This is me and my host mom at a ceremony thanking the families for taking care of us.

This is me and two of my fellow volunteers in our swear-in outfits. Mine is a tank top with matching pants that was made out of W. African fabric.

This is a goat.

This is a donkey cart.

These are the drum guys that played at our swear-in ceremony.

This is our soccer team. I didn't play. j/k. Not really.

This is the team our team played.

This is the crowd after our team lost.

As most of you know I am currently in the US, very far from West Africa. I am pretty sure that I will not be updating my blog again until I am back in Africa. But I thought that I would answer a question that I have been asked a few times since I have been back.

What were my first impressions being back in the US?:

The US (specifically the Dallas airport) is big, clean, bright, sterile, and cold. Very very cold.

Okay so here is an update on the books I've read since the last time I talked about the books I have read.

The Better of McSweenys Vol 1-10 By: Various

This was a book filled with letters and short stories from McSweenys quarterly. I really liked this one about the circus. But, I really like all things circus related.

Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas By: Tom Robbins

I actually read twice. In a row. I really liked the cultural currency that was West African, like the baobob tree and hotel amitié. But really, I read it twice in a row because the other options were the last 800 pages of Don Quixote (and I felt like the first 200 were enough) or a Paulo Coelho book in French.

Dry By: Augusten Burroughs

Astonishing.

Microserfs By: Douglas Coupland

This was (sadly) my first Coupland. Well not exactly, I have read a few pages of another but this was the first I completed. It made me lonely for my geeky friends back in the US.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan By: Sophie Kinsella

I know. I know. But I was hoping that it would be a good Sex and the City fill in. It wasn't. I did finish it though so I guess that says something for it.

700 Sundays By: Billy Crystal

Read this book. I don't know if Mr. Crystal has made any good movies recently but this book sure makes up for that fact.

In Her Shoes By: Jennifer Weiner

I loved the movie so I wanted to read the book. Both are great. Not a deep book by any means but it was fun and that is important sometimes too.

Litter Altars Everywhere By: Rebecca Wells

The prequel to The DivineSecrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. What can I say, I was in a girlie reading pattern.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress By: Dai Sijie

I put off reading this book for a really long time because I thought that it was going to be bad. Part of my judgement probably had to do with the fact that I don't really enjoy Balzac. At any rate, I am glad that I waited because I think that the book meant more to me because I could relate more at this point in my life. But I am glad I finally got to it.

The Lost Continent By: Bill Bryson

I love love loved Bryson's book on Australia. It was filled with interesting facts but was never boring. But this book. I have never gotten this angry while reading. I have never considered myself patriotic, but maybe I am because I felt that Bryson just crapped all over the US and I did not appreciate reading it. In fact, don't bother reading it for yourself I can sum the entire book up: The US is ugly, derelict and one big strip mall.

The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency By: Alexander McCall Smith

Another book that I put off reading because I didn't think I was going to like it. I did enjoy it though.

Boy Island By: Camden Joy

Um.

Reading Lolita in Tehran By: Azar Nafisi

Honestly. I didn't even finish Tehran. I really enjoyed the parts of the book that were about the revolution, but the parts were she is doing literary criticism were painful. I spent the last six years of my life doing that. I'm done. So, I read all but the last 50 pages. I just don't have any motivation to read anymore. Maybe one day I will get tired of carrying around a book that is almost done and I will finish it. Maybe.

Hello all.

It has been a while. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Unfortunately putting the pictures up took most of my internet time so I dont get to give much of an update; but I will try.

I spend the past several weeks in village getting to know the community and getting my house all set up. I feel very much at home there now and the people have been very excepting of me which makes me feel at home and wanted.

I went to the capital, Ouaga, for Christmas and New Years. Both were nice. It didnt compare to being at home with family and the new baby, but for my first Christmas sans family it worked.

I have been back at village since the first. My supervisor came by for a site visit and it was nice to speak English in village. The only other visitors I have had were my host family.

I am at my regional capital for the day because I am in need of produce. I still havent gotten my garden up; although my supervisor gave me a basil plant as a house warming gift; so I am getting closer. I have two more months in village to figure out what the community needs that I can give them and then we go back to training for three weeks. It will be nice/weird to see all of the group again. Some of them I saw in Ouaga; but some of them I wont have seen for three months.

