Ok I would first like to apologize for having such a negative last message. Yes I do miss all those things a ton but they will alaways be there in the states and I will always have that to go back to and I recognize that and I really do appreciate the time that I have here.
For example I just spent a few days training to be a camp counselor which I will do next week and I am leading a bunk with one of my best friends and we get to sing and dance and she and I are teaching art classes every day and doing crafts instead of sports and it is going to be super fun and Ill get to practice my french and make new friends and all that good stuff. Then soon Mom and Dad will be here and the new stage of like 30 friends (although I hear that they are almost all girls again...story of my life eh...but I gave up on that whole finding your soul mate in the Peace Corps nonsense long ago - I've always got Gash). So that rules. In conclusion I am a happy person so dont you fret. However that doesn't mean that I wouldn't still appreciate letters and/or packages from you

Not much else is new. My plan is to take tons of pics when the rents arrive and I shall post those badboys soon.
In conclusion I love you all.

Lets make a list shall we....
Things I miss from the good old U.S. of A. (in no particular order)
* my family
* my friends
* real cheese
* air conditioning
* the english language
* being clean
* being able to just walk down the street and not have people yell out racial slurs at you or ask you for money
* being able to talk to people on the phone
* having friends with in 15 km
* being able to drive wherever i wanted to go or atleast knowing that i could get to my destination in less than 24 hours
* not having everyone think that i am totally and utterly incapable of doing anything and everything but at the same time expecting me to fix all there problems quickly
* being respected
* yellow starbursts
* john cusack movies
* going to shows...god i miss good music not to mention live music
* reliable electricity
* not having constant gi issues
* always knowing where the next toilet will be
* constant access to toilet paper
* knowing what the heck is going on
* going to the movies
* vh1
* being able to actually give money to the homeless on the streets without fear of being attacked by people begging for your money
* pizza
* salads and yummy vegetables
* having more than one type of food at a time...like side dishes and appetizers and salad and desert
* dance parties in hburg
* walking at purcell with my favorites
* snuggling all day in bed watching movies
* adventures with lg to nyc or baltimore or anywhere
* hugs
* feeling even remotely attractive
* jeans
* the city...any city
* privacy
* el charros, the little grill, taste of thai etc
* those mexican garden salads from california tortilla
* heck i even miss olney md
mostly though i miss you guys, soon enough ill be back and who knows maybe in a few years ill be missing fufu and yams and oil and grease and french and all the amazingly cute little kids
until then i miss the usa

I have returned to the world of the wide web. Im in Sokode for a few days before I go to training to be a camp counselor for a week. Thats right for the first time I finally get to be a camp counselor for girl apprentices. Im super excited - and wishing that I could figure out how to use punctuation on these crazy french keyboards. Any how I will be at training for a few days and then be sticking around for the camp next week! After that MOM AND DAD ARE COMING
So basically I am super excited. And I will be going home sooner than later, and should be keeping pretty busy until then.
I just did a big training for 14 students to make them peer educators so that I will have some people to work with who actually speak the local language. And maybe they can be my friends too considering I will be spending 3 weeks uninterupted in village when we go on stand fast in the middle of june and my two other friends stopped being my friend when I told them that I have a fiance back in the states...you know Lloyd Dobbler my fiance.
Sigh...At least I have Gash and I have started taking him out on runs in the morning. I am determined not to leave Togo bigger than I was when I got here. Its wierd to think that people can go to Africa and gain weight but I assure its easy to do.
Ok enough about that...not much else is new with me since I last wrote. Im about to head out to the marche and try to find some yeast so that I can make some pizza for mu cluster mate Chris and I tonight.
And if there is still electricity then I am going to take advantage of it to watch some more movies! I just watched blood diamond and bable. I miss films. But I really liked them. We were all laughing at the part in Blood Diamond when Leo says something to the effect of Peace Corps types only stick around long enough to realize that they cant do anything. Sigh...sometimes that feels very true. It also struck me that I cant think of a single film about Africa that has a good message or is an uplifting story...unless you count Hotel Rwanda but even though Paul R was pretty fantastic its not exactly a heart warming story. I still think its really important for people to see the films about the problems in Africa because too often its not in the main stream media. Its crazy to see the difference in the news that I get from BBC World every day - which Im addicted too by the way and the news that I hear about from the US
Sigh ok well its off to try to find some pizza goods
Call write email send letters and love any time
LOVE YOU ALL