Monday, August 13, 2007

Just a really quick note to let you all know that all is well at my new home! I'm in Kisumu for a hot second picking up my bike (which will make life SO much easier), back to site in about an hour. Internet is...not... close....really, at all, to where I'm living now, so I may be forced to neglect my blog. I'm thinking of getting an internet capable cell phone in the next month or so, though... so it's tough to say (at this point) what my communication situation will be. I did get a new PO Box (my very own PO Box in the nearest town to me), so if you want to send me letters or a puppy, this is a more direct way:

PO Box 21
Bar Ober 50411
KENYA

I miss and think of you all constantly, and promise to be in touch and keep you posted as much as possible. That being said, if you want to reach meeee for any reason, calling me or sending me a letter (1907 style) is the best way until I let you know otherwise.

Peace and love,
H

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

At long last!

I made it! I completed training! Woop woop wooop. Tomorrow morning is our official swearing in ceremony (with the Ambassador AND the Minister of Health-- how PIMP is that??) and on Friday I'm off to site. The end of training and our departure from home stay was somewhat anticlimactic (I think everyone is ready to start real work), but the crazy times had on Monday night were a nice way to end our 10 week training extravaganza. Now it's go time. Finally.

So... right. Monday night. Let me just begin by saying that I have earned the respected nickname of "Cruise Director" for my mad party planning skills as well as my ability to get up in front of my entire training class, language trainers, powers that be, etc. and make a complete ass of myself without thinking twice. For anyone who went to OSRUI, you may or may not be familiar with the "box game"... yeah, so it works really well with a hundred or so campers... and it worked remarkably well with 50 PCTs, too... if you don't know what I'm talking about... sorrry... but it was hilarious and ridiculous and it worked really well. I also took it upon myself to make 50+ superlative awards ("Most likely to...") for every trainee and language trainer (pathetically, I made actual awards and colored on them with markers and crayons. I'm 7.). They went over very well. Other than that, it was a crazy time consisting of a lot of Tusker (Kenyan for bia), a lot of busting moves (so much so that my back and neck are totally messed up) and much laughter. I even debuted Blanca at the end of the night for a VIP group of 2. She was a big hit. Even in Kenya, she and I both live on.

The night before we left for Nairobi we put all our baggage in a locked room, only to be told that we had to move it in to two other rooms. So we did it, fireman's brigade, yadda yadda. Fine. I should note that we all have about twice as much luggage due to the fact that we get about 2 new PC manuals a week. Some people use their manuals to light their jiko ovens, but I, being my mother's daughter, have saved them all. Anyway, we left for Nairobi and were all feeling really smug about the fact that a big truck was coming to take all our bags to Nairobi for us and we didn't have to load them up or anything. We made it to Nairobi and about an hour later, the luggage truck showed up, and unloaded all 20 bags that they had packed up. 'Escuse' me, sir, um, is there another truck coming? No. Where are the other bags? What other bags? Well, there were two rooms filled with bags. No there weren't. You get the idea. Classic.

The funny thing is that the one bag of mine that made it was the bag I had specifically packed as my "I'm not opening this until I get to site" bag. I was a bit confused because I had moved my important bag in to the front room and I thought that was the room that had been brought, but I didn't think about it much because so many other people were missing bags and I figured it would make it eventually. I borrowed a toothbrush and some shampoo and was feeling fine... until this morning, when I went down to the office of the hostel, where I saw my duffel bag, which had been sitting there all night. It HAD made it on the truck... I just hadn't bothered to look in the place where they had put all the bags. It sounds so much more stupid when I type it out like that. Why would I not look in the room where all the bags were being put? I guess I was so excited to see my one unimportant bag in the hallway that I assumed nothing else made it? I don't know. Whatever.) The end of the story is that unfortunately, the truck was only rented for the day, so today, one PC vehicle had to make multiple trips (3hrs one way) to get all the luggage here. Some people are still missing bags.

I had a crazy thought the other week, as I was daydreaming about life back in the states. I was thinking about what a luxury it will be to again live somewhere with a gas stove and multiple burners. As I was thinking about said gas stove, I started to think of how easy it would be to boil water for bathing with multiple burners (5 pots at once!). And then I realized that in the US I don't have to boil water for bathing because it comes out of the faucet. Ha. Riiiiiight.

Also, I re-discovered a restaurant I had eaten in the first day I was in Kitui. The first time I ate there, I remember being so somewhat in shock (it was hot and sticky, there were flies everywhere, I thought I might die, etc.). When I walked in the other week, I could have sworn it was a different restaurant. In the Ritz. I would have eaten off the floor. Everything really is relative. I just couldn't believe how quickly that shift had taken place. :) Yay, adaptation.

This is probably my last post for a while, as I'm heading to site on Friday, but I promise to be in touch as soon as I find a computer close to where I'll be. My cell phone should work still, too. As far as mail goes, the address posted below will still "work"... it'll work for the next 2 years, but I will probably get a PO Box closer to me once I settle in, and as soon as I do, I'll give that out so that I don't have to get my mail forwarded from Nairobi.

I can't WAIT to see what my life is like at my site... I can't wait to have my own place and cook my own food and see my community again... and I can't wait to tell you all about it (as soon as I can).

Thank you, still, for all your support and emails and calls...
love love love,
H