Friday, August 3, 2007

That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.


It happened. A Dr. Pepper has been consumed in Burkina Faso. Traveling from the Davis residence in Austin, TX, it must have been scared from time to time tucked away in a taped off flat-rate ups box beneath snickers bars and comic books. No one will ever know for sure what really happened, but I imagine the propel fitness water packets (talkative as they are) in the far corner talked to the 5 Dr. Peppers, hopefully ameliorating the collective chariness inherent to any cross-Atlantic journey: the slips of the jetstream, endless visa checkpoints, language barriers, not to mention the jetlag in Casablanca where not even the Spiderman comic book caught a second of sleep...phew...Right when the box pulled up in the car I used the freezer at the training center and cooled one down until it was ice cold. Delicious - just like it used to taste all the way back in May of 2007. The rest of my birthday was great as well. Adlai came in at about 6:45 and said, "Hey man, happy birthday. Here's a snickers, pack your bag cause we're spending the night in Ouahigouya, and one more thing, I need your cinnamon. Don't worry though, it's for a good cause." You know when your day starts out like that, it can't be bad. By 7pm we were making mexican food (see below) and french toast (cinnamon).

After that it was nighttime, and the right time to put on sunglasses and dance (I haven't turned hip-hop mogul, my sunglasses are prescription). Oh and that haircut I got? It was just a trim. I think I'll cut it before I move to site, but for now what respectable liberal peace corps worker wouldn't grow out his hair for at least a few weeks. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young did say something about a freak flag, if I remember correctly. Plus I'm an employee of the federal government, I'm as straight-edge as they come.

Sorry mom, and yes I will be a clean-cut looking kid when we go to Italy in March. All in all my birthday was great. I'm nursing a bit of a summer cold here this week, but even that is preferable to seasonal allergies in Austin. See you guys soon.
p.s. For those that read this for actual news about Africa: It's hot, people eat a lot of rice, and I speak a lot of French.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

absolutely delicious....i felt the dr. pepper's travel woes and yet such highs

Unknown said...

Clay, I'm sorry about Dr. Pepper #6... It just wouldn't fit in the Flat Rate box. Since Grant and I don't share your DP love, I gave #6 to the Post Office clerk that recommended the smaller and more economical flat rate box. I'm very glad that it arrived exactly on your birthday. It took precisely 3 wks to ship. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLAY!
(PS to anyone trying to send more than a padded envelope's worth of goodies: Flat Rate is the way to go!)

redkat said...

i love your facial hair. don't listen to mom.

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