June 4, 2003,

hiya,

well, it's all over. i'm in lbv trapped in a novotel listening to how i should fill out my mif kit and my insurance claims, and barely a free minute to think about the next three months....i also have a killer cold that descended upon me as soon as the soiree finished, but thankfully i still have the ny- and dayquil you sent to keep me running.

the soiree was.....not a disaster. but not a success, for most of us. we forgot to ask the lycee phantom for permission to make a lot of noise, and so the stereo equipment worked poorly. speakers, microphones, all kind of low and fluffy sounding. it started late, of course, we had chair problems (for the invités), the profs who were down the hill at the principal's soiree snuck in for free. but we had kick ass michael jackson groups and the even kickier ass traditional groups from mbigou and ndende, plus a skit that terminated with a chastity belt (in cardboard and tinfoil), and certificats for all the kids and the people that helped us this year.

anyway. now the dumb woman is telling us we can't type any longer because its her break. i'm ready to leave this place. got a nice ride up with the portugese guy, who bought me lunch at a fancy hotel. we had our last meeting with the club and carmene, our best and brightest, cried the whole time. a couple guys came over the night before i left practically in tears. it's hard. i won't see them again. and yet i'm not leaving, have all this stuff to do, will be on the road for two months and then finishing up in ndende, arg.

anyway, it's nice to be with everyone, even if i can't hear a thing or taste the sort of decent hotel food. i will write more later, carrie's trying to check something for med school. for my birthday i didn't do much, just stressed a little for the soiree, and then had grillade with my postmates.

hugs,
hannah