Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It is already the end of October and I have no idea where the time has gone. The hot season is making its way towards Togo and as I sit melting in my house in Koudassi I invision the first snow falling back home. I realize it will be a couple more weeks before the snow actually starts but it still makes me happy just thinking about it. Work has been pretty slow since I got back from Egypt but things are about to pick up. School just started which means getting back into the weekly routine of after-school clubs and health sessions. Also I just submitted a project proposal for a soccer tournament between two villages in the Ave region for World AIDS day on December 1st. If everything goes as planned with that it should be a blast. Progress with the health center continues to be slightly discouraging. Hopefully I will have some good news to share with you all by the end of this month, but that is banking on people showing up to meetings and finally being decisive. We will just have to wait and see.

A couple of weeks ago I posted some pictures of my neighbor Napo and the snake that he killed at farm. The story behind this picture is that he killed this snake at farm and then brought it home to prepare and eat. Everybody freaked out that he was eating a snake, they get really superstitious about that kind of stuff. Having never tasted snake before, I was curious and decided to eat some for myself. It is actually really good, in my opinion it is way better than goat meat. The next day everyone in my neighborhood went to farm and I was completely by myself. I took advantage of the peace and hung up my hammock on the porch and settled into reading a good book. After about an hour I suddenly got this feeling that I was being watched and looked over my shoulder to find a green mamba staring straight at me about a foot away. I couldn't get out of the hammock without being in striking distance of the mamba so instead I just sat there frozen staring straight back. After about 5 minutes of this he apparently decided I was too large a prey to eat and he exited my porch. When my neighbors came home from farm and I told them the story, they said the snake was sent to warn me and that I should never eat snake again. Also, just to be cautious, they made me take another shot of sodabi from the bottle containing 14 snakes to reinforce my protection.

I got a new kitten to keep me company and scare away the mice. His name is Mawuna (meaning gift from God) and he is pretty entertaining. I have lost track of how many times he has climbed to the top of the tree in front of my house only to get stuck and then desperately cry for help. I then have to send one of the kids up the tree to retreive him. Ten minutes will pass and the whole precess will repeat itself. I also should update you on my chickens. Of the four, only two remain. Zed was eaten when my friends came to visit and Rawanda got sick (hopefully not bird flu) and died. Sarah continues to be the only chicken who will provide eggs. She faithfully gives one a day but the only problem is it is always in a different place (it is kind of like an Easter egg hunt everyday). Samantha has managed to grow to twice the size of a normal Togolese chicken. She has accomplished this because she is a bully, towards me and the other chickens. When it comes time for feeding, do not get in her way because she will employ an means necessary to get as much food as she can. I also have a laugh attck everytime I see her run. Not only does she still have a slightly gimp leg, but she is also so fat. I plan on taking a video of her running to get her morning breakfast, it will be sure to make you laugh.

Well, that is all I have for now. I hope everyone back home is happy and healthy. I have started counting down the months to my return: only 10 months to go! Until next time, I love you all lots! Whit

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