Drinks

And I already forgot something...I wanted to mention the different kinds of drinks here in Burkina but it slipped my mind. The first difference you'll notice is that most drinks are in bags, not bottles. Milk, citron, bissap, baobab, water, they all come in these little heat-sealed bags that you bite a corner off of, tip up, and drink. Yogurt is like it too. Go-gurt, in Africa. They also have bags of cold water that aren't heat-sealed but tied, but I'm thinking those aren't filtered and I avoid them at all costs.
Okay, milk is milk. Citron is just like lemonade. Bissap is this super sweet, almost cranberry juice that I drink when it's free. Baobab juice is like the ginger juice I used to find at school and is good for a cold (or at least I think it is). Water is water. Yogurt is goooood, and different from the kind back home. It is really sweet and fresh, plus I get the idea that it is healthy for me.
Oh, and the water here tastes surprisingly delicious. I get it out of a well when I'm in village and then filter it. We're supposed to you use two drops of bleach for every liter, but I average about a half drop to the liter. A) I don't understand science and don't see the difference between what two drops will do versus half a drop. Isn't there some law in science that says the lesser substance will mix with the larger substance until there is an even consistency? So if I put half a drop in there, then shake it up, the bleach will just get to everything anyway, or not. B) I don't really care because drinking bleach water tastes disgusting and is just a slow death anyways. Without lots of bleach the filtered water is great and doesn't taste like the limestone in Pflugerville water.
Bottled drinks are mostly coke, sprite, fanta, fanta fiesta (strawberry fanta), and beer. The soft drinks are made with sugar instead of corn syrup, and I can easily drink a coke a day. And the beer is pretty bad. At best it tastes like Coors Light, and at worst...I can't even say. Although this makes me think of something else: Benin and Togo.
One of those countries, I forget exactly, was partly colonized by the Germans. As such, the beer is supposedly awesome. I talked to this one guy that was hiking over there and came upon this German chateau tucked away in the mountains. That would be a wild vacation. And speaking of crazy cross-culture mix-ups...
Last night I got to watch the only tv in my village. We watched this Latin American sitcom called something like Maria de los Barrios. All the people in my village love it and this morning were talking about last night's cliffhanger. Apparently Maria just discovered that her husband, with his slicked-back hair, is having an affair with the hopelessly flighty and chatty Brazilian maid. Needless to say it's a good show.
Alright that's all I have for today. Bleach water, german castles, strawberry fanta, and a very sad Maria from the barrio. See ya later.

p.s. Is anyone learning Italian? I just got an Italian book from mom for my birthday and I want to practice. We can go to dinner once a week, or email back and forth. Whatever's easier for you.

p.p.s. Thanks for the Italian book Mom.