another letter but still no mail since Oct 16

Hello Everyone,



I forgot to finish telling everyone about the rest of the birthday party. After we ate I had NO IDEA what was going on so I tried to go with the flow of things. There was singing & yelling & laughing. Don't forget the big dog fight that some poor little boy (maybe 7) got trampled by (not a planned part of the party, just a random act of nature). He was a bit shaken but okay. Then it started raining so people moved under trees or into the house. I was rushed into the cook house with all of the old women & was given a spot with no leak in the roof to sit. Nut, the party continued. (I forgot to mention EVERYONE from the island was at the party so the trees, cook house & house were packed with people) & by this time it was about 11 p m. I was enjoying watching everything that was happening when Bona grabbed my hand and said, "Etok!(come!)" as she dragged me into the house. We proceeded to sing & I was encouraged (some might say forced) to dance and everyone got a kick out of that!



After my dance show more songs were sung, can was thrown at us(quite forcefully I might add). Then a lady brought out Pine Sol and started pouring it on people! I was confused! (I was also spared the Pine Sol shower!) All of this happened in a crazy, wild, out of control scene that reminds me of something you might see hyper 10 yr olds doing, but it was all the older women of the island! CRAZY! ( I (meaning Heidi's mom Shauna) wrote and asked her why pine sol and what that means, but we have not received any mail since I wrote that letter).



We then waled around the baby we were celebrating (who slept through everything I described because we were pushing mid night by this time) and eventually dropped our gifts (mine was a soggy $1) by the sleeping baby & that was it. Then I had to find my flip flops in the pile of maybe 60 shoes! Luckily my current pair is orange & easy to spot. I worry about when I were my black ones!

That was quite a party!



Before I came here I never imagined I would be busy & wouldn't have enough time to get things done. I didn't realize a few key things though. First, teaching is exhausting and planning takes so much time, energy, & work! Second, I am encouraged to rest & lay down all the time especially after I've done ANYTHING (for example: Bona,"Heidi what were you doing?" Me," I showered. "Bona, "Oh, lay down! Rest! Relax! ). Third, doing laundry takes at least 1.5 hours (no that does not include the time my clothes are drying or putting them away) & must be done once a week. Fourth, writing by hand is a slow process. Fifth, getting 5 weeks of mail all at once takes a long time to read. Finally, the sun sets around 7 but the last good light is about 6:30 so I have to do everything that requires light before then (I've yet to find anything besides reading & writhing to be "easy" at night). Oh yes, how could I forget, Sundays are spent doing NOTHING! Sundays are good days to read & write as well.



I now have all my stuff (previously I only had 30 lbs of stuff). As I'm trying to decide what to do with everything (did I mention my house leaks?) My roof has many holes in it so I have to be careful where I put things. I now have a much better idea of the dry spots & have my stuff in random places in the middle of the floor. My house is quite a sight, but I promise it's organized! I'm very thankful for a few things. My mail-I don't know how I survived 5 weeks without it, bleach-to clean my nalgene bottles (not going to lie, they got cleaned once in 5 wks & it was with cold water & laundry soap-probably not sanitary but my standards have changed.), batteries- to power my water purifier! (It is very nice to have my water taste good! Which of course means it doesn't taste like tea or smoke & merely tastes like nothing!) and all of the goodies received from you lovely people. For those who are wondering, I have LOVED EVERYTHING you've sent!



I feel like sharing a typical day. Wake up at 4 am when my neighbors kids get up and start raking rocks (in case you didn't know that's quite noisy!), go back to sleep & wale up between 6-6:30. Get up, shower (1st decide of it's really worth the effort to wash my hair or if I should just do a quick rinse), get ready, spend a few minutes getting me mentally ready for another day by reading, writing a letter, or listening to my IPOD. Then I head to breakfast (around 7-715) chat a little bit, go back to my house eat a vitamin & possibly a granola bar if breakfast was ramen, brush my teeth & head to school around 8-8:15. Teach until lunch break which thankfully is 1 hr & 15 min. Eat lunch then relax in my room & try to find the energy for my last 3 classes. Schools out @ 3:15 then I stick around & plan (which often ends up being me reading some of the children's books or me writing letters) until I'm done (4:30-5ish). Head home & steal a few minutes of quiet me time & around 6 head to Bona's for an evening with her family. I usually head to bed around 9:30 -10, brush my teeth, get rid of all the bugs & try to sleep. When I'm lucky I fall asleep by 11 but that is rare.

I miss everyone. Hope all is well!
Much love, Heidi