So it has been a couple of months since I posted, but the weeks are flying by so fast that I completely lost track of time. Things are going well here. I have periods were I am very busy and periods when I have nothing to do but sit and read or think about nothing. We are in the last stretch of the hot, dry season before the rainy season starts up and I have forgotten what it feels like to not be dripping with sweat, I can't wait for the rain.

Well I guess I can start with the bad news first and then move on to the more cheerful stories. My iPod got stolen a couple of weeks ago, my cat ate something poisinous and died, and I woke up the other night to a huge cockroach crawling across my face and have no idea how it infiltrated my mosquitoe net. Also there was a small coup d'etat involving the president and his brother, the leader of the Togolese military in Lome last weekend, but I don't if I am allowed to discuss that. Don't worry though everything has calmed down now and nothing to serious came of it.

I had a birthday party in village this past week which involved lots of food, dancing, and the local gin sodabi. Leading up to the party was a little stressful. People kept telling that I didn't buy enough food and some people were mad that they didn't get invited (well, I can't invite the whole village). But in the end it all worked out great. I bought $30.00 worth of rice, sauce, and fish which was enough to feed everyone who came. I invited 10 people, there were about 100 people there. The kids from the Catholic church and my neighborhood kids all prepared a performance for me, which was amazing. Also three of my volunteer friends from other villages came to join in on the festivities. So all in all I had a great birthday!

I had a meeting yesterday with the director of health for the Maritime region of Togo to discuss building plans for the health center. I called this guy last week to scheduel the appointment and he lives in a village that is about 2.5 hours from mine. So I showed up yesterday morning to find that the director was out for the day and I should come back on Tuesday. I was so angry that I had spent all that money and took all that time to go to this appointment that I had schedueled ahead of time to find out that he wasn't even there. They didn't seem to understand the problem. So, I guess I will be returning on Tuesday, hopefully he is there this time. After I pick out which plan we want I will submit it along with I bunch of other paperwork to an NGO and hopefully get approval to build. It is a long, slow process, but I am trying to have patience and stay positive.

I went to farm with my neighbors to see what kind of work the people here do everyday. The farm is about a mile walk into the bush and you have to wade through a small river to get there. The first thing we did was clear a small peice of land of all the bushes and weeds to plant corn. After all the corn was planted we chopped down some trees to get wood. Some of the wood we used to make charcoal and the rest of it was collected into bundles to haul back to village to be used for cooking. The trip back to village was the hardest thing I have done since being here. My bundle of wood that I cared was only about 25 lbs, but I had to carry it on my head and I do not have the strong neck muscles like the Togolese do. They have been hauling heavy loads on their heads since they were kids, so they have strong necks and amazing balance. I was determined to make it the whole way though. By the time we got home I was dripping with sweat (it was about 90 dergrees out) and exhausted. I collapsed down on the ground to rest and all the little kids stood around me big leaves fanning me. I am going back to farm this week to check on the corn that I planted and probably haul some more wood back to village.

Well, I miss you all lots. I am getting really excited to have my parents come visit me in July and my college friends in August. It will be fun to share my experiences with some outsiders! I will let you all know about the health center as soon as I find out if it gets approval. I posted pictures and two videos on flickr that you should take a look at.

Love you all lots! Whit