Resistance is futile

I am back in Lome for just 2 days in order to do some quick work on the computer and will leave bright and early tomorrow morning to head to Atakpame for a quick birthday celebration and then head back to village so I can be present for my liquid soap formation on Sunday. My host mother from Agou Nyogbo has offered to come to my village to show my women's group how to make it and I am so excited. I am also here to buy some coconuts because I want more jam. I think they are starting to come into season and I can't seem to find any further north near my village. So, I never got to talk about the marathon and I sent some letters out but I decided it would make for a pretty good post.
The marathon was in Accra, Ghana September 28 and it was sponsoring the Longevity Project (programs to increase the average life span of Ghanaians). It was my first. I ran the half, but here it why it kicked my ass:
1. It started at 7 a.m., not 5:30 a.m., as advertised. West Africa is hot.
2. The half-marathon was 24 km not 21 km as all other half-marathons in the world (a full marathon is 42 km).
3. We were running in traffic (it was a Sunday, so it was just church traffic, but by just, I mean more traffic than usual because everyone goes to churchee here).
4. There were only about 200 people who ran the marathon, so I ran alone for most of it. There was no crowd cheering me on, only people greeting me and screaming things at me like, "Run faster! Everyone is so far ahead of you! You only have a little more to go(this was at mile 8)..."
But, I am so glad I ran it and I can't wait to run another one in the U.S.A. I have no pictures to post because I could not fit a camera on my person for the run. However, we had some parents present for the marathon and there are pictures posted on my Facebook site. Under Linda Golden.
My work in village is going. I am currently working on a Health and Hygiene coloring book for the Ecole Primaire students (similar to grades 1-6). It's something I really wanted to do when I first got to poste, so I am excited to finally be able to do it. I am also working with an NGO in Kpalime called Vivre Mieux that works with HIV positive people. I have started a support-type group with men and women and I plan on introducing Moringa and other income generating activities.
I hope everyone is doing well. I hope to have some pictures up next post. Bye-byee-lo.