Happy to be here

Hello once again. I will start the tale of my journeys from the end. I am now well situated back at site and have been quite happy to be here ever since I came back to site, which is the longest stretch that I have been completely happy to be in this country. On the little tour of West Africa I just took I realized that I had over-structured myself out of an enjoyable life and that I was becoming depressed. In fact, it got to the point where everything I did required conscious debate, including deciding that I needed to use the bathroom. This is the problem with being left mostly alone for six months. The good news is that I realized I was going crazy, stopped, and am back to normal now. The better news is that not only will this not happen again but it has left me with a really good outlook on being here; I have finally relaxed. Also, before I left all of my social interactions felt like work, and since everything here is a social interaction, everything felt like work. I decided this was stupid and to just let it be fun.

 

Really though, the best news is that more and more people are buying refrigerators which mean more popsicles. Popsicles just might top the long list of things that I once appreciated in the States but no where near the level that I do now. Today I spent more on popsicles than I did on breakfast. High speed satellite internet, like the connection I am currently using thanks to my good friends at World Vision is also on that list. In fact, it’s quite a weird dichotomy to be using satellite internet in my town; I get up in the morning, shower in a bucket, wipe my butt with my left hand, but once the power turns on at noon I can go to the World Vision office and sit in an air conditioned room with wireless internet while chatting in English to a guy from Saudi Arabia who is listening to Celine Dion. As they say in Pulaar, ine heewni (it’s weird/interesting).

 

It is of course still tough to be here without my family and friends from home, especially when I find out that Becca and Kyle are engaged, but besides that I seem to have lost all other reasons to be unhappy, except the heat; the “hot season”, which I have not yet experienced, is just starting. Even that might be alright though; I have plans to build myself a mud pit to wallow in.