Courtyard Camping

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Last night I was determined to sleep outside.  It is way too stinking hot in my room to survive another night, so I told Moussa I wanted to sleep outside.  He set about getting things ready: the dirt ground was swept and sprinkled with water to settle some of the dust.  The drain hole in the wall was plugged up with rocks.  Nails were pounded into the outside walls to hang my mosquito net.  A pole had to be erected in the ground to hang the 4^th corner of the net.  This meant a hole had to be dug, a pole found, the hole filled with dirt and tiny rocks pounded into submission, and water poured over the top to cement it.  I thought Moussa was planning to sleep under the net with me, otherwise I never would’ve allowed him to do so much work just for me when I have a bug hut.  But then the same process started to hang Moussa and Salif’s net.  All so I could sleep outside!  But they’ve never once treated any extra work that I bring as a burden.  It’s just all part of life.  Before we went to bed, Moussa and Salif wheeled over the wagon cart and wheelbarrow and upended them in the entranceway to our half of the concession, to protect me from wandering donkeys.  I protested that they hadn’t gone to so much trouble when they had slept outside the night before.  Moussa said it was because I would be scared of the donkeys and they wouldn’t (not entirely false).  I defended myself, saying the donkeys still might have stepped on them, but Moussa made punching motions and said he and Salif would beat the donkeys.  There’s no arguing with him!  Besides, I was glad for the extra safety. 

I fell asleep listening to the sounds of Mountougula at night: people chatting and laughing, music playing in the distance, donkeys bellowing their horrendous seizure-brays.  It was wonderful.  I was excited to sleep under the stars, but quickly realized sleeping means removing my glasses, and that means I can tell there are maybe 15 lighter splotches in the sky.  Not exactly a vision worth writing about!  Admittedly I woke up a few times because I wasn’t totally comfortable.  But I’ll take a too-full air mattress over stifling, choking heat any night.  And in the morning, we silently took the whole thing down, with only the nails in the walls and the poles in the ground remaining to await the next night.