A rare colorful sunset taken from my backyard. When I first got here in January we were undergoing the harmattan winds that blow down from the Sahara and make the atmosphere here very hazy (with dust and sand) so the sun at the end of the day would be dim and red. I realized in retrospect that the haze kept it from feeling so hot here (though it wasn't at all windy). Late January and early February it suddenly felt really hot and humid. Now that the harmattan is gone the sky is bluer some days. Yesterday was like a lovely spring day with a bright blue sky (although considerably warmer than a NY spring). I'm hoping it continues but I've been told that March is the hottest month here.
These are weavers that I visited on my trip upcountry. They are weaving long strips of fabric that then are sewn together to make cloth that's used for clothing and other things. All kinds of interesting fabrics woven, printed, dyed and embroidered are available here. I'm planning to go the Grande Marche (the BIG market) this weekend and try to buy some more batik cloth to get another dress made. I still owe you a photo of the first dress which I will post next time.
Also a photo from the trip up north. This is from the village of one of the volunteers. Grain is stored in these interesting mud structures. This was a small village of about 300 people that we took a walking tour of with the volunteer. Many of the people in this village and other villages up north live in mud houses that are round with thatched rooves like these.
Life is proceeding for me here. I'm getting more comfortable with my duties (which include many more administrative procedures and paperwork than I've been used to, not surprisingly since I'm now working for a large governmental organization). I'm getting to know many more of the volunteers and enjoying that a lot.
Aurelia and I will be traveling next Monday and Tuesday to the Kpalime region, which is supposed to be relatively mountainous and a good area for hiking, to visit the new volunteers there as well as a hospital that is run by an American groups of Baptists. It will be a relief to speak to people in English about medical care.
I'm working hard on the French but speaking it is still pretty difficult as I'm still thinking of what I'd like to say in English and then groping for French words that I don't know.
So it's Friday again - a half day - and I'm planning to go swimming later today. Tonight I'm going to watch the Big Liebowski in French (with no subtitles). My French teacher recently asked me to complete a sentence in French about something that made me laugh and I mentioned the Big Liebowski, of all things. She had no idea what I was talking about so I explained to her about the Coen brothers (all in French, mind you).
I think I'm about to start playing mah jongg as I found a few women in the book group who expressed an interest. I'm hoping they enjoy it and don't find it too aggravating to learn (I told them there's a learning curve).
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