it's all in the numbers

2.5 - hours it takes to cook lunch
200 - dollars I earn per month
1 - times I've panicked and called my doctor to say i thought i had malaria
3 - number of chickens I bought, carried across garly, killed, cleaned, and cooked
$4 - cost of a fancyish delish dinner in nouakchott
60+ - books read since July 2006
5 - average times daily I think a cow is trying to kill me (those horns are fierce!)
2 - times I've eaten pizza in Mauritania
2000 - times I've daydreamed about eating pizza in Mauritania
10 - minutes it takes dripping wet clothes to dry mid day
2 - times I've not recognized the person on the cover of current People Magazines
1 million - times I've explained I don't want to marry you or give you money to strangers
200 - estimated hours I've spent waiting for cars
20% - current early termination (ET) rate for my class
9 - kids under the age of 16 that I live with
16 - babies called Laura in my presence
1 - babies actually named after me (Laura/Faty)
less than 10 - times worn jeans in Mauritania
0% - PCVs who successfully live, eat and drink moderately while in the capital city
18 - freckles I counted on my arms day one in Kaedi, so I could monitor early signs of skin cancer caused by the scary African sun
16 - months I've looked at my life and thought I probably can't do this another month
16 - months for which I'm glad I've hung in there