Sunday, January 15, 2006 This weekend was a blast. I went down south a little bit to observe the Zou-Collines VAC meeting. VAC meetings always promise to be well attended (as, I believe, they are mandatory for the volunteers in the region). I had planned to go originally to pick up my laptop from Brendan. Seeing though as it was delivered by other hands to my door (thanks Ben!) that reason was out. Thankfully it was Ethan's birthday, so I felt it obligatory to go down and give him a heartfelt "What the hell are you doing here, Ethan?" (A little explanation on that; Ethan has a gift randomly showing up at unexpected times usually promoting exactly that phrase from me.) I did so, read, relaxed and watched as the others attempted to hold their breath longer than the others. Odd, but I did finish reading Howl's Moving Castle, which is what the newest Miyazaki film is based on. My post-mate here said the following after having seen the film "Hmm, I don't recall gigantic flying battleships". The two are excellent works in their own rights, but probably would be best not compared in anyway other than Katherine's observation.

After VAC-ness was over, I went over with Carrie on zemi to her post... which is an absolutely beautiful 30 minute ride. That is, beautiful if you aren't stuck behind a gigantic camion (think semi-truck, only more janky) barreling down what amounts to a dirt trail while your zemi driver pulls directly behind it attempting to pass, but finding the road too narrow and thereby only managing to cover both driver and passenger in copious amounts of dust. Thankfully we did end up passing the truck, and continued on in relative peace.

When we came, a volunteer told us all that "the days go by slowly, but the weeks fly by". No truer words have ever been said (except maybe, "bush taxis suck"). Peace Corps is long weeks of holding your breath, and sudden, sometimes odd, experiences that give a sudden breath of fresh air and resolve to continue. That isn't to say at all that we're all demoralized and disheartened. Far from it in most cases, but even so a whiff of something different steels desire, and reminds us why we're here. Carrie's was just that for me. I don't know exactly why, but it was just awesome. Her house is totally rocking, her community is sweet, and she has a kick-ass hammock AND you can go and hang out on her roof. That combined with a full moon, a cool evening and all the time needed for laying on said roof to watch stars and clouds made for a very refreshing time.

Even leaving went smoothly. Carrie (playing an excellent host) went and found me a taxi this morning, and I was off and back to Parakou with no trouble whatsoever. Of course I was absolutely beat when I returned, but nothing a nice afternoon nap didn't cure. Oh, and we made Phad Thai, which was actually really good!