Two weeks since I first made it to camp - feels like a year ago!

We have power back! The camp has not had current for the past few months, though different places have had generators (which are expensive and break down and require endless amounts of fuel). Unfortunately our house is still powerless, but they are fixing a wire tonight so hopefully soon. Living by candle light has actually been fun, we all want to keep candles for light, but are desperate for current to use fans...man this place is hot. And our house especially, little ventilation and at the bottom of a hill. 

My dear friend Celyne cut my hair the other day, well finished off a hair cut we started last week. Its hilarious, washing hair is kinda hard with no light and only a bucket,so I've only washed my hair three times since being here (gross I know!) but it hasnt turned totally funky yet, just wavvy/curly. So I know sport a lovely shoulder length cut..sooo much better in the heat! I actually washed it again today, but then there is a new water thing near our place, so i went with some ghanaian girls who live behindus to collect water and carried it back on my head true african style, so it has bits of dirt in it hehe.

 

I dont think I've mentioned my housemates/fellow IVs..there are six of us,myself, three canadians (one guy two girls), an egyptian girl and a girl from holland. Im the youngest, they all call me aussie (but pronounced au-ssie, rather than aus-sie...if that makes sense haha) and pay me out for how I say tuna and tuba and tube (seriously though, they have the pronunciation wrong, cause we all say tuesday the same :-) we are the only ivs that live on camp, but there is another org PCO that has ivs too, one guys is from UQ haha such a small world. 
 

We live about 100m up from this foresty place, i havent been down because the kids tell me i'll get beaten, but we've figured out its where everyone goes to get high, every morning a bunch walk by, back a few hours later looking a little too happy haha

 

A couple of us IVs had a meeting with a bunch of guys yesterday, they are all former child soldiers and keen to break away from this current org they are with, which is for former child soldiers and war affected youth. its was pretty interesting to attend, everyone is so well spoken, lots of enthusiasm and big visions but we'll see what comes from it :) im keen maybe to write a paper on them, get their story out, not so much of the war, but living as a former child soldier afterwards...its been 15 or so years for many of them now, and they are still stigmatised within the community.

 

Didn't go away this weekend, so going to dinner at a guys place tonight and his sister is going to teach me some cooking :) heading off to the aog church here tomorrow with one of hte team members from the hiv/aids dept. I dont know if ive mentioned it, but there are definite perks being hte only christian among the ivs, i dont have to sit through hour long conversations as the liberians try and convert them :) gold to watch them though!

 

cutting down my internet time heaps, want to make the most of the experience rather than spend too much time writing about it :) but love getting emails if you have the time to send one through :)