it's a rainy day in the jungle here. it's my day off and i'm (again) bumming in my room on a thursday afternoon. i talked to sher on monday evening, and they are doing well. enjoy - b 31 August 2009 Yes, we braved the transport to Ambae once again, this time to join other Peace Corps Volunteers for a camp for the “youngfala” of Vanuatu. One of Peace Corps programs that exists in many countries is called Camp G.L.O.W. (girls leading our world) and focused on gender and development (hence the name “G.A.D.”) education for the young women of host [View Full Entry]

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so fall break has come and gone. however, i really haven't fallen back into the homework groove yet. probably wouldn't be a bad idea to read a little tonight.... - b 21 August 2009 Just how far would you go for “The Bare Essentials”? A Peace Corps staff member was coming to Maewo to do some site development for a new volunteer (yes, we may have a new neighbor with this new batch of trainees at the end of the year!). She called us to set up a boat to take her from Ambae to her meeting on Maewo and back [View Full Entry]

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hey all-- i received the jump drive with sher's blogs last week, and am just now getting to posting one. could fall break get here any sooner? i talked with sher last night and she and justin is safe and well. i was fortunate to make this acquaintance while we were there, and was sad to learn of the loss. have a good week. - b 18 August 2009 The ZCA is on tour again. Only this time, he’s by himself, or rather, with those who have gone on before him. Unexpectedly, the man we have been sharing an office with [View Full Entry]

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my sister, she has good timing. this is the last of the blogs that i had, and sure enough, i had an e-mail telling me i had mail in the university post office! (for those of you who know me as well, i too LOVE LOVE LOVE getting mail and would most graciously share my dorm address) anywho, there a beautiful, padded envelope awaited. full of a jump drive, letter, bookmark collaged for me by sher, and picture drawn for me by aldayer. yes, i had to use a tissue. enjoy - b 2 September 2009 After the G.A.D. Camp and [View Full Entry]

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so i posted these out of order...blonde moment? anyways, here's another blog from sher. should have been the first you read. however if you have been dutifully reading the blogs, you shouldn't have any trouble fitting in the august 7 post where it rightfully belongs. later- b 20 July 2009 A first: Blogging from Maewo has upgraded from snail mail letters sent to my sister for typing: tedious for her, plus I'm running out of ideas for decorating the borders of the pages to keep her entertained, PLUS photo-less. This new era has me typing and burning CD's from our laptop, [View Full Entry]

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so sorry for missing my "friday posting." i had a bit of a rough end to my week: 3 tests in 3 days and family day at psu. i took another test this morning...little iffy on that one, but oh well. looking forward to a week of intense homework for sure. hope all is well with you. enjoy - b 8 August 2009 Not to leave you hanging on the missing “Idea Box” from the last blog, but I had to get off my tangent. And things did sort of keep down sliding from there, but redemption after a massive landslide [View Full Entry]

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here's another blog. this week flew by for me; have a fun weekend planned at a big cc meet in joplin. that's what my saturday will be. hope you have a great one and weekend. - b 25 July 2009 Today was Saturday. We had big plans; namely three buckets full of wash. We’re both getting over the flu (actually, the whole island is), so, the sheets, towels, the whole works needed a good soap and bleach treatment. But, no rush. This weekend all of the students at the secondary school, who usually sleep in dorms at the school and wake [View Full Entry]

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hey gang. it's been awhile huh? we got a box from sherbear tonight, pretty convenient as it's my first weekend home from pitt. loving it, if you were wondering. sher is now burning blogs to a cd so all i have to do is copy and paste. oh ya, definitely liking that system a little better. enjoy... - b 7 August 2009 This is a little bit of a rant about a recent attempt at being too productive on an island. I really should know better. After our little vacation with family, I was feeling a bit guilty about running away [View Full Entry]

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Ahh roosters. Nothin' like a 5 a.m. wake up call. A quick oatmeal breakfast, and we were off to hike to the garden. The trail wound up steep, muddy inclines, a coconut grove, and more inclines. We took a couple "GORP" breaks before the final 10-minute climb to the gardens. Total, it took us about an hour and a half to get there. As Lily, Rean, and Justin squished around picking various veggies, the rest of us sat and talked. After, we climbed back down to a resting place and ate lunch. Lily cut square leaf plates out of taro leaves, [View Full Entry]

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Hello readers. Here I sit: in A/C, living room couch, cutoff t-shirt, athletic shorts, hair in a knot, with a bag of pretzels and a glass of chocolate milk. A very typical "Brecken" siting, but a far different scene from where I was a mere three-ish weeks ago. It's funny how easily I can enjoy simple pleasures; namely chocolate and milk, two things that Sheridan has to travel at least a boat ride to maybe consume. Our trip was highly enlightening. Countless new experiences and just a ton of information. The first week or so was spent, as most of you [View Full Entry]

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