my younger host sister just got married about a month ago. she's 16 or 17, it's hard to say for sure as birthdays aren't really that remarkable or remembered here. the guy she married is a mechanic in kaedi, and i heard he's about 26. that's actually a markedly small age difference for these parts, where most girls get married before they're out of their teens and most men are in their thirties for the occasion. but that's beside the point.
about every other day i get a proposal. no, not a down-on-one-knee type of thing. more of a "hey, white girl, marry me and take me to america" kind of thing. or right after someone meets me, asking me if i already have a husband. except in my village, i often lie at this juncture. "yes," i say, "he is waiting for me in america while i work here." the very determined say either that i should leave him or that i should just have a husband there and a husband here in mauritania. i kindly explain that that's not how it works with americans and try to change the subject.
but after two years of conversations like this with virtually every man i meet, i've started to get nervous. though in my conscious mind i realize this is just silly, i'm worried that i'll get back and everyone i know will already be married or in a serious relationship while i am starting from square one. or that no one will "get me" (sounds dramatic, right?) after this experience.
then the other day sala and i were on our way to the college and she turned to me and said, "you know, spending practically every day of this two years with you has really revived my faith in the institution of marriage. if we can stand each other this well and still be this happy, then it's gotta be possible in america." we joked about it a lot then. things'll work out, we decided. they always have, they always do. but still, how funny: when sala and i return to america and jump back into the dating scene we'll essentially be looking for each other, except in male form.
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