So the internet has been down at my site for the last week and a half or so, and I won’t be posting until it is working again, but I’ve written several posts that are just waiting. Right now I am at my regional capital for my monthly visit (though apparently you aren’t supposed to do that for the first three months). It is good to see other volunteers and talk about how we are all feeling and what we are doing.

Its difficult to explain the degrees to which the whole experience is forcing each of us to adapt, and every time I do I end up feeling like it really isn’t that big of a deal, but somehow we are all still struggling through it. Hopefully when I get back to site I’ll get some time and try to give you a good perception of what it is like, and then hopefully the internet will work.

The regional visits, or really any visits with volunteers, are a sudden reintroduction to an old diet, and so I feel like I have had way too much ice cream and soda, and I want to lay down and drink water forever.

Of course, I am also battling some very dehydrating maladies, though as of yet I haven’t really felt nauseous.

But most importantly, I got my mail run, which included two packages and a few letters, and which was like a wonderful Christmas. I stuck all the letters and newsletters in my bag, opened a bag of snickers and ate one and gave some out, and then left for my regional capital. The boxes are stacked on one another and there is a mouse trap next to them, so hopefully any potential rodents will meet an unhappy surprise if they decide to investigate. That means that there are some letters and packages missing, but I seem to be getting (so far) about 50% of packages and nearly all my letters. I think it matters a lot if you take the time to write things like “Dieu Regardez-Vous” and “Educational Materials” and that kind of thing. Doing your best to make it seem like a box of boring books or something makes it less enticing for the post office to make off with.

I need to make some changes in what I’ve been requesting, so hopefully I’ll get to do that soon. Mostly I have found some workable paper and some passable pens, so I don’t really need more of those. I am however suffering from a shortage of non-fiction reading material. I would love to have some good magazines and crossword puzzles, as well as anything that might be fun to do with kids.
Anyway, thank you very much to those of you who have sent me anything at all (I hear post cards don’t generally make it because people like the pictures, sorry Jake!), it is a great thing to get personal stuff in the mail.

Hopefully I’ll be able to post a lot more when the internet gets back up and running at my site. Till then (or till May, if it doesn’t) au revoir.