August 10, 2005 Letter

Hi all, Laura sent us a letter and asked that we post it here for everyone!

Dear Jayne & Steve

This is my third letter. It's been a little over a week & a half here and I'm still trying to acclimate to the heat. I think having to wear dresses is what bothers me the most ;) I'm in a group of about 50 folks and I'm finding myself not socializing very much. I guess I should seek out their company but I don't see anyone in the group I really gravitate towards. 2 people have left. Which shouldn't but does surprise me. We really haven't been here that long. In all honesty, I'm starting to keen for contact with home that is more immediate than this but I also feel it's necessary for me to remember why I'm here. There are times when I think of home as being so far away, but others when I listen to the quiet night here that I feel ready to find my place in it.

Tomorrow we meet our host family and really start the meat of our training, in culture, language and health. I'm excited and scared to meet the family, but I hope for the best. My host family's name is Ouadraogo, Salom. Two very common names in this part of the country.

It's the beginning of the rainy season here and tonite's lightning display was fantastic. The sun is usually down by 7:30pm & disappears so quickly I often miss it's last moments. Last night, I actually got a chill andhad to cover up - a real change from sweating through the first week.

The food here is heavily Carb-based and not much variety. There's a few beef dishes but usually served w/ a huge plate of pasta or rice. I've found myself craving meat. I go by people's plates, astonished that they don't eat the meat. I have to admit, I ended up eating someone's leftover meat when they disregarded it. Veggies are around but only seasonally. So for the next few months I can enjoy them, but in Dec & January I need to get used to rice & "Toe" - which is a pasty form of grits. The faculty said that women usually gain weight because of the heavily carb-based diet. So there goes my plan to loose weight. I would like to request that if you send anything besides vitamins, please send protein bars or something of the like. There is meat here, but it's mostly goat meat, which isn't too bad.

On a personal level everyone seems to accept me being gay w/o a blink of an eye, they seem to be much more interested in the military background more than anything. I think because of this I have a hard time really identifying with anyone here. We've had several current Peacecorps Volunteers come to our training telling us all their stories, but after so many you become dull to them. I'm ready for my own stories now, I hope they're all good.

Hope to see you soon,

Always,
Laura