Hello Ev-er-y-bo-dy. I've been really busy these past few weeks procrastinating and pretending to work on my thesis. Its a daunting task making believe that you're working when you're really just busy watching episodes of The Office and catching up on Senegalese cinema. What a job. Plus I've been touring the neighborhood and have been taking pictures of the beautiful scenary. These pictures are of rice fields, farms, and palm trees that are about a 2 minute walk behind our house. Our neighborhood is called Las Palmas. I think you can figure out why by the name. If not, email me and I'll explain. Anyhoo. . .I am actually writing this email from the comfort of my living room. Having internet access at home will further permit me to mindlessly surf the net and look for meaningless information on Wikipedia and not do any work. For instance, did you know that the origins of the word ketchup is a highly disputed topic? Wikipedia has a very fascinating article dedicated to ketchup, its emigration from Asia to Europe and its transformation from a fish-sauce to today's highly favored tomato based condiment. Fascinating. So, I finally got internet at the house and it was a bitch and a half to do. First I needed to go to the Chef de Quartier to get a form that need to go to the mayors office to get another form that I would then have to present to the telephone/internet company. Very bureaucratic. When I finally got through all the paperwork, the rep I was dealing with gave me a simple modem to hook up. I went to pay for everything at the cashier only to return and find out that the service was no longer available. SO! I had to go back to the cashier, get refunded and get the Wifi connection (which was my original choice but didn't want all the frills that came with it). Here is where the whole office almost went up in flames: canceling an order and reimbursing me my money. OMG. First, the cashier looked at me like I had 3 heads. "What do you mean you want your money back? We don't do that." "Yeah. . .the representative gave me a service that no longer exists. Since I already paid for it, I would like my money back now please" ". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .but we collect money here. We don't give it out" "But I paid for a service that no longer exists. So now you need to give me back my money. Tell you what, I'm getting another service, why don't you just credit my account? That way you don't have to cancel anything." "WHAT?!?!?? No no no no no no. Tell the rep to come here. We need to figure this out." I call the rep over and it seemed as though he knew that he caused a problem. Next thing I know there are 3 extra people at the cashiers stand and he's closed his box to customers. Next, there is a bunch of wispering and eye popping going on. "But what do you mean cancel? The system can't handle this! The system can't handle this!" "God, you spelled her name wrong; you forgot the N!" - I know you Senegalese love this one, especially since my name is not Anta. Apparently, most people have never heard of the name Ata. Thank you Ami-Colé and Aziz. "Why would she pay for something and then change her mind 5 minutes later?" "The system can't HANDLE THIS!" "Call the director!" Apparently I caused some type of malfunction in their system along with some other major catstrophes. I think my favorite part was the confusion I caused with the language that should be spoken. We started with French, then merged to Wolof cause the cursing is just so much more pronounced and to the root of where you want to stick what, then to broken English when I had to show some form of ID. An accountant was later called in to try to handle the problem since the I.T. guy was out to lunch. . . . .for 3 hours. "No, that will erase EVERYTHING!" was all he kept saying. I think I heard that about 78 times in 3 hours. Oh, did I mention the fact that I was there from 2pm to 5:30pm. . . and I didn't get reimbursed until 2 days later. Gotta love the system. . . . or lack thereof. Other than that, not much has been going on. At least not anything that I would put on here. Just kidding. . . .a little. I haven't gone out since being here. I just go to work, come home, and leave again only in the morning. If I start going out I'll never get any work done. Then again, maybe I should go out. One thing is for sure: I am all caught up on the office. Now I need 24, the Wire, and the L Word. I guess I can work on my thesis until I get them. Laters! Ah

Hi Everyone, Here are some pics from my trip. Stay tuned for more. Enjoy! Ata aka Mamy aka Ah -Climing up the mountain to -View going towards Dindifelou -Kedegou at dusk -Heading back to the camp -Climing down the mountain -The cascades -Cascades again -President Bouba giving a speech while Clemance takes a nap -Cave inside mountain we climed

