24 Juin 2006 Samedi June sure seems like a long month. I guess I have a lot to expect at the end- my birthday, the end of the women’s group competition, and Camp GLOW. Uncle Jeff did not call last night- I hope not everyone is planning on calling me on my birthday. I want people to call, just not all at once. They should write letters. I am frustrated with writing at the moment. Not here, in the journal. As I was thinking about how my writing frustration is not with my journal, I had a strange out-of-body experience, realizing that my journal is only me talking to myself. I had a good opening in my head, but I ate popcorn rather than write, and now it is gone. I am disappointed. Maybe it will ... read more

I’m sorry. My parents told me I have been neglecting my writing. That’s not entirely true, because I have been writing but not publishing. I am writing while sitting in my mosquito net. The mosquitoes are awful. Imagine the sound of an overhead airplane, then equate that sound to mosquitoes, and marvel at the magnificent simplicity and efficiency of mosquito nets. If by accident you imagined a hovering helicopter instead of the airplane, add a flying cockroach to the scene and pray in thanksgiving to all the gods you know for strong mosquito netting. My mom called me last night. Well, actually she telephoned me and called me Erika. We had a good two and a half hours of conversation, from midnite-thirty to about three a.m. my time. I had been traveling during the day, so ... read more

I think pin-tailed whydahs are great squeaky toys, and every cat should have one. With its cute orange-red beak and fluttery long tail feathers, it’d be a lot of fun to play with. Derique doesn’t think so, but I am amused. Derique’s favorite bird is the helmeted guinea fowl; because of this his new name is Derique Havoc (get it? Der-wreak Havoc. It’s my best dad-joke so far.) One morning a few days past, I was home early from work due to rain the night before that made us change plans. After my bath and while sucking on oranges on the back steps, I suddenly needed my binoculars to be sure of what I was seeing- yes! A new sunbird! New to me, anyway. I know it wasn’t a green-throated; unless that species sports red breasts ... read more

So, here are descriptions and links to two projects in which I am involved and for which I am politely and ever-so-honorably asking for money: The first one is for the annual Camp GLOW- Girls Leading Our World. The camp will be in July, and will consist of one week of activities and fun things to do with young girls of Benin. I am taking Imelda from next door, Elisabeth because I can’t imagine going without her, and Aichat, a niece of Mathurin’s. All very intelligent and controllable girls, so I can make them behave, but not brainwash them. Elisabeth was so nervous when I asked her Dad and step-mom; she could harldly bear to eavesdrop! But going she is, and she wants to make a uniform, so we are all matching to arrive in Porto ... read more

I am sitting on my porch at the moment, enjoying the breeze and a book, and watching Senegal Fire Finches and Green-Throated Sunbirds. The sunbirds are so glossy, iridescent, and like to fly between the neem trees and the trees I think are called Luceana. The finches’ movements remind me of watching myself dance in a strobe light, how in that fraction of darkness, I miss a part of my dance move. Watching the finches is similar to that; blip, blip, blip, like they are too fast for my eye to catch all of the movement. Doves are trash birds, even in Africa. And Common Garden Bulbuls are as un-interesting as their name. Except for the “Bulbul” part, which, along with the fact that one is most likely in Africa to see the bird, saves its ... read more