Back to THE
ROCK REPORT
Contact 8
"…welcome
home ..."
From March 9 - March
15, 2001
March 9
Hey Mom & Dad! It was so good to talk to you yesterday!
I know I'll have to get over talking to you every week, but I like being
able to now - until I get a little more settled in. Yesterday, I told
Benedicte what my local language was - "Koulango" - and she
was so excited because she grew up in the region where they speak that!
The region is called Bondoukou ("bon" sounds like the name
"Ron"). The region is very east - almost to Ghana, and a little
north of center. I think the National Geographic map of CI has all these
names. I think we find out our villages next week. I'm dying to know
what it's like. Benedicte showed me how she makes omelets this morning.
They are so good - lots of salt :-)! And today we're making tons of
PB. The stagiaires have to make lunch Saturday, so we're making PB &
banana sandwiches! It's easy & yummy! I think today we're talking
to the gendarmes about safety & secruity. But there's no telling,
that could change at any minute. Things are pretty unorganized here,
I've noticed. It's extremely frustrating. I can't wait to see the pictures
you're sending. OK. Time for class. Oh, random, I've got many more freckles
here, especially on my shoulders...hello, cancer! I can tell this last
month here & the first 2 or 3 - or 9 - months at site are going
to be excruciating. I can see why this is so hard. ~ OK. I'm back with
a better attitude. I'm more excited than ever to move to site. Tonight
was nice at home. Benedicte helped us make PB for tomorrow. We still
have more work to do tomorrow, but she did so much for us tonight. And
I can communicate fairly well with my family, which is oddly comforting.
I got some new pants today. My first pair were a little big in the legs
& a little long in the crotch. So, I told him where to alter it.
So now pair #2 is perfect in the crotch (I can wear them on my hips
J) - but a little snug in the bun. So, pair #3 will be just right. I'm
practicing with cheapies so I can get exactly what I want with a good
quality pagne. I bought a really cool one that I'm saving for that.
And I've got shirt ideas I need to try out also. I never knew I was
so fashionable. If I wasn't white, you'd think I was a native J. Well,
they don't wear pants, but I'm close! I heard today that if you're just
traveling & it's for less than 3 months in country, you don't need
a visa for CI. Check it out for sure. I'm close enough to spit on Ghana,
I think, so check out if you need a visa for there, or anywhere else
you want to for that matter. I have to say, the malaria medicine is
pretty cool - you can have some pretty wacky dreams with it. Oh yeah,
that guy Leonard Ash that I was telling you about on the phone…he's
pretty cool. We're annoyed by the same people so we're usually bailing
at the same time. He's definitely an "engineer" - very clean
cut, black & white kind of guy - he's nice, & he's in a different
part of CI, which is good so we can have contacts all over. So, right
now if I had my choice of who I wanted to hang out with…my family
here in Monga. I can't wait for you to meet them. You will love them.
Well, I'm going to try to catch the news. I'll be back tomorrow. Goodnight!
March
10
Good afternoon! I'm in my usual good mood today. (I'm not being sarcastic).
I think the demons just have to pass through every once in a while J.
Today was fun though, because we made PB for lunch. All the stagiaires
are making lunch - my group made PB & banana baguets. They are so
yummy! But there was a ton to make so I got up at 6 to start smashing
peanuts. So it was just me & Benedicte hanging out & we had
a good time. She always makes me feel good. She hardly lets me help
her, but he little I do she always says I help too much. And this morning
she said to me - "tu es courageuse", which means you are courageous.
I think she just means that I'm doing better because I'm not afraid
to try to speak French, & I'm doing more here with them. I'm going
to miss them when I leave. Random thought - In the states, parents freak
out if kids run wit a sucker in their mouth, or, God forbid, scissors
in their hands. Here, kids play with machetes! I got your letter #4
today, Mom. And ANOTHER one from Mr. C! I'm going to write to him again
as soon as I get a chance. I got one from Cathy the other day - enclosed
is hers in case you didn't see it. Her address is - …. Thanks for
sending it. Now we're heading to Alepe for lunch. Then Kurt is calling!
