Joyeaux Noel

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Things have been going well here although I currently feel as though I am on the verge of death as have been ill for the last few days. It is my own fault, though, for not drinking enough water.

I have been in Koudougou for a meeting and for gathering materials for the next performance my theater troop is putting on January 1st. The last performance went really well (the members were even on time, a first!). My nearest p.c. neighbors came to watch and spend the night. We had a Mexican feast of homemade tortillas, queso, guacamole and chili. It was wonderful.

We also just got finished doing the final rounds of polio vaccinations for this year. We go around to everyone's house and give the children the oral vaccine. It isn't exactly scientific but I guess it works. I am always on a team with the pharmacist who is always the last to show up. We are supposed to be giving the vaccine from 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. Our team usually heads out at 7:30 or 8 and at 9:30 the pharmacist starts asking me if I am tired, which means that he is ready to start heading back. Needless to say we are always the first team back. Everyday he seems shocked too that no one else is back yet. That's African time for you.

I am also trying to finish up my etude. I am going to all the satellite villages and meeting the important people there. I think I will work a lot in the satellite villages because Tiogo is pretty well developed. I met with am man in town who runs the Centre d'alphabetisation. That is a place where adults go to become literate in their native language. I was really impressed and think it is a wonderful, needed place here.

Sadly, in Tiogo we had many deaths this week. Two adults died which was a big deal. Also the baby in my second family here died. It was a hard week in village because of this. The way people deal with death here is very different than in America and sometimes I felt like I was making a bigger deal out of it than they were.

I will be in village for Christmas and New Years but will be in Ouaga on the 2nd for the big game. I will be cheering very loudly for Texas to beat USC and then will be rubbing it in to everyone I know from California (many volunteers here are from California). I plan on being very obnoxious