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December 11, 2003, time flies... it is already peak holiday season and i believe i have sent you one update since i got here. i can't believe how easy it is to not keep in touch when email is right at hand. mike showed up yesterday at 4am, just in from a whirlwind tour of guinea and the backwaters of senegal. he said the train was ok except for the people sitting in the aisle. that evening i had a little dinner party, made a little risotto, drank a little wine, then watched finding nemo with mike till it was time for him to be whisked off to the airport for his flight HOME. i appeared to be more excited than he was. work is going rather well - after a week of being useless at the peace corps bureau i am back at psi coloring in bubbles in a behavior change exercise to determine which activities we need to focus on now that people know about AIDS but still don't see themselves as at risk. my mac G5 is on it's way, which is exciting and daunting, since i think they expect me to produce a) a world class hiv info website and b) classy punchy fliers to distribute in our testing centers and during animations. um, sure, i have experience in this....in watching other people do graphic design! i have not told them this yet, in the hopes that i can fake my way through this. my apartment is nice, clean most of the time. i have most if not all necessary cooking utensils. i have become one with the mercurial water pipes. the mosquito situation is tenable. the stench from the toilet is not, but then, one always needs room to improve. people at work are great. bko volunteers are also great and we are currently in a campaign to come up with a slogan, or a gang name, or some sort of exclusive club type identity that we can use to sound foolish and urban in front of brousse volunteers. the music scene is good - toumani diabate staved off overzealous suitors the other day, acting as my angry papa, and habib remembered me from before but didn't give me his cellphone number. again; one must always have something to strive for. the bambara is coming right along and my french of course plateaued long ago. plenty of kind people in my quartier to practice with, especially fatim the banana and brochette tigi, who loves to make fun of me. no plans for the holidays yet, since i am broke, but there is talk of going up to timbuktu for new years. on verra. off to save the world, you all take care! holiday wishes, etc etc,
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