Salaamaleekum!  I hope the weather is not too brutal over there, because IT IS HERE.  Waiting, waiting for the rains.  We get a rain storm once every 2-weeks.  The same thing happened last year and most of the crops failed.  DO A RAIN DANCE FOR ME!  I’m serious, try it.  Until the rains, it’s just freaking hot.  That’s what I get for living in West Africa, on the equator!

Hm.. updates.  Let me get business out of the way.  I have A LOT of projects going on right now. 

Most of them involve funding of some sort.  Mostly, I find grants online or through Peace Corps & charities.  For those that don’t follow the requirements of a grant, I have to ask friends and family for money.  Trust me, this is the last thing I wanted to do as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  However, all projects need funding of some sort, and “I ain’t got no money” (story of my life).  I am posting a link to a webpage of a water-charity project.  These women have busted there asses working with me, as I with them.  It’s time to help them out just a little bit more.  Check it out. Help if you have the means!

http://appropriateprojects.com/node/1205  (whoo! Meaningful work!) 

Other news. 
1. The health school is my village is complete.  We conducted final interviews to measure the success of the project in the eyes of the women and village leaders .  Our closing ceremony is on Sunday (PARTY!)  I am going to eat a lot of yummy rice, dance like a chicken with its head cut off, and hand out prizes to all the dedicated women who were involved in the project.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT America, I can feel your love across the Atlantic.

2. Well-projects.  Everyone needs water.  Most people here can’t just turn on a tap and out pours water.  People get their water for drinking, domestic use & gardening through wells.  Yes, like a pulley-system and (wo)man power.  I wish you all could see it.  I currently have 2-different well projects going on to get some people drinking water and water for their gardens. 

3.  Painting.  Been continuing to paint educational pictures and things at my friend’s village.  She is painting in her school, like letter sounds and associated pictures.  I love painting.  It’s quite intimidating, but the second my fingers touch that paint, it’s nothing but fun!  I swear I’ll post pictures on FaceSpace at somepoint soon.

4.  Working with trying to build gardens and whatnot.  Food is not plenty in this country.  I like to see full-bellies and healthy babies.  It takes a lot of money though, so I’ve been writing grants and such.  I’m going to be REALLY good at asking for money when I get back.  You sure you want to be my friend when I come back to America?  Peace Corps Volunteers “ain’t got no money!”

Other than like legit projects, once the rains hit, I’ll be in the field with my family.  We mostly farm cous and groundnuts, but also things like corn & a teensy bit of rice.  It’s.hard.fucking.work.  I wish everyone had to grow their own food, then maybe they would appreciate shit.  I love being so close to my food-source, growing foodstuffs and eating what I’ve grown.  The other day I went out with my family to collect Baobab leaves to put in the lunch bowl.  They are so tasty that I just ate the leaves right off the tree.  Also, bush mango = dank.  It “blocks me up”, but is so delicious – and they’re so plentiful, all over the ground and ready to fall into my stomach.  One of the women who cook in our compound climbed like 30-feet in a Baobab tree to get the leaves.  I didn’t have my camera, but it was EPIC – something I will never forget.

I have about 8-months left and still go back and forth every single day about whether or not I want to extend.  I could live like this for a long time to come, but I have to consider students loans, friends, family and love interests.  I just don’t know if I left that I’d ever have the means to come back, probably cuz “I ain’t got no money.”  Ha, I love sayin that in the way my brother says it (ghetto & southern).

Take care guys.  And for real, check out that link up there ;)  Help a sister out.