five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

It’s been one year in the Faso (already?). I was sitting in Djibo with 2 other PCVs, celebrating our duration and the day came and went. I’ve gone from thinking that every day is a challenge to wondering how long it will be until I Swear-In and move to Djibo to hoping I’ll make it to In-Service Training (IST is, conveniently, the French abbreviation for STDs, btw) to realizing I have a hang of things after all and don't come by awkward moments as often. Sweetness.

Former Volunteers have warned me that there’s the slump that most people hit once they’ve completed a year and realize they still have 14-15 months left to go before they do their Close of Service (COS). Though I’m expecting it to come, I’m trying to concentrate on what all I’m looking forward to for the rest of 2006 – Togo & Benin trip this month, the harvest in September and the arrival of new Volunteers in my province, the Ramadan festivities & one year mark in Djibo in late October, Thanksgiving with all the Volunteers, and finally, visiting the States end of December for a few weeks.

I hope you all continue to write your letters! They've been especially a source of inspiration and smiles. A lot of people claim they don't write because they feel there is nothing interesting in their lives. How freakin' WRONG you are. Write about everything and anything. What the weather is like. What you ate for lunch. Why you think Britney Spears is still with that monkey Kevin Federline. What the latest episode of your favorite sitcom was about. Because all these are the little details that I'm missing in my life right now and they are the details that make all the difference. Send pictures, the latest ad from the Gap, or any other source of inspiration you can think of. And if you're intimidated by writing out a letter by hand, then type it out. Hell, you can write me 3 lines on a greasy napkin and I'll be excited to have it arrive in my box in Djibo. So please do write.

Currently enjoying: High speed internet.
Currently listening to: White Shadows, Coldplay (feel free to email me MP3s or mail me CDs. No Celine Dion, for the love of God)