July 12

Hey Mom & Dad!
Isn't this paper awesome?! Christy sent it to me. Before I forget, I have to start where I left off last time… Yesterday was a good day (again…I'm starting to see a pattern J). I helped Kwame & Kobina with the house. They were finishing up the "bath room". I took a nap & woke up to this wailing like Cain's Merry Widows… Some woman died. Apparently, she'd been sick for a long time. In the village, everybody stops everything when someone dies. They begin digging the grave immediately, washing the body…everything that goes with a funeral - depending on the religion. She was Muslim. So only Muslim women can go get the water from the river to wash the body. It's interesting to watch. Then you hear the wailing again every time someone comes back from the fields & learns the news. It's really sad. So, I wasn't sure if it would have been appropriate to leave for Nassian. I couldn't do anything. But I didn't know if my presence would have mattered. So, I asked Badoo's Mom. She's old school village. She said it would be ok to leave. (She's at least 112, but can outwork me on my best day!) Anyway, I took the bajan and ~ ½ mile outside Parhadi, the "limo" bottomed out on the dirt/sand road & died. Great. It's about 10:30 now. So everyone has to get off. The women walk the ½ mile to Parhadi & wait while the men push the bajan (there are some things I like about this culture J). FINALLY, after ~ an hour, we can hear it barreling down the road. We all board again like a bunch of cattle & ride the 5 or so miles to Nassian. So, I'm here now…got up & did my laundry & went to the post office. CHACHING! JACKPOT! If for nothing else, join the PC to get cool packages! I'm about finished with the tootsie rolls. (Don't send jelly beans in zip locks… The ants never give up.) As far as I can tell, nothing was taken. Thanks a million for the bras too. They are so much more comfy than my sports bras. I got a big fat package from Loretta with all kinds of fun stuff. She is so sweet. And she told me what Kipton & Courtney are up to now. Christy sent me tons-o-stuff too…including a baseball cap, although I don't know why she sent a Yankee's one J. I was just thinking…I wish I had a baseball cap. Sounds like Grandma stocked up on stuff from Weaver's. She sent me banana chips & dried peas. And I got two new tapes from Kurt! Sounds like you guys are pretty busy at home. Why is Eric on the 8-4 shift? That sucks. One of the few nice things about Bristol was a somewhat normal schedule. He sounded like he was ready to come back down south. I forgot to tell you… Yesterday, Ely & the WWF crew came to Ganse. They're talking to the ooooold villagers about where the sacred places are in the park. These are places where either nobody can go, or usually just the men. Kinda interesting. Ely asked me again for the $700. He said his boss left on a mission for 3 months before paying him. I told him he needed to talk to his boss about that. He tried to make me feel guilty by saying I don't understand…that's just how it is in Africa…and now he can't go to the doctor. He's not sick. I asked him. It's just for his 6 month checkup. He said he's not sick yet. I told him sorry…no can do. It sucks for him but it's not my responsibility to make sure he gets paid. He hasn't mentioned the girlfriend thing again. I'm sure he'll find his way over here today. I'm excited to get back to the village. I am really having a good time there. At first, I thought I was going to have too much time on my hands. But now, I hardly have time to write (although you can't tell J). Since school's been out, Koffi & I have spent a lot of time on the garden. I was thinking… It's almost "back to school" time there…if you see a good price on a decent back pack, will you get one for Koffi? He's in the process of trying to get back into school. He's been such a good friend & a big help. But keep the receipt. I'll know before you come if he actually got back in. It's funny… With some people, I'm so aware of cultural differences… Then with others, like Koffi, I have to remind myself I'm in Africa. I can't wait 'til you guys get to meet him. I'm gonna be sad to see him leave. But he needs to go to school. The garden is growing like crazy, especially with the rain we just had. The cukes were cut by some birds… I think there's one that made it. We're gonna have squash & zucchini coming out our ears! And I can't wait to try the corn! The corn here isn't very good. It's that mushy yellow corn that sticks to your teeth. Did I tell you I learned how to make sauce gumbo? It's okra sauce. I watched Badoo's Mom make it & wrote down the directions. It is so good. You guys are gonna laugh so hard when you see what & how these guys eat. It's awesome. You pinch off a little agba, kinda like a little play dough stuck to your fingers, then dip it in the sauce…then eat it. YUM YUM! I'm glad I brought my pepcid. The hot pepper is good but it's killing me! I guess I'll go take a nap. I do a whole lot of nothing in Nassian. I don't really like having to spend 2 nights here, though. I like the village better. I know I keep saying this but I can't tell you how excited I am to see you guys… and for you to see this place & meet everyone. I'll be back in a bit. ~~~ OK. Heading to bed. But before I go, I wanted to tell you when I went to the post office today, there's was a letter for one of the other volunteers here. He's been here a year, I think. Anyway, it was letter #191!! You've got a lot of typing ahead of you, Dad. Maybe you should hire someone J! Good night. I love you. Sweet dreams.