I didn't talk to him Thursday because he was playing golf with Ben &
Charlie. He sounds really happy with the way things are going at work,
and his class too - which I'm glad. He's got other things he loves doing
to keep him busy. Well, it's time for lunch. So, I'll be back later.
By the way - I love the "ramble" & random thoughts about
EVERYTHING, because I'm not there to get it from you myself. So keep
it coming! RAIN. RAIN. RAIN! It is pouring. I'm definitely not going
to like the rainy season. But I hear rain water tastes really good!
Today at lunch, Skyler showed me the letter his parents sent to him.
There were messages TO ME that his family & friends had posted on
the website. One was from his Dad! They all said hey Niki & Eric,
this is Skyler's Dad/Aunt/Uncle…it was really neat. One said how
much they appreciated Eric doing this because it helped them stay close
to Skyler. It was really cool. I'm so proud of Eric. It sounds like
everyone is loving his website! Be sure to tell him everybody loves
it. Hey Dad, do you ever hear from 804? I'm going to write to here sometime
when I get a chance. I think Chris' son is due in a month or two. I'm
going to talk to Kurt. I'll be back soon!
March
11
Mariam, the director, is coming to lunch today so everyone is going
crazy. I had to spend 2 ½ hours in church this morning, which
wasn't too bad, except I needed to do laundry - and it's supposed to
rain. They kept saying "you can do it later, you can do it later".
But I need them for our "well" outing. I didn't bring many
clothes so I have to wash clothes every weekend. Benedicte asked my
last weekend why I didn't wear more clothes. I told her I didn't bring
very many. I guess she thought since I'm American, I have tons of clothes.
So, I washed my clothes ALL BY MYSELF! Well, my sister watched over
my shoulder giving me pointers the whole time. But she never took the
clothes out of my hands! I just can't wait to be able to do my laundry
my way when I want. The way I do things here is fine, but it's just
not "their" way. So, they always correct me. I got yelled
at for trying to put the sauce on top of the attike (like couscous).
You have to take a bite of attike, then take a bite of sauce! I don't
know if you remember this Dad, but you laughed at me once (& your
brother Steve, too) for doing that with toast & cheese grits - only
it was instead of a bite of each, we put the grits on the toast before
we took a bite. Anyway, they mean well. So now I'm about to go to lunch
so I'll be back later. Pray it doesn't rain. Otherwise, I'll be digging
wells naked next week! ~ I'm so stuffed. Lunch was awesome! I wish Mariam
would come to lunch more often! Wait till you taste a pineapple from
CI. You can eat the entire thing - core & all. And I've never had
juicier pineapple. I'm addicted! Good thing I'm not diabetic! Did I
tell you AP bought a chicken for me? He came home with a chicken the
other day & I asked him if he was going to kill it. He said yeah,
in April. So of course I asked what's going on in April - he said when
I leave for my new home. That's so cool. The poor little guy is tied
up in the kitchen though. I feel kinda sorry for him. Remember I told
you AP was asking me about my name - & I told him you call me Rock.
Well, he thinks that is so cool. So, he calls me Rock sometimes now…makes
me feel like I'm at home J. I meant to tell you, too, the other day
when we made PB with the other stagiaires for lunch - well, it was Sat,
none of the kids had school & nobody went to the fields, so it was
my "friends & family" hanging out making PB on a Sat morning.
It was really comforting. And AP was even cracking jokes. There were
2 guys & 6 girls & it so happened that one of the guys was the
only one pounding peanuts for a few minutes & AP was saying why
is the man working with all these women just sitting?! It was funny
- he was laughing. They really are super people! I'm going to go study
a little. ~ OK. I've got to vent so be forewarned. The PC is schizophrenic.
