Boring chose

So there are times when I have no idea what language I am speaking or hearing. I don't know if its English, French or Pular. Also if an english speaker starts talking to me like the 3 Argentinans who stopped in my village, I have a hard time switching to english to reply and I just keep going in French. Also my grammer in all 3 is atrocious.

You will be proud that I take myself less serious. Social situations are ackward here and you just get used to it. I even laugh when I catch the girls making fun of me. They think they are being sly but really I'm the only person that says "I'm learning small small" in Pular (Mido ekitaade seeda seeda"). If it gives them something to laugh at so be it.

My accomplishments this month: the vaccination room is running better than ever even though it is still slow going, they are resisstant to talk to mothers and council them, and it is impossible to find the health centers (hc) copies of the kids records sometimes. I have also found a new place to beat my clothes against the rocks that is more secluded and the water is supposed to be cleaner. I really hope I don't get river parassites. I have talked to two women about using birthcontrol, and so far I have a 50 percent success rate at making my case. I have also bought some african art (like 2 hours ago) its a wooden figure of an animal the only thing in my price range and i bought a cute tie dye dress. I live so cheaply I figure I can spend some mad money and I'm trying to save up to send presents back.

I have found the new love of my life: mangos!! Mangos are in season and they are wonderful. I am a fan of mixing them with cut up pineapple, tomatos, onions, and garlic to make salsa that is so good. Oh and if anybody is wondering you can make just about anything to eat by using tomatos, onions, and garlic. Even though the all rice and sauce diet is still tough at times I'm getting used to it and I realize I'm probably eating healthier than I ever have in my life. Someone please help me and send junk food. Although my friend in Labe has found a place that sells almost dounuts. We thought they had cinnamon rolls but we were decieved and it was just sweet bread.

Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe listening to a mix of african and american music trying not to be too obvious about dancing in my chair while the kids are all searching dating web sites. Ah young love.

So what else is new . . . oh so call it deja vu but we got new drugs in the hc and you guessed it I was once again counting and stocking drugs. I showed the other woman working how we do it in the USA so much faster and easier. Difference made. It made me miss being at home working with the K crew and eating junk food and counting pills. Here I am in Africa counting pills with a woman who has her baby on her back and the baby is handing us plastic bags to put the meds in. She's like 18 months old. As we were stocking the drugs in the back room I found something incredible and nobody else seemed to realize it: 2 computers a rich Guinean sent from Europe. One for the hc and the other for the school. Ohh the possibilities especially for my school library project I want to kick off over the summer so we can have books for the kids in the fall. How am I the one shocked and awed by technology and everyone is like ehh. Then again some people here have cell phones that are nicer than the one I carried back home. Heck they are nicer than my cheap ass nokia. But then I live in the bermuda triangle of cell reception one moment I have it the next nothing.

So I'm just trying to get grounded and figure things out. I can't believe its been almost 3 months at site. I kept saying go slow you have two years and now its like whoa I have less than 2 years. Soon I'll be doing my inservice training and then I'm supposed to begin my real work. for the first 3 monthes they want us to not do projects and just do a community study.

Here is how I've been keeping busy:

Wake up as the vultures use my roof as a landing pad- noisy bastards.

Eat cereal maybe listen to the bbc

bucket bath, sunscreen, and random tee shirt and wrap skirt and its out the door

drink some tea outside of Binta's boutique, go to the hc, visit people, maybe hike to an outlying village

around 1 or 2 I head home for lunch

Visit the taylor, and the pharmacy, maybe wash my clothes or house

buy anything I need

by 7 or 7:30 it starts getting dark and I head home. I reheat lunch leftovers of rice and sauce (I eat with a family and they give me food and I give them the stuff to make it with every market day). Listen to the news on bbc, write in my journal, do a little yoga while meditating on that nights passage of the Tao Ching (yep make any jokes you dare to). Then read and sleep and hope the rodents don't get in and steal my food or wake me.

Sundays are my days and I wait for people to call from home at my regular reseau (reception) spot.


Reading for this month:

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Epic and wonderfully written. Some parts made the characters seem flat but otherwise I really enjoyed it.

I hope they serve beer in hell. Basically this guy recounting all of the sleazeball things he's done to girls. Entertaining until you realize this is a real person and he really thinks this way.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd I loved this novel about a girl running from her shattered life and finding shelter. It was beautifully written and the characters were amazing.

Currently I'm onto The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Read this along time ago but I think I'm getting more out of it now.


I hope everyone is well please keep me updated.

Love always