Mailbag and Christmas! list
For today we are going back to the mailbag... Well, really I have just always wanted to write that. But Polly did send some questions that are useful as a starting place or have been commonly asked. So, here are her questions:
When is the coolest time to visit? ... Also, do you guys have stage houses like Charles did in Segou? Do you have opportunities to gather and have American holidays or just a beer weekend? Do you have ice? Do you eat it? What is the biggest treat you get to eat? Is there any air conditioning in the city? In your house? What do you sleep on?
And my answers:
*The coolest time to visit me here is December and January. Now through mid/late February is the "cool" season. It is still hot by Lakewood standards during the middle of the day, but nights are delightfully cool - I had a blanket of sorts on for a bit of last night, and it will be getting cooler for a while still. The Harmattan winds are a concern, but I have yet to have any first hand experience.
*Yes, we have two houses right now - one in the capital region which is managed by the Peace Corps administration to some degree, and one in Basse, at the far end of the country, run by volunteers. I am going to the Basse house next week for Thanksgiving. We are supposedly getting a third house in Soma - a hour's journey south of here - some time in the next three to six months. Mostly because Soma is a transport hub, and people frequently get stuck there.
*We are getting together for Thanksgiving in Basse because my training group is on "Three Month Challenge" and are not welcome in the Kombo area until that's finished. Beer weekends also happen.
*There is often ice available here in Fara Fenni. I don't eat it, but I do drink cold water that it makes possible. Probably some risk of sickness, but a trade off I am willing to take.
*My biggest treat is often Woman's cooking - she is great at making yummy stuff from local ingredients, and somehow it never tastes like local food. Besides that, I don't have a single thing that I rely on, though the dried fruit my mom has sent is pretty fantastic.
*There is air conditioning in some of the Kombo hotels. Also, here the high school has it in the computer lab, though it doesn't really work. This time of year is dry enough so that I almost never need it, and can sit inside my hut without sweating, except in the hottest part of the day. And nights, like I said before, are cool and delicious.
*No. Not a chance of that.
*I sleep on a foam mattress, on a bed about three and a half feet off the floor. Right at the level of the windows. I am going to try to put some photos of it up soon, though not today.
The other item I wanted to post today is my Christmas List, which I have been considering for weeks if not months, but somehow feel certain that I am still forgetting many important things: (the highest priority items are marked)
#6mm and 7mm hex wrenches - to fix my bike
tabasco sauce
Dr. Bronner's liquid Peppermint soap
#a natural bristle body brush - exfoliating is heaven and very necessary to keep away skin fungus / infections
acidofolus (sp?) - my digestive system needs some good news
"green" multivitamins - I don't know how else to describe them in less than three paragraphs
radio/cassette player OR satellite radio
lever 2000 soap
#Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste - yummy
q-tips
philosophy/religion books - Buddhist, eastern, socialist, anything to stir brain cells
#Gabriel Garcia Marquez's autobiography - forget the title, but I am longing to read it
good batteries - AAA in particular
#water bottle cage and water bottle for my bike
speakers for my iPod, so I can shake my booty in my hut
music
letters
pictures - digital is good, film better
Borsari salt
food - dried fruit, energy bars, the usual, or anything unusual
a journal - I have one, or four, right now, but they are filling up
#promises to visit!
Things here are good in general - I wrote a long post the other day which I just put up, with details of my recent activities and thoughts. I have had the good fortune to speak with my parents twice in the past three days, today via Skype, which was a decent price and not much hassle (for me at least!). Next week is my trip to Basse, for a touch of work and a bunch of Thanksgiving, so much eagerness is in the air. And, on Friday, mail! The third Friday has come around again, sweet news. So, life is good and preparing to be better. I will be online again before I depart, and maybe from Basse as well, inshallah.
Love to everyone, and the new email thing is great!
Zac
When is the coolest time to visit? ... Also, do you guys have stage houses like Charles did in Segou? Do you have opportunities to gather and have American holidays or just a beer weekend? Do you have ice? Do you eat it? What is the biggest treat you get to eat? Is there any air conditioning in the city? In your house? What do you sleep on?
And my answers:
*The coolest time to visit me here is December and January. Now through mid/late February is the "cool" season. It is still hot by Lakewood standards during the middle of the day, but nights are delightfully cool - I had a blanket of sorts on for a bit of last night, and it will be getting cooler for a while still. The Harmattan winds are a concern, but I have yet to have any first hand experience.
*Yes, we have two houses right now - one in the capital region which is managed by the Peace Corps administration to some degree, and one in Basse, at the far end of the country, run by volunteers. I am going to the Basse house next week for Thanksgiving. We are supposedly getting a third house in Soma - a hour's journey south of here - some time in the next three to six months. Mostly because Soma is a transport hub, and people frequently get stuck there.
*We are getting together for Thanksgiving in Basse because my training group is on "Three Month Challenge" and are not welcome in the Kombo area until that's finished. Beer weekends also happen.
*There is often ice available here in Fara Fenni. I don't eat it, but I do drink cold water that it makes possible. Probably some risk of sickness, but a trade off I am willing to take.
*My biggest treat is often Woman's cooking - she is great at making yummy stuff from local ingredients, and somehow it never tastes like local food. Besides that, I don't have a single thing that I rely on, though the dried fruit my mom has sent is pretty fantastic.
*There is air conditioning in some of the Kombo hotels. Also, here the high school has it in the computer lab, though it doesn't really work. This time of year is dry enough so that I almost never need it, and can sit inside my hut without sweating, except in the hottest part of the day. And nights, like I said before, are cool and delicious.
*No. Not a chance of that.
*I sleep on a foam mattress, on a bed about three and a half feet off the floor. Right at the level of the windows. I am going to try to put some photos of it up soon, though not today.
The other item I wanted to post today is my Christmas List, which I have been considering for weeks if not months, but somehow feel certain that I am still forgetting many important things: (the highest priority items are marked)
#6mm and 7mm hex wrenches - to fix my bike
tabasco sauce
Dr. Bronner's liquid Peppermint soap
#a natural bristle body brush - exfoliating is heaven and very necessary to keep away skin fungus / infections
acidofolus (sp?) - my digestive system needs some good news
"green" multivitamins - I don't know how else to describe them in less than three paragraphs
radio/cassette player OR satellite radio
lever 2000 soap
#Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste - yummy
q-tips
philosophy/religion books - Buddhist, eastern, socialist, anything to stir brain cells
#Gabriel Garcia Marquez's autobiography - forget the title, but I am longing to read it
good batteries - AAA in particular
#water bottle cage and water bottle for my bike
speakers for my iPod, so I can shake my booty in my hut
music
letters
pictures - digital is good, film better
Borsari salt
food - dried fruit, energy bars, the usual, or anything unusual
a journal - I have one, or four, right now, but they are filling up
#promises to visit!
Things here are good in general - I wrote a long post the other day which I just put up, with details of my recent activities and thoughts. I have had the good fortune to speak with my parents twice in the past three days, today via Skype, which was a decent price and not much hassle (for me at least!). Next week is my trip to Basse, for a touch of work and a bunch of Thanksgiving, so much eagerness is in the air. And, on Friday, mail! The third Friday has come around again, sweet news. So, life is good and preparing to be better. I will be online again before I depart, and maybe from Basse as well, inshallah.
Love to everyone, and the new email thing is great!
Zac
posted by Zac at
1:29 PM
1 Comments:
Please, those of you who have seen this man dance, think twice before supplying him with speakers. I'm one of the ones who has to be around when he's dancing.
By
mchughtie, at 2:54 PM
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