Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Things that go bump/squawk/bark/drip in the night

I've been meaning to get this blog written for a while now and since I find myself with internet and not much to talk about since I just updated i'll let you in on my night time frights.
I have bats. Loads and loads of bats. I don't know how many of you have ever lived with bats as roommates but they are not quiet at night. They live in my rafters and i'm terrified they'll fly out and into my window and I can honestly say my net is used more for fear of bats than it is prevention of malaria at this point.
I also have lizards. They don't bother me so much except I have cards hanging on rope at the top of my walls and if they run behind them it makes the cards bang against the walls and usually wakes me up. They're these weird little nude colored lizards and they normally run on the walls or the ceiling. I've never seen one of the floor. Anyway, a few weeks ago I saw one eat a moth so I like them a little bit more than I used to if they're going to eat other critters in my house.
As you know I also live with a dog. This dog is normally totally quiet all day but after he's eaten dinner this is his time to stretch his little vocal cords and bark at everything and nothing all through the night. It's wonderful.
I've lived with all these critters for a long time so i'm pretty much used to them at this point.... but the things that go drip i'm still not used to.
The Germans returned home last week and out of the kindness of their hearts helped me pull down the fabric from the square that was leaking and patch it up with some super inefficient tape so I wouldn't have to sleep with a bowl next to me in bed anymore.... I still got wet.
Makes life interesting.
This morning I was woken up by one of my students who was standing at my garden gate and got the cook to yell my name out until I got up. I guess he just wanted the key to the classroom but he never said that so I got dressed real fast and went with him about 45 minutes earlier than I would have gone to the school. It was a good start.
Exams finished today for my kids and we'll hand out report cards on Friday. Overall I was surprised by some of their performance and disappointed by others. Either way this will make planning for next term easier... thank goodness.
This Sunday we leave with the Class 2 kids and 2 of my class 1 kids. Homa Bay or bust. All the Deaf schools and units in the Nyanza province are meeting there for a week of sports, fun and nonsense and i'm actually really excited about it. I'm gonna try my darndest to replace my camera and catch my kids looking ridiculous so you can all see them!
till next time...
thanks for reading!!!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Bless the rains and around the wall in 80 days

I couldn't pick which title I liked better, so you get two!
Hello all! I haven't updated in about a half of a lifetime, and I do apologize for that. I'm trying, believe you me. I hope all is well with all my friends and family in America!
So I made it back to my site safe and sound and it is now officially the RAINY SEASON. The weather has cooled down and there is definitely no lack of water! In general it just makes me happier, except it knocks out the electricity usually at the most inconvenient time such as while make dinner over a hot stove on fire or in the middle of bathing in a bucket, but if things like that didn't happen, I wouldn't laugh as much and wouldn't have as many stories to tell.
Here's a good one for you though. Last week a friend of mine came to visit and observe me teaching and see if she could give any pointers for dealing with the little ones. She arrived Monday afternoon and we went to the market to grab some things for dinner. I began cooking our breakfast for dinner and the electricity went out so most of it was done in the dark. It turned out delicious and eventually the lights came back on so we watched a movie and hit the sack. In the middle of the night she woke up screaming and yelling at me to get a bucket.. turns out my ceiling leaks... in one place.... right over my bed. Since my video I have relocated my bed and everything else in my house, I like change. Anyway, it leaks so right now I sleep with a bucket next to me which will also be convenient if I ever need to throw up in the middle of the night again... double duty! So the following day we got up and went to school and I went with her to her site to pick up something from peace corps and of course our matatu got a flat tire so we sat on the side of the road for a good hour. Oh Kenya.
I did get a break this weekend I caught the same bus as a friend to meet up with some other volunteers in Kericho, a place famous for it's tea plants and nothing else. We made a stop in Kisumu for more passengers and ended up sitting there or 3.5 hours... I gave the people on the bus a good story though. As soon as we started to roll out of the bus park I was the crazy white girl who raised her hands in victory and cheered and shouted "we're moving!!!!" Most people found it amusing. Most also found it amusing when I popped on my iPod and sang along loud enough to drown out the man preaching in the middle of the bus. We eventually arrived and were able to catch up with friends which is always nice.
In recent news... I typed up all the exams or all the kiddos in our unit and since our tests have so many pictures i'm now phenominal at working my way around the paint program as clip art sucks and I didn't have internet access. We started testing today and it's gone well so far but I don't wanna get my hopes up too high.
Once they finish exams we'll be heading to Homa Bay or Deaf sports with all the other schools and units in the Nyanza area. It should be a good time and i'm going to try my darndest to get a camera before then so i can get some pictures of my kids doing some ridiculous stuff. Aftere that, a vacation on the coast with a good friend and then training in Nairobi. So I have plenty of things to look forward to, but also plenty of things to get ready for so this week finds me pretty busy.
Beyond that... oh, our dog bit a sheep and the cook killed it. I tried to convince him to serve the sheep with a side of goose to the priest but he wouldn't do it. Also? about a week ago I encountered the goose (I know what it's like to have a restraining order now by the way) I threatened to take my flip flop off and throw it at him if he attacked me. I turned in victory to head home only to see a group of children standing right in front of me just staring. Not my best moment but... i'm not perfect.
Anyay, hope all is well with everyone, if you're still with me, thanks for reading and sorry this one was so rushed! I'll try to start typing them out first and then just pasting them when I get internet!
Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Round Two

Remember that time I was sick? Well right after that I picked up something else in Nairobi.. so i'm still stuck in limbo waiting to be well enough to go back to site... There's not a whole lot of updating to do other than i've gotten to give all kinds of awesome samples of various bodily fluids.... which would have bothered me a lot more in the U.S. but here it's one of those things where you're like "someone has GOT to see this!" and that's the kind of week i've had. Wow how things have changed already. I did however get a new laptop so i'm on the road to putting things back together. While we're on the topic here's some things I did at site to keep myself entertained without a laptop:
Stared at the wall
Read three books
Stared at the ceiling
Rearranged ALL my furniture
Stared at the floor
Toasted a marshmallow over a candle
Took my temperature obsessively
So anyway, that's what's up with me! I should be healthy enough to head back to site in a few days but until then i'll be hangin in Nairobi.
Hope all is well with everyone at home! Thanks for reading!