during one of the baptisms...











this is the view of my coutryard from my door. that's my snazzy Peace Corps-issued bike, too. the other buildings nearby are houses and other living spaces. all of this is part of my family's compound.


I want to post more pics, but it's a delicate balance between my camera's compatibilty with computer and the internet speed, so no promises!

I have been renamed by my village. I am now Renatou Kindo. Kindo is the name of my host family. My host sister started calling me Renatou - i'm not really sure why because she still calls me Jenni (or Jini or Djini as many other people here say).

Things are going great and I am genuinely enjoying myself. In the beginning, there were a few moments when I had to remind myself that I have only been here for days and that everything is new and I need to give myself a break. I was really pushing myself to do everything - learn local language, work on my French, hang out with my host family, write letters and remember to breathe and rest from time to time. We have an ridiculously structured schedule and I am rarely alone when I am at home in village, so getting time to relax and decompress is a bit difficult to come by. I let my mind relax on my 10 km bile ride home, which is beautiful. Also, my host family has evolved into a group of people that I am happy to see and I am comforted to see the hill that leads to my house when I get to our village. My host mom speaks Moore, but we still have wonderful conversations about random things conducted through grand theatrics. She is so smart and cool, she reminds me of my own mom. My host brother has become my French tutor and village counterpart as he translates and preps me for anything I need to ask of him.

Nothing much to report this week. My mind is a little tired and I am just glad to feel comfortable and at home in my life here. Though if anyone wants to send me some of the following, I'd be even happier!

- Kool Aid/drink mix with and without sugar (the little packets of stuff are probably more mail-able)
- granola or energy bars
- cds (anything, but country)
- news paper articles or magazines, like the Economist (i have no idea what is going on in the world)
- photos
- or anything really...!

a letter with even one or none of these things would rock my world! Letters have taken from 9 to 15 days to get here.

Lastly, you can catch me on Yahoo messenger sometimes. oh, and, I'll post pics as soon as I can... but the internet is so slow here. As soon as I get a chance, I will!

ahhhhh.... internet after two weeks. the two week hiatus was not by choice, believe me. but i do think it is good for me to get used to more infrequent internet access because i dont know what the situation will be like when i get to my site. the city we're in for training is relatively big (i think!). all the same, keep sending those emails! they really brighten my day, even if it might be weeks before i get to reply to all of them.

it's the rainy season now, which means more flies, cultivation and beautiful thunderstorms. the other day, my host mom appeared at the gate of my courtyard waving her hoe and making cultivating gestures in order to convey to me that she wouldn't be around during the day because she was going out to the fields. normally, someone appearing at my door, brandishing a dangerous, blunt farming tool and speaking a language i cant understand would seem alarming, but here it's the only way to communicate!

the storms are beautiful and amazing. my host family probably thinks i'm insane because i stand outside during the rainstorms and sandstorms. i get sand in my teeth and eyes regularly but it's more than worth it to witness the sky slowly turn from blue to brown to doom. the wind picks up and i suddenly feel so lost and so small. the other day, two friends and i got stuck in a sandstorm that turned into a rainstorm near our village and it was amazing. i really can't explain it so i dont know why im even trying...

i know i had a lot more to say before i got to the internet cafe... but now, i can't really remember...

I have been to two baptisms, both were children from my family. the naming ceremony lasts about a half hour and takes place early in the morning. honestly, i walked by and missed the whole thing this last time - that is how fast the religious component of the naming is. the focus of the day is the celebrating, eating and hanging out which lasts all day. nobody does any work. at night, there is an all-night party and, let me tell you, my family can get down. the next day is spent napping and recovering from the shindig the night before. there is no alcohol (at least that i can detect), as my village is Muslim. (that isn't to say that the people probably don't drink, but this is what goes on publicly...) it's really fun to see how people dance. they like Burkinabe, Ivorian and other kinds of African music. the music and dancing reminds me a bit of soca and calypso, but that's not really a surprise.

anyways, again this was really scattered, but there's my little bit of the Peace Corps for this week. please forgive the spelling errors and excuse me if i havent been able to reply to your emails yet. keep sending them, though!!!