Okay. So. I think it is important for cultural exchange that I talk about the weather a bit. Wind. The wind is out of control. It comes in from the Sahara and picks up all this sand/dust. Visibility is like half a km. Really. And everything gets covered in dust immediately so cleaing is a sad project. And is it cold. It was 59 the other day! 59! Well the other night. But our houses dont really have a heater and whatnot so that equals a cold night sleep. Or not sleep as it were. With the dust is really looks like winter. And it feels like it could almost snow. Then I remember that it is West Africa and no where near snow temps. Oh well. The wind is something else; even if snow isnt on its way.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Photos!!!!

This is, well me with short hair. I am posed with my lovely bike and helmet. The skirt I am wearing is made from pagne material and in the background is ECLA, where we had our pre-service training.

This is at my host families house on Ramadan. This lady is a neighbor that came over to wish us a bon fete! In the back right corner you can see the shower.

The two girls in green are friends of my host family and the two girls in pink are my little sisters. They are all dresses up for Ramadan. In the background is the kitchen area.

This is my petite mere working on making dinner. In the center background is the house I used when I lived with them.

I have been in village for a week now. Things are good. We are given the first month to get our houses set up and meet the people of the community. My site is a replacement site; so my house was mostly set up and I was able to get it in working order in a couple of days. Which means I dont really have to much to do.

I read a book of short stories and started reading Don Quixote.

I have written some letters.

I cook a lot.

I biked 15km to a city to use my cell phone just to turn around and bike 15km back.

I biked 25km to a bigger city to use the post office and the internet and visit the market.

But the village is great. The people are super nice. My cat ran away. Im not too upset though because the girl before me had a dog (named Kafka; how cool is that?) So the dog keeps my company now that the cat cant.

I live in a familys compound but its not the same as my host family because I get to cook for myself and keep to myself for the most part.

My house is two rooms. One functions as the bedroom while the other one is a kitchen / living room / everything else room. The Burkinabé dont really spend a lot of time in their houses so I had a new roof put on my patio and Im having a patio furniture made and then I will be spending most of my day outside just using the house for cooking and sleeping.

There is no electricity in village. I can literally throw a rock and hit power lines; but they havent been tapped into. I think I prefer it this way. I wake up shortly after the sun and go to bed shortly after sunset. I use a gas stove and a couple of gas lamps. If I feel lonely I will use my mp3 player. So really I dont have need for electricity. I just have to figure out how to recharge the batteries for my mp3 player; but I think help is shortly on the way in form of a solar charger.

The cell company I have doesnt have service in village; hence biking to use my cell phone. But I hear another company does; so I am looking into that.

My village is on a main freeway; so I can get many places easily.

There is a market in my village once every three days. I can get a lot of different things there; ranging from fabric to pots and pans. But the produce is lacking. I can get tomatoes and cucumbers and onions from one lady; but I never know if she will be at market. Otherwise I can get yams. One person sells mangos. A couple sell guavas. I am not sure what will be available for long though since the rainy season is long over.

I think I will come to the city often to go to the big market. I am also stocking up on the canned veggies and dried fruit that are available here (I can get chick peas; green peas; green beans; corn; carrot and peas; dried bananas and dried mangos). But fresh would be better.

I have already started a compost pile; so soon I will start a garden which will help the produce situation greatly.

Today when I woke up it was 73 in my room. It really dawned on me that Christmas is close and winter is well under way. It made me very lonely for my friends and family.

I dont really know how I can completely express my village utilizing a language that I no longer speak; I wish that I could upload pictures. I have to somehow get my photos off of my camera and onto a flashdrive to be able to upload them. But I dont have a laptop. Someday I will get it together.

I just mailed four photos to Tanya, with the hope that between diaper changes she will be able to scan them in and I can start to share my new world visually.

Until then I will write a little about my voyage to the city.

I set an alarm because there is no telling when I will wake up these days and I needed to get on the road early for two reasons. One: I wanted to visit the post for money and mailing letters but they close at noon on Saturdays and dont reopen until Monday morning. Two: the winds get really bad mid morning and I didnt want to have to bike through them.

So; I woke up; took a long bucket bath; put some coffee and leftover lentils in my system and headed out. I was a site Im sure. I was wearing jeans and a tshirt to make sure that I did show off my knees. I had a huge backpack on my back with supplies. I brought 2.5L of water; snacks; money; medication; first aid kit; changes of clothes; cell phone; id; bike receipt; helmet; bike repair kit; bike pump. I was not going to have troubles on the road. Finally I brought my mp3 player because 25km without music would be very boring.

