September 22, 2007 : Paradise Found (cont)

The first 3 months of training were exhausting but now that I am settling in at post and things are calming down. I am developing my routines and making friends in the village.

I am doing very well here in Lolodorf. Now is the season of heavy rains here in the south province, so it rains everyday but the weather is not cold. I eat well and sleep well each night. The Katchumba family helps me with many things. The mama, Yvette, cooks for me each day. It is easier for me to pay her a small amount each day for dinner than to cook for myself !! Everything I eat still gives me varying degrees of the runs but at least I’m not constipated!! I go into town a few days a week for my favorite breakfast - a spaghetti omelet, a bit of bread and a hot yummy cup of Nescafe. The coffee is probably not helping the digestive situation - but a girl needs her comforts from time to time ;-). Also, I think its official now - I’m pretty sure I do not like manioc (cassava) in any of its forms (but I still eat it a few times each week in small quantities).

I spend my days at the MC 2, which is a community credit union. I am learning what each person does at the bank and also how the bank functions. There is a room at the bank with 5 computers. Ata, the volunteer before me, obtained the computers for the MC 2. Currently only 3 of them work, but we hope to get the 4th one working soon. I will teach computer classes to students and adults, but first, I have to develop the lesson plans. I will also work with the Boys Club and the Girls Club soon. I do not know what I will do, but I think it will be a lot of fun. I also plan to find a tutor at the lycée to help me with my French grammar and pronunciation.

In the afternoon I take long walks to discover the countryside. It’s beautiful here - I live in the rain forest. The Lokoundje River runs past the town and there is a new bridge just outside of town where I can walk down and sit near the river and watch it pass. The sound of the water is very soothing, the hillside is covered with beautiful green trees and plants, and the birds sing. It is beautiful and peaceful. I sometimes sit there and read my bible.

Also Lolodorf now has a cyber café, which means I can access email regularly. Regularly - meaning - when the power and phone service are active !!

Ciao - Christine