RIP My Computer and Send Money Now!. . .

So I've been a little slow on the blog front. When I got home, I returned to a no-longer-working computer. This is especially depressing for me since two activities that give me the most pleasure- writing and watching movies/tv are no longer possible. On the bright side I've turned back to reading. I'm just about done with Harry Potter 7 and then I can move on to finishing "Guns, Germs, and Steel," a book I would really recommend to anyone who is interested in development.
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Now about the money, several of my fellow volunteers and I are in the process of planning a large summer camp for girls from our villages. The cost of the camp is several thousand dollars, and we have posted a PCPP request on the Peace Corps website. We really need your help! We still have over $4000 raise and the camp is in next month! I took four girls to the camp last year and it was an excellent experience. Several have gone on to do very well in their third year of College. Anyway, to contribute try to click here . If you belong to church groups, social groups, etc, please consider asking the group to donate. It will be a big help for us! At this point, we might be at risk of canceling the camp! If that doesn't work go to http://www.peacecorps.gov/, click on donate now, and search for Benin. We are Camp GLOW Parakou. Thanks in advance. And shoot me an e-mail so I know you contributed. Otherwise I won't know to thank you!
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On another note, I wanted to quote a friend's blog. I found this story hillarious.

I ended up leaving the party early and traveling to my friend Kendra’s nearby post for the night, hoping to come back the next day for more funeral festivities. The next morning, I woke up and went to pee in her latrine. It was by far the shallowest latrine I had ever been in, so the sunlight illuminated all the sludge underneath, and I was sort of casually peering in after I had peed, and what did I see? Not a snake, not a scorpion, not a cockroach… no…. a GOAT. He looked up at me and blinked, and I realized I may have just peed on his head. The door on a neighboring latrine had fallen off, so apparently this little goat had just wandered in and fallen down the hole. I woke Kendra up and together we went and looked in at the little guy. Since it was a Sunday, her neighbors were all away at church, and we had to wait several hours before anyone came around to help. The latrine was just deep enough that the goat would be out of reach, so a young man made a noose out of a rope, let it down the latrine hole, captured the goat, and pulled him up by his neck. The poor little goat was tired and covered in muck, and since he didn’t belong to the concession, no one there wanted to wash him. He got himself to his feet and sadly started walking out of the concession; get this, with a piece of toilet paper trailing off his hind hoof. You can check out Jessica's blog for yourselves here.


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In general things are going fine. I'm often reminded that my time is coming to an end by people and by events. I think by August, I'll be really ready, though sad, to leave all the stress that accompanies my life here in Benin. My students are doing reasonably well. I'm especially in love with one class of second-years. They are so anxious to learn and curious about what I have to teach. Often people ask for things, gifts, foreign aid, etc, things that I can't give and that I am happy not to be able to give. These excited students remind me that my work here isn't in vain. They seem to "get it." They understand the value of my presence here at their school. Sometimes I'm not even sure my director gets it, especially since he likes to remind me that I'm not building classrooms or bringing any substantial money to village.

Our finals have been pushed back to the beginning of June. I'll probably teach up until the finals, but since I taught during the strike, I won't have to teach after. This is good, since I'll be busy with the girls camp (please donate) in Parakou and a smaller, low-cost girls camp in my village. I

I've also started to look at jobs. I know it's a bit early, but I figure it can't hurt to get my resume out there and start networking. I am really hoping to move to the NYC area. There's the possibility of living with my friends Erica and Ellen, along with being close to my sister Theologian Mom. I still want to pursue teaching, so I figure the best bet is to apply for music teaching positions in charter and private schools along with other positions in the domain of education, for example, non profits that help get students apply for college and monitor their success. That sort of thing. If anyone has any connections or ideas, please send me an e-mail!