Day 44

Today was our Agona market day and I had planned on going to the clinic but I could not fall asleep last night and only got a couple hours of sleep in before I woke up to Madam Esther yelling Cassie’s name. It was about 8:15 when I woke up and she asked if I was sick because I was sleeping in today. I explained to her that I couldn’t sleep very well last night but she still figured I was sick for sleeping in so late. My dad would get along great with Madam Esther. I went out into the patio area and read my notes. It was cooler than usual outside so it felt nice to sit out and relax. I spent a couple hours reading my coursework for Women’s Health. I had an hour or so to kill before I had to leave so I watched some episodes of friends. Cassie came back and we left to go to the station together. Once we got to Agona we realized our rice lady still wasn’t there so we had to go to the other lady. I usually hate her rice so I was annoyed that I had to get it from her again. I got mine without shito and went to the Gentle Spot to meet the other girls and eat our food. It was actually really good without all of the shito. We finished lunch and went to the Internet Cafe I instantly went to check my IRB approval and I GOT IT!!! I have been waiting for this for 6 weeks and it was about time! I also had a HILARIOUS email from my mom. I could barely hand it. She kept telling how things were good in the hood and how she and my dad get up early to read my blog posts and emails on Tuesdays. She says that she has been late to school most Tuesdays because of them. She is going to girls camp this week and the theme is Spark yourself or something like that. Katie got her a sparkly cowgirl hat because it was SPARKly. Hahaha I laugh just thinking about how cute and funny my mom is. After the Internet café we went to the market and it was way to overwhelming for us. We were there later than usual and it is a lot different at that time. I couldn’t wait to get out of the market place and after about 45 minutes we got everything we needed and headed home. The taxi ride was Cassie and I in the front seat squished together with our full backpacks. Usually Tuesdays are my favorite but today just seemed to annoy me more than anything. I worked out for 30 minutes that made me feel a lot better. After my workouts I love to just to just lay out and look at the beautiful moon. It is so calming and peaceful, something that is rare to get here in Africa. Working out is really my only alone time here so on days like this it really helps me get through it.

XOXO

Natalie