When It Rains It Pours

Every night for the past week it has been raining and sometimes during the day too. Supposedly we are heading towards the end of the rainy season but I have yet to see it let up. Our roof is tin (ordinarily this would be great. . .you know falling asleep to the gentle sound of raindrops) except when I wrote that it pours I meant it literally. A fair comparison would be to say that it sounds like our house is under a waterfall.

A typical day for us starts at 5:30 when our alarm clock goes off. We have class from 7:30-4:30 (French, Technical Training, and Cross-culture). Six days a week we are in training with Sunday as our free day. So we are kind of exhausted in general. Yesterday I told my French tutor "Je suis un peu fatigue aujord'hui" (I am a little tired today) to which she replied "you said that yesterday" and I finished with "Je suis fatigue tout les jours" (I am tired everyday).

We are getting very comfortable talking about the big D-word, yes diarrhea (Ivy - you would be proud). I had bacterial dysentery in Yaounde, the capital city, but I have felt pretty good since I have been in Bangante. Occasionally our water goes out and we have to use the outside latrine, which is alright unless you have the D.

Last Saturday, we went to a funeral which was really interesting, definitely more festive and less somber than services in the States. My favorite part was when all my host mom's friends danced around her and put money on her forehead. She was one of the bereaved, her grandmother who was 90 something, passed away last week. All of my host mother's friends wore matching dresses, which I thought was a nice touch.

Thank you for your comments! I am hoping that one of these days I'll have time to write some individual emails and letters. If I don't have your mailing address please email it to me. I hope that all of you are doing well!!

Love,

- S