tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42351548452153427112024-03-05T16:15:06.923-08:00Mzungu MonologuesCindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-20822694458311994972012-10-16T07:30:00.003-07:002012-10-16T07:30:23.368-07:00The victim of a circumstance
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The minute the two pink lines revealed themselves on the
thin strip all I could do was review the events that led up to this day, this
moment, this test.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Several weeks ago the school term began and all our students
were back. Up to this day they have come every day, all except one. For weeks I
had been asking where she was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“She’s
sick.” As another week came and went I asked again. “She’s sick.” Another week
came, knowing that anytime a student has been out for more than a week the
other students tell us they are married or pregnant, I lightheartedly asked if
she had run off to get married. The response this time hit me like a heavy wave
crashing down. “No, but she’s conceived.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Conceived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the day went on all I could think was how badly I needed
to get to her. To see her. To talk to her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The following day I walked into the dark classroom that I
used to call my own where my supervisor sat with her own students. I approached
her, as I always do when we need to discuss something serious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I want to talk about C.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her face made a small and subtle change. It became solemn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Yes, it’s as if she’s ill. Her sickness has continued, but
I’ve been calling her mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I heard she’s pregnant.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not knowing how I heard this information, or that the
information had reached so many people already, she told me she had not
confirmed the rumors. Being a mother herself she had noticed enough changes in
C that she was suspicious and spoke to her mother. She told the mother to bring
the girl to Sega and have her tested and report back. It’s been over 3 weeks
and we hadn’t heard a single thing from her mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I scarfed my lunch down wondering what the afternoon
would bring. As I saw my supervisor walk across my yard I grabbed my bag, slid
into my sandals and locked the door behind me. We walked to the road in almost
total silence and flagged the first matatu that came our way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My supervisor was constantly giving specific directions in
mother tongue to the driver until finally the vehicle stopped and we alighted.
We walked to the first home we came across and asked where we could find C. We
were already on her family compound we just had to walk out further and turn to
the left. As we approached the next house we asked again. “Yes, she lives that
way. She’s here, she was just carrying water.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We entered her compound and were greeted by the woman we
refer to as her mother but is actually, as I came to learn, just a guardian to
C. I did a scan around the area. I did not see the familiar face of my student.
We were told she was making a second trip for water and so we sat under the
tree on her compound and waited. The longer we sat, more people surrounded us, two
of which were children not younger than 10 or 12.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Why aren’t these children in school?” I wanted my
supervisor to ask and then interpret for me what the woman had answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“This one has started late and is only in class 2, so he
doesn’t go back in the afternoon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I sat silent. The boy, from the looks of him, had no reason
to have started school so late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then she came. My eyes opened wide, scanning her body
trying to determine if she was, in fact, with child. She came up to me and as I
gave her a sideways hug I could see below 2 layers of thick baggy sweaters she
had gained several pounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We asked her to bathe and put on her uniform.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Again we sat. Waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Under the shade of the tree, I thought to myself “maybe it’s
just the sweaters that are making her look that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But, as she returned in the uniform I’ve seen her wear day in
and day out at school for 2 years there was no mistaking the way the fabric
stretched across her distended belly. I was thankful to be outside, wearing
sunglasses as the tears welled up in my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As we boarded another vehicle with C in tow and walked all
the way to the dispensary, time moved in slow motion and I gave her as many
reassuring smiles as I could muster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We entered the somewhat dark building and while I sat next
to a girl who had no idea she was pregnant I looked outside and noticed the
dark ominous clouds. My supervisor disappeared into the back of the dispensary and
returned with an empty pill bottle. Handing the bottle to C we explained what
she needed to do and she walked away from us towards the latrines outside. She
returned with the pill bottle in hand and we were immediately taken back into
an office with a hospital bed in it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The nurse wiggled her fingers into latex gloves and tore
open a small packet containing a narrow strip of thin paper. She showed me the
wrapper and as she opened the pill bottle and the smell of urine wafted quickly
through the room she explained, “one strip means not pregnant, two means
pregnant.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Again, we waited. The room turned dark and the rain came
down heavily outside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">She removed the small strip from the urine sample and laid
it onto the empty packet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Two red strips.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">She laid it in front of me as if it were my own or as if I
didn’t believe her. I didn’t believe her. I was staring down at the two pink
lines myself and I still couldn’t believe her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">C laid on the hospital bed and waited as the nurse palpated
on her stomach. She again turned to my supervisor. For a minute or so they
spoke in mother tongue. The nurse then sat back down at her desk, looked me in
the eye and said, “4 or 5 months.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At 24 years old I have a solid 9 more years of life under my
belt and stand approximately a foot taller than her. Today I felt like a small
child. I wanted to tell her what I knew, tell her what would happen. I couldn’t
tell her because I don’t know. The girl that has sat in my class every day for 2
years is now in a situation that would devastate me to my very core and all I
can do is smile at her reassuringly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Together the 3 of us walked back out to the road. I felt