) Hello Ev-er-body. I hope you are all doing well. I've been in Senegal for about 3 1/2 weeks now and it feels like I've been here for 8 months. For starters, its colder than I thought it would be. I was trying to be slick and escape the cold in NYC only to come here and find it to be in the 60's. No worries though. I got a chance to go into the back-country and it is burning there. More on that later. So work is going very very well. I've been working on a new database and putting in all the info for the groups that get loans and such. Its pretty cool. AAAANNNNDDD after I got a hang of the system I gave a 2 hour presentation and training to the staff on how to use it. All in French mind you, so you can imagine all the errors, English words-sneaking-in along with Wolof and some other language I apparently invented. Hee hee. But it was great. Well. . .at least I think it was. Shoot. After that I was asked to tag along on a site visit to Dindifelou which is on the border between Senegal and Guinea. Talk about rough travels. We went down there for a potential partnership with the community to create an ecotourism program. There are amazing sites there including the cascades and mountains. We climbed the mountain (which was painful) and ended up in another village that is practically cut off from everything. Everyone one spoke Peul and I've been picking up a few words here and there. Ironically, everyone in the two villages looked like I could be related to them. I'm gonna need to talk to my parents about that. Hmmmm. I ate tons of mango, madd (pronounced maa-d) siddum, and developed some type of itch due to the water. Lets just say water is pretty scarce and not properly. . .eh. . .filtered. Luckily I didn't get sick, but may have lost about 15 lbs from walking everywhere and eating nothing but bread. They fed us mostly black eyed peas (which I absolutely despise) and thiereh(millet; again something I can't eat due to an unfortunate and disgusting circumstance from childhood). I'm going to put up some pictures of the cascades, mountains, and such. The road between Kaolack and Tambacounda is soooo bad. Then the road from Kedougou and Dindifelou is even worse (see map). We then traveled to Mbam which was absolutely amazing. This community is so put together and on point with everything. They have already begun mapping out some of the ecotourism projects and everyone from the adults to young kids are involved. It was a huge contrast from the other village that is just waiting for the state to help them. I'll try to put in as much info as possible, but not now only cause I need to make sure I'm not violating any protocol and such. I've also been working on my thesis and am surprised that I have actually been doing some reading. My adviser had me do my intro and literature review before I left and it has helped tremendously. I'll keep you all posted on that as well. Till then, be well and stay positive Ata aka Mamy aka Ah

Ok, I gotta be honest: we went to this center for older adults (seemed more like a rec center. It wasn't a nursing home; no one stayed there, people just spent the day there) and got a chance to visit their facilities. Now. . .I thought the hospital we went to was bad. . .but this was just blatantly political in all the wrong ways. I think it would be best for me to refrain from some comments considering the fact that this blog is widely read around the world with dedicated follows from the academic and news fields (yeah ok). But I will say that opinions were obvious and questions were adamently ignored. What made the whole thing worse was the fact that we were sitting outside in the hot sun after lunch listening to a lecture. That was just wrong. As interesting as it was, I had a hard time concentrating. One thing that I did catch (during nap intersessions) was how the old are viewed and how the young are not taking the proper responsibilities of learning old customs and traditions. The person giving the lecture was fairly young himself but placed a large amount of blame on the younger generations. But, now this is just out of curiosity, what if there are not many old people left to teach the young? Or what if the older folks are not taking the initiative to pass down certain traditions? We cound count the number of older people we met; that is not to say there are no older people in Ghana. They way they were all at home. Who knows? But the onesided nature of the talk was a little. . . .offputting. I'm still trying to understand what was going on there. . .especially with the sun beating down and lulling me to sleep. I know. . .I'm bad. . .I can't help it.

The best lecture we've had so far has been on religion in Ghana. I don't know if it was just the speaker or what. . . . yeah; it was him. He really just put everything into perspective and explained things very well. I think people were a little confused by the whole traditional medicine, herbalists, animism (I hate this word) and popular religion. The one thing that he said, which I think explains a lot about AFricans, is how people merge their indigenous (another word that . . . .yeah) beliefs with main stream religions such as Christianity and Islam. The breakdown he gave on the percentage of Christians, Muslims, etc was what the State department and other sites have given. The only difference was, according to the professor, was that they were all useless: everyone practices some type of traditional practice. He mentioned the fact that the more traditional practices, especially customs, were not being as widely practiced as before. Thats a shame. Again, what can be done? He also talked about disabilities and religion and how people believe if your child is born with a disability that the person probably did something wrong and was paying for it through their children. There's also the idea of witchcraft that is highly believed in. What does that remind you of? One thing I should have mentioned was that the place we stayed in at Elmina was fab-u-lous. I'll just post pictures for you to see, but it was better than I had imagined. Mmm. Now I have to go back to Ghana and go back to Coconut Grove Resort just so I can get the full experience of the place. Dang!

