in, and who is adored my my family in general (particularly my mom who feeds here more than I do). I can't imagine that she'll be happy living in a cramped space or enjoy obedience classes. It was a heartbreaking decision, but the right one in the end.


The other two, I desperately want to take back to the states with me. I've told my sister-in-law multiple times that I'm going to sneak Amadou back in my backpack. He's the first baby that I've seen grow up before my eyes. He was born two weeks before I visited my village for the first time and was 6 weeks old when I arrived in village. I've seen him grow bigger and was there to see many of his firsts- sitting, crawling, walking, eating solid food, etc. I've calculated the time I spend with him and on any given day in village, I spend 1/7 of my waking hours hanging out with him. He is a mischievous little one who has this glint in his eyes and a sly smile on his lips. The other day when I was making a tree nursery and had laid neem leaves down, he sat down next to it and proceeded to grab handfuls of leaves and throw them everywhere, laughing hysterically has he did so. I cannot express the amount of love I have for this child. If you look through my village albums on facebook, you'll notice that they are dominated by pictures of Amadou. I could have the worst day in village, where I can't seem to express myself in Pulaar or when people are frustrating me, and all it takes is Amadou crawling onto my lap to melt my heart and make me smile again.


Sajo is a close second to Amadou and nothing makes me smile more than a healthy baby. Sajo was born during Ramadan and was named after my brother who died December 2010. He is the happiest baby that I've encountered. Sajo exudes joy and it doesn't take much to get him to break out into his adorable grin. He started to recognize me around 4 months and loves it when I carry him around with me. He has the most adorable outfits and is set to be the cool kid in school. Sajo has the most adorable chubby cheeks and I just want to coddle him.



In my two years here, I've fallen in love. Fallen for these two little boys who will always have a special place in my heart. The worst part of it all is that they won't remember me when I leave. And it hurts to think about it, so I just won't (I'm in D-E-N-I-A-L).

Peace & Babies!