Last Week

I had a good last week. Saturday morning, I planned to ride my bike to Basse so that I could spend the day here before taking the bus down to Kombo. However, Malcolm's village played mine in soccer on Saturday night so we had to stick around and watch that first. That didn't change that we still had to catch a Sunday morning bus, so after the game and dinner we put on our headlights and rode about an hour down the road from my village to the village of Sare Alpha, where our buddy Selina lives. We stayed with her and at 6 in the morning got up and hit the road to Basse, caught the bus, and made Kombo Sunday night. Monday and Tuesday was an event called All Vol. They just have all the volunteers come together, and in the morning some administrators will go over small things that everyone needs to know, like phone numbers  or password changes. Then the afternoon volunteers would have the option to visit people from other groups and listen to presentation about projects they are working on. After the conference most people went to the beach. I caught an ultimate Frisbee game at the MRC. Monday night we caught the USA Ghana world cup game, and then Tuesday night we had an open mic. It was a fun couple of days, and it was good to come together and see everybody. It made me realize that I was part of a bigger group, instead of just someone living in the bush. I actually really like the feeling of living alone in the bush most times, so I guess the group thing helped remind me who paid for my ticket here. Wednesday morning most people hung around and watched movies and talked. It was tempting to delay my return for another day, but I knew the party was over and it was time to get home. I caught a mid day bus, and made it back to Basse late Wednesday night. Yesterday, no one else was around the house, so I took time to wash clothes, write some blogs, clean up and organize my locker, make a bag to be delivered by the next vehicle, trim my beard, eat some beef jerky, listen to music, drink coffee, get on the internet, etc. Strangely enough I didnt sit still very much yesterday. Since that's one thing I have to do alot of in the village, I didnt want to leave this morning without having relaxed a little here to ease the transition of going back home. Thats probably the hardest thing is going from town where you can find things to entertain yourself, eat, and spend money on, and then going back to the village where you have to create all your time for yourself. Conversely, having that time is what makes it really great there, but the adjustment can be a little tough. I do have my bike here with me, and knowing that I get to ride home makes it alot funner than when I will be sitting in the car park all afternoon waiting for a vehicle. It's going to be 106 today, so Im gonna take some time in the shade this afternoon at the Basse house, then head out this evening. Ill try and stay in the village for most of the next month. I'll be leaving for Japan soon, so Im going to try and spend all my time in the village until then. I want Zabeth to meet a hardened bush resident when I show up, not some suburban commuter!