One more week down and things are still going well. The moon is "dying" as they say in the village, so we will continue fasting for another week and a half, until it dies completely and when it returns we will break the fasting with a day of celebration. So far I have fasted 10 days of the .... 20ish. My villagers are all duly impressed. What I don't tell them is how impressed I am with the volunteers who do the fast everyday. Sometimes they ask me to rest from fasting because they're worried that it'll be too much for me. I don't mind that. So on days like today (when I biked into town) I'm not fasting. It has been a really good experience. I still love breaking the fast and the time I take to read the bible and pray during the day is really enjoyable. I envisioned myself lying on my bed writhing in hunger pains and creaking out a meek "water, water..." but what you lose in physical energy is gained in spiritual and communal energy. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, I like it, although I will be glad when we go back to eating regular lunches too.
I went to the school director’s house to talk about why he had requested an EE volunteer in my village. It’s a question I should have asked my first week in village and it was really good to have that conversation. My timing was good though, because there was a mason at the school building new sinks for the toilet block. The school director brought him over to my hut and he assessed the situation. The next day my brother and I broke the cement up and poured on some dirt and rocks to level it. Then the mason came back and ta-daa! I have a new latrine! Remember it’s just a concrete block with a hole in the middle. I’d gotten so used to the center being sunken in that it is very strange now everytime I walk back there to see it completely level. It looks so nice and new.
My infection is nearly healed now and feeling fine. Thank you, erythromycin!
I tried again with the pictures today, but to no avail. Thanks to Katie for a beautiful package unexpectedly received today. Well done. I love how pretty the whole thing was. I also want to thank the Sunday School class for the letters I'm getting. They are really uplifting and exciting to get. I hope you're all well and enjoying what my calendar says is the first day of fall. Seems to me more like another hot day with huge puddles from last night's thunderstorm, but I guess if the calendar says it, it must be so.
That reminds me, the calendar I got (thank you parents) has pictures of San Antonio and the kids asked if the Tower Life Building was a mosque. Now, while I know that it isn't a mosque, I don't know exactly what its purpose is. If anyone in San Antonio wants to tell me, the kids in my compound will be glad to know. I told them I thought it was for "business."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I think the Tower Life Building is just a pretty office building. (It is named after it's current owner, Tower Life Insurance Company...I'm pretty sure....)
Hey Annicka,
I love being able to keep up with you through your blog. Did you ever receive the care package from our Sunday School class? We sent it in late July. The guy at the post office wasn't real optimistic that it would make it.
Kayla, my 7-year-old, is in a Girl Scout Brownie troop. I was wondering if they could do something in February for World Thinking Day. Perhaps they could learn a bit about life for girls in Senegal and then make something (like bracelets or whatever you suggest) for some of the girls in your village. What do you think?
Christie
Post a Comment