I had a birthday.

A little Q&A session to update you on my life:

- Why aren't you supper tanned/charcoal black already?
- a. I use sun screen on a daily.
b. As a side effect of the malaria meds I am currently on, tanning is harder. Thus is why I am only light mahogany and not dark chocolate.

- How do you go online?
- This has been addressed before, I have an internet phone, which I use for gmail and facebook. Everything else I have to wait for internet time. Which is why I can't update the blog frequently (it's my excuse and I'm sticking with it)

- How do you get around?
- I have the budget for a bike, but in the mean time, I walk a lot. As a result, my legs are real shapely. Sometime I hitch hike.

- Is it hot there?
- Yes. It's Africa and I'm near the Sahara desert.

- How are you eating?
- Currently, my Counter Part's wife is cooking for me, starting next week, I'm buying a pot and a stove and cooking for myself. So that's gonna be ramen for the next month.

- What work do you do?
- Essentially, I'm a Health, Water and Sanitation Volunteer, so I would do community development/public health, including but not limiting to building latrines, malaria prevention and water sanitation. And telling people to stop shitting in bushes.

- Are you doing any of that now?
- Nope. I'm still trying to get to know my community and win their trust and shit.

- Where do you get $$$??
- Peace Corps issues each Volunteer a modest monthly stipend, and I spend it all on popsicles when I have a chance.

- Do you see other volunteers?
- Yes and no. Some of us live in villages close to each other, and sometime we meet up in the big city, but not always.

- Are there bugs?
- There is a buffet of bugs. Big. Small. Winged. Legged. Crawl. Fly. You name it, it's there.

- Do you have running water?
- No. My village get water from boreholes and wells, and so do I. People fetch water with buckets and basins and carry them on their heads to their house. I don't though. There is a "small girl" (aka. errand girl) who does it for me sometime.

- Not doing work, not fetching water, not cooking... what do you really do?
- Good question. I read sometime while still living out of a bag because I have no furnitures. Most of the day, I greet people and kiss babies' forehand (okay, not really, no kissing.)

- Read? You read?
-  Why yes, I do. So far, I've started and finished 4 books. There are several that are in progress (due to my short attention span). It's therapeutic to read and not sit idly thinking about how isolated I am in my little town and depress myself with it. It's also a healthy distraction.

- Forget books, what about the boys?
- Who needs boys when I'm already a man myself.

- When can we Skype?
- I don't know. When I am awake, you are probably asleep. And I don't get online very often... so we shall see.

- Can I write you?
- Yes! Email or snail mail me! I will always try to write back.
Chau Ngo
P.O Box 5796
Accra North
Ghana

- Do you need something?
- Everything and nothing. You can't send me things I miss, like sushi, bowl of soup, iced cold drinks... but I do enjoy a bag of water melon sour patch and could always use some hand sanitizer and new toothbrushes.

- What do you want for your birthday?
- A fan. Battery operated. Africa is hot.

Well, and now I am 24. The day started out shaky with rain and delays and strenuous hikes but it started rolling once I had my first beer at 3pm haha. Now I'm winding down from a day of indulgences (internet, electricity, fan, ice cream, cold drink) and it feels great, living the simple life and what not.

Anyhow, gonna try to transfer some books. If you have any more questions, shoot them my way! See you next time when I get internet.