It is absolutely amazing to me how one organization can seem to take
care of EVERYTHING (medical, money, travel…) yet be the MOST unorganized
organization I have ever been a part of. I can't tell you how many times
plans change on our way out the door. And I don't mean a minor logistical
thing. It's "oh yeah, by the way, we've been providing lunch for
you this whole time…well today we aren't…hope you brought
money." THANKS FOR TELLING US! So, I'll just get to the thorn in
my side right now…we are leaving tomorrow for 4 days to a VERY
SMALL village to dig 2 wells for them. Their water source right now
is the marigot. OK. So they have random houses for us to stay in - with
families, kind of like in Monga - only they aren't clued in like these
families are. So we have to organize ourselves into small groups &
make sure we have our mosquito nets, buckets (for bathing), medical
kits & water filters. The filters are huge & bulky. So we designated
4 people to bring theirs. Each filter will do 3 L/day -> 12 L for
21 people. You do the math. Well, your bright daughter planned ahead
and bottled up enough water to last me till I get back. Well, other
people didn't, & won't have enough water…oh, well. Niki has
plenty. She can share. NO I CAN'T! I brought my own so I wouldn't be
stressed about getting enough clean water. Now, I'm the selfish jackass
for not sharing. I can't stand group activities that are self-organized
like that. Someone always gets shafted. It's like when 30 of your closest
friends all go out to eat, & they won't do separate checks. Someone
always gets stuck figuring it up, & paying more. Your daughter is
a selfish butt. I think I've found 2 new things to add to my justifiable
homicide list. So, anyway, I think I'm just going to have to be selfish.
I'm not going to be the one with dysentery. OK. I think I may go to
bed now. Maybe I'll wake up in a wonderful mood. Love you both!
March 12
Happy Monday to you both! We're here in our village learning how to
build a well. It's actually kind of interesting. If you want to know,
I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to write it out when I move to site
J. ~ I feel much better now. I had my "marigot bath". I was
having a frustrating day. I can't stand not having control over my day
- where's my water, is my food safe to eat, where can I go to the bathroom???
And the language barrier is always there. But I feel better now. We're
about to eat dinner. Lunch wasn't great but only ~3-4 more weeks! I
forgot to tell you, Mom, when you come, bring lots of motion sickness
medicine. The transit will make you sick for sure - hot crowded bussed/cars
on bumpy, long dirt roads J. You're going to love it! There's no electricity
& no water in this village. It wouldn't be so bad except our rooms
barely fit our bodies & there's nowhere else to go if it rains.
I'm so glad I brought my raincoat. And I'm really glad we got that backpack.
The other one would have driven me crazy. And my big backpack is perfect
too - three very good purchases. It's about to be too dark to see so
I better get going. Tomorrow we start local language classes. I'm pretty
excited about that. It's very peaceful when there's no electricity.
You can really enjoy the night - especially when the moon is full and
the stars are out. The bugs (crickets) are goin nuts now too. I feel
like I'm camping :-)! OK., Can't see. I love you. Till tomorrow…
March
13
I'm going to be an early early riser here. It is so cool and peaceful
in the mornings. It was almost chilly this morning because it poured
last night. Our teeny room was nice - but a cricket or something made
it's way inside our mosquito net. I heard it, then I felt it so I just
started pounding while I grabbed my flashlight. It looked like a giant
cricket. But it had ribs. It was freakin' huge! I woke up everyone else.
Two formateurs were in the room next to us - & they woke up in a
panic yelling what's going on…I felt bad, but I was more excited
that I could understand their French! So now we're about to start language
class - local language. I'm excited to learn it - but it will only be
the basics. Then it's well digging time. I think we're doing it, too.
They're going to have to push me in kicking & screaming because
I do NOT want to go down there. One partially caved in last night when
the monsoon came. I'll see you after lunch. Have a wonderful morning!
~ I've been fed. So now I'm happy J. I eat a lot of fruit & rice.
