Some weeks are like that. . .even in Niamey

Hi All,

Wawa. Today pretty much sums up this week. MC forgot to pick Cheikh up for work. I ripped my pants getting into the car and Karim cried when I dropped him off at school. I tried two ATM's which were both broken and waited in a traffic jam for almost an hour. Ugh. Karim has had a really tough time adjusting to school. He almost lost his voice on Monday with so much crying. He seems to be doing a bit better, but it's still a hard thing to go through. This will be his first full week. Yesterday, the Grand Marche had a big fire, so that's been pretty devastating for a lot of people here- no insurance. 

On Monday, we decided not to sign the contract for the house and to continue looking. Several things pushed us to this conclusion, not the least of which was my walking tour of the "neighborhood" on Friday- which includes a huge orchard behind a school where families live in grass huts and a slaughterhouse across the street. Up to that point, we'd always visited the house by car, so we hadn't really had a chance to explore- that combined with the discovery that no kids lived on the block and a few other factors led us to decide to keep looking. And so here we are, finishing up week three, still looking for a house.

This afternoon, Karim and I went to Cocochouland for "Mamans et bebes" a group of French moms, kids and nannies that meet there on Thursday afternoons. K played a lot with the kids and I chatted with the moms a bit. They're all sending their kids to the other school, La Fontaine, in the fall, so I'm feeling a little conflicted because I really like Alliance.

Yesterday, we found a house we like a lot, but it's in a strange area. The contrast between rich and poor seems more intense there. There are mansions that overlook garbage heaps. Whole blocks of grass huts, then turn the corner and there are huge houses and luxury cars.  The streets are wide open stretches of sand.

I will let you know as soon as I have a house update. Until then . . . :)