But then, two days after the training ended, I was instead sent to Lome for medical stuff, and have only been home two days since.  Which brings me to Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving I spent in Kpalime with about 20 other PCVs, swimming in a pool, eating to our hearts' content, and with me making final copies and stuff for the training to start the following Monday.  The power had been out the previous day and a half, so I was stuck doing it that day.  The next day i was in an overstuffed and overloaded bush taxi van with 6 other PCVs and a bunch of Togolese and luckily no babies, heading north back to village to do all the final prep for Monday (and they for World AIDS Day celebrations), when the right front tire blew out.  I was in the front passenger seat (cuz I always get carsick), next to another PCV and the driver, and there were of course no seat belts.  We went off the road and I turned and leaned into phil, thinking if we hit a tree we are not going thru the windshield.  We didn't hit a tree, but we rolled, we think about 1 3/4 times.  I didn't realize it at the time, but I had ended up on the driver's side and crawled out the windshield which had blown out thank god.  Phil's back was hurt, but he couldn't stay still because the togolese were panicking and pushing and pulling, and there's no 911 and no cell reception, so he finally stood up (the van was sideways) and slowly got out with my help, and it was only then that I remembered i had 5 other friends in the car, but they were all mostly okay, compared with some of the togolese passengers.  We ended up laying phil down in the back of a small taxi and driving toward reception, while a couple people stayed behind to gather our stuff up as best as possible.  The togolese were being rushed off to whatever clinics were closest but we are under strict and wise instruction to not be treated at any bush facility.  So, we got hold of peace corps and they had a car about an hour away at our training site.  In the end, we all went to Lome, even those of us with minor aches and pains and bruises and scratches.  Peace Corps took great care of us, emotionally as well.  Jeff, my neighbor, had a cracked clavicle, Jane had hit her head on the roof, phil was in a lot of pain, and the rest of us pretty okay.  I got home that Sunday afternoon, did my training Monday thru Thursday, then called the medical office on Saturday the 2nd because of an inflamed and painful something in my breast, which turned out to be a cyst probably due to a shock in the accident that I didn't initially notice.  I was in Lome until the 12th.  The cyst had evidently become an abscess beneath the skin, and they didn't want to let me go until they could see some improvement.  Weird, and I am still on antibiotics, and have another appointment next week to get another ultrasound to make sure it's resolving itself properly.  Deb, thanks again for all your information and sage reassurance from afar!

They let me go on the 12th, cuz I was slated to help out a friend with a 4-day training of a bunch of girls in her village area, who were going to do their own 5-day Girls Ride bike tournee to talk about gender equity and HIV.  The training went really well, and once again the girls surprised and inspired the hell out of us.  We taught them some games to play with the audience to highlight gender equity issues and the principles of HIV prevention, and they performed 2 skits as well.  Once we trained them, the girls were on their own during the awareness campaign, even answering questions and highlighting key messages with the audience, all by themselves.  I was only able to attend the first 2 village locations, and they excelled beyond our hopes.  It was amazing.  I've never seen audiences so engaged with an awareness-raising event.  I suspect it was due to minimal lecturing and the whole thing being comprised of games and skits, and the girls performing their roles so well.  Then I headed back to village, since I had no bike and hadn't been to village for 18 days (the village thought I had been sent home with complications from the accident!  phil, btw, ws eventually sent home with a herniated disk, but he's doing okay otherwise and is in good spirits except it ruined his vacation to morocco and italy, and he had a heartwrenching and sudden goodbye to his village)... AND I was heading out again soon for christmas celebrations, another med appt, and then vacation to...