Cheesy Tastes Good

Hello world. So, I did not get much accomplished in the way of work while on vacation---as expected by everyone, especially ex-neighbor. It's okay, I have a little bit of time left to get some lesson and project planning done before the school year gets rolling. I've been working hard to finish up a guide to teaching gym, in French, with little resources, and possibly a lack of background in physical education. With dedication (i.e. not sleeping all day long due to jet lag and extreme rain), this should be finished around sometime mid-next week.

I got back to village on Sunday. My house of course was dusty (and still smells dusty), but not too dirty overall (by my standards, which means by most PCV standards it was practically spic and span). Amazingly enough, my courtyard is a jungle, again! There are cucumbers, green beans, squash, millet and all sorts of other crazy things growing. Will post pictures later (as usual). Thursday night/Friday morning it rained so hard that my roof started leaking and I thought I would go deaf. I can't find the hole though, so maybe the wind lifted the roof just enough to let the pouring rain inside. This year, though the rains started late, it has been raining almost every other day, which is wonderful! The crops are actually tall and fruit-laden. Funny because up until August, I swore that the clouds parted at my village and went around it before reforming to rain on the next village.

I haven't been doing a whole lot in village outside of reading and sleeping and working on lesson plans. The whole jet lag and not sleeping because of lights everywhere thing for a month has really taken a toll on my body, and it really just appreciated being able to do nothing for the past week. Unfortunately, most of my reading has been disappointingly disturbing, confusing, boring or all three at the same time. That's why I like to come back to this little passage on love by Katharine Hepburn in her autobiography ME:

...what "I love you" really means. It means I put you and your interests and your comfort ahead of my own interests and my own comfort because I love you.

What does this mean?

I love you. What does this mean?

Think.

We use this expression very carelessly.

LOVE has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get---only with what you are expecting to give---which is everything.

What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and you cannot help giving. If you are very lucky, you may be loved back. That is delicious but it does not necessarily happen.

It really implies total devotion. And total is all-encompassing---the good of you, the bad of you. I am aware that I must include the bad.

---This gave me great pleasure, the thought that this was pleasing him.

...There is an enormous difference between love and like. Usually, we use the word "love" when we really mean like. I think that very few people ever mean love. I think that like is a much easier relationship. It is based on sense. A blind spot---love.

When I think about this, I realize that I'm very lucky. Most of my relationships (families, friendships, etc.) aren't based on sense. If sense prevailed, I probably would have given up completely on most of my relationships a long time ago. In fact, many of you probably would have given up on me, considering my less attractive qualities (being human and all). So, I just wanted you all to know that when I am feeling lonely and just want to hear from someone (because ex-neighbor ditched me and all!), I remember your love. We might not be able to hear or see each other often, but you're there with me, just like I'm there with you.

Cheesy feel good aside. No, I'm not posting to you live from village. I really wish that I could! I biked in 40 km to hang out with my neighbor PCVs, get groceries, and get some internet time. I plan on heading back home this afternoon, after getting rehydrated and fed. The sad thing is, this won't be the most I have biked in a day. Don't worry, I will try to be more contactable this year (ha! I've said that before), or at least in a week and a few days, I will be online again in Ouaga. Courtney is COS'ing, and as sad as I am to see him go, I will be glad to celebrate him going. Besides seeing him off... sort of, I have the usual paperwork stuff that I want to get done. Unfortunately this is paid internet on a sticky keyboard; I will try to respond to emails in a week or so.