Jordan here: Well, not a whole lot has happened since the last blog. Our routine has started to form. We get up much earlier than we did in the States and eat some breakfast. On days we feel rushed or lazy, we go into town (that’s actually about the equivalent of a block away) and buy some porridge mixed with sugar and roasted peanuts for breakfast. The whole meal for us both costs about 35 cents. Not bad! And we’ve come to really like it. Then Sarah heads to school and I head home. Before it gets too hot, I water the garden. So far I’ve got cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, green peppers, green beans, acorn squash, and just recently, parsley, basil, and spinach. So far only the cucumbers have germinated but I just need to be patient. I’ve been preparing my “plant tea” as liquid fertilizer and it should be ready in another week or two. Now, we’ve been getting weird looks a lot this whole time just because we’re the outsiders, but when the white man starts walking over to your yard and scoops up the cow poop and takes it away with him…that really gives them something to talk about. The soil is quite sandy clay material so I hope things grow well. However, I remind myself that this whole community relies on farms being fruitful, so I think it will all turn out well. Sarah has been busy at school. She teaches 2 classes Monday through Thursday and when she’s not teaching, she’s preparing lesson plans or supervising kids. We already have big ideas/plans for the school students. Apparently a low scoring school on test scores, we thought they could use some tutoring services. I’d also like to find some great student leaders that can implement a school garden and tree nursery.

Today we made bean burgers mixed with mashed yam. Really really tasty, but a lot of work and a lot of dishes. The best part, though, is that they go great with the Famous Dave’s bbq sauce that my parents sent in a care package!! We have a few left (after we stuffed ourselves) so we thought we would take them to my counterpart’s home and share. Sarah will then have a chance to drop off some fabric with his wife who just conveniently happens to be a tailor. She wants to have a comfy skirt made. Soon we’ll have to make a day trip into Wa to grab some essentials: jelly, groundnut paste, oats, tuna, Laughing Cow cheese, and maybe a small box of wine. Tomorrow I will see about biking to the carpenter to buy some lumber to make some shelves. We were hoping they would make them for us, but I think it may be a long time before they get that done anytime soon. Sarah starts another week of school and the beat goes on…