Shout outs

Sammy is gone and I am back to the grindstone in Salima, which is not such a bad place to be. The winter weather here means it is a reasonably pleasant 85-degree afternoon, and, even though I'm stuck typing exams AGAIN, there are a lot of great things on the horizon: my dad is visiting in October, a brand-new Luckey-Sadler is on the way, and I got a pretty sweet early Christmas present (a ticket home for a visit) from the folks. In fact, life has been good for lots of reasons, and I want to give credit where credit is due:

After a long dry spell (4 months when all the Peace Corps mail was sitting unsorted at the Lilongwe Post Office), I received four packages at once! I am now a girl rich in crosswords. Father Ethan to Sister Alexis included all kinds of smelly and tasty stuff, as well as a very important clipping about how Love Saved Brittney. (But will it last?) Also, two packages arrived from my parents, with books and snack bars, shirts, pasta, and a tiny fan. (Dad will be needing that in October.) And most surprising of all, a package from April, still waiting for her PC invitation, with tea, chocolate-covered espresso beans, mac and cheese, sock-eye salmon, yahtzee, games, crystal light, and other great stuff. Sammy also brought gifts from Sarah and Damo, and my folks. So thoughtful! Thank you, everyone!!!

While I am giving shout-outs, congratulations to Kevin and Catherine, newly engaged! Yay! And Dave and Jen! And Jonathan and Emily! Is everyone getting married while I'm gone?

Grateful for the love, and missing you all!
Loo