Monday, February 7, 2011

Emerging from the depths of the north to say Jamna!!

Okay, so this is a spontaneous email I wrote to my college friends (edited down a little bit for the more PG ears).  I'm way too whackado and overwhelmed with this machine buzzing in front of me, so this entry is pretty short and probably not very informative.  I will preface by saying that my life is INSANE and AWESOME. The word random has lost all intensity for me at this point. Chickens crossing the road aren't ironic anymore. And seeing goats saunter casually through the Mandama health center are no big thang.

But I do want to let you all know that I appreciate all the love and support. Keep it coming!  I feed on American energies! I'll eat some delicious folore and cous cous for you all here too, so you can live vicariously through me too. Enjoy the email below:


I miss you guys terribly and I think about all the grand times we've had together, especially when I'm out in the pasture staring at goats and huge ass bulls as I'm waiting for my laundry to dry or something. Also, I hate donkeys. They make the most hellacious sound ever at all hours of the night. I've had some wild dreams about donkeys talking to me the night I have to take my malaria meds....yeah my methloquin dreams are definitely more creative out here in the middle of the desert.  Then I get woken up at 4 am by the onslaught of vultures that use my tin roof as their landing pad. Terrifying. Terrifying and hilarious.  There's also a massive lizard that rolls it's leathery body across my roof at all hours of the day too. The roof is where it's at yo.

Yep, I'm getting stranger and stranger by the day.  Living en brousse will do that to ya. But despite my eccentricities (which were already quite apparent before I got the depths of the EXTREME NORTH) I am lovvvvving it.  My community is super progressive and super not at the same time, so I think I'll still be able to get some stuff done. I just finished reading The Rent Tent (you guys know it?).  Anyway, it takes place during the time of Joseph and all his sons and stuff, but in a lot of ways I can relate, like all the goats. So many goats! Oh yeah, and the fact that all the men have like 500000 wives and 50000000000000 kids. But I'm not really treated like a woman I'm treated like a King. Yes, the evolved Pirate King that I am. Captain Mego, Peg Leg Meg. 

But yeah, my Fulfulde is coming along really well, which is making life a lot easier.  I can now communicate with the women, which helps with work. There is such a need for simple stuff here. Like water.  Literally in this one area of town people get their water from a muddy hole in the ground...they eat mud for lunch.  I'm trying to get some forage projects started, but it's gonna take a lot of time. I'm also doing a lot of microfinance work with farmers, doing health animations on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, and how to treat water. I want to get some funding projects going, but that won't be for the next couple months.  I'll let you guys know what the dealio is.

Okay, I'm babbling. I think I'm going to go to the bank now and take out a crap ton of money because it takes me 2 days to even get to the bank haha. Then I'm going to get a guava smoothie. I'm OBSESSED with delicious guava. Then I'm going to go drinking.  I drink this crappy beer called 33 that is similar to UC. You would all love it. 

Anyway, hit me up friendoz.  I'm sorry if I don't respond for like 3 million years.  It's not because I don't love you all; it's because I'm probably running away from baboons or something on top of a mountain, or trying to climb a baobob tree (true story).

Love and miss. Check out my pix on fb.

Word, over and out.