Halloween weekend actually was scary

I’ve drank at least 6 liters of water and got about 9 hours of sleep so I feel like I can sit and talk about what happened Monday November 1, 2010. I was fortunate enough to go to Parkaou list past weekend. I went with my postmate Jonny, and 4 other volunteers in my region, all of which are in the stage before me so they have already been in country for one year (Mary, Jennifer, Brandon, and Doug) On the way to Parakou, which is about a 4-5 hour journey our taxi was flying down the terre rouge (red dirt road); everything was fine we were all just chatting it up trying to distract from the heat and layer of red dirt that was slowly covering our skin when we saw in the distance something in the middle of the road. It’s very typical for animals to be crossing the road (please refer to my previous post where my homologue hit the cow) sometimes even people are crossing the road. As we got closer we realized it was a small adolescent goat. We all silently hoped that soon the goat would realize it was not in the optimal resting place and would run across the road like all the previous animals we’d seen. Unfortunately the goat turned toward the side of the road our vehicle was driving on and our drive didn’t slow down…at all. I felt the bump of driving over the goat under my feet in the car. It was not a very pleasant feeling, Jonny was the only one to look back and see the damage.

I like Parakou it’s not what I imagined but then again everything I have pictured is not quite correct. The work station there really reminds me of the different fraternity houses I have seen. It was really great to see the people from my stage I haven’t seen since September. It was a really good weekend with great conversations and good food. I actually was able to eat STEAK!!!!!! It was expensive but totally worth it! Oh and a mini keg of Heineken was purchased!! Seriously random but funny!

The same group minus Brandon left Monday morning around 10am to return back to Nati. We arrived at the Taxi gare and surprisingly found a taxi ready to take us that was a pretty (not actually pretty just less ugly than the other cars) light blue that seemed decent enough. We left shortly thereafter and started for Nati. At 11:30 we had a pee stop and when the car got back on the road there was a strange noise and shaking coming from the rear right tire. We all looked at each other and said “Uh yeah that doesn’t sound/feel good” The driver said the next town was only about 10K away so he would stop there. After about 15 more seconds of driving he pulled over to check it out. The bolt holding the tire on had fallen off because it was so stripped and rusted. There was only 2 bolts left holding it on and they were together near the top not spread out to distribute evenly. He flagged down a moto and said he was going to the next town to get a mechanic to come and fix it. At noon he returned with a mechanic. They tried for 40 min to remove the other two bolts to put new ones on; they were unsuccessful and ruined their tools in the process. So the mechanic jumped in a passing taxi. Our driver said he was going to take a 100 steps and the mechanic was going to return with something to fix it. We waited on the side of the road for 3 hours during the hottest part of the day. When it reached 2:30pm Jonny brought up the idea of leaving and searching for another taxi because at the rate we were going we would be headed back to Nati when the sun was going which is dangerous because of Bandits who rob people. We all sorta agreed or at least didn’t disagree and got our stuff and started to walk toward the next town. Two hours earlier we had eaten cookies, bread, beef jerky and drank all our water. I actually was worried; I didn’t know how far I could make it walking during the hottest part of the day without water.

There was a sign that the next town was only 1K away so I knew I could make it at least there. Right when we cleared the curve and I saw the next town Jonny stopped a truck that fortunately was able to take us all the way to Nati. They were a group of guys who were doing some financial work in Nati and were so nice to take us with them! I’m not sure how things would have turned out if they hadn’t passed by at that moment.

I can’t believe that such craziness happened during the journey but then again I am in Africa and crazy things happen.

Well Christmas came early literally, I went to the post office today and I had three packages waiting for me!!! I had a huge package from my aunt Linda in Anderson, Indiana, a package from my other aunt Nancy and Grandma in Conroe, TX, and a package from my little Liz in Houston. I got some amazing things I feel so lucky and happy I started crying out of joy! My aunt Linda sent me a freaking Christmas tree with decorations along with tons of other stuff!! My Aunt Nancy sent me sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie and enough smores to feed a small army!! My little sent me a beautiful necklace I can’t wait to wear and an absolutely beautiful bible I can’t wait to read! Seriously it was a magical event! The children that know my name saw me with three packages and started chasing after me…I had to politely tell them to BACK OFF the presents were ALL MINE!

I promised my post mates that I would back cookies with all the m&ms I had sent and we are going to taste test which cookie is better, regular, peanut, or pretzel…yeah I know we are so adventurous!

Oh also another volunteer Mary brought me paint and promised to help me paint my house (the inside) this weekend so that is the next adventure on the list!

Also just FYI I am hardcore now I can kill bugs (baby roaches, spiders, and crickets) with my bare hands and I can also kill giant black flying/jumping crickets just by throwing my shoe I have that good of an aim….there are two baby salamanders I am trying to muster up the courage to kill.

Until the next adventure…