They'll be here...

So, school starts Monday and my administrators still havent gotten back from vacation. I am a tad concerned, but everyone assures me that they are coming and there is nothing to worry about. I am sure they are right...

Things are going fine here. My biggest health problem for now is the fact that I cut myself like all the time, mostly in the kitchen but once with my fabulously sharp multitool, and the cuts always get infected because, well, I touch stuff with my hands, which is where most of the cuts are. So I am flying through Neosporin and Bandaids, and everyone in the village gets really concerned every time I have a new Bandaid, but there are wayyyyy worse problems - cholera, anyone? - so I dont mind.

This is how yam pile is made. It takes two people, two big sticks, and a lot of effort. These girls let me try but then laughed and took the stick away. Then I get to eat it for lunch. Yummm...

This is how it turns out.... all round and smooth. They just boil the yams, then mash them up and add water. I think a little butter and garlic wouldnt be out of line, but its pretty good as is, with sauce.

This is my back patio. Big metal door, glass bottles on the top of the wall... The walled in space is the shower area. Also there are clothes lines across the whole space that you cant see, and a covered storage or work area to the left of the picture.

These next two pictures are my kitchen. Thats my stove on the table, with the gas bottle underneath. To the left are my sinks, which are just basins that sit in holes in the table - they dont drain - but they are delightful.

Then I have a big shelf full of yummy stuff, and there is my super fancy drinking water container, that actually has a spigot at the bottom. A gift from my predecessor, of course.

This is my front room. Lots of chairs for my many visitors. And new curtains!

And this is the other half of the front room - separated by a big curtain - which I am calling my study. Ha.

This is my friend who lives up the road. He is from Cote d'Ivoire, but is visiting his parents who live here, and he sits on this bench all day because he is disinclined to make Beninese friends. But he is really the sweetest man and now he has volunteered to help me with my Nagot. So I take a notebook and after we discuss life, politics, and how I slept despite the heat, mosquitoes, and general miserableness (in his view) of village life, i take some notes on important phrases and vocab. Right now we are working on market words!

OK, gotta get back home. Hope you enjoy the pictures!