What I neglected to bring was a dictionary. But so far I have done okay without one.

The bike ride took about two hours. It was amazing.

I passed a lake like body of water. Burkina is very flat up North; so the water doesnt occur in valley bottoms. There is land and then water just sort of started and stops at will. There are gardens close to the water. There are animals drinking the water. There are children bathing in the water and standing close looking after their flocks. And here I go by on my bike listening to Johnny Nash letting me know he can see clearly now. Johnny; I too can see clearly now. Burkina is beautiful.

I only wish you could see it too.

Kisses;

Lacey

Yesterday we swore in and I became an official Peace Corps volonteer. The swear in ceremony was a big thing with lots of important people. And then after we rushed around buying more stuff because today we all leave for our respective sites.

I have already seen my site because we took a field trip there a couple of weeks ago. It is a smallish villager; about 4000 people. There is no electricity; cell reception; telecenter; internet; et al. But it is right on the main road so transport will be nice and easy. The people are really nice and my house is very cute. I have a hanger in my courtyard for shade that I hope to turn into a nice little hang out place.

I have been super busy getting ready to go to site and finishing up with training; hence my not being in contact recently. But everything is still going really well, I am rather nervous about going to village but I am sure even that will be fine. I wrote up a whole list of things that I wanted to talk about right now; but I packed the list so I will try to touch on everything or at least as much as I can.

Last night after swear in we had a little going away party since we arent going to see each other for several months. We had a little gathering at the hotel we are all staying at and then took donkey carts to the bar where the actually party was. That is right; I said donkey carts. It is by far the most amussing thing we have done this far. I cant imagine what the people of the town thought when they saw four donkey carts full of white people cruising down the main road. Oh well. Im sure they got a good laugh out of it.

Id like to take this moment to say Happy Birthday to: Tanya; Dad and Kaitlyn.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

And hopefully I will make it back to the internet before but in case I dont: Merry Christmas to all.

So since I get to go to my site today I get to cook for myself tonight. I think for my first meal I will make chickpea salad. I cant wait. It is crazy how excited I am to get to cook for myself. I guess I should get used to finding pleasure in really simple things now.

I have started thinking of all the things that I want to do to my house; I think that it will end up looking really nice and I am excited to have people visit so I can get back into my role of playing hostess. We had a Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel; but I didnt get to do anything for it. I did help plan last nights party; but that didnt remotely help my aching to have dinner parties.

So. The funniest saying Ive come across so far is Ce n'existe pas. If you go to a restaurant or store and ask for something they dont have they will either say C'est fini (which means it is finished) or Ce n'existe pas (which means that doesnt exist). And each time I think; no Im pretty sure Ive seen bread before in my life. Im sure that isnt nearly as entertaining to you as it is to me. But try this. The next time you go somewhere and they are out of something; imagine the patron telling you that item doesnt exist. Or dont. Its up to you.

This morning when I woke up I was very very cold. It was probably 70. But it was cold. And it was the first time since Ive been here that I actually felt like it could possibly be winter time somewhere in the world. I miss fall. And winter. And Christmas. Thanksgiving wasnt that hard for me since there were so many volonteers around and we had a big celebration together. But Christmas will be very hard. I dont think many people are going to try and get together and as hard as we try we wont be able to replicate Christmas in the US.

Although I did see a fake Christmas tree for sale at the market yesterday.

I got a kitty today. It is currently in my room at the hotel. It is probably not too happy about that. It is super cute and like only six weeks old. Ive never had a pet other than my goldfish in high school. So this is going to be interesting. But hopefully less lonely.

I think with all the work I want to do on my house and playing with the cat I wont have time to realize that I dont have any books to read.

So far since Ive been here Ive read:

Lovely Bones

Donnie Brasco

Lucky

They were all really good. Donnie was a little long. Lovely and Lucky were very depressing. But all good. Next I think I will read some short stories from McSweenies.

I have lost 11 pounds. Well that is where I was at a few weeks ago when I last weighed myself. Most of it I think was muscle mass because I havent worked out once since Ive been here and I have been eating unhealthy. And, I have been having a couple of beers a week. So I cant imagine how I lost weight unless it was muscle. Hopefully I can get my strength back while I am at site. I feel so weak now.