July 14

Well, my healthy streak is finished. But it wasn't just me. I had to get up twice last night to make the journey to the latrine. And that piment makes itself known all the way through! Kwame & I were supposed to run this morning but there was no way. So, he knocked on my door at 7:15 to see if I was ok. Turns out, everyone was sick last night. But I fared the best J! Everyone else had to get up 5 or 6 times! It must have been dinner. But I'm fine now. So, I'm good to go. Kwame said he feels better because his stomach has been cleansed J. So, for breakfast, guess what I ate…? Fish & grits. That's right. I'm in Africa. And they don't clean fish here. So, you're picking meat out of the head, eating around the "insides" (at least I do) & picking off scales & fins. It was good. And it's one of my limited protein sources. I meant to tell you, Loretta sent me a bunch of Clif Bars & some really cool greeting cards. The cards came in a nice "cigar box" that I can use for something else. And she sent me a People magazine too. I got a lot of cool mail. Hey, can you send me a few packets of conditioner that Ratchinee gave me? I got the shampoo that you sent. It's really good for traveling. I'm gonna go help Kwame at the house. It's all finished except for washing the floor & digging the latrine. I asked him, because of last night, if he could dig it soon. You are supposed to have a little "hut" over the hole for privacy…but I told him if he could at least dig the hole, I could use it for night time emergencies like last night. Last night's episode made it easier to ask him to hurry. He was sick too, so he understands. OK. I'll be back later. ~~~ Yesterday, when I got back from Nassian, I started to unpack and, as usual, all the kids stood at my doorway to watch. Fine. They're kids. But then 2 women came over to say hi. I saw them coming so I headed to the door. (I say I 'headed' to the door…I had to take 2 whole steps J.) If I don't catch people at the door, they just bust on in and start checking the place out…picking up things…asking me for things. Well, my packages were on my chair. I was about to put them away. Ama saw them & asked what they were…while at the same time, pushes by me to look for herself. I took them from her before she could look & said they were letters from my friends & family. There's nothing big in there. But I don't like people just helping themselves to my stuff. And I don't know if it's rude to do that here, or if they just want to see what they can get away with. Anyway, I hate it. And, if anything, it makes me withdraw more & keep my things to myself even more. I want to share but as soon as I do, it's a mob scene. Everybody wants some & they aren't afraid to demand it. One time, I think I told you, some lady busted in & started picking up my vitamins & calcium pills & asked me for medicine because her baby was sick. Everybody asks me for everything - even the clothes I'm wearing. Or they'll say 'next time you write home, ask them to send this or that.' The Pirate wants you to bring a camera for him! I don't mind sharing. I like to. But it takes the fun out of it when people start demanding it, or grabbing things from you. Oh, and Badoo wants to move into the house with me. (Maybe I told you already… I told someone J.) Anyway, there are 2 doors…one to my part - a "den", bedroom, & bathroom…the other door is only a bedroom. But it's totally separate from my part. I'm not using the other room; I don't need it. So Badoo wants it for her & her (always crying) son. Fine. But there's no bathroom & she'll want to use mine. As soon as that happens, I lose all my "safe zones" because the bathroom is off the bedroom. And Badoo is one of the worst about asking for stuff. She's always looking around to see what she can ask for. I really like everyone. It probably doesn't sound like it. I just really don't like people coming by or hanging out with me in hopes of getting something. Enough about that. Koffi & I went to the garden yesterday to water & plant the new tomato seeds you sent. (THANKYOU!) The garden looks awesome. It's growing so fast. None of the "fruit" is coming yet but it will soon. You know, the first couple weeks (or month) I was here, I thought I was going to be bored & have more time than I'd know what to do with. But I am so busy. I get up every morning at 5:30 & I'm going 'til at least 8…when I retreat to my house to have some "me time". I get a couple hours in the afternoon to myself after lunch. But other than that, I'm really busy. I haven't even had time to say hi to a lot of people…and I need to. When this English class starts, I'm really not going to have any time. That's fine, though. I need to stay busy. I'll get my vacation when you come J. I'm going to Bondoukou this weekend (the 21st) because I'm out of malaria medicine. I was going to go to Monga for the fete in Aug when the Cardinal comes, but it's hard to get away right now. I think I may go visit when school starts back up & the English class is finished. Kwame said I can probably start moving the little things over to the house tomorrow! I can't wait. I think that's why I'm in such a good mood here. That & Kurt just sent me 2 new awesome tapes. You'd be surprised, Dad, at who he's listening to now…OLD school country, the kind you like J - a little Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon… I told him you'd be excited. I'm munchin' on some banana chips that Grandma sent me. YUMMY! I'm hiding these. I don't feel bad because I shared the dried peas. I like those too but not as much as the banana chips. OK. Gonna go find Koffi & work on this English class. ~~ HERE'S YOUR WARNING: any guy reading this, sit down now. I just witnessed the worst thing since I've been here. I saw this little cabri (goat) tied up & as the men untied him I asked are they going to kill him (because he looked too small). Koffi said no. They're going to cut off his testicles. That's bad, right? Well, they didn't cut them off. 3 men held him down while the fourth took a stone the size of a port wine cheese ball & started nailing the poor cabri's testicles! He did it at least 9 or 10 times. I thought I was gonna cry listening to him cry. They said when they "kill" the testicles like that, the cabri will get bigger. I asked if I stomped on their testicles, would they get bigger. They didn't really see my point. I hope I never see that again. I think I'm gonna try to lay down. My head is pounding (although I can't complain… That cabri needs a few cold ones right about now. They could have at least given him a few shots of cutakoo.) Be back in a bit. ~ OK. I just ate dinner with them again. Wish me luck tonight J! I pretty much eat agba & sauce gumbo every night. Normally, it sits ok. My stomach is churning a little right now. I hope it's just working on dinner J. Kwame & I are running at 5:30. So, I'm off to bed. Good night!

