the city keeps on going on

I'm in Ouagadougou taking care of business. Medical appointments and volunteer reports galore. I'm happy to report that I don't have TB, my eyes, nose and ears are fabulous, and my heart rate is 50 bpm. Smell me Nancy Drew! The rest of the med tests are in about a month when I COS.

My stomach is a little upset with me now. It has been assaulted with dairy products, which my system isn't accustomed to anymore. The main culprits are cheese and ice cream. In the last few days I've had cheeseburgers, pizzas, french fries, banana splits, chocolate fro-yo, strawberry slushies, and chocolate walnut cookies (thanks Brenda!). I'm feeling slightly ill, but it was totally worth it.

Before my trip to Ouaga and the subsequent shock to my stomach, I was eating my usual diet of rice and fried dough, and I was in Kampti helping Mikey out with his girls' camp. My favorite part of the camp was playing soccer with the girls in the morning. It was a flashback to AYSO days, but it was still a lot of fun. My favorite part, though, happened my last day there. It had rained the night before, and so instead of having our usual dirt playing field, we had soft, squishy mud. Brenda, my sitemate, was playing with us and at one point she lost her footing, slid on the mud on her stomach and then rolled onto her back. Her fall seemed to take forever, it was like it was happening in slow motion. And being the good friend I am, I laughed until I started wheezing. And then I myself was slipping around in the mud in my flipflops. Good times.

We chatted with the girls about self-confidence and gender/social/school issues. We made liquid soap and after I left the girls also made neem cream, which is a mosquito repellent.

There is a dog named Hercules that practically lives with Mikey, though he actually belongs to his neighbors. He's a dumb dog but he's so sweet, and everytime I come to Kampti he makes that whining sound (while wagging his tail vigorously) which I interpret as, "You've been gone so long. Why did you leave me?" Anyway, Hercules came with us to the girls' camp. He would walk around the classroom, sniff the girls, sleep at my feet and stupidly chase cows. He also tried to steal the blue coloring for the liquid soap. I saw him try to slither outside with the bag of coloring between his teeth. Brenda retrieved the bag, but by then Hercules had eaten some of it. His mouth, teeth and parts of his face were blue. He was so happy.
Other exciting incidents which occurred chez Mikey included a run-in with a mutant beetle. It was dark outside. Mikey and I were burning candle wax, Brenda was taking a bucket bath, and Hercules was alseep inside the house. Suddenly this giant flying insect appeared near the flames. It was the most enormous beetle I've ever seen. It was as big as my hand (including fingers), and I'm not exaggerating. I realize that things tend to be scarier at night and the darkness leads people to believe said things are larger and more frightening than they really are. [I mean, I used to be scared of sharks under my bed. But only at nighttime. The buggers could't bite off my feet during the day, everyone knows that.]

But this beetle was the size of my man-ish hand. And it flew around like it was disoriented or drunk. Mikey and I screamed. When the mutant beetle buzzed around again, we, in turn, screamed louder. All the while Brenda was showering in the dark, listening to our screams of terror and laughing. She didn't believe it when we told her of the beetle's gargantuan proportions. Silly Brenda. Sure enough, she saw it and screamed. The phlegmatic Hercules came out of the house to investigate, but then he just collapsed on the porch and went back to sleep. Brenda and Mikey took care of the beetle with insecticide and foot-stomping while I kept Hercules company. We then gave the mutant beetle a Viking funeral without the boat.

The next night we were attacked by a giant praying mantis while making village pizza (Brenda cooked the sauce, and Mikey and I buttered and cheesed the bread). The fact that bugs are attracted to light really sucks for volunteers who don't have electricity. We all have headlamps, which means the bugs aim for the face. No bueno.

I must dash, for cheese and ice cream beckon.

35 days...