Quick rant and rave, etc.

So, I'm sitting here for 2 hours in the staff lounge making myself available to the students at the college, t help them with their lesson plan assignments. And... going on about 1 hour and 45 minutes, I have had one student come to me! So, lucky for me I have been wasting time away on the internet thanks to Andy and his counterpart in getting the staff lounge decrepit computers back and running... now if only the power would stay on...
Like I said I have had plenty of time to browse around, and sometimes I like to go to other Peace Corps blogs and read up on what other people are doing. While doing this I came upon another blog, revisiting their packing list now that they are in country. And came upon the sentence that I regret listening to before I came here.. You can get skirts made here that will be better than anything you can bring from the states. Yeah right!
Don't get me wrong, one of my many pleasures here has been getting clothes made,.. but unless you want to go hop on your bike in a ankle length wrap skirt, you need to invest in some good practical skirts from the states! Part of the problem is getting the taylors here to make "American" style clothing. They don't like to touch your body in places that are required to measure if you want things to fit how your used to it, especially if it is a man, (a majority of the tailors are men). Even if you manage to bring in a template.. they will always manage to make it a little less than perfect, especially if you have to rely on a village tailor. If you live in the city area, you might get lucky, but they are generally 1) way more expensive 2) have a lot more work to do, so they will inevitably take longer and 3) you will have to travel to the city to pick it up, and in my experiences, they will never have it the day that they will tell you.
The most useful and wearable skirt that I brought with me here is the brown linen shin length skirt. Though it is now seriously faded from rough washing and African sun, I still wear it all the time.
Another thing is that I have the resource of great second hand piles in Brikama market, but though they are cheap,.. and you inevitably end up not caring what you look like to other people, it is hard to find things that are great fits!
Anyhow,.. just wanted to put the word out, to any potential volunteers here, because I don't want you to fall into the same trap!