July 16

Didn't get to the paper yesterday…ended up being a busy day. Sat night was another rough one. I think it's all the piment in the sauce I eat. And on top of that, I haven't been able to sleep for almost a week. Last night was the first night I've slept all the way through the night (& that was only from 11:45, when I went to sleep, to 5:30, when my alarm goes off). I had to read myself to sleep too. But I finished a really good book - The Simple Truth, David Baldacci…same guy who wrote The Winner, or whatever that lottery book was called. I've read 4 of his & liked all of them. I thought I brought Total Control by him. But I didn't. So, if you read that, bring it in Jan J. Yesterday, we did some work around the new house. I cleared shrubs while Kwame dug the latrine. Well, he started it anyway. I moved some of my stuff over last night. But Kwame said today is the day I should move in, since it's "my" day (Adja is Monday). Then they're having a moving in party too. We're gonna dance all night (well, late, anyway) to the bongos. It is so much fun too. I'm sure we'll do that when you come too. I also found out yesterday that Kwame is going to stay in that extra room, which is perfectly fine. I've got no beef with him. And actually, I think it might get a little spooky back there by myself. It's pretty out there. And we're not going to Wekele today either. Apparently, one of the "jeune" (young - probably teenager…I'm still considered "jeune") hit the secretary, the guy we're going to see. And the secretary went to Nassian to report it to the police. So who knows when we'll go now. I'm going to Bondoukou Sat, but you'll be at Cathy's wedding. I won't be staying too long this time. Now that I'm in my house, we're starting the English class. When you come in Jan, I thought I'd buy a pig to eat on night (because I like pig & I don't get it J). BUT, I was thinking you might want to try a mouton? I like pig better. But I can eat that forever. You've never tried mouton. So, let me know what you want me to get. I'm gonna go pack up & get this house moved! Next time you hear from me, I'll be in my new home J!!! FINALLY!!

