Pre-Shipwreck pix recovered!

This is early on in the experience, we dragged the boat over a sandbar into the marsh and kept paddling. It was totally an "African Queen" experience minus the hippos. There were bullfrogs, eagles, and herons though.




For the record, I made Carl wear the tie-dyed shirt.




Note the open water, that's where we were when the boat capsized. Granted we capsized after everyone along the shoreline came out to their docks to watch the scene unfold. A bit mortifying for my pride and I given I grew up here. This is all while a large power boat was attempting to drag us into safety. Doesn't really work when the wake sinks the boat. Live and learn and have fun doing it!
Oh, and it was the perfect situation to break in my Chacos and Ex Officio shirt -- they both performed admirably.

Down the homestretch

OK, so I have resigned myself to the fact that my luggage is over the allowance. Nothing I can do can get it under the required weight and I refuse to jettison a single pair of shoes. I already got rid of all of the candy bars and beef jerky to make room for more shoes. Ahhh, fun. Part of this entire exercise is to free myself from the bonds of consumerism and more more more, but really, a girl needs to be eased into this sort of thing.
On another note, if I have ever lent anyone on this list any DVDs (specifically looking for "Funny Face", "Harry Potter #4", and "The Gods Must be Crazy") I need them back!!!
So I had an amazing adventure with Lipika and Carl the other evening that resulted in our boat capsizing and sending my cell phone for a swim. We had to drag the boat back through the river and my parent's evil daschund had to sit on my head for the rescue mission cause his little legs don't swim so well. Lightening crashing all around dragging a metal rowboat in the middle of the Bush River. Too bad I can't get some of the pictures off of my now-dead phone, cause damn I bet they're good.
The disjointedness of this and all other previous posts so far has been pretty respresentative of my frame of mind right now, so sorry for the tough reading. I imagine it will get worse and things get more and more bewildering -- so much for this experience making a writer out of me!
Ta ta for now!

This map will be helpful when I start talking about place names. Lome is the capitol and we will train for 3 months in Kpalime. There are butterflies, cocoa, coffee, waterfalls, and mountains there. It is supposed to be lovely and cool.

I love you Baltimore

Ahhh, I am going to miss Baltimore so very much. I love this city with all of my heart. My decision to join the Peace Corps was not taken lightly, not only because of the challenges I will face, but the challenges my beloved city faces every day -- the problems I will be walking away from.


It is important to me to understand how a majority of the world lives. I do believe that borders are arbitrary and artificial and the problems of the world are therefore mine as well. We as a country and as a city will only get better if the world gets healthier.


I have lately had some daydreams inspired by the "Boys of Baraka". When I worry about leaving the issues of Baltimore, I salve my conscience with the idea that perhaps I will forge contacts and learn new ideas to not only bring back to Baltimore, but perhaps to be able to temporarily transport some of Baltimore's most troubled youth to a school or a program I set up somewhere on the African continent. I know the school didn't last because of bureaucratic issues, but having worked in insurance for 10 years, if there is something I can deal with it is bureaucracy on an African scale.


This is a ramble, I really just wanted to get off of my chest how much I love Baltimore and I want to thank Coralie for having the patience to make all of my "Funny Face" dreams come true. Granted, I should have been wearing a boatneck, nipped waist, full skirted 50's dream dress with a pillbox hat, but this is good enough:

Also, if anyone has any "Believe" stickers, or better yet the French version, "Creer", please please give them to me. I will take pictures of them up in my village and send them to you.

Ummm, yeah. This is what it feels like.

Packing

OK, just a little something here in case it doesn't like for people to subscribe when there's no real blog.
So, I am packing away. I mean how do you honestly pack for 2 years? I have like 20 pairs of underwear, a french press (I like my coffee and I like it strong), and duct tape. I mean really. I have to dress for potentially pooping my pants and being at the ambassador's house all at the same time. Are you catching my drift?
It takes me ages just to get dressed in the morning and now I have to add no-stick frying pans and handcrank shortwave radios into the mix?
Shannon, I think I may need to bribe you to come up to Harford County and help my ass before I go a little batty.
In the meantime, you can find me in the Dr. Bronner's aisle with armloads of ziploc bags, m'kay?