Lindsy and Sara and the Quest for the Magic Ring

Once upon a time, two Peace Corps Volunteers were serving in a land called Burkina Faso. One of them, Sara, had been there a long time and made lots of friends. One of these friends was brothers with a magic man who could make magical protection rings. Sara really wanted one, so the girls were sent on a quest to find the magic ingredients to make the secret potion of protection. They treked far and wide to find leaves of different trees-they had to be just the right leaves. After the 6 different leaves were found, the brothers led Lindsy and Sara to a mountain top where a cauldron sat on a fire, waiting to make magic. As the magic brother stirred in the leaves, lightning struck all around and the sound of thunder shook the rocks on the ground. The wind blew fiercly and with a crazy look in his eyes, the magic brother shouted incantations and waved his hands wildly over the bubbling cauldron. Finally, he reached into the cauldron and pulled out a ring that shined with protective powers. Sara was well protected for the rest of her days.

Okay, that is not EXACTLY how it happened, but we did get led around the bush this morning searching for JUST the right leaves. Which he boiled in water while we chilled in his yard and ate peanuts. It was kind of like kids playing potions or something; seriously I am pretty sure Lauren and I have done something similar at some point in life. But now Sara has a pretty silver ring that was boiled in a pot of leaves. So that was cool.
After, we went to the marché and I bought some dishes and house things and food that I can not wait to cook with. Nothing too foreign, mostly noodles and spices and veggies. Then I got a really pretty pagne (piece of fabric) that I proceeded to take to the tailor for a skirt.

Now I will rewind to my first night in village. I pulled up to my house and was very excited. There is a stone wall surrounding my courtyard and, while there is not a mango tree, there is a papaya tree-I can not wait until it is ripe. I have a little porch and you walk into my front door to a decently sized room with a couple tables. One I use to prepare food and the other I use to keep my stove on so this is kind of like my kitchen/living room. There is a doorway to my bedroom which is great because I have a dresser and bookshelf (which Sara left some books on!!) and of course my bed. I love my house.
So far, I have been meeting people at the CSPS and important people like the chief and police chief etc. In the afternoons Sara and I have worked on a project she started where she painted a huge mural of the world on the side of the elementary school. Only a little bit of painting is left and also writing the country names on. I LOVE it because I love maps and geography. Also, a LOT of people (even adults) don't know where anything is in the world - not even Burkina!! So it is really cool.
Today we biked about 8 miles to the closest town where we had our adventure and did some errands.
I LOVE it! It is such a cute village and most of the people are crazy nice (I do have one neighbor who has already hassled me but the others are very nice). I can't wait for all of you to come and visit me!!!!
Also, Lindsy is impossible for people here to say. Therefore my new name is...Aminata. Other less pretty choices were Dorma and Dorfa and things I could not say. You can still call me Lindsy though ;)