March 23, 2011

March 23, 2011


Back to regular school day. By 9am it was already 95 degrees. By 2, about 115. I barely said one word in class today and I really need to study and concentrate. I feel like so much of my lessons went out of my head these 2 weeks since I’ve been gone. Especially the 2nd week as I was at camp again speaking English. But studying in this heat is almost impossible. You’re brain does not function the same when it is 115-120 degrees. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It will continue to get hotter and stay this way until the end of May…into the beginning of June.

*A grasshopper flew into the side of my head last night. Of course I screamed a little. Now everyone thinks I’m afraid of grasshoppers. I don’t like them, but I’m not afraid of them. I just don’t want them in my hair…or on any other part of my body for that matter. Small creatures are hunting me down and targeting me.

*I peed 12 inches away from a frog last night. I thought I wouldn’t make it out of the nyegen alive. Of course I had to straddle the hole from the side and then keep my eye on the frog to make sure it didn’t move and get closer to me. You know what happens when you straddle the pee hole and then don’t watch where you’re peeing. You don’t usually pee in the hole. So I missed…but the frog didn’t move. All is well in the world.

*We’ve been back at school for 2 days. I feel like I know less and less every day. How can that be? My teachers say I’m doing great but I’m not feeling it.

*I would have thought that cement and /or mud bricks would stay cool. When in fact, cement apparently retains heat very well. At night when It’s cooler out and I go to take a bath I put my towel over the wall. When I go to use it it’s actually hot. So my room which is mud bricks and cement retains heat and then they put a tin sardine can lid type roof on it to seal the deal. No wonder it’s so stinkin hot in here. My house at my new site is also mud brick and tin. Can’t wait. Hot season is just starting up now. It’s only 8 to 10 weeks long. Fabulous. If I live to see rainy season it will be a miracle.

March 25, 2011

My house was a pain in the ass tonight. My pain in the ass brother may as well be home. There always seems to be a bunch of girls here night after night. Tonight there was three plus my sister. And one in particular bugging me and bugging me about talking. Then with everything I say laughing. What the hell is wrong with these people. I don’t get it. Supposedly Malians are so nice and respectful. I’m not seeing it. The thought of staying here 2 years is beyond my comprehension at this point. I went to my room telling them I had to study. I do that a lot. They’re probably wondering why my Bambara isn’t better since I study so much. Whatever…

In the meantime, on Monday we need to give presentations about health issues at the CSCOM (clinic) on Monday. We broke into groups of two and had to pick a subject. I am doing Malaria…how you get it, symptoms, how to avoid it and what to do if you do get it. We have to make it as simple as possible. Attention spans are limited and time is of the essence here as women can’t sit still long enough for anything more than simple, not to mention they all need to get home to do chores. Our minimal language skills makes anything more than simple impossible anyway. We wrote them out, practiced them with our teachers and we’re ready to go.

I’ve been sleeping outside the past couple of nights. It doesn’t matter if I’m in my room or outside there are little noises throughout the night that keep me from having a good night sleep. Inside the stucco around the ceiling beams falls and I think bugs are walking around. Outside I know there’s bugs walking around and I heard something jumping around (not a frog…more like a grasshopper or cricket) last night but I’m cool and I can kinda sorta sleep. I took a Benadryl last night. That helped a little until 4am when I had to pee. But I wasn’t going to fight with a frog again. I waited it out. I dozed back off until the call for prayer went out at the mosque. That’s at 5am…every morning. I wonder if anyone actually goes to the mosque at that time. Or is it just enough to wake them up, they pray and then go back to bed. Although everyone is up at 6 anyway. Hmmm. I guess if I was curious enough I’d go out there and look for myself. Anyway, I can’t bear the thought of going back outside. Setting up my tent and sleeping with these other chicks out there. Maybe I’ll just sweat and tough it out in here. Maybe another Benadryl is in order. I’ll take one, watch a movie for a little while (thank god I brought my computer with me) and hope for sleep. I know I’m being stupid but sometimes I just can’t stand to be with these people another minute. I hope things are different when I finally leave and go to my permanent home site. There I think I may feel too alone and be bitching about that. Time will tell I guess. I’m only here for another 8 days. Then back to Tubaniso, then swear in at the president’s palace, then off to site. 8 more days…8 more days…8 more days. I said it three times whilst clicking my heels. Is it over yet.