Tamxarit- New Years December 6th

This is the holiday celebrating the Muslim New year. It is celebrated much like other big holidays here with abig oily dinner and lots of tea drinking. There was one big difference though. Everyone under 25 or so cross dressed. Yea, it was amazing! My brother wore a bra, girls tank top, and skirt. My sisters wore various mens clothing and used ash to make beards on their faces. After getting all dressed up it was time to parade around town in their costumes while of course beating a drum. It was the first time I staed up with my family after midnight. I thought the whole thing was especially ironic as homosexuality is illegal here. I also couldn't figure out why the tradition had started in the first place. Unfortunately I had no camera at the time so you will all just have to use your imagiations!

Just another Saturday

What do your Saturdays consist of? My are never the same. For example in early November I went to visit a volunteer (Spencer Macklin) in his village. I had no idea what we would be doing but I expected we would mix in some work with our visit so I didn't have to take vacation time. It's not that I didn't want ot do work, but digging garden beds and discussing soil erosion gets old. However, I was in for a pleasant surprise. Spencer frequently works with his village doctor. So we woke up a little early went over to the hospital and found that we would be giving polio vaccinations to the kids in his village. It is a three dose vaccine. Children who had gotten it once immediately recognized our coolers and ran screaming. Usually a father or older brother would bring them back laughing. It was just an oral vaccination so I was able to administer it myself. It made me feel like I was doing something important, something worthwhile, something that I thought I would be doing when I joined the corps. It's just a difference between the instant gratification of knowing a child is now protected and the long wait to know if an agricuturte demonstration was effective. It was a great Saturday.


Like I mentioned not all my Saturdays are the same. Another Saturday I spent with my Master Farmer. A farmer chosen to demonstrate and explain new technologies to locals. We planted a vegetable pepiniere, contacted a mason for repairs, and then had a nice lunch. In the afternoon I had to fix the lock on my door, clean my room, do some laundry, and read some Stephen king. That was a really productive day.
Yet another Saturday consisted of me going house to house to check on farmers I had worked with. Working on the report I have to do for seed extension, and doing pedicures with my moms and sisters. It's never the same here. Life moves on in whatever direction it can take. It does make time management difficult but I like it. I have the freedom to decide if it is a Saturday for Ag, for cleaning, for writing reports, or as last Saturday for celebrating a friends birthday. I often forget what day of the week it is here, but Saturdays will always stick out they are special whether its a work day or a fun day, and usually I get reminded by other volunteers or people at home. Imagine if your Saturday's weren't always days off. There is no hump day, no end to a week, just times when you work, times when you don't, and times when the work is so satisfying it makes you feel guilty to call it work.