Hello lovely people,

So it's been a bit but I'd say I have a pretty good excuse.... World Cup!!!!!!!! 14 days of soccer insanity... can life get much better than that?? I'm thinking no... unless your life consists of living in a village in Burkina Faso.. :) and village life these days is even more exciting because it's rainy season - part 2!!!

While rainy season has a wonderful way of cooling off the country, it also has a way of chasing away everyone in village. All the students return to their respective villages, all the government workers take their vacations and all those that are left gather up their cultivating tools, hitch their donkeys to their carts, and spend the next 3 months in the fields. Which leaves me and about 5 other people in village. It makes my favorite past time of sitting outside with my neighbors and staring at the passing people pretty... unexciting. It also means that my last few months in village will be made a little difficult by the fact that most my team isn't there, my classes have finished, the women's groups that I'm working with have headed to the fields, and everyone in my English classes are taking exotic vacations in Bobo and Ouaga. Which leaves me with not a whole lot to do other than watch corn grow.

However, learning to adapt to situations is what us Peace Corps Volunteers do best! Therefore the poor girls from my team who remain will be worked pretty hard, the girls left from the classes will be making all the purses (and potentially a line of rain jackets as well) from plastic bags possible and every women left from the women's groups will have to be constantly making soap, lotion and nutritional porridge with me. Translation - I was obnoxious before trying to push everyone into working but seeing as time in village is quickly coming to an end... I'm redoubling my efforts to irritate everyone to the point of changing Solenzo into Burkina Faso's very own cosmopolitan Manhatten... I'm sure it can be done in less than 4 months, after all we are getting 6 of our very own trash cans :).

Unfortunately my plan to be the most annoying person ever hasn't been put into action yet, do the fact that I have spent the last few weeks traveling to and attending the worlds most exciting tournament... WORLD CUP!!!!!!!!!!! As it turns out, South Africa is actually not Africa, or at least not the Africa that I'm used to. There were paved roads, dogs without rabies, the ocean and the sign of every developed countries - the golden arches of McDonalds. South Africa is already a beautiful country, but put in the wailing sounds of the vuvuzela, the colors of different flags from around the world and the proud chants of the fans and it just makes it that much better. I loved everything about that trip, from the moment I landed in the South African airport and heard the Argentina fans singing their national anthem, to the moment I walked back onto that plane to the sombrero wearing chants of the Mexican fans. Whether you like the sport or not, it's such a rush to be surrounded by people dressed in their national colors from all parts of the world, listen to their cheers and languages, and meet different people who have all come together to celebrate the world's best game. We were lucky enough to get tickets to 4 games, travel around the most beautiful parts of South Africa, and check something off my bucket-list.... surfing!! All in all it was an incredible trip and I'm already counting down and planning for the next World Cup. Brazil 2014!!!

Now, once again, it's back to village. I'm really hoping to wrap up every project that I've started, hoping to make everything sustainable. For me at least, this will probably be the most nerve-racking part of all of service. I thoroughly enjoy and believe in all the projects that I've started thus far and want more than anything to be certain that they will be maintained once I leave. In Africa it seems as if it's easier for things to go back to the way they were before as opposed to maintaining changes. It'll be a huge challenge to tweak slightly, not to mention change altogether norms within my community but I'm hoping that myself along with all the motivated Burkinabe who have helped me from the start will be able to accomplish this. I'll let you know... :)

Hope all of you are enjoying the beautiful summer sunshine!!

Much love.