Food.

You'd be surprised what items Americans typically place in the refrigerator actually "keep" and keep quite well, I might add, at room temperature. No, wait, BURKINA FASO room temperature (currently 112.2 degrees in my abode at the time of composition). I'll give you a short list of things I have in my not-so much climate-controlled pantry.

Butter: (Or as I like to call it, "Yes, actually I can believe its not butter"). My tub of Blue Band has lasted, in its semi-solid gelatinous form, for over 6 weeks. And yes, I am still alive.

Cheese: Vache Qui Rit or "The Laughing Cow" as it is called in the U.S.A. is the closest thing to a cow's greatest gift in rural West Africa. It's not really cheese, but it can certainly taste like it, if you are not a discerning cheese consumer. My current wheel of Vache has been lurking in the shadows of my kitchen for four weeks now. I had a wedge of the creamy not-so-mozzo substance last night. Tasted delectably good.

Peanut Butter: I never put Peanut Butter in the ice box, but I know many of you have your Skippy hiding somewhere behind your Hidden Valley Ranch Light and the two year old bottle of Worcheshire Sauce. My Peanut Butter has withstood 6 months of seldom comfortable temperatures, and I'll tell you what, even Choosey moms would go for my jar of Jif.

Grape Jam: Perhaps the weakest in my Pantry arsenal, the Jelly, Jam, & Preserves category generally survives 8-10 days before it decides to create its own ecosystem under the jar's lid. It is a game of timing, really. If I buy a jar of Jam, I must be prepared to consume it several times daily, in an attempt to evade the mold community which wishes to take residence.

Mayonaise: If this was the Perishable foods Olympics, then my jar of Mayonaise would take home the gold. Im not a fan of Mayo, but sometimes a certain recipe calls for its lard-based self. So I must keep it on hand. After 9 solid months in my kitchen, my jar of Mayo is going strong. I even used some today for a tuna salad sandwich.

So next time you return from the grocery store, arms filled with bottles and jars that say "Refrigerate after opening", stop and ponder whether or not the item truly requires a chill....and then proceed to place it in the fridge. Have a popscicle in my honor. I've almost forgotten they exist. Enjoy the photos.

j

Note from afar

Now I know I said it would probably be June before I was back in the land of civilization...but I needed to come into the capital for a few days so here I am, in the cyberspace flesh, saying hello. Can't say much has changed since I last wrote in April. The heat is still there; however, it did RAIN in my village for the first time last week. Now when I say "rain" I mean the wind picked up to about 45 mph and I was able to feel, in the midsts of dust, tumbleweed, flying buckets and trash, a few drops of water in the air. It was all mother nature could do to provide us very water-hungry Pobe-ites with a taste of the rainy season to come.

The main reason I am writing today is to inform you all that I have posted several more photos on my Picassa Photo gallery. I know many of you are probably asking, "what and where is this 'Picassa Photo gallery', joel?" Good question. I have not added a link to the photo page on my blog site, so if you look to the left of these words, somewhere in between my contact info and the books I have read, there should be a Photo link. Simple, no? I tried to get a good mix of both village life and volunteer life, because I believe that for me, both are equally important. I learn a lot about life here, how to do my job, etc, from fellow PCVs. Not to mention a little cultural familiary (i.e. good American converation) is always a welcome break from life in village. So I hope you enjoy the photos...I tried to make the captions as explanatory as possible.

I leave tomorrow for village. There are only a few weeks that remain before the end of the school year. My theatre/debate club is currently working on a piece to present to the community May 20th. It is a sensitization on the importance of sending girls to school and the dangers of Forced Marriage (namely, it greatly hinders the educational opportunities of a girl). A dance will follow and it should prove to be a very good time.

I have recently (in the past two days) decided that I am going to pack up my beach towel and board shorts and head to Ghana in June. I am hoping to leave June 4th. It will be my first major journey in Africa, and I am exceptionally excited. Future trip plans include possibly going to Niger in July, Mali in August. As I have said in the past, the summer months are very difficult workwise, as everybody is working in the fields. I do have tenative plans to start a debate camp for a week or so at the Junior High. I have some interested students, so it has potential to really work.

Well, I am out of time here on the internet. So I will leave you all with my swiftly-typed words, chocked full of typos and marginal sarcasm, pack my bags, head back to village, and hope you all enjoy the photos and the like. Oh yeah, and enjoy the coming summer! I miss you all.

j