so sad – i’m about to get on a soap box

We all saw the animation of a lost and drowning polar bear in An Inconvenient Truth… unfortunately that problem is not going away – this article in the Times reminded me that Al Gore’s cartoon was not a worst case scenario – it’s already happening. I encourage all who are able to make a donation to one of the organizations that are lobbying to establish more protection for polar bears threatened by climate change, or even to write to your representative. I don’t pretend to think that that fixes everything, or that there is no corruption within organizations accepting donations, or that most politicians really care that much, but lots of people doing little things will add up.
Above all, we should all be riding around on bikes, walking, and using public transportation as much as possible.

A few ideas:

The WWF
Polar Bear SOS – Leo DiCaprio got some flack for ‘wasting paper’ to save bears on this project, but I believe that most conservation organisations send too much mail – something to be worked on
Greenpeace

At long last – sort of at least

Well folks, I am officially legal until October 28th. Everything went so easily in Fianar. I went to the bureau du district when the right woman was there. Her name was Françoise, and she verified that my papers were in order – I just needed Sophie to come to the office with me so that we could do signatures together. In the meantime though, I could extend my visa another 2 months at the police station in the immigration office. So, I went there, and talked to another Françoise. She verified that I only needed a signed letter from Sophie, and to pay the 80,000 Ar fee, and I’d be all set until October 28th. I paid the fee, got the letter from Sophie last night, and got the correct stamps in my passport this morning. I can now relax a little, and Sophie and I can go to the bureau de districte next week to make the final request. After that, even if the visa doesn’t come, I’ll have proof/a receipt that I started the process. Alleluia!!!!

Also, even before all of this was done, I reread my visa frustration post, and I have to say it made me laugh. Is it ever really another way when dealing with foreign bureaucracy???

Pooping in holes

Really, how have I not talked about this yet?!? Below are pictures of my bathroom/shower facilities. The door on the far right opens to the area where a bucket of hot and cold water are brought each morning for me to bathe.

Below is the actual latrine. The plug is covering the hole, and it slants down so that urine runs out. There’s also a little reservoir for hand washing.

This is the sign that’s up on the wall. The small print on the bottom says: “If your intelligence is insulted by these instructions, we apologize. You should have seen some of the antics previous users have tried while attempting to pee in the hole. We wish to spare you that indignity.”

Somewhat surprisingly, it is very easy to use, and I don’t have a problem with it. The only annoying part is that it seems to be impossible to avoid small splattering on the feet – good thing the water spigit is there to rinse them off!