Hello from Africa,

Things are so unique here, I don't even know where to start!

I guess I will tell you that I am writing to you after a shower in the dark, yes today there was water, though it was cold, but no power. I've just navigated myself back into my room around the tarantula that greeted me on my front step and have tucked myself as tightly as possible into my bug net, laden my body with deet and swallowed another nightmare inducing malaria pill.

Things really could not be better. I'm exhausted deep into my bones and hoping I can stay up long enough to finish my note.

The builds are going really well, we are doing two houses and I am proud of both the work we are doing and the progress we have made. We started with the foundation and we are know finishing the outside walls and starting to work on the gables. We have doors and windows framed in and are starting to work on the top portion of the inside walls. We just have to get the twigs and tree trunks cut length wise into a fine balance to form our scaffolding.

To get to this stage there was a lot of digging in the dirt with a tool likely last seen most places in the 1930's, a wheel barrow that will barely wheels. There are only so many people who can handle the heavy labour so I am on it most days, all day! I am happy that we are such an integral part of the build because I was not so sure we would be when I considered my expectations for this experience. But we are definitely working hard. I'm near exhaustion by the end of each day, but it is a really good tired.

I have laid enough mud bricks that I now feel completely confident in coming home and building a brick house. I may start with a shed or playhouse and see how it goes from there.

I am working with a great team of people. I came to africa for a number of reasons but have found an added bonus in meeting a number of interesting and inspirational people. I love to hear about the many walks of life people are engaged in.

Some of the things that I love:
- we are making a difference here
- the children are so precious and there conditions are enough to break any heart.
- the country is gorgeous, there are beautiful flowers, trees and really blue sky with fluffy white clouds, and millions is stars every night.

- there are warm and beautiful smiles that greet me from my first encounter until my last everyday all day

- all the children want is for you to take one picture of them, to be tickled and loved.

- the little girl who is deaf and mute who is 2 or 3 years old that has latched on to me.

- that they have found a million uses for dirt, making bricks, making mortar, sealing things, drawing in it, playing games with it... Really it goes on from there.

- that the kids wear almost exclusively used clothing donated from western countries and their shirts say things like " I love shoes" even though they don't wear or have them, or "fashion diva", or "I am drunk"

- that one of the workers wears a hard hat everyday yet he has no shoes or work gloves

- that children everywhere play with tires and balled up plastic bags

- that everyone holds hands

- that there is corn growing everywhere there is a plot of dirt and they basically live off of it.

- thatched roofs

- education is a valued and high priority for children, and they now given them food to further encourage them to show up everyday

- the African sun

- the slower pace of life

- the family and community values

- that there is often no power in places that have access to it yet it's no big deal. For example they still produce breakfast for 20 complete with coffee using a very small stove and fire.

- that grass is trimmed using machetes

- that even if you have a car it may be tuff to drive because there is no gas anywhere, yet they just drive from station to station looking for it

- that people put a sign up on the side of the road and they are in business!

- that women everywhere walk with very heavy loads on there heads

- that life is stripped of all the noise and the focus is on a persons most basic needs, and that if these are fulfilled you have already got more than most and a level of happiness and satisfaction is achieved. This is something we will never have because we have too much.

Some things that I struggles with in Africa:

- I feel helpless

- eating in front of the children

- my own ignorance

- no power, cold showers if there is water, limited contact with home.

- carrying things on my head, like buckets of water

- very hard and tedious work required to build these homes and the knowledge of how much easier it could be

- the bugs

- the language

- the feeling that I can't do what I need to here. Seldom do I face a situation I feel like a can't handle or work through, but here I am again reminded of how much it would take to smooth but one wrinkle.

- there are very few old people. The life expectancy is 40! I am very old here.

- the simplistic tasks that each day of life requires are tuff. Women walk miles to bring a 90 lb bucket of water to their homes.

- the most difficult aspects of life that we face in the western world they face here as well and it is already so hard. For example domestic abuse; a woman is beaten and then to provide water for her children she must pull herself together and go find water and food.

- people can be very hard on the children.

- 6 year old siblings spend their days carrying babies on their backs and caring for these children.

- AIDS and HIV affect a very large number of the population and as a result there are many child headed households

- the infant and maternal mortality rate is very high. I want to cry because I don't understand why no one can save these mothers and their babies.

- I've been forced to take a long hard look at the person I am and I'm not to sure how I feel about her...

Happy Easter Everyone! I send much love your way today.

xox Marie