We traveled down to Elmina during the weekend to visit the Elmina Slave Castle and stayed at this fabulous beachfront resort called Coconut Grove. Now, I was going to write this really long piece about the slave castle. . .but I just can't do it. There is no way I can describe it except to say that it was just as bad as the slave house on Goree Island, for those of you who have been there. They, too, removed the chains and such, but you can still feel what happened. The smell inside the rooms still lingers and you can just feel. . . . . . . .everything. I think the US and other countries should finance a program where people of African ancestry can visit these places and learn more about their past. Its a form of reperations. I don't know. Will it help? Who knows. What I do know is that it was so painful to have to stand there and listen to how inhumane people were treated. People need to see it for themselves to understand. I can't explain it and doubt I could fully explain the magnitude of the suffering that went on in there. Plus feelings of hate, distrust, resentment, anger, sadness and disappointment have found their way inside and I still can't explain exactly what it was like being in there. I don't know if anyone can. I am, however, optimistic, if that makes any sense, and know coming to Ghana and visiting the castle was a good thing for the future. Thats all I have to say about that.

Now. . . I'm trying to find the right words to explain what I saw the other day. Ok. So we went to two hospitals which were not too far from each other distance-wise, but were two extreme opposite points on a spectum. Ok, so the first place we went to was a mental hospital that was lacking in everything. First we had a nice powerpoint presentation and then was given a tour of some of the buildings. Key word here is 'some'. We had a chance to interview some patients in the rehab ward. Now, the guy that I talked to was this British kid (in his mid 20's I think) who really didn't have anything nice to say about his time there. But considering the fact that his father put him there, I can understand his distaste for the place. We then were given a tour of the Occupational Therapy ward which seemed like it hadn't been used since my first birthday (yeah. . .we're talking 70's here). There were some woman in the courtyard dancing and playing music but that didn't last very long. And by the time we got to the area where they made benches, the was conveniently a bench that need to be put together with the help of the students (us). Now keep in mind that they knew we were coming. They knew we were coming. There's this show on Bravo (I think) called the Stagers. Its basically a reality tv show that follows stagers around. They basically go to a house thats up for sale and change all the furniture, decor and stuff to make the place look nice and welcoming for buyers. They knew we were coming. Now the other place we went to. . .when I say complete opposite. . .they had it all. Two pathologists, state of the art equipment, VVIP room(yeah. . .VV. . not one V but two V's). Both are owned by the same. . . .owner. Its a shame that a lot of developing countries seem to be able to provide for a very small few if and when they have the money. Its obvious that the material is there, there doctors are around, but the problem is allocation of funds and importance of priorities. . .and people. The more I think about it, it was kind of depressing. One minute we're in this place that really really is struggling just to survive and the next were at a place that has everything you need for any illness you have. I mean come on: VVIP room? But on a lighter note, we got a chance to meet Emmanuel (from Emmanuel's Gift). He is something else. You know, after watching the documentary I thought he was amazing. But in person he's even better. I did not get a chance to talk to him personally, but I sat with his secretary and driving during dinner and they are hilarious. One thing I really noticed about all of them (even Emmanuel) is the sense of humor they have about everything. She planned on traveling with him in the next few months and was excited about getting out of Ghana and seeing the things Emmanuel had seen. She said she was really inspired by him and wanted to do something good. He is so sweet. He gave us each an autographed poster of himself with pictures of people he's met around the world including Oprah, Kofi Anan, and famous atheletes. I just don't know where I"m going to hang it.

