Humpty Dumpty

So in my brilliance to charge my solar charger, I placed the panels in my window, the most direct route to sunlight. Well, then the wind blew, and like humpty dumpty, my solar panel had a great fall, but unlike my egg-shelled friend, all the kings horses and all the kings men did not come to put it back together again. Fortunately only one panel is completely shattered, and it still kind of work if I tilt it just right, and the sun is blazing. That was, since being here, the first time I outright cried.

No lollipops

I’ve been working at the local disponsaire (clinic) in my village and this week there was a campaign for vaccinations “contre la grippe H1N1”. I watched as dozens of children between the ages of 6-18 months received the needle prick without the reward of sugary deliciousness. How tough the children are.


Feeling a little more comfortable…

While getting anything done is a slow process, I am getting back into a routine. I am running regularly again, and am becoming more and more accustomed to the time consuming daily labors – cooking, hand washing the dishes right away (don’t want to leave anything for the critters), separating garbage between organic waste for my soon to be created compost pile and waste to be burned (and dumped in my latrine to decrease the smell and likeliness of the already existent cockroaches), hand washing laundry including the ever-absorbent jersey sheets for my bed (good thing the fitted sheet I brought is jersey because I am making a twin extra long stretch into a full!), sweeping the concrete floors of my two bedroom/one hallway house, sweeping the latrine, and long walks to the disponsiare to observe the local health care. Candle-lit evenings have become relaxing and once I have furniture I am sure I will feel even more at home. I truly am enjoying all this. I am also trying to incorporate more local language into my daily conversations (just the greetings) but I desperately need to find a tutor. I have also visited my marche a few times to be comforted by the availability of fruits and vegis (some new and some classic favorites). Easily at my disposal are: pineapples, coconuts, bananas, sweet plantains and the kind that taste like potatoes, star fruit, oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, onion, carrots, green beans, potatoes, cucumber, and more but I haven’t bought because I am not sure how to prepare. Cassava and yams are a staple here. I made “koliko” the other day which is fried yams; made it with an egg, tomato, onion, and pimant sauce (kind of like an omelet but in chunky sauce form). And I ate it with my hands, which is custom here!! It was good.