Adventures in sloth... read on, it's kind of a pun...

Ooh have I been slack! Nearly a month here and but ONE measly entry?? We must rectify this, really, we must.

Ever so many things have happened, but then so has rather a lot of relaxing. Good I suppose in the wake of 6 years of study, but not helpful on the job finding front, really. I've slowly been getting through my teaching-english-as-a-second-language course, and slowly been putting my CV together, but other than that there has been rather a lot of sleeping - I can't seem to get the old sleeping patterns in order.

Have been back to quite a few of the old haunts, including, of course, Amepouh. It was lovely to see them all again! They were really, genuinely excited about the stuff I'd managed to bring with me for them, which was sweet. I was exclaimed over and squealed at, there was hugging, clapping, the whole shebang. It's easy to feel loved in a place like Amepouh, where the women are so strong and inspiring and so generous. Theirs is an organization worth backing, if ever there was one. I'll be doing my best to help them get what they need however I can. Indeed my first task will be to teach some English, which I need to get off my backside and do! Will keep youse posted on how that goes...

I've been back to Kirikou and done some Karaoke, drunk my fill of dodgy moonshine whiskey and actually started to take a liking to fried fish, believe it or not. Not much choice, given that it makes up something like 98% of the Ivoirian meat intake (a statistic that I'm 98% sure I just made up) but still, it has grown on me. I'm chomping at the bit to do some cooking for B, and I miss me some pasta, pizza and thai food, but other than that the eats finally seem to be agreeing with me of late. (Did have a week or so of my old friend, Monsieur Traveller's Diarrhea. But I think we're good now, touch wood...) One particular feeding experience did, however throw me.

Twas a bright Sunday afternoon, and I emerged to fossick for eatings, when B presented me with rice and stew. It seemed that this stew contained beef, which was a welcome change from fish (though I later found out there was fish in there, too!) so exclaimed with some joy "Ooh! Is that beef?"
"No, it's the best meat there is."
"Lamb?"
"No. Bush meat."
"Bush meat? Like, gazelle or something?"
"No, monkey."
"Hunh. Monkey. Good, good. carry on, I'll just have the rice..." but oh no. It had to be tasted. All I could think of was little Abu's face from Aladdin (I've gotta stop relating foodstuffs to Disney characters) so I declined anything but a bite. Tasted like... human. Not that I've ever actually eaten human. But what I would imagine human to taste like - that's what this tasted like.
And to make matters even more amusing (?) we then proceeded on to the Zoo, to see what we had just consumed. And, you know, lions and tigers and bears oh my.



In other news, I have now seen firsthand how bad malaria can get. I shan't reveal the person who had it, as I know not everyone appreciates having their health discussed by others in an international online forum, but all I can say is, while I was considering going off the preventative medication for a while there, (it's rather expensive) I'm pretty sure I'm gonna stick with it as long as I can. Malaria doesn't get nearly the attention that HIV does, and it kills more people daily than HIV does in a year. And it is not pretty. Sweating away in 30 degree heat whilst watching someone shiver with multiple blankets covering them brings home the gravity of the disease. And it's a tricky one. Because when it first hits, it's only off and on, so it's easy to dismiss it as not being a serious bout, or indeed as something other than malaria. But when it takes you down, you need to get the meds into you quick, smart and in a hurry... needless to say I'mma avoid that one long as I can!

Today I hit up the Abidjan Business Friends Club monthly lunch meeting, a lovely little Anglophonic getting-to-know-you which would hopefully yield some job prospects. At 17,500 CFA a head it’s pretty steep (I can get a decent bowl of spaghetti with bread and water for around 350 CFA) until you remember that that’s about $35, which, for a three course meal with booze included, ain’t too bad at all. It was great to get a bit of English in, and to make a few interesting contacts in various industries (although when I’m going to need to drill for oil or order 1000 bags of cement mix I’m not too certain...) and indeed perhaps somefink will come of it, we shall see. At the very least it was great to get out of the house, I’ve been a bit housebound and inactive for quite a while now. A bit of proactivity wouldn’t go astray – self-administering the appropriate kick up the posterior as we speak. Well, not literally.

Anywho, that’s probably it for this entry, will try to be a bit more regular (muahah traveller’s diarrhea pun!) from now on... keep me posted on home related gossipage!
Love to you all x