Now this is what I'm talking about!!! Yesterday (01/07) was one of those days that I've been waiting for. We finally got to go to the market and I loved it! It was like I was back home. It was PACKED. There were people everywhere selling everything and nothing. But before I get into that, I need to comment on some health issues we discussed in class earlier. So we had this woman come in from one of the University's to talk about family life and general health care in Ghana. She talked about the national health care system, the family structure in Ghana (nuclear, polygamous, and extended) and explained the make up of patrilineal and matrilineal lines. The first part of her talk was, for me, a little disappointing. I guess I'm using the wrong word, but the one thing that kind of bothered me was when she discussed polygamous families and kept it within the Muslim context. I had spoken to one of the staff about marriage and polygamy and was informed of the fact that many people (not just Muslims) practice polygamy in Ghana. It would have been nice to have heard this from her. It was interesting to hear about matrilineal families. I had seen this documentary on CNN International about a town in India where the women practice polygamy. Nice. I couldn't help but think about this when the professor talked about matrilineal societies. But I've digressed. I'm still a little confused about the Nations Health Care Insurance. I don't know if it is free, or what. And it doesn't seem like everyone is for it. . .yet people have been mentioning it a lot. Another very interesting aspect of the professors discussion (regarding health in Ghana) was the increase in noncommunicalbe diseases such as cancer, hypertentions, and diabetes. She says this is because people are leading more of a sedentary lifestyle and mentioned the effects of urbanization and westernization. But malaria is still the highest cause of morbidiyt in the country. You know. . . .it is getting harder and harder for me to understand why malaria is still around. What's even funnier is the perception of malaria. In the states we see it as this terrible terrible disease that can kill you once you get it. However, if you have the flu its ok cause you just have to let it pass, sweat it out, or take some flu concotion that your grandmothers sisters husbands mother created. The flip side in some African countries: you get malaria? Eh. Its normal, everyone gets it. You get the flu? Oh, you are done for. Write you're will and say goodbye to everyone. Funny. I'm not trying to say that either is unimportant. My point is that the realities we live in vary greatly and what may seem like a huge problem in one part of the world is not necessarily the same some place else. I hope this makes sense. This needs to be addressed some how, I don't know. So back to the market. It was fantastic. The assignment was to go into the market and interview people about their views on health and disabilities. This was a little hard, mainly because we had to build some type of rapport with people first and some of the questions were a little personal. I had a chance to talk to a woman who sold cloth. The hardest part was trying to stay focused on the questions and not look at the stuff I wanted to buy. I know. . .I can't help it. But she had some really nice stuff! Again, the place reminds me of Cameroon, especially Douala. I know I should not be making comparissons, but I can't help it. It all seems sooooo similar, even the way the market is set up: tight lanes; same products offered by different people all sitting together in a row; the smell of smoked fish, raw beef, and conch all mixed together. This is actuallly the first time I ever had to consider how a person with a disability would be able to find their way through a place like this. But people make do, no matter if they have a disabililty of not. And to top things off, entrepreneurs are EVERYWHERE. People will grab whatever they can, but it on a tray or on their heads and sell it. And I'm talking everyone: young, old, disabled. . .amazing.

Hi Everyone! I'm sorry for the delay with the posts. Although I"m posting these late, I had hand written some of my thoughts and impressions of Ghana but did not have a chance to get them all up before I left. So with that said, here's my two cents re Accra, Ghana, disabilities, and etc. Enjoy! I'll post pictures a little later. . .mainly cause I'm using a slow computer. . .but really cause I forgot my camera. But these types of things are expected of me, no? Day 1 is finally over and it was looooonnnng. I felt a little bad cause I was not on the same flight with my other classmates and arrived pretty late. I missed the welcome lunch, but was able to make it to the orientation. And I have to say it was pretty painful because we were sitting outside and the air felt sooooo goood. It took so much to not just fall back and start snoring. If I stay here any longer I know for a fact that I won't get anything done. This weather is faaaantastic. So far things are going well. We met some of the staff from NYU Ghana along with the director (who had on this really nice scarf. I was gonna steal it but thought I should at least wait a day before I go taking things) and had a chance to drive around the city. The inaugurations are coming up and people seem pretty excited about it. I thought it was funny that our first night we had dinner at an Ivorian restaurant. Which reminds me, Ghana really reminds me of Cameroon with the plantain trees, hilly streets, weather. . .but everyone speaks English here and aren't aggressive at all. But am I speaking to soon? Hmmmmm. One things for sure: the supermarkets are just as expensive. The prices are pretty wild. . .but I guess thats to be expected. Why? I don't know. Matter of fact, let me just state right now that I'm pretty clueless on a few things when it comes to Anglophone West Africa. I'm liking it so far, so we'll see how it goes. I just hope stomach issues don't arise. . .cause we all know what thats been like in the past (read previous posts and you'll understand) Anyway, its been a looong and tiring day. Tomorrow we get to walk around and try to get to know I surroundings. I guarantee you I will get lost. Laters!