July 17

I'm happy to be reporting from my new house!! It's just perfect (well, minus a latrine…but it'll come "soon" J). Last night, a bunch of people came over to "bless" the house. They said a bunch of prayers in Koulango & sang…& splashed holy water all around. It was kinda neat. Kwame said he's happy now because God's here in the house with me. They really are so good to me. And yesterday, everyone got together to fill up my barrique. I only carried one load. It hurts my neck like crazy! I slept well last night on my brand new foam mattress (that's one reason I'll be glad to get home!). I think some birds already built a nest in the roof. And we had a party last night. But I'm still so happy to be here. I ran…eating mac-n-cheese right now (good breakfast, huh?!). I'm gonna do some laundry then lift some weights this afternoon. I've got a stylin' weight set. I may be able to get you a good deal from the manufacturer. I've got my maps on the wall & so far have been a big hit - especially the Cote d'Ivoire map. Thank you J. Oh, & I think I'm gonna have to quit agba for a while. Last night, I was hurtin' again. The night before, when I didn't eat it, I was fine. That's fine. I've always got mac-n-cheese! At first, I thought it's just nice to have those "boxed" foods from home. But now, I don't know what I'd do without it. There's macaroni & spaghetti here, but not a ton to put with it besides mayo or oil. And I'd like to make it to 30 without having a stent put in J. Well, let me go do my laundry. I'll be back later. I miss you & I can't wait 'til you see my new house! ~~~ I thought of something else you can send (if you're looking J) - dried beans, like black beans or kidneys. I can get kidney beans, but they're expensive. It would be a good protein source. Maybe, along those lines, some boxed rice like wild rice or something cheap like that. My stomach is still gurgling too. I guess I can no longer say I haven't been sick. I think it's motivating Kwame though. He's out there digging the latrine right now. It's going to be so strange seeing you after an entire year! You may not be able to pick me out. I'll be black by then. Something else I noticed here…they don't have any hair on their arms or legs. If they do, it's not much. Even the guys. Strange. Badoo said she wished she had hair on her arms like mine. She thinks it's pretty J. Ok. I'm gonna go lay down hoping my stomach will be cooperating later.