I'll be so malnourished by the time I get to site. It's really beautiful
here today. I kind of like not having electricity. Not that it matters
during the day, but it's nice at night. This whole well thing is pretty
interesting. We're seeing how everything is supposed to do. So we'll
know when something isn't going right. I know more what village life
is like, but it's still going to be a huge change when we move to site.
We move a month from today! I can't believe it. The next 2 years is
going to fly by. Time for more well work. I miss you. ~ There are a
million stars out tonight. So, I'm just hanging our enjoying the darkness.
I'll be back tomorrow :-).
March 14
I am so exhausted! We worked hard today on the well. I'm covered with
mud & my hands are raw. I slept for about an hour last night because
it was so hot in our room. That's my biggest problem right now. If I
don't have electricity, I'm going to have to figure out something for
when I sleep. I'm about to fall over. We have local language class this
afternoon - then more well digging after that. We find out Fri where
our villages are! Gonna go nap before class. I'll be back. ~ I'm amazed
at how much better I feel after taking a bucket bath with green water
& dead bugs! I feel like a million bucks! We've been working hard
all day & we're finishing them all tomorrow. We're supposed to leave
at 4. But that usually means 4:30 - 4:45 CI time. We are going to be
so exhausted when we get home. This whole next month is going to be
very mentally exhausting. We've been learning local language & it
is so cool. It's really tough. It sounds like babble & grunting.
There are different greetings for different parts of the day. And it's
different for males & females. It's crazy & there's so much
to remember. But it is so cool because not everybody speaks it. Well,
it's almost dinner & I'm about to lose light. So, I'll be back tomorrow.
Sorry I always say that, as if you were going to worry about me :-).
I miss you so much!
March
15
That was the best night's sleep! I feel 100 times better. Although,
I had to break my "no latrine after dark" rule. I couldn't
hold it any longer. I'm so terrified of snakes crawling in my pants!
We get to go "home" today, too! It's another nice morning
so I'm at least starting in a good mood J. We're finishing up the wells.
So, I'd better go grab some food. ~ Well, it was a very long day. We
ended up leaving about 5 & didn't get home til about 7:45. When
I walked up, AP was hanging out at the "bar" right by my house,
& he came running up to me saying "bon arrivee" (that's
probably spelled wrong, but it's late so too bad J) & shaking my
hand & did the kiss, kiss, kiss on each cheek (one kiss on each
cheek then a third on the same as the first). It was kind of neat how
he welcomed me back. Then all the kids came running up to me hugging
my legs & taking my bags & yelling my name. They were so excited
to see me. It was quite a feeling…the way everyone welcomed me
"home. Then I greeted Benedicte, my "grandparents" &
everyone else - everyone saying "bon arrivee" - "good
arrival". It was so cool. I need to leave & come back more
often. They're going to go nuts when you guys come! I really missed
them too. So, custom is, they ask me for "the news" as soon
as I get there - basically tell them how my trip was. Then, I shower,
eat & give them the rest of "the news"! AP shook my hand
& said 'bon arrivee' probably 10 times total. It's very neat to
see how they do all that. We find out tomorrow what our village is -
& leave next Thursday for our site visit! I'm going to be all ALONE!
We stopped at one of the PCV's villages for a few minutes to get something.
It was so weird to look around & think this is going to be my life
for the next two years! Remember when I was little & said I wanted
to be Amish? This is as close as I'm going to get! There is nothing
out there but me & the cows. This is going to be so hard. The stars
are amazing tonight, too, which makes me excited to get to my new home
so I can hang out watching them. I can't believe I'm in Africa. And
I'm going to be Amish for 2 years! I need to get to bed. I'll talk to
you Saturday. I hope all is wonderful in PS. I've included a few letters.
Thanks in advance for mailing them J - & there's a roll of film
(#^) on it's way soon, too. I'm going to try to get it in tomorrow.
I love you so much. And I miss you too. It's really hard not getting
to see you or talk to you. But I really feel a lot better when I write
to you. Tell everyone hi for me! I love you ~ Nik/Rock
THE
ROCK REPORT