Hello everyone, Well. . . I've finally made it to Ghana after detouring through UAE. It was fantastic. My first impressions of Ghana? I like it. The moment you step off the plane you're hit with the thick moist heat flavored with smoked fish, spices, and a sprinkle of ocean mist. Its hard to describe in full detail and can either be daunting to a first time traveler to the continent or delightfully inviting to a seasoned visitor. As with many other countries in West and Central Africa, you have to walk out onto the tar, get on a bus, and then walk over to immigration. That was all nice and dandy until I got to the immigration window. The immigration official looked at my passport and said: Oh. Ata. . . .you are Ghanaian. You should be on the 'national' line. I said 'oh, no. thank you, but i'm not Ghanaian'. 'But your name is Ata. And it is spelled wrong by the way'. 'Um. . .yeah, no. . .actually its spelled correctly and it also Arabic'. Well. . .you can only imagine the conversation from that point. It took a while, but i think i was able to convince him that I was not Ghanian and was in fact a legal American citizen

I just finished watching this documentary about a disabled Ghanaian man named Emmanuel who was able to overcome the stigma of being disabled and achieve numerous goals. For starters, his father abandoned him when he was very young due to his disabilities; his mother died when he was a young man; and he was shunned by society due to his disability. With all of this and many other problems, he successfully applied for a grant for a mountain bike so that he could travel around Ghana educating people of the strength the disabled have. From there he went to America to compete in a triathlon, receive a prosthetic leg, return home to started his own foundation to help educate disabled children. . . .the list goes on and on. This man, despite all of his problems, followed his passion to change his life and the lives of millions. It is amazing. What I loved most about Emmanuel was how grounded he was and humble. He became this national hero almost overnight but always stayed focused on his goals. His strength is overwhelming. Being disabled in Ghana leaves most people with one choice: begging on the street. But this, unfortunately, is not just in Ghana. Many African countries perceive being disabled as a negative aspect and in many cases as an omen. The one thing that is so saddening is the strong link between poverty and disability. Considering everything Emmanuel was able to achieve, how can his model be spread; how can we change the way people see the disabled and provide a means for them to help themselves as opposed to relying on the "generosity" of others??

Hello People! I have decided to start writing on this blog again; congratulations to all of you. I figure since I will get into more trouble in the near future, it would be best to post it here instead of sending out emails like I used to do. . .which was a hassle especially since I would forget to send them to some people, or double send, and a slew of other mistakes. ANYWAY. . .just a brief update. I will be in Ghana for a few weeks and am actually required to document my time there either through a traditional journal, blog, or pictures. I figure this is the easiest way. Also, as many of you may already know, I'm moving to Senegal at the end of the year and will be there for a while. I will DEFINITELY be getting in trouble there. And since I have a tendency to talk before thinking, you can only imagine the numerous faux-pas I'll be making. So, with that said, I will be able to post on a regular basis since I will have access to internet and will be living in the city and not a small town (oh Lolo). I will do my best to post pictures and films as well. 'Hope you are all well and will connect talk to you all her. Laters. Ah

So, here we go again with the blog. This time I will actually use it more and post pictures of Lolodorf and future travels. I finished my service with Peace Corps and am content to be back in New York. I miss Cameroon very, very, very, very, very, very much. . . .but love having running water and constant access to internet. There are a few messages that I sent out and will post them on the blog when I get a chance. I'm getting ready to travel again to another country and want to start using this so that I can share with you all the constant troubles I find myself in. Graduate school is tough, but necessary. I will do my best to keep you all posted more frequently. Till then, Ah

