Aaron's Update

Life is good. Who’d have thunk it? I feel like I live here. Everything seems normal and I’m comfortable knowing I’ll be here for two years. I think that’s a good place to be. It’s funny the things you get completely used to. Bucket baths; no baths; sleeping outside under a mosquito net; pooping amongst the spider, lizards, flies, mice, and other bugs; pooping in a hole; pooping outside; pooping water; cooking with a camping stove; washing dishes and clothes with buckets; never driving a car; riding or walking everywhere; the heat; the dust; spiders everywhere in the house... Sometimes I think, “Hey, wait a minute, that’s not normal.” But of course in BF it is.

Most of our time is spent cooking, cleaning, teaching, lesson planning, reading, and studying. That’s our day. Nothing ever seems too urgent or stressful. What a nice life.

A note on water. Once a week we pay about 55 cents for about 55 gallons of water delivered to our door. Most of that is used for washing dishes and laundry and the rest is for cooking and drinking and showering. For showers we use a 5 gallon pail that lasts anywhere from 2 to 4 showers depending on how clean you want to be and how cold the water is. Therefore, one bathtub probably contains the amount of water we use in a week.

A note on the fou. Amy mentioned that a fou stole my Nescafe the other day. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on her face while she was dumping my coffee into her place. It was a look I’d forgotten existed. It was the mischievous, “I know better but I’m going to do it anyway because I know I can get away with it look.” It immediately brought me back to elementary school where I used see the look all the time in R.B.’s face. He was unique, though, and so was this fou.

I want to say congratulations to Mr. Obama. I have a feeling that Americans are probably 50/50 elated and disappointed. For what’s it worth, America just got a lot more popular in Africa and I think, rightly or wrongly accomplished, that is worth something. (Just heard someone say his name.) Listening to the BBC and the African portion of Voice of America was like a birthday, graduation, and wedding party all in one—everyone was praising and congratulating America and Americans. It was a nice change of pace.

Also want to say congrats to Paul Krugman, the economist who just won the Nobel Prize. I heard a speech of his last summer and thought it was brilliant. Then I realised this great article I was reading online was by the same guy. Now, he’s gone and legitimized my feelings by winning the Nobel. Nice work buddy.

Amy and I want to send a shout out to the following people: Aunt Annie, Amy, and Natalie; Paul and Steph; Mom and Dad; and the other Mom and Dad. Here goes: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGES. THEY REALLY PUT A SMILE ON OUR FACE. HOLY MOLY M&Ms ARE AWESOME. COFFEE GALORE...X 4!!!! IT WAS LIKE XMAS AND WHAT DAY IS BETTER THAN XMAS? Thanks a bunch folks, it was a really great month.

Another quick note: I'm told that the remaining kitten that we gave to a friend has passed on to a deeper spot on Earth. Something like, "It started twitching like it was having a seizure then keeled over." RIP little buddy.