Ahhh! I leave for site in an hour and thirty minutes. This is going to be so weird. They are going to drive me to my house; drop me and my stuff off. And then it is just me and the villagers. And my cat. And I dont really know much Moore yet; so I am going to have to stand around awkwardly until I have put in enough face time that I can duck into my house to unpack. I really with I knew how to say I have to unpack in Moore. That would be helpful. And I packed my Moore textbook so I cant even be refreshing or learning new stuff to help ease the awkwardness. Oh well.

Let me update you on the weather. It is the time of year where the winds get blowing in from the Sahara. This makes everything even more dusty then it would normally be. Which for me means more sand in my nose. This time of year also happens to be at the end of the harvest season; which means post harvest burning. It really does a number on my nose and lungs.

I only have five minutes of internet time left so I suppose I should wrap this up.

I am not going to have cell reception or internet access at site. So I will not be in contact very much. But dont worry. I will be great. Just keep in mind; no news is good news.

Please send me physical photos of all the good things Im missing so I can use them to decorate my house.

Love you all!

Lacey

Big congrats to Tanya and Eric and hello to Brendan! I am very excited but sad that I am missing all the fun.

Things sort of interesting that have happened recently (I say sort of interesting because none of them compare to bringing a child into the world):

A week or so ago the Tour du Faso came through town. The tour is a bike race that goes around Burkina for several weeks. A lot of Burkinabé race but it is open to anyone so many Europeans also end up racing. I think this year about 100 people were competing. It was a big do here. Everybody went out to the road and hung out waiting for the cyclist to come through town. There were vendors and music and speeches. Then that night everybody went to the grandstand for a party with live music. It was very interesting to watch, I dont really know how people bike hundreds of kilometers in this heat though. I can imagine biking some before it gets too hot; but they didnt get into town (their stoping point for the day) until about 13:00 at which time it is HOT. So I guess I wont be joining them next year.

Ouaga was awesome. I had pizza and ice cream and Indian food and swam in a pool and relax. It was like a mini luxury vacation. The city itself is a lot bigger than Ouhiya, so there are the same things as in any big city, good and bad. I think when Im in village it will be an even bigger shock to go into Ouaga for breaks. But I already appreciated it. I even had pizza twice. If only I could find good Mexican food...

We are actually supposed to be working here too, so Ill talk a little about that. The other day we went on the radio and had a short block where we tried to teach locales about diarrhea. We did a little skit where a couple of women met in the market and discuss diarrhea because they both had sick kids and they did a little information sharing. But more importantly we did a song. About diarrhea. On the radio. To the tune of "if you are happy and you know it". It was very memorable and I will probably never forget being trapped in the small sweaty room with nine other Americans singing about diarrhea in French. I love my job.

I am getting ready to go out to one of the nearby villages to watch some of the other trainees play a soccer game against a local team. Again; Im not really sure how people do active stuff like that in this heat; but Im more than happy to watch them.

Finally:

I thought I would leave you with a list of stuff. It is a list of stuff that would be useful always. So if you are ever sitting around the house thinking how youd like to send a package of goodies to your friendly American living in Burkina; these are some things that you could get together (or things like these things):

Easy cheese

cheese whiz

nacho cheese

any cheese product really that doesnt have to be refridgerated

dried fruit

nuts that are not peanuts or cashews

powdered drink mixes like crystal lite; koolaid; gatorade (if possible the individual packages are better because of bugs)

protein bars like luna bars or koshi bars

chewy bars

powdered soups (I hear bear creek makes really good ones)

other food mixes that involve adding water or oil (i can get rice and couscous and pasta so they could be just the sauce part)

candy like m&ms; skittles; lemon heads; dots; red vines; twizzlers; etc (again because of bugs individual packages would be best if possible)

magazines both good news informative and trashy

The address to mail stuff (and letters are also very appreciated) is:

my name

corps de la paix

01 BP 6031 Ouagadougou 01

Burkina Faso (West Africa)

Okay. Im done. No more : from me.

bilfu

*it is amazing how much sand gets caught in my nose

*I watched my brothers kill; skin and cut up a sheep the other afternoon

*I held the cutest baby the other afternoon. She is my niece. I got a picture of her but not of me holding her.