Its been what? Over a year since I wrote on this blog? Dang!!! I'm so sorry. See, what had happened was that a bunch of volunteers got in trouble for putting things on their blog and I of course didn't want to be one of those people. I do have a tendency to get in trouble, so of course I stopped using the blog. But now that i've been a volunteer for over a year, i haven't gotten into any trouble(like I would publish it on line anyway) so, I will do my best to try to catch up on whats going on for the last few. Those of you who have been getting my emails will find repeat info here, but I will do my best to update via email and on this blog. For those of you who don't know me, i am a business volunteer (small enterprise development or SED) in Cameroon, Central Africa. I'm posted in the South province in a small town called Lolodorf. I work in a community based bank called MC2 (Mutuelle Communautaire de Crossance). So! Below is a little something for y'all from when I first got to post. Good times! September 2005, about one month after arriving at post: I just finished writing the longest email to you guys and it all got erased. I hope this one turns out good, we'll see. I'm pissed right now. You'd think I'd get used to this, but I haven't. Anyway....... Hello everyone. I know this is a long time coming, but I really don't have access to internet. I shouldn't be here now, but I had to print some reports for my bank and figured I might as well use the internet while i'm at it. Yeah, my bank is computerized but they don't have a printer. They have one of those dot matrix thingies that suck. Sure, they have the latest version of windows, but a 1970's printer. Thats life in Cameroon. So let me tell you all that happened to me this past Monday: First off, I'm in a really, really, small village where there's a lack of virtually everything. There's no running water as I've said before and the electricity is extremely inconsistant. How inconsistant you may ask? Well, I've been in village for almost a month and the electricity came on for an hour on Sunday and again on Monday. I won't be surprised if its not on when I get back. The food is also very very limited. Every night for dinner I have grilled fish with baton de manioc. This baton is cassava (yuca) ground up, mashed, soaked in water, drained, mashed and soaked again until its almost translucent, wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. NO nutrients whatsoever. But I kinda like it. So i have that with grilled fish. Well, I decided that on Sunday I was gonna make some yassa. Well, that didn't turn out to well. (for those of you who don't know, yassa is onion sauce, but all of you should know it because you are either Senegalese or i've made it for you once or thirty times in philly) There are two doors to my place; the front door and another from the kitchen leading out. I opened the door to the kitchen to let in some air.I have a very, very, very small table that the stove sits on. Well, I made the sauce and put the pot on the floor so that I can make room to make rice. I went into the living room to put on some music. When I came back into the kitchen, there were about 3 or 4 chickens and a dog eating the yassa. You can imagine my shock and disappointment of not having any yassa after I struggled to make it. So, no yassa meant I had to get something else for dinner. So of course, I got grilled fish and manioc. Well, I woke up around 2am the next day with the worst stomach ache. I must have been in the bathroom for at least an hour and a half. You'd think I would know better and not go into work the next day. Nope. I went in and regretted it. But it wasn't until around 3pm when the real action began. Heres an account of how that day went: Wow, I should get out of here. My stomach is making some sounds that do not sound kosher at all "Hey Ata, can you show me how to use that function on excel again?" The cashier says. I can't stay around here for another minute and she wants me to show her how to use a freaken function. Hells no. "oh Sidonie, the only way I can really teach you is by making you do it yourself. Try it and then we'll go over it again tomorrow" "Ok" says Sidonie. Damn that was close. I can't start any type of work right now, not while my stomach is acting up. Shit, why did I come in today?! I have to find a way to get out of here. I know, I'll tell the manager I have to meet with the french teacher. Yeah, that way I can get the hell out of here. "Hey, Syrille. I gotta meet with my french teacher this afternoon, so I'll see you tomorrow. Ok, bye" "OH, we have to go see the mayor and give him the letter from the peace corps".Holly shit. I know this bastard has got to be joking. The Peace Corps gave each of us volunteers a number of letters to give to the governor, mayor, police commissioner and other high officials to let them know of our presence in village. I was able to meet with everyone except the mayor. We'd been to his office more than 3 times and he was never in. Of all fucking days, this bastard decides to show up today. "What?!?" "Yes, he's finally in his office, so we should go now" "But, its after 3pm. Maybe we should go tomorrow. Plus i have to talk to my teacher, so lets just go tomorrow morning" "He won't be in tomorrow, today is the only chance we have". Syrille begins to lock the door to his office and heads to the front door. By this time, my stomach has not only begun churning every 5 seconds, but has managed to make the most disgusting noises that I've ever heard. My ass cheeks begin to contrast to keep everything in. I'm on the verge of dying here, yet all I can think about is how I'm going to explain how a grown-ass person such as myself shit my pants. The bank guard, Jack, gives me a weird look of concern. 'Are you ok Ata?" "oh, I'm fine. I'm just tired from all the work". I hadn't realized that I'd started sweating until i put my hand to my forehead. In the time I had spoke to Syrille and turned to talk to Jack, I'd broken into a cold sweat. "oh you americans. You're so used to machines that anything you do by hand tires you out.Haaaaa!" Normally, I would be more than willing to curse this guy out, but all I can think of at this moment is how I can connect my ass to a toilette. "yeah Jack, your right, its rough for us americans." I start heading towards the door. I have to think of something quick before i embarrass myself. My mind is whirling between coming up with an excuse to go home and trying to figure out whether I should faint after I shit my pants or start foaming at the mouth. This is too much for me to handle. Wait! He thinks I have the letter with me. Naturally I do, but I'll just say I don't. "oh, Syrille. I need the letter. I don't have it with me" "Are you sure, check your bag" He stands there waiting for me to look through my bag. If I squat down, I'm sure I'm gonna let some out. What the fuck should I do? "look through your bag, i think i left my phone in the office". There is a god and he is looking out for me on this day. Syrille comes back outside and I tell him i don't have the letter. "Why don't you have the letter with you". I know this bastard is not questioning me right now. "Well, Syrille, you didn't tell me that we were going to see the mayor, so why would I carry the letter around with me?" "Oh, you're right. Ok, you go get the letter and i'll meet you here" Thank the lord। I start walking down the street towards my house. I can't run to my house because that would cause to much shifting in my stomach. My legs began to feel weak under all the pressure. There are too many people on the street for me to stop for breath. Besides that, i can't stop or else I would surely take a shit on the street. My hands now feel like they're buzzing and my palms are all sweaty. My neck and back feel strained making it hard to walk. But I gotta get to my house. I can not let myself take a dump on the street. I pause for a moment because I feel as though I'm gonna faint. My eyes begin to roll to the back of my head and I just want to squat right then and there. I try to convince myself that I'm almost there, but the pressure is too much for me to handle.I move over to the bushes and decide that there's nothing left to be done but relieve myself. As I begin to unbutton my pants, a lizzard starts slithering out. The things scares me so much that I start running. I can see my house in the distance. It only takes about 5 minutes from the bank to my house, but it felt like it tooke over 3 hours. I was about 20 feet away from my door when I heard my name. "Hello Ata, how are you today?!" My neighbor whom I've spoken no more than 20 words to starts walking towards me.. "Oh, hello, how are you?" "Good. Tell me, is everything at work going ok? I hope no one's giving you a hard time" "Yes, everything is good, thank you for asking" "Now, where are you from in the states?" Oh, now I know this bitch is not trying to start a conversation with me now. What the fuck. I see her ass everyday and she never talks to me and she uses now to strike up a conversation. Fuck that. "New york" "Oh, that is so fascinating! My sisters brother-in-law's wifes sisters husbands brother has been to New York and he loved it. So how long will you be in Cameroon?" OOoooooohhhh, you have got to be fucking kidding me. I was out on my porch all day yesterday and this heffer only said hello to me. What, she couldn't ask me this shit yesterday?!?! "Oh, 2 years" however, with you wasting my time, i might just have to leave in 2 days due to embarrassment from shitting on my front porch. "Oh good. Do you like the food?" An electric shock is going through my left leg. I'm about to faint from not being able to use the bathroom. I don't know how much longer I can hold this mess in. What I do know is that if my ass doesn't connect to a toilette in the next 20 sec she won't want to talk to me any more. "Its ok. Would you excuse me for a moment?" "Sure, are you going inside? I'll wait for you here." Oh my god! What the fuck did I do to deserve this. "oh, i have to make a phone call and head back to work. But I'll be back later this evening." "oh, you americans always working. YOu need to learn to take it slow and enjoy life". This bitch has no idea who she's talking to. "oh, i'll try. Ok, I'll see you later" "ok. One of these days you will have to show me how to make american food. I saw you cooking the other day. What were you making?" Didn't I just tell this bitch i had to go?!? "oh, i was only boilling water" "Oh, i thought i saw you with some onions." "No, i didn't make that yet, but when i do i'll let you know" "What do you do with the onions?" You can only imagine how my mind is racing. Honestly, she's a nice lady, but at this point i just wanted to drop kick her and use her as a toilette. "It depends." My phone begins to ring. Its Tim, another volunteer. He usually likes to beep me or send a text. I love that boy. Remind me to get him a gift for saving my life. "oh, there's my phone call. I'll talk to you later" "Ok, Ata. take care" I rush inside my house and begin to undress. I throw down my bag and phone and don't bother taking my shoes off. I don't bother answering the phone because there is nothing more important right now than me going to the bathroom. I make sure to lock my front door just in case someone decides to let themselves in. I rush to the bathroom and try my best not to do anything drastic. I've made it this far and only had about 10 seconds to go. My ass and stomach knew I was in the bathroom because the rumbling was nonstop and the shit was ready to flow. I sat down so quickly on the toilette I nearly fell in. All that suffering, moaning and sweating was finally relieved within 2 minutes. Whats worse about the whole things was that most of it was nothing more than the worst gas I've ever had in my life. I must have passed out from all that came out of me for when I finally came to I'd realized I'd been in my house for over 25minutes. I stayed on the toilette for at least another 5 minutes to make sure all had past. When I finished I went outside and found Syrille coming up the walk. I told him I was having a hard time finding the letter, but managed to find it. We went to the mayors office and gave the letter to his secretary. The guy wasn't even there. I though it was because I took so long, but it turned out he was never there and wanted us to drop it off. So people, thats what happened to me on Monday. Turns out the lady I brought the fish from was not the best fish lady. I won't be going back to her unless I want some major stomach pains.

