Barack Obama,

I wish you'd leave me alone. I mean, I love our relationship, but every time I check my email I have a dozen from you. I keep thinking my friends and family have sent me messages and all I get is your name over and over again; seeing it like that, it's paramount to a laundry list of socks. Socks, socks, socks. Can you imagine the boredom? And it's not just the amount of email, the promises in the titles are a bit hurtful to be honest. The first to know. You can make a difference. We need you. And tonight? It says Backstage. Backstage? I doubt it Barack. I haven't heard or seen the news in about fifteen months. I'm not backstage, I'm in the parking lot behind the theatre scrounging around for breakfast tacos and hot sauce containers to reuse as makeshift swimming goggles in case it ever rains - I've got Phelps fever, what can I say. Listen, I want you to win, honest I do. But like most Americans, I like my democratic process lazy. I want the smooth transitions of power and possibility of an actual say in my life, but I don't want to have to actually say anything. Or read things other people have said. So, even though this hurts, it has to be done: I won't be opening any more of your emails. I hope after a while you'll forgive me and we can go back to how we were. And remember, this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
Good luck this November, Clay

Phew, that was tough. Okay so today was pretty fun. I filled in for a teacher and taught some English. The kids were great. They sang some two part harmony Bob Marley for today's song competition and most of the words were right on. I stubbed my toe on a brick outside the front door of the volunteer house, so now I have a bandaid and scotch tape wrapped around my foot. Today for lunch I spent 750francs and got a french fry and chopped vegetable lebanese wrap. It was delicious. Then I went to the embassy to watch the Olympics. It started raining and I fell asleep to powerlifting on channel 1 and 3metre diving on channel 2. Talked to a few volunteers today. About four or five people from my group are thinking of extending for a third year. I am not one of those four or five. Today's trouble words for my class: heels, hills, bass (music), bass (fish). We practiced those four words alone for about 30 minutes. Who is this group/person Taken by Trees? I have heard them about twice in the last week from different people back home. Speaking of back home, I was flipping through a Newsweek yesterday and I got to an article about the poverty in Niger. There was a fullpage photo of people walking their donkeys across the desert with plastic water jugs and buckets. And the first thing I thought? Or not even thought. Felt? Home. Am I missing village? I don't think so. But after a year of it, everything was comfortable, if a bit lonely. Although I'm really comfortable here, so I can afford to wax poetic about my village. When I have to confront the 8 hour busride to reach it I probably won't be so romantic. I'm going to the mosque with some of the teachers on Friday. It should be interesting, I've never been to a mosque before. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Take care, Clay
p.s. Mags, I got a text from you at 6:30 this morning. Has the schoolyear started back up yet? You need to be in bed before 2:30 in the morning!!!!