dazed, as if I were in a dream. We waved goodbye to her as she boarded a
vehicle home. Turning back towards Sega it was just the 2 of us now left to
discuss what we would do, what would happen to this girl who lives with a woman
who didn’t even care enough to have the girl under her protection, her supervision
tested when she was obviously well into her pregnancy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Trudging through the mud puddles and wet grass to get to our
homes my supervisor said to me, “she’s the victim of a circumstance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-44167440548054848562012-09-18T22:45:00.000-07:002012-09-18T22:45:03.677-07:00"Wishin' time would stop right in it's tracks"
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hey kids!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s the news!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll
all be thrilled to know that I do not have any strange or exciting tropical
diseases. In the last week and a half or two I’ve been in 3 hotel rooms, 4
different houses, 5 different roommates, accumulating well over 50 hours of
travel time. (Surprising I haven't had an illnesses, actually)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Though it’s been completely exhausting to be on the road so
much and living out of a suitcase it’s been great to see so many people that I
haven’t seen in a while. With all the rats my house doesn’t really feel like my
home anymore anyway (which puts me in a funny limbo-like mental state).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, speaking of the rats, here it is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have now waged war on these rats. While in Nairobi I was
unable to find the rat poison suggested to me so during a trip to Busia I was
able to find the off-brand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During this
war I’m hunkering down at a friend’s house as I wait for results. Monday I laid
out plates with slices of bread sprinkled with this black poison… presentation
is everything, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I returned on Tuesday with a certain amount of pessimism…. And
fear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I should tell you before I get into this; I met the newly
arrived Germans this week. This time its 3 girls are they are all incredibly
sweet but I’m pretty sure they think I’m a crazy person that lives in filth
because my life revolves around these rats right now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So upon arrival on Tuesday I greeted the Germans and told
them I was going to lay more poison and get rid of any dead critters if there
were any and one asked if she could come see. My condition was yes, as long as
you don’t judge me by the current state or smell of my house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I turned the key in the lock I cringed in terror
expecting to have either nothing or 50 rat bodies lying dead. The door opens.
There aren’t 50 dead bodies so I enter with extreme caution with one of the
Germans following close behind. My eyes first scan the plates where the bread
once was. Gone. All of it. That’s a good sign. Then I see him. My first victim
lay dead at the foot of my bed on the floor. GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS, yes
I believe those were my exact words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
German found another dead on my cooking table. GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS. That’s
it, just 2, I can do this. I mean, I can’t, but I will…. Eventually, I will
work up the courage to do this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I grabbed two plastic bags and nested one in the other (just
in case) and put on my last latex glove and stood for a moment of silence, not
for the rats but for my own personal sanity. With the German cheering me on I
marched (in slow motion of course) towards my first victim. I kneeled down. I’ll
grab him by his tail. The minute my fingers his tail I thought “Nope, not gonna
grab him by his tail, nope nope nope.” So I reached through the outside of the
plastic bags and quickly grabbed the little corpse and flipped him into his
body bag. A sigh of pride and total disgust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On to victim number 2. I grab one of the now empty plates
and slide the dead critter off my cooking table into the same bag with his
family member. I proceeded to tie the bag shut and decide I’ll throw them in
the burn pile with the rest of the trash. Holding the double bags as far away
from my body as my arm would allow (in case of an critter resurrections?) I walked out to the burn pile and gave them
the heave hoe. Bye little guys! Your friends will join you soon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I laid out more bread with more poison and will be heading
back over today to see the damage and hopefully start cleaning up the aftermath
of their invasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Needless to say, rats are a large part of my life right now.
However, I do have other things going on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The teachers in Kenya are currently on strike for their 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd</span></sup>
week and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. I’m watching my last term of
teaching fly by without actually teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last term. My time here is starting to feel more and more
final. Every time I see an African sunset I think, I have less than 100 of
these left. Every time I see someone I wonder if it’s the last time I’ll see
them, ever. This country has been my life for 2 years and it feels beyond
strange to think that I’ll just be leaving. Leaving my home, my friends, and my
students. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A piece of my heart will
always remain here. Kenya will be a part of me forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In almost no time at all I’ll be packing my house and saying
goodbyes. What gets me through is knowing that once those things are packed
they’ll land with me in a place where I feel overwhelming love and
understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
More to come on rats and the final months of my Peace Corps experience.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-28193933852803024322012-09-10T05:53:00.003-07:002012-09-10T05:53:52.729-07:00I can't get no ratisfaction
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hello world!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As promised, I
will now regale you with my rat story. The real one. My last blog was written
before I realized the gravity of the ratuation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not long after I
finished typing up my last blog, jet lagged, I decided to try and get some
sleep, knowing full well that I probably wouldn’t sleep that night because of
the rat. I passed out for approximately an hour before I was awakened by the
sound of rats scurrying around my house IN THE BROAD DAYLIGHT. It becomes
increasingly apparent to me throughout the day that they have set up some kind
of semi-permanent residence. I am somewhat less than amused. The majority of
the rest of the day included bouts of sleep interrupted by rats and crying in
total despair. I have an infestation. No joke. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Still during the
day time I witnessed 2 rats hanging around on my dresser as well as one running
down the hanging light switch approximately one foot from the head of my head.
