Packages Are Awesome

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m Irish and I didn’t do any celebrating. Oh well.

First Mail Run. Yesterday Daffe (my regional coordinator) came on the Mail Run. It was freaking awesome because I got a bunch of stuff! I got a package from my aunt Linda and also from my Dad. I got medical stuff, the Peace Corps cookbook, all kinds of PC-related paperwork, a huge bag of sachets for my pepiniere and a letter from Teale, a G15 AgFo Hoe. Her letter was really nice, imparting all the advice she wishes she had gotten when she first got to site. I found it very encouraging and will have to send her a thank-you note on the next mail run.

Packages Rock. So packages are awesome. I got lots of cheese! Granted, it is processed, non-refrigerated cheese but I’ll tell you what, it hits the spot. My aunt Linda actually sent me Laughing Cow cheese and at first I laughed, because that’s the only cheese we CAN get in the market but then I realized that it was a different variety: Swiss, which we can’t get, so thanks Linda!! They sent all kinds of magazines and newspapers, most of them dedicated to Obama’s inauguration but it has been GREAT to read them and catch up on things. The Rolling Stone was awesome and the OK! was mind-numbing and seemed especially airheaded to me at this moment in time but hey, how else am I gonna know how Britney’s doing and that I would make a good girlfriend for Matthew McConaughey? I’ve only been gone for three and a half months but already there are bands, actors, TV shows I know nothing about. Can’t imagine what it will be like in two years!! The Guineans hanging around my house really liked paging through all the magazines and looking at all the pictures.

Pictures. Also Linda sent some pictures of the family so it was good to finally be able to show people pictures of my mom and my aunts and my grandparents. More pictures please! People here love them!

Communication. So it is REALLY hard to communicate with Ian. Whenever he or John sends me a bush note, I receive it, but Ian does not receive our bush notes and I’m not quite sure why. And he would have to come to my site to get any kind of phone reception, so bush notes are really all we have. Here’s the rub: John sent us bush notes on Friday saying that the Labe car only leaves Thursday mornings, meaning we need to push everything up a day earlier than planned. I received this note, but Ian did not, as he did not send a reply down with Daffe yesterday. So today I tried again and sent him a bush note to be delivered to his rice and sauce lady instead of directly to him, as she is right next to the taxi gare and very likely to receive it. Then the problem is just if Ian went to get rice and sauce for dinner or not. But if he doesn’t hop a taxi to John’s site tomorrow, he is going to be in a world of hurt because when he gets to my site on Thursday I will already be gone (in fact John and I will already be gone from HIS site) so Ian really won’t have any choice but to just turn back around and go home. Which is a huge waste of time and taxi fare and a disappointment because he won’t get to go to Labe. So here’s hoping he got my note today or at worst early tomorrow when he’d still have the time to get a taxi to John’s site. GO INTO TOWN IAN! I AM SENDING YOU MENTAL VIBES TELLING YOU TO GO INTO TOWN!!

Hope that works? HEY there’s an idea! We can hone our telepathy skills and communicate that way :).