is this peace corps?

8/11/2001:
did laundry this morning. that one light khaki cotton pair of pants is surprisingly tough to wash. sun was out bright, though, so at least everything (3 shirts, 3 pants) is fairly dry. after laundry i ate breakfast with the fam, bathed quickly and went to meet everyone for our “trip” to Mbouda. we ate well. i got Das’ rear-view mirrors made for the motorbike and i duplicated 2 keys for the main door.

got a chance to speak to Kristen for a bit today. we were caught in the rain waiting to meet everyone for the ride back. she’s really got a great outlook on being here and really doing something... she just gets work done, and well. really admire her.

anywho... we capped the day off at Robert’s birthday party. much food. ate a lot today, and i can’t help but feel a little guilty or at least self-conscious about that. also think about all the amenities we have in general. electricity, solid houses, beds, consumer goods, access to communication. all that.

i didn’t expect to be living this well, really. is this the peace corps experience? i know the answer to that question. it’s not about what you have, but what you make out of it. i still look forward to living simply.

i hear life is simpler in the North. and Diarou, who's from the north, tells me it is beautiful up there. need to get up there to visit and to work. Kristen and i also spoke of the possibility of moving on to another country here in Africa. i don’t know???... i want to be home too much. we’ll see after a year or 2.

oh... Diarou met dit ma mere PREGNANT! she looks it and that explains much.