Back from the middle of nowhere

(this post is originally from Sept 2)

wow---- what a week. I feel like I have been through so much already, but the challenges just keep coming. So Tim and i are stationed near the 'city' of niena and by near i mean 25 km out. there is a car that leaves our site only 3 or 4 times per week.... it kinda sucks. our house is very modest... two rooms, two windows, a door, a courtyard, and a nyegen. Tim has to bike up freaking hill at least 7 km everyday to get to where he works, so life kinda sucks for him. The boutikis there suck and only sell tomato paste and mayo--- i am pretty sure i have lost another 5-10 lbs. (maybe i should have asked you guys to send me pants that were smaller sizes?) It's cool though....


BRITNE: We love you and are really sad to see you go, but we understand and we want you to know that there is absolutely no shame in leaving. I must say though... i was/am really sad. I cried when Claudine told tim and i that you left. Just know that we are sad to see you go----- eats lots of food for me!


Ok back to whatever i was saying... some people here got places near other volunteers... not tim and i. i am assuming they figure that we are married and we dont need anyone else, but that sucks. i have made friends here and it would have been nice had the people deciding placement at least think about our mental health. we volunnteers make up a very unique family, and a lot of problems, complaints, whatever can only be understood by other volunteers.... we need each other to survive here. But no... no other volunteers. The closest people are about 95+ km away. suckage.


our house: the guy who lived there before ET-ed ( early termination). He left about a year into his stay there because he was sick and was not learning the language. His crap was everywhere in our house. it was full of pictures, clothes, bowls, gross shit that should have been cleaned or something, but tim and i did it. The volunteer before him was super volunteer and did everything. I feel somewhat lost in the virtual lack of accomplishment of sick guy and the complete opposite of super girl volunteer. I have no idea what to expect ir how to survive. The PC is hardcore. I feel like i should be able to get into whatever fing grad school i want to go to after this.... i cannot tell you how difficult it has been thus far. I mean, I am still enjoying myself despite my new maladies of a toothache/cavity and some weird fungus looking shit on my foot. HA! This is hilarious! Can you believe i am doing this to myself? Sometimes i think to myself: Michele you are a big f-ing bowl of crazy.... and then i laugh to myself and put more hydrocortozone (sp?) cream on my foot fungus (currently growing)...

In our town they apparently practice female genital mutilation... which i think is just awesome.... there are just so many things that need fixing and not enough me's. The maternity ward looks like a 3rd world prison, with a metal table complete with stirrups... i am pretty sure thats where i will be spending most of my time too.... michele.... dr. michele/ dr. aichata samake... i saw an IV on a couple of kids and felt myself getting queasy... maybe me and health education werent meant to be together.

there is a bambara tutpr in our village... he treats me like a malian women, and by god i will not stand for it. When we were being taught shit we already know... his example sentences were always: michele cooks for tim. tim does not cook because he is a man... and i would say that i cant cook and that tim wants to cook and take care of the children. bla bla....

ok, family---- i am going to call sometime next weekend. saturday or sunday.

love everyone!