Vincent: Want some bacon?

Jules: No, man. I don't eat pork.

Vincent: Are you Jewish?

Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.

Vincent: Why not?

Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.

Vincent: Yeah, but bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.

Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eatin' nothing that ain't got sense enough to disregard its own feces.

Vincent: How about a dog? Dog eats its own feces.

Jules: I don't eat dog either.

Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?

Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy, but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

Jules: Well, we'd have to be talkin' about one charming motherfucking pig. I mean, he'd have to be ten times more charming than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm saying?

Vincent: [laughing] That's good.

If you really want to know .. .

Man. Random times where Gambian want to get a picture with me.
Celebrity and village idiot in one.
I suppose if everyone had a camera, my work would never get done. I suppose that's one good thing about this country being so poor.

Here is a fellow PCV who actually has a good blog. If you want to know what life is really like here, go to her page.

http://abbyinthewhalesmouth.blogspot.com/

To have or to not.

It's past Halloween.
I'm staying.
I've opened my eyes to things I hadn't appreciated before.
Village things.
Little things.
So many times I wish I had a camera to snap what is in front of me. Thankfully, I don't have one to ruin my memory of how the composition made me feel.
Even when I owned a camera, I hated using it.
Bringing it out of it's case made me feel I was creating a false picture. A false feeling. Most times I consciously left my camera in its' case and continued living the moment and letting that instant pass. That second that would never be again. That is beauty.
Understanding the emotions our surroundings create for us and realizing their importance as they are released. Yes. That is accepting beauty.

If things don't change by Halloween . . .

Jaded.
I bought a ring in Morocco. A beautiful Jade ring that looks similar to a catepillar or sea urchin.
Simultaneously, I have become a jaded volunteer.
My perspective of my service (what I've been doing/not doing) is the elephant in the room.
I am truly missing America. Not the drug addict miss, like American food is, but a dull slow pull and realization that America actually is my home and is amazing.
I'm beginning to gain weight to an unhealthy amount.
The education system here is so faulty, it puts the San Andres faultline to shame. Such greed and selfish nature cause the few souls in the system who give a damn to be swallowed by the gigantic mouth of corruption.
I no longer care about those around me, when that has always been my focus--which maybe it's time to think about myself and do things for myself-I will indirectly help all those around me-it's my nature.
I wear my ring and I feel the jaded emotions pulsing through my hand and up into my mind.
I hope this ring is good for me, doesn't seem that way, for I've vowed to wear it on my left hand and will only replace it for a wedding band.
I believe the metals and stones you wear magnify and maybe alter your inner emotions.
I always thought turquoise was the best stone for me, but it always ran away. Every piece of turqouise I own is now lost to me. I thought jade was the alliance I needed alongside my quarts necklace. We'll see.