from shreveport
well i made it back. and its weird to be home. my family and some friends met me at the airport and it was so nice to see them, but it is so different here. first of all, the heat is just suffocating. i dont remember how i did it before. in congo it was nice and cool just about every day. the friday before i left, we all went to the hotel karavia to go swimming. it was a great last hoorah. i want to tell you more about all the girls, i could write to you about each one, but i want to respect their privacy, and it seems inappropriate to put up information in this setting. if you get me talking about these girls though, i'm not going to stop. the girls told me that when people ask how many are in my family, i cant just say two anymore because i have 47 daughters and sisters. (yes the number went up again). next year, i would really like to take the girls out in the country for a few weeks during their summer break. it would be really nice to have some fresh air, exercise, and a change of setting. i'd love to get a team together. i'm not sure how all that works with vim etc, but holler if you're interested.
i wanted to thank auntie j, mamaw pat, uncle tom, sonya, brooke, and callie for the letters as well. if you sent one but i dind't thank you, then i didn't get it :( sorry. that happens a lot, and in zambia the government opens all the mail and looks to see if you sent money. so thats a little irksome.
would you believe that i used russian in the drc? i went into town to look for batteries, (if youre going to the dr congo, bring your own batteries because the ones you can buy there are total crap and last for 5 minutes at best) and i overheard some guys speaking russian. they were un peacekeepers and we talked for just a minute, but we were both surprised.
its weird to be back. i want to get some things together to send back to congo. i'd also really like to share this experience and talk to you if you're thinking about doing something like this. i also have a really sassy outfit from the congo and some great fabric too. this culture is just so different. there are some things here that are hard to understand. it is nice to walk around and feel normal. i really enjoyed taking a shower. but i know that i will be going back to congo, and theres nothing i'd rather talk about. i feel strange speaking english all the time. i miss swahili and french and dancing and singing, and i can't wait to print out my pictures.