July 19

Whoever said this would be relaxing talked to the wrong PCV! I've been so busy the last few days. I'm in my house now & have already discovered some potential problems. But I'm on top of it. I have crickets every night serenading me to sleep, & little lizards. I'm gonna see if that boric acid does the trick. Also, because the floor is cool, everything is wet underneath. That's not too bad except for my mattress. I put a sheet down, than a plastic mat, then my mattress. I hope that does it. The last few weeks, Koffi has been acting really weird around me. He seemed to be avoiding me. He always had something to do, so we never hung out. The only time I saw him was when we went to the garden. But even then it was weird. I was starting to get upset because he's really my only friend here. Everyone is nice, but I actually want to hang out with Koffi. Anyway, yesterday I found out why. Kwame thinks we spend too much time together. The direct translation was it "bothers" him. He thinks Koffi is hogging me. How old are you Kwame? You can't make me be your friend. That upset me that he said that. Koffi is my friend. He's the only one here I can really talk to & he's going to be leaving soon for school. Maybe he didn't mean much by it, but I feel like he's watching me now to see if I'm with Koffi. I don't care. If I want to spend time with Koffi, I will. I'm beat right now. We ran this AM & then worked like mad clearing land until lunch. Koffi is here eating lunch with me. We're heading to the garden here in a bit. Yesterday, I saw Yao (the Pirate) when we went to the garden. He just had a baby girl, & guess what he's naming her? Niki J. I thought that was really neat. When he brings her to Ganse, I'll take a picture of her with me. I had a dream about you both the other night. It was so real. I woke up feeling like I had just seen you. I know I keep saying this, but I am so busy right now. I don't know why. I haven't been writing nearly as much as I'd like, & it's already 2:15 (& I haven't taken a nap yet either!). We have to go to the garden this evening when it cools down some. Then I have to hang out with Kwame & family. It's become pretty regular that I eat dinner with them, which is fine. I eat my veggies for breakfast or lunch, then "snack" at their house. Less cooking for me J. When you come, or maybe in a package, could you bring marshmallows? I want to show them how we roast them. No hurry. I made caramel corn yesterday. It's so easy. You make peanut brittle, pour it over (popped) popcorn & stir real fast before it hardens. It was so easy & yummy, too. I've definitely become more creative with my food here. I'm leaving Sat for Bondoukou, then calling Abidjan about my tooth. If I don't go now to get it looked at, I'm starting the English class when I get back. I kinda want to go to Abidjan. I want to see the website! And now I realize what things I miss here - like Diet Coke! Also, just being able to have fruit, cold cereal & skim milk. I'm not too picky J! I'll be even easier to please when I come home. As long as I have bread & water, maybe a bed (but at least a pillow)…I'm good to go! Hopefully, I'll have some packages waiting for me in Bondoukou. I have 3 outstanding. Maybe I'll strike gold this trip J! I'm gonna go nap a little before we head to the garden. ~~~ I don't know why I do this to myself, but I do it at home too. I feel guilty. I do it with you guys (I think I've told you before). Like when I come home from school & throw my stuff down & go out… I feel so bad, like I'm just using you for your house (well, I kinda am J). I always feel like I should be doing more for you & spending more time with you because you guys do everything for me. Anyway, I haven't had that "guilt" feeling since I've been here…until today. Ever since Koffi told me about Kwame, I feel like I need to justify where I'm going & with whom. He told me that I was late the last two nights for dinner because I took a long time at the garden. Well, I have to water the garden. He probably isn't doing that…it's just me…but still. And I feel guilty that I don't do enough with the villagers. I know I can only do so much. There's only one of me & 500 of them. There's not enough time in 2 years to hang out with every single one of them the way I'd like. My "struggle" here just slapped me in the face. It's me feeling guilty because I can't do enough for these people. Maybe coming here will make me feel worse about being fortunate. Well, tomorrow, I'm going to the fields with this woman I've been wanting to spend some time with - rice fields! I've never seen them before. This will be interesting. What will also be interesting is she doesn't speak French. No biggie. I'm going to bed now. It's 10! There aren't enough hours in the day. I thought I'd be chillin', reading 2 books a week. Don't get me wrong…this place is awesome. But I'm just as busy as I was at home - just a different busy. Good night & sweet dreams.

July 20

Good morning! How are my favorite parents J?! I'm so sore this morning. I lifted weights for the first time yesterday & worked like crazy with Kwame clearing brush again. I'm completely exhausted. I couldn't have run this morning if my life depended on it. I'm doing nothing today except watering the garden. And I just finished my grits. I have one more box of mac-n-cheese, then I'm at the mercy of Ganse for food! I had a nice little stash, but it's dwindled quickly. I've been sharing my American food. They love it! Probably just because it's different. Oh, last night after I wrote to you, Koffi came over with 2 of his friends to hang out. It was an awesome night. It was cool (I was chilly) & there were tons of stars out. And there's a perfect place to hang out too. There's a fallen tree with tons of room to sit & I hung my hammock on it too. I'll take a picture of it for you. I'm really liking this spot for my house. I kinda hope I'm still here when you come. It's along the trail to the fields, so I see everyone in the morning & when they come back. Yesterday, Badoo & I painted our finger nails J. I bought nail polish at the marche in Nassian (sorry, that's market). I thought she might like it. She loved it! She wanted to paint mine. It looks like a 10 year old did it. But we got to spend some time together anyway. That's why I got it. Badoo means well. She's just young. I get frustrated with her sometimes. But I have to remind myself she's only 16 or 17. I'm gonna go write a little to some others. I'll be back later.

