Questions That I Would Like Answers To

Come Saturday, I will officially have been in Mauritania for 4 months. This is the longest about of time I have ever been out of the country and in one place ( the India/ Spain combo may have been longer, but pssssshhhhhh). Anyway, 4 months later I can finally speak decent Pulaar and French, and can thus communicate with the people around me at a somewhat basic level. Also, I have nothing to do most of the time but sit around and stare at stuff (and by nothing to do I mean I should be working, but whatever). This gives me time to wonder about things, so I have composed a list of things that STILL baffle me about Mauritania.
1. Why do cars stop in Lexeiba at 11 o'clock at night????? I've seen this happen a couple of times, where I'm walking back from Nouma's house at like 11pm and the main street and the area outside of the garage in Lexeiba is totally clear. I'll wake up at 6am the next morning to go running and there will be 8 cars pulled over on the side of the road, and all of the people in them will be sleeping on the side of the road on a leeso. Why? We are literally an hour/ hour and a half outside of Kaedi. Lexeiba is on the road to Selibaby, so the cars must be headed there. Why leave Kaedi in th middle of the night, driving on one of the worst roads in the world? Seriously, the road from Kaedi to Selibaby (Lexeiba is located on this road, about 40 km east of Kaedi) is terrible. It's not only unpaved, but thanks to Mauritania's plethora of sand and a harsh rainy season, there are canyons in the road that must be as big as the Hudson River. Even in the daytime, I feel like I'm going to die every second that I am driving on that road. WHY would you try it with no headlights (cars here are generally 70000 years old and delapidated) at night, knowing that you'll have to spend the night in Lexeiba?????? DUMB.

2. Where do the flies go at night? During the day there are about 500 trillion flies in Mauritania, but as soon as the sun sets they disappear. Where do they go? Because I would like to go on a homicidal rampage against Mauritania's entire fly population. If I could only find their hide- out.

3. Why are there so many cows in Mauritania, but everyone drinks silia (powdered milk)? I mean seriously, there are A LOT of cows. The Pulaars are traditionally cattle herders, and Lexeiba probably has more cows than people. That being said, kossum naage (cow milk) is a rarity, and most people just dont drink it. WHY? They also generally don't eat their cows. Yet. I may need a burger pretty soon and turn on the next cow I see.

4. Am I the only one not wearing underwear under my wuddere? I mean, I AM wearing a wrap skirt in a windy climate, but SERIOUSLY, it's HOT. 120 degrees is too hot for underwear. Yet, I saw my sister, Khajata, wearing shorts under hers yesterday. Lose the shorts. It's too hot for that. I may never wear underwear for the next 2 years.

5. How do Pulaars get the cuts on their faces so deep? In Pulaar culture, many people traditionally have 2 parellel cuts along the sides of their eyes, about an inch long. The cuts are to let out spirits that poison your mind, but also for beauty. Almost every Pulaar I know has them, and that is how I distinguish them from the Black Moors. The cuts, while beautiful, are REALLY deep. Most people are cut when they're babies, but even so, skin heals. Do they put something in them to prevent them from closing up and healing, so they are deeper and more pronounced? Nouma's host mom offered to cut her and I the other day, so that we'd be even prettier. I have grown to see them as beautiful, but really, I'm too scared. Also, I don't see 4 pronounced scars on my face going over so well once I come home.

6. Why do people along the river import fish from Nouakchott? When I lived in Rindiao, my Mom used to buy fish imported from Nouakchott everyday for the chebigan at lunch ( a huge bowl of rice with fish and veggies. Mauritanians eat this nearly everyday for lunch). But, Rindiao, like many villages in the Gorgol, Brakna, and Guidimaka, is along either the Gorgol River or the Senegal River. There are TONS of fish in that river, and they are caught fresh daily and have less fish bones. They are also tastier I think. That being said, most people down here prefer the bony, crappy fish that is 6 days old and shipped in all the way from Nouakchott in unrefrigerated trucks. WHY OH WHY?? Thank God my new family in Lexeiba is a fan of the river fish, and every couple of days my shady host brother will come home shadily from wherever at 7pm with 3 kilos of river fish. My family doesnt get them cleaned and fried up until around midnight, but they are delicious.

7. Why is there a verb in Pulaar for "to sit on eggs" and "to leave your husband's compound after an argument", but there isn't one for "to walk"?

Ok, that's all I have right now. Teaching has killed a lot of my brain cells, but when I can think of more, I'll gladly post them.