*I bought the material and had a tailor make a special order skirt for $5.50

*A 24oz domestic beer is $.90

*Most days I spend less than a dollar on lunch. Some days I spend less than $.50

*Today I didnt buy the big can of pringles because it was $1.50 and that is too rich for my blood

*Since bugs are attracted to light; electricity is bittersweet

*I am caught off guard when I see a non Peace Corps white person

*I get caught off guard when I see a car. Big vehicles are scary; especially when I am sharing the road with them and I am on my small bike

*My Peace Corps friends Burkinabé brother doesnt like her biking at night because of the ghosts

*You arent supposed to transport honey in cars; if you do put honey in a car you have to place honey on the wheels to ward off the honey genies

*I went dancing last night with my Burkinabé brother and sister. Besides the dancing aspect it was a lot of fun

*I am worried about getting enough protein and calcium so Im drinking two glasses or chocolate milk a day and eating tons of peanut butter and laughing cow cheese

*Lots of frogs here

*While out dancing last night I heard: cotton eyed peas song; a shikira song and that hey mr dj song

*Tonight on TV they played that and then I got high song

*It rains a lot here. Although today I heard there is only a week left of rain

*Hand washing clothes takes too long

*A car costs the same as a computer

*I had a peanut ring. It is basically peanut butter formed into a ring and fried. It is delicious

*I am very excited because we are going to Ouaga this week for the african arts faire (SIAO) It is a big thing that only happens in Burkina every other year and many different countries participate. Im really just looking forward to staying in a hotel and getting a real shower

*A lot of my family members speak English but they arent supposed to speak English to me since Im supposed to be practicing the language as much as possible

*Right now Im listening to Youve lost that lovin feeling. Yay for mp3 players!

*Ramadan:

Ramadan is the celebration at the end of Caremè. Caremè is the month long fasting that Muslims do to ask Allah forgiveness for their sins (at least that is what i think is going on). So after a month of fasting their is a big prayer followed by all day feasting. This is why my brothers killed the sheep. On the actual fete day a lot of neighbors brought food and we gave them food. And the neighborhood girls came by to get their hair done and my mom did my little sisters makeup. Everybody wore their best clothes. We went to my moms families house to say hi and after back to our house for dinner. Then I went out dancing with my brother and the neighborhood guys. We were out until 2:30am which was good since I had school the next day.

* Today I made (with my language class) banana bread and bean burritos. I was heavenly

*I was all excited about a month in country without getting sick but yesterday I had food poisoning. I think it was the salad I had. I know salad is super dangerous. But it sounded so good. I get a lot of cucumber and tomatoe salads but I was craving letuce

*We had our second language test. I scored high enough to swear in.

*I think that is all for now

m taa

Lacey

I have been in country for three weeks now. Things are still going really well. I did get sick; but it was a cold; not really related to being in Africa.

For this weeks update I am going to give an example of my average day. I hope this will give a better sense of things here and answer any questions.

6:00; I wake up. No. Really. When I wake up it is about 80 - 85F. In my room. I usually lay in bed for a few minutes contemplating if I want to get out from under my mosquito net.

Then I get out from under my net and gather what I need for my bath. There is no running water in Burkina outside of like really nice houses and hotels. Most bathrooms are in two parts. One: Three walls and a hole in the ground and the toilet. Two: Three walls and a drain are the shower room. So by bath I mean out of a bucket.

I take my bucket of water, soap, rag and razor to the bathroom. I will be wearing a pagne at this time. A pange is a brightly colored; beautifully designed cloth that women use as wrap around skirts/dresses; or people have tailored into clothes. I have one that I wear to take showers and one that I had made into a skirt.

The bucket bath is actually more enjoyable than it sounds. I like it now. I just wish the bugs didnt eat me alive.

Post bucket bath I will get dressed. Burkina is an Islamic country; so I cant show my knees and if I wear a tank top it has to be a nicer blouse one. Therefore, getting dressed frequently means ankle length skirt and long sleeve button up shirt. Real fun in the heat.

At this point I apply a thick layer of bug spray.

About now my host mom brings in my breakfast. Breakfast is typically bread, eggs in some form and maybe a cucumber and tomato salad. They feed me way too much so I usually take about half of breakfast to school for snacks.

After breakfast I hop on my bike (awkward in an ankle length skirt) and ride two km into the training site. Most days are comprised of two language classes and two other classes. Other classes are: health, culture or business related. We get three breaks.

Mu favorite break is lunch because we get one and a half hours. If I still have leftovers from breakfast I will eat them at the training center. Otherwise Ill bike to a restaurant with other trainees. Biking in the heat is probably a bad idea. Today for lunch I had bissap juice (local thing not sure what it is made of other than bad water and a lot of sugar) yogurt and a salad w/ cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado. I also enjoy couscous w/ tomato sauce and Ive gotten used to my daily fanta. Not so much for the soda part, but the ice cold is really important after a long bike ride in the heat.

