First week at post:

Patience is a virtue I have yet to master, so I find African time incredibly frustrating. It takes FOREVER to do anything. I have learned that I need to make only one goal for myself each day, and if I am able to accomplish that, then I am set. It is when I am trying to do too many things at once that the stress amounts as my time is consumed insufficiently.
I am in my new home now. There are a couple French volunteers here for a couple weeks working at the school. They live in my same compound. I don’t talk to them much but I went and observed one of their classes to see what they do and participated in an animation with about 100 kids one evening (singing, dancing and playing games). Some people are aware of the difference between myself and them, that I am not here on a vacation, but actually live in the village. It’s reassuring.
I am in the process of ordering furniture which is quite a bit of an ordeal. I have to bike to Tsevie, a neighboring village, to find a menusier (carpenter) because there aren’t really any in my village. Then I have to discuss what I want, what type of wood, and then bargain a price. The first couple ones I went to were really expensive. I finally found one and ordered a garde a manger – whish is basically a long cabinet to keep food and dishes from the critters. Later this week I am going to another village to visit a friend and her menusier who makes everything out of bamboo. He is cheaper and the wood work looks nice. I think I will be ordering everything else from him. But more than just ordering, I then have to wait a couple weeks for the construction and then rent a car to take me to the village, pick up and load my stuff and then take it back to my remote village. So the price kind of adds up and it is just a pain all around. I miss IKEA, and having my own car to run errands. Bikes can only go so fast, and carry so much. Today is going to be an interesting adventure as I have two bags, a three foot bucket attached to the back of my bike and more buckets that I will hold in front of me. I am truly becoming Togolese. Hahaha.
Weather has been nice and breezy but I did get my first sunburn yesterday, which means I will be wearing sunscreen from here on out. We are getting into the dry season, where it will be unbearably hot. Exciting?! At least I’ll be able to dry my clothes. And use my solar charger more since it won’t be overcast. Not having electricity is such a bummer. I feel like I am camping all the time. But I have a few luxuries. I have gotten into the habit of heating water in the mornings so I can at least take a hot “shower”.