IYOO

Iyoo... pretty much my response to everything these days. It means "okay" in Mandinka. I'm in Kombo for the day, just picking up funds for the next few weeks, med supplies, groceries, and stuffing my face with the pizza that I've been craving for over a week (weird what foods you crave when reading Fried Green Tomatoes alone, at night, in Africa-okay, not really, of course I'm craving pizza, it has been 3 months since I've had any).

I attended a board meeting for Allatentu yesterday. It consisted of myself, the VP and the chairwoman. It started 45 minutes after it should have because the VP had the key to the office and was late. Basically, we decided that since most of the support group members have gone to and are still in the President's treatment program, it will be hard to launch the CD by May 21st. It was decided that another meeting should take place to finalize whether or not the launching should be moved. I'll keep you updated. So now I know what meetings are like. They start late, and there is a good chance not much will be resolved by the end. Slowly, slowly, I have to remind myself.

On another fun note, some kid threw a stone at me yesterday. I was taking a late afternoon walk with my headphones on and had the music just low enough to hear the sound of a stone about the size of a baseball land at my feet. I just stopped in my tracks, amazed that it just happened. I look around to find the culprit and he just motioned for me to go. When I just stood there, he gave a few crude gestures and I motioned for him to go. I ended up just walking off because I got the feeling that if I just stood around, things could escalate. They didn't, but it still bummed me out the rest of the evening. I know it wasn't me in particular that he was trying to insult-just a foreigner in general.

Things are moving along, though and I'm still having a good time and learning even more. I'm going to try to plant some plants this week in the flower bed around my house. I'll try to make it a family affair, with my brother because I'll need to borrow the wheel barrow to collect manure, grass, leaves and other stuff because I'm not sure how well things grow in just the sand.

I think that's all for now. If you want to send me some candy like Starburst and Mike and Ikes, I'll write you a letter. Also, my mom has the CDs Allatentu made. If you want one for $10, send your address to her at gillag@ticnet.com