I thought I was playing it safe by coming here: africa = warm if not hot weather. Boy was I wrong. Its rained almost every day since Ive been here and its cold. Other than that things are great. Its been soo freaking cold. They have asked us where we might want to be posted and i made it PERFECTLY clear that I dont want to be anywhere cold. I think Im going up north which from my understanding is hot and dry . . . . OH YEAH!!! The host family Im staying with is really nice. Oh by the way im using a french keyboard so there will be LOTS of mistakes en français et en anglish. So, my host family: the mother who is like 7 years older than me is really sweet. The father is a little intimidating, but i dont see him much so thats ok. There are three kids: 2 boys and one girl 15, 2, and 4 respectively. The little girl is soo cute. There are two other kids there that are on vacation and I just found out that my host mother has another son whose 18. Its amazing how little french i know but am able to carry on conversations. I just cant understand their accents. However, Im beginning to remember words i didnt even know i knew! Training is hectic but good. We have language training EVERYDAY on top of all the technical training but Im enjoying it. Theres another girl about my age here who is cool as hell, but ill talk about her later. My time is runnig out. Imagine writing 3 long paragraphs and right before you save it the powwer goes out on you? So is life in Cameroon which is why this blog is so blahhh. Yes i already have stories (ever had the runs and gas in a cab made for 5 but packed with 8 people?) but my times almost up. Plus I have to go to the bathroom . . . again. Talk to you all soon Oh and HAPPY B-DAY TO MARIE Ata