After lunch we finish up classes and then there is language tutoring. After which we are free to go home for the evening. It is usually six pm or later when I get home.

My Burkinabé family is very kind, a typical Burkinabé trait. There is one Dad; a head wife who has five children all in their twenties and a second wife who has two younger children. And a bunch of people that I cant identify. Both the mothers make fried dough, one sells the dough in front of our house while the other sells at the local market. My brother makes furniture that he sells in front of our house. My dad is retired but he used to work for the phone company. My family is big on education even though it is all pay as you go here.

When I get home I wash my hands and face and sit in the courtyard where my mom makes dinner. When dinner is made they serve me. Dinner will be anything from Benga (black eyed peas) to rice with sauce. Although last night I got french fries. That was awesome. The typical dinner is tô, which is like mashed potatoes but made out of millet that is eaten by right hand with a sauce.

After I eat I will hang out in the courtyard for a while. Sometimes Ill get my family to help me out with my Moore (the local tribal language that they speak). About 7:30 I go into my room to do my homework. It is very hot in my room. Clay walls + tin roof = oven. Luckily my very nice family provided me with a fan. So I lay in bed with the fan on and to homework.

I go to bed about 9pm. Unless Im extra tired. Then I go to bed at like 8pm. When I was sick I went to bed at 7:30pm and it was fabulous.

This training will continue until the end of November. At which point we will be sworn in. Then we go to our sites for three months to evalute what the community needs. Then we come back to the training site for two to three more weeks of training. Then at the end of Marh we actually start working. We still dont know our sites but we should hear in two weeks.

Now for things happening that are time specific;

it was my friends birthday yesterday so a couple of us got together and made a non-bake pie. We mashed plain cookies and butter together for the crust. And the filling was sweetened condensed milk with lime juice. It turned out really well considering all the situational constraints. I wish I had taken a picture of the prep though. It was pretty ridiculous.

Also; it is the end of Caréme and since the moon was not visable last night Ramadan is going to be on Monday. I hear it is just like one huge party. I am very excited for my first in country traditional holiday. Hopefully I will have exciting stories to report back!

Okay. So. Please keep emailing me. I enjoy hearing from you. I dont have time to reply; but I am reading and REALLY appreciating the emails.

Love and miss you all.

Ney Taabo!

Lacey

I have arrived in Africa. I have immigrated to Burkina Faso. I live in Ouahagouya. I have been here about a week so far. Right now I am living with a Burkinabe family. They adopted me last Sunday and I have been living in a house on their land since then. They are very nice and are taking good care of me. Right now it is the wet season in Burkina so it is very humid to go along with the hot. It was 110F this afternoon. We were in language class but all I could do was look at the thermometer. Luckily it has rained twice since Ive been here, that helps to cool it down.

Bugs: lots.

Food: really good; for those keeping track I have still not eaten meat. Take that Chris.

Fellow trainees: all really nice.

Non family Burkinabe people: all very nice; happy and willing to go out of their way for you.

My bike is pretty sweet. Especially the helmet. I cant go anywhere without kids calling out "white girl": to which I usually reply "oh my I never knew I was white."

But I reply in English so they don't know what I'm saying.

I feel pretty confident in my French skills at the moment; unfortunately most people here speak Moore. I know ten words in Moore. As you can imagine this means a lot of conversations end in me and the other people looking at each other laughing.

Im sorry that this is so disjointed; Im sitting at a cybercafe with the clock ticking away.

How about more on my house:

it is a separate building on my families land and is one room. I have a door w/ screen, a bed, a desk, a metal trunk, a couple of built in shelves and my bike. I feel very lucky that I have such a nice set up. The walls are blue and the roof is tin. I havent experienced it yet but Im certain that tin roof + rain = fun.

Saturday I get to experience a bush taxi. Thus far we have using our bikes and the Peace Corps vans so I havent really gotten to see the transportation situation first hand. I hear the bus taxi ride is five hours even though we are only going one hundred kilos. Luckily I have four other trainees and one current volunteer going with me.

I feel very safe and like the Peace Corps is doing a really good job of slowly integrating us into our new situations as not to overload us. And so far *knock on wood* I havent gotten sick.

I have however; cut off the rest of my hair. As soon as I figure out pictures Ill have visuals to go along with my sparse words. More later

Zaabre

Lacey