1. Who are you and how did you find my blog?
Hey Tammers Its Britta. I found YOU one day walking around Samaipata. ME-"Hmmm I wonder who that Asian chick is over by Amboro tours... no she couldn't be PeaceCorps, those pants are way to to hot and ummm, are those highlights in her hair... Definitely not PeaceCorps." You- "O my god, who is that dirty hippie with those nasty stinky chacos, yuck, oh god i hope shes not in PeaceCorps too. What would we talk about..." Us, two days later "Holy shit you are the funniest person ever, oh my god I cant believe we just ate so many pancakes!" Thats how i met you, fell in love and found your blog!
2. What were you in the middle of doing just now? (If it was eating a McDonald’s cheeseburger and fries, OMG AM I JEALOUS!!!).
I was just posting some photos on FB from a totally fun weekend up at Lusten, Old friends good times. And i thought i would check out if anything new was going on with you.
3. What burning question do you have for me that I have not yet answered?
I want to know... a day in the life... do a post about just an average day in your life..."got up at bla bla ate rice with hot shit on it, had lots of latrine time, Thank god for the newsweeks..." you know all the little stuff you do each day.
4. How many times have you laughed, cried, and/or thrown up as you have read my blog?
I have totally cried, sorry its true, i miss you and honestly im a bit jealous that you are doing all this way badass cool fun stuff in AFRICA no less, and here i am driving my ass down 94 everymorning at 730 to go to work with the rest of the shmucks. I have laughed too, and worried about your poor little stomach.
5. What is the best/worst/funniest recent moment in your life for which I have been absent?
Oh so many moments you have missed, like a fun evening at the VFW on Hennepin, whoa. The rest of Bolivia. We will have time to make many more memories.
6. And last of all, what do you miss most about me???
Again so much i miss about you, I miss your gate with the ants marching across the top, and your little garden that could, i miss staying up late and talking about boys, and eating Kilos brownies, you teaching me how to be a lady, and me teaching you how to set up a tent and that a head lamp can be used for more than a reading light! Mostly i miss your beautiful face and smile, and the way you make me laugh and think about the world... now im crying again... Im so happy for you and i will try to skype call you as soon as i can.
A Day in the Life.
Señora, this one's for you!!!
I awaken to the sound of crowing roosters outside my door, the squeak of the well wheel as water is drawn, and the shouting from a wide awake host family who has been up since the dawn prayer call.
Next, pit stop at the pit latrine. That little block in the background? My shower.
The two sweet little host family kids, Sally and Njaka, check up on me each morning. They do things like take one bite of a cashew apple, just one, and leave the rest neatly on my table and hope I don't notice.
After a breakfast of sugary tea and bread with unsalted butter, I strap on my Peace Corps standard issue helmet and head out to work at the women's garden.
There are about 300 women in this 12 hectare garden, with 300 more to join soon. I was recently named to the board of directors. This consists of endless meetings to determine rules and bylaws, a lot of screaming in Mandinka that I don't understand, exhaustion, frustration, yet the tiniest glimmer of hope that we might be getting somewhere.
These women are working on a vegetable production trial that I headed up. It was my first effort in which I ran the show. And I think they understood maybe 10% of what I said. But we got it done!
Manual labor, backbreaking labor, more manual labor. That's what gardening here is all about.
Around 1:00 I head home for lunch. The bike ride home includes children screaming "HELLO! GIVE ME PEN! GIVE ME MINTY!" And from the ones that know me, "KADDYYYY BOJANGGGG!!!!" Also there are the cops who harass me and try to pull me over, on my bike no less. The alleged infraction? Not saying hello. The real reason? To ask if I will marry them. To which I respond to with a tongue lashing in Mandinka, at which time they decide I would probably be too much trouble as a second wife.
Home for lunch. Everyday, rice & sauce. Leaf sauce, peanut sauce, ground up fish in sauce...
After lunch, back to work. The family has a 12-year-old maid. I hate making her wash clothes. But so far I can handle only washing the unmentionables, since hauling water is hard work. And I have a lot of garden plots to care for.
Carrying that water back G-style baby!
It's kinda hot here. (Time is inaccurate. It's about 2:00 by now. I bought a satellite clock that only works in the U.S. It is so confused here.)
Washing and washing. Wish I had that nice little running tap I had in the old country.
My clothesline, in the bath area, tied to a fence made of coos stalk that I had to paint with motor oil to prevent complete consumption and destruction by termites. But not before they had eaten enough that people can kinda peek through.
more garden plots. You first double dig to allow aeration. Then add leaves for nitrogen and soil improvement. Then add manure that I collect for half an hour a day with a shovel and a bucket by jumping my wall to get next door.
They call me an ag-fo supastar. I no longer have a little garden that could. These days, my little garden ROCKS IT!
But even supastars get tired. Break!
Breaktime is cashew hunting time. Quite the delicacy. They are delicious, provide tons of vitamin C, and replenish a dehydrated body. Yum.
Tossing rocks to knock down a cashew. My aim sucks. I toss about 15 to knock down one.
Sweet success.
Done with work for the day. I live near the beach, better APROVECHAR!
Kids chasing. They like to try to catch the Toubab. Remember the staging videos where volunteers have rocks flung at them by the native children? It's no joke...
Sand.....
Cows....
Gardens...
A quick 10 min ride and I arrive at the beach, a little thirsty. Eight cents later, problem solved.
Destination: Paradise Beach. And in tribute to those who did, those who are, and those who wish they still were, I go on livin' the dream. Just livin' the dream......
6 comments:
Awesome awesome awesome post. All pcvs should make a post like this.
very cool, tammy...i'm jealous on so many levels. though, weather seems excruciating. i don't know if your other readers share this, but i'm interested to know what the hope/step forward/hypothesis is for the vegetable planting trial.
besos
pablo
yes this was a fun post. i think people here are going to start growing veggies in the backyard b/c of the economy. i already know of a handful of people doing this. that and it's healthier.
i miss you!!!!!!!!! hope you're staying hydrated! it looks so hot.
You're a Great !...
Ciao from Italy
:)
Ever since the comment about the guy that had rocks thrown at him by kids, I have replayed that image with you riding on the bike jajaja. I think you should redo that skit, make it as "real world" as possible, and see if it will be used in staging back in D.C., Miami, or wherever.
I have a question about your "shower block." Is there any use to going underneath it, in the little hole in the middle? Do you have to make a certain pose while showering to get the full potential use of the "shower block..." 'The Thinking Man', tal vez?
I also like how you used the word "unmentionables" to be politically correct, but show pictures of yourself washing them jaja.
Btw, good music has not shown much change since my last contribution. Will think of something or another to send to you...
This was a fun post! I kinda felt like I was there hanging out with you! I'm happy you're living the dream Tammy! Stay safe stay hydrated! Grow them veggies! =)
Love,
Alice
Post a Comment