Well, its finally here. I'm at staging right now in Philadelphia (orientation). Things are going pretty well so far. So much has happened in the last month: I graduated from Penn (oh yeah!!) and am leaving for Cameroon in 2 days. I don't think I've ever been this excited. Ok, so many of you are wondering: Why the hell is she doing Peace Corps??!?! My answer: Why not? Most of you know how much I liked Philly (yeah right!), but doing PC allows me to travel and doing something different. Besides, how many people do you know that live in Cameroon? Ok then. So right now I'm a little tired. There so much info to read through, but you know me!! I'll do that mess later. Anyway, time to get some sleep. Don't worry, I will update much more. . .much later. Laters!! Ah

Ok, So I'll be on my way to Cameroon in 2 months and 14 days. Not that I'm counting, but its coming up soon. Right now, I'm trying to finish my thesis, write a paper and get my 10 years-in-the-making bachelors degree. The idea of leaving hasn't set in yet. I don't think it will until I actually graduate. Until then, this website will be scarce. Oh, by the way, just to warn you guys, there will be plenty of spelling mistakes, both english and french. So, now I have to do my paper. I promise I'll put more info down when I get a chance. Laters. Ah

So, this is basically my way of keeping in contact with everyone during my stint with the Peace Corps. Ahhh, Peace Corps. I guess it would help to say why I'm joining, what motivated me to join, how long the application process took and where I'm going. Yeah, I could do that, but not now. I just started this blog and want to work my way around it. On that note, this is a test. So, keep reading. I'll post some stuff eventually, but for now, you'll have to be patient. Mamy