Photos!

It's photo time again! These are meant to help give you an idea of what my living situation is like and who some of my friends are.

Bismillah...

This is a seasonal lake just outside my village. It's absolutely beautiful.

Another shot of the lake.

I saw these kids as I was walking home from the lake and thought it would make a great photo.

Another shot I took while walking.

They really wanted to have their picture taken. This reminds me of AT&T commercials...more bars in more places ;)

This is the view from my concession door...that's my house!

Facing my house, this is looking down the left side. This is my AWESOME shade tree.

This is looking toward the right from my concession door.

This is the view from the front door of my house, looking out toward my concession door.

Looking at my raised patio and the front door of my house.

That black patch on the right is my burn pile.

Looking down the right side of my house. The green patches are melons!

This is my dilapidated shade hangar...I'll be using it as my goat shelter.

Looking down the left side of my house at my latrine - close-up to follow.

This is behind my house...not all that exciting.

My water spigot!

These giant toads live at my water spigot. Sometimes there are 7-9 of them piled on top of each other between the rocks. I love them!

I talk to them every night when I get water for my bucket bath. "Hello little froggies, what're you doing?" (some of you will know exactly which voice I use for this one-sided conversation.)

My latrine: this is where the magic happens...every morning, promptly at 6:30am...seriously, you could set your watch by it. What? Too much information? Welcome to my world!

This is the view from the mesa accross the road from my house. The pole in the center of the photo is the radio tower - that's essentialy my house.

The view to the left from my favorite place to sit on the mesa.

The view to the right...

This is the soccer field below the mesa where I will put on a bi-annual soccer tournament...in sha allah.

This is my baba (father) in my village. Doesn't he look strickingly like Morgan Freeman?

This is one of my best friends at post. He is a fabulous tailor and one of the most positive people I know. He rocks!

This is the woman whose family I eat with every night. And, that little guy on her back is "my son."

Warning: I have promised to bring this little guy home with me to the U.S. He is my favorite baby!

One of my favorite people (the woman I eat dinner with) and some of her motley crew.

We laugh so much when we're together!

My little brother (my friend's son).

This is one of my favorite little guys. He's such a sweet kid and so loving!

She has an amazing spirit and reminds me so much of home!

This little girl is an absolute sweetheart.

The girls!

I don't know this woman, but I thought this would be a nice photo.

Another one of my best friends at post. This woman rocks!

I think she is so incredibly beautiful.

This is her daughter...I love this kid, she is so sassy (just like her mom).

Oh so cute!

Another great friend who is the wife of the brother of my friend above. She is such a gentle soul.

Her little boy...this is the face he makes all the time. So silly!

Another friend that lives in the same concession as the two friends above. She never fails to make me laugh!

This is her husband. He plays the drum at village weddings, baptemes, etc.

This is their eldest son...he has such a gorgeous face and is the sweetest little boy.

Their youngest son. This guy can dance and can already bang out a beat on the drum - just like his daddy.

Their little girl. She got in the bucket on her own - we don't know why.

...she hates the camera! (This is one of my favorite shots!)