My amazing sister Carolyn the last time she saw her newphew

Let me take a minute out of my regular schedule of whining, complaining and occasional adorable baby photos to point out that my life is ridiculously easy. Some days my biggest problem is whether to go to the McDonald’s right down the street or drive alllll the way over to the Wendy’s on West Main even if it means I have to turn left into traffic. As much as I really hate turning left, this is not a real problem. Do you want to know what a real problem looks like?

“… what I usually have to do is bike half a kilometer to the nearest pump, fill a bidon (water jug) with water, then attach it to my bike and bring it back to my house. Which isn’t the most inconvenient thing in the world, but since it’s the only way to get all of the water I use it makes me hate to do laundry, or water my garden, or wash my dishes.”

That slight inconvenience is just a time part of my sister’s life right now as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso. Not exactly sure where that is? Yeah, neither is the US Post Office, since when I tried to send a care package the lady at the counter insisted I had to include the country name. Which I’m pretty sure she thought was “Africa”. Now that you mention it, she did look a little like Sarah Palin. Burkina’s not even on most of the globes in my old globe collection (what, don’t you have one of those?) but I’m pretty sure it’s right around here:

One of the many things my sister lives without most of the time is the internet (I DON’T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW THAT’S POSSIBLE) but when she can get a connection she post pictures, stories and observations here on her blog: adventures à go-go. I highly recommend you go read it, since she’s much more interesting than I am, especially on our third rainy day inside day in a row. Seriously, which would you rather hear about; how my kid bit my shoulder last night and left a mark or how Carolyn is improving lives by teaching girls about self-esteem and gender rolls in one of the world’s poorest countries? That’s what I thought. Of course, I don’t want you to leave forever. I promise more baby-related hilarity and cuteness soon. But in the meantime, show my sister some love!