Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Close to two weeks in!!!! The First African update.

First off I am typing this on a French Keyboard: The A key, the W key; and the M key are in different spots. Please Bare with me.

So Almost two weeks into Africa. It feels like i have been here for a month. The other Stagieres agree.

First off. It is hot. Carol you need to never come here because you would die from the heat. I actually deal with the heat quite well but have resorted to using a fan at night in my room. It is a dry heat and if you spill anything on you... you don.t really care... it will dry in about three seconds.

You think you have skirty people at home. Every girl here is in a skirt and the Muslim women have their heads covered. Betty would be able to show off her various skirt designs with ease. Except for the ones that co,e over the knee. That basically means your a prostitute over here.

One thing also is that there are lizards that run around everywhere. They climb the walls and just basically hang out everywhere: You are not safe from them anywhere. Good thing is that they are way more scared of you.

Now to the juicy bits....
BATHING: To bathe here you take a bucket bath. You take one in the morning and one as soon as you get home from work. You start by cupping your hands and throwing the water over each shoulder. You then do your head. At this point; you get a spongey net thing wet and rub your soap on it. You then use this to soap your body down. Then repeat step one to rinse off. They are actully very refreshing but sometimes cold.

Bathroom: Yes; I poop and pee in a hole in the ground. The pooping definetely takes some skill and I get a leg workout. It is quite an ordeal. I won't go at night because there are cock roaches that haunt it. I just shake the board that covers the hole and pee in it.

Host Family: my host fa,ily consists of four people. There is momma (Alice); Poppa; Laundre (12); and Cedrike (2-4). They are alot of fun. Stephens host mother says that I fit in well because I am also fat and like to laugh. (Calling people fat over here is a compliment)...(dammit)I don't speak french very well so our communication is minimal.

French: Is so freaking hard. You drop letters when you say words and you don't pronounce certain things. I am a novice low speaker and have to get to intermediate high. Needless to say it is my everest.

Things I have Broken:
My bike: within an hour of having it... I put my bike lock on; forgot I put it on and drove off and got the chain all broken with the lock. They gave me a new bike and are using ,e as a lesson to teach the next stagé.

my camera. I dropped my camera in my outside showering area, because I forgot to take it out of my pocket. I set it on the ledge and now the lense wonùt come out. lame.

Amis (friends): My stage group is amazing. They are 22 of the smartest, funnest, and most driven people I have had the pleasure of meeting. I could not be happier with the group. as you can tell I am making friends and my day is packed.

Well I am almost out of time at the post so I think I will end with this.

I love you Mom!!!
I love you Dad!!!
I love you family!!!
I love you bank!!!!
I miss and love you friends!!!!(JJJKE especially)

Hope this works and on to my next adventure!!!!!

3 comments:

  1. Wow. Sounds like fun! I guess they changed basic grammar in Africa, too. Ha ha, just kidding. Also, I never realized you had so many friends with names starting with "J."

    Miss you!
    -Johnny

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  2. that all sounds so wonderful! well minus the toilet and shower. you know how I love the heat! I can't believe you broke your camera!! can you send it somewhere to be fixed?!?!you know i need pics!!

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  3. Oh we truly miss you so much. The excitement for what life will evolve into now and the void of you being so far away. Please know, you are one of our dearest, probably most insane couple of friends. Nonetheless, we love you and are so proud of you! Please message us as soon as time allows. You are in our thoughts always and hopefully our emails soon!
    With Big Love,
    Loh, Bec, Dana, Kadejah, JJ, Andrew, Morgan, Buster & Phoebe.

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