In Peace Corps, sometimes people have the opposite problem and you know what they say about too much of a good thing....
As I've mentioned before, sometimes I get so bored that I exercise twice a day. Sometimes I watch all of 30 Rock with my postmate in a week.
The trick to avoiding going swiftly insane is to develop hobbies - you get exceptionally good at cleaning, to the point where your house would be impressive even by American standards. You go to the market more often than is necessary just to have something to do. You think about ordering a harmonica and Harmonica for Dummies from Amazon and you thank your lucky stars that your debit card was stolen, so you don't. You might even make a very cute toy for your cat, with whom you definitely do not enjoy a codependent relationship (photos to follow). You attempt quilting and discover that while you might be great at cutting out squares, you are total crap at sewing in a straight line. You study phrenology a bit and learn that you have a very bumpy head.
And then the desperation and boredom take a turn for the productive. And instead of practicing staring into space for an hour at a time, you streamline your schedule, so you have time for other things to do. You talk to your co-workers. You join a women's group. You make lists. You seriously think about actually finding the Catholic mission to see if you can work in their clinic and avoid any mention of needles at the same time.Basically though, things are starting to take a turn for the (happily) busy for me! I've joined that women's group (village savings and loan, gossip, and dinner every two weeks). I've started a girls' club with my counterpart and we have our promo meeting Monday and our first meeting Wednesday. I changed my work schedule, so I don't work Monday and have 4 hours Tuesday and as a consequence will be forced to stay at school all day to socialize with my coworkers and lesson plan (woot!). I'm working on getting scholarships for some of the students at my school and at the Lycee Classique in Dimako. I joined the Ed steering committee. I'm applying to attend the National Girls' Forum in April. I have also been practicing making simple sentences!
Shit is going down! And last, but not least, I'm planning a vacation to France to see my family and my friends from Metz!
And I'm still mostly healthy!