July 21

Goodness. I feel like I'm being pushed along here at 400 mph. It's already Saturday. Time to head to Bondoukou. I think this is as worn out as I've been since I've been here. I haven't felt good the past few days. I can't eat much, if anything - pretty much just Gatorade. Then, last night, it finally rained for a while. It stopped just in time to put more plastic on my roof. Quit your complaining, Niki. You got your stinkin' house. You didn't say it had to be rain resistant! Kwame put plastic on most of the roof. But it didn't go all the way to the edges. So, any water (a lot) that came through slid down the plastic to the ends by the wall & soaked a ton of stuff. Fortunately, I saved my mattress. But the sheet & mat under it were soaked, both big bags with everything in it, my USA map & some other little things, including me because I was at the garden when it started to rain. Well, it's a good thing we fixed it because it rained again last night -all night. I feel a little better this morning. Koffi is bringing me breakfast - hot bread. And I just got some honey for it yesterday. Maybe I'll be able to eat that. I'm so glad I'm going to Bondoukou today. I need a break. I can not work here, but I've always got people around me. So, basically, I never get a day off. They wonder why I go to Bondoukou so much. Last night, Koffi came over with his buddies again. It was really fun. I can understand more & more. So, sometimes I can even catch the jokes! That's so sad. It's like I'm a 9 year old hanging out with adults. It's been nice though, almost like I'm hanging out with my friends at home. And I think Koffi got into the cutakoo last night. He was very drunk, which was amusing. I'm gonna go bathe before they get here.

July 22

I'm in Bondoukou now. It was an exhausting ride last night. But I made it in one piece. I can't wait until you see the road I take to my village. It's about a 6 ½ hour ride with maybe 45 minutes of that on a paved road. I think I finally fell asleep ~ 12:45, but was awake at 6AM. I'm getting old. I can't sleep past 7 anymore. I did some shopping in the marche & found FRESH green beans! I was so excited. So, I'm cooking up some yummy veggies tonight. I promise I will never take fresh produce for granted. I stocked up on canned kidney beans & green peas. I found some dried beans that look like black eyed peas. They'll do. And they're pretty cheap - compared to the canned ones anyway. I got to see Rachel this AM for just a few minutes. She was heading back to her village. It sounds like a lot of people are going to Monga for the fete in Aug. So, I think I'll end up going. I need to get my 2nd Hep A shot anyway. So, I have an excuse to go to Abidjan. I feel bad leaving my village. But really, there's only so much I can do there. After we get this pump situation going - or at the same time - I want to get a latrine project going. I only know of 2 latrines in the village. Maybe there are more that I don't know of. Everyone shits "en brusse" (in the woods). That's not real food. But what's even worse is most of them go across the "street"…in the park. Nice. They all want the tourists to come back. But they have no problem polluting the environment for these animals. AND they have no problem eating the animals. I tried "phacochere" (I think that's how it's spelled - pronounced "faco-share", like taco-share with an "F"). That is wild boar - tastes like pig. But they eat monkeys & baboons too. Can't do it. I suppose eating is pretty important but still… I got another letter from Beverly and one from Jodie Bilbrey at UAB. I am out of it right now. I'm still worn out. I'm taking one more day to rest up before I head back to the village…then to Abidjan the 14th of Aug…then to Monga the 15th. I'm really excited about seeing my host family again. Dad, I read another Baldacci - The Simple Truth. It was really good too. I think I'll wrap this up before I start making no sense. I love you. Nik-Rock.