Hair Braiding and Soccer

I am trying to find some time during our nonstop work at the hospital to get to know the culture a little better. Yesterday I got my hair braided. It was quite the experience, spending half an hour on the covered “front porch” of a mud hut on the main street watching normal daily life of people here in Nalerigu while a woman braided my hair. There were some high school girls that kept looking at me and laughing... I couldn't tell whether they were looking because it looked good or really bad, haha! But it's fun and definitely much cooler. And did I mention it cost less than $2?? When I walked home no one yelled “Saliminga” as I walked back so I decided that I must fit in better now. :) All of the locals keep saying how nice it looks and that I look more African now. :) After getting my hair braided I went to watch a soccer match. In honor of the Failes leaving, there are many activities going on this week. The soccer game was between the hospital staff and a local school and was quite the game. The excitement of the fans and the talent of the players was like what I saw in Brasil, but the difference was that there were goats and a donkey that came out on the field in the middle of the game... and they just kept right on playing!  And the field was part grass, part dirt, with holes and no clear boundary lines... we asked and they said the field on one side and the fans on the other! Wish y'all could have been here to experience the game with us!