It was awful. They have completely taken over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After
approximately 7 mental and emotional breakdowns I called Peace Corps to alert
them of my newest roommates. They instruct me to lay down poison. I tell them
that I’ve used poison in the past and it took several weeks and only slowed the
rat down so I could catch it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And that
was ONE rat) Oh no! There’s a fancy black powder rat poison that I apparently
need to put Viper and I in HASMAT suits before I can lay it down. It’s
incredibly potent and will kill them in 24 hours. This will be my Vietnam. I am
not great with dead things… or rodents…. I’m especially bad with dead rodents.
I do not feel qualified to accomplish this task. I also know that I will be
leaving for Peace Corps conferences in 2 days so by the time I find the poison,
lay it down, and wait 24 hours I will be on a bus somewhere and I will come
home to 50 little decomposed rat bodies that I have to peel off my floor. No
thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, until I can
get home and get this poison down, the rats remain. I thoroughly cleaned my
house and removed anything they’d want to get their grubby little paws on. I
also read somewhere that cayenne pepper repels rats so I put that everywhere.
As of when I left my house smelled like rat shit and cayenne pepper. Obviously,
I have already alerted Yankee Candle of this new discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In other news,
since I’ve been back it’s just a buffet of Peace Corps stuff. I have already
completed our close of service conference. As of November 28, 2012 I will be
a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and
will be landing on American soil December 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. Exciting! And stressful!
The conference was great and incredibly informative but I think at one point
information started to ooze right back out of my head. Good thing I took notes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At this very
moment I am sitting on a bus on my way to Nairobi for the close of service
medical exams. What does this include you may ask. It includes me giving Peace
Corps any and all bodily fluids I am willing and able to part with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you do not
want a total information overload, skip the next paragraph.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In addition to
bodily fluids, PC would love nothing more than to get some shit samples. I don’t
know how many people reading this have actually had to go through this process
but I will go ahead and explain it…. Do not expect it to be classy, folks. So
basically they give us this clear hard plastic tube with a screw on lid that
has a cutie patooty little dairy queen spoon attached to it. The general
strategy (if you do not have explosive liquid diarrhea at the time) is to wrap
approximately half a roll of toilet paper around your hand, shit it in and
scoop some out for the offering. At this particular medical check we are
required to produce 3 separate samples… in 2 days. If we are unable to produce
that much shit in that period of time we must bring the tubes back to site,
shit in them there and mail them back. Fishing for poop anyone? (shout out! You
know who you are)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many of you may
be thinking, when is this girl ever going to work again??? Eventually.
Obviously I won’t make it back to teaching this week with all the travel and
sample giving I’ll be doing. Additionally, teachers in Kenya are on strike…
again. School officially started last week so we are now on week 2 of the
strike with no indication as to when it will end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether teachers win or lose I still get paid
the same. I can say I’ll definitely be ready to see my kiddos by then. It’s
been way too long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s it for now;
if I’m diagnosed with any cool foreign/tropical disease in the next few days
expect an update, otherwise, probably not until I’m back in Sega with Viper fighting
the war on rats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for
reading! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also, sorry for the wonky formatting.</span></div>
Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-38174096189219474642012-09-02T02:23:00.000-07:002012-09-02T02:23:20.887-07:00The Journey Home: First class to drowned rat
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe you’re expecting a blog about all the wonderful things
I did (and ate) in America. Nope. This one's gonna cover my journey home to Kenya because you already
know what America is like, I don't need to tell you.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I left with my Mom (who is currently up for sainthood) for Dulles International at 4:50 a.m. on
Tuesday and we hit major unexpected traffic but still made it on time for my
flight and just in time to be standing in line in front of two people having
the most inane conversation of all time. I had just enough time to get through
ticketing and security and make it to my flight where I realized I DID NOT
apply enough deodorant that morning. Hmmmm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Turns out they sell deodorant in the airport. Overpriced
deodorant. Worth it. Problem: they don’t sell ladies deodorant, they sell men’s
deodorant so I went the remainder of my trip smelling like a 40 year old man
(no offense to all you 40 year old men out there, just I’m a 24 year old female
and prefer to smell like one).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Luckily my flight to Ethiopia had an empty seat between
myself and the man in the other end seat who had the unfortunate task of speaking with marbles in his mouth... I never saw them but they had to be there. YES! Sleep! Not enough, obviously,
but more than I got on the flight to the U.S.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Upon landing in Ethiopia I learned this airport, without a
doubt, has the dumbest most ridiculous absurd frustrating set-up for an airport
that ever existed on the whole planet. Everyone on my flight was lost. I saw
several people several times going several different directions, because I was
doing the same. It took me 25 minutes and 4 different airport personnel to figure
out how to get out of the arrivals and into the departures. Finally! Found it!
Found my gate, no problem. Okay, one problem. The set-up of this particular
wing: ALL the gates are on the left side of a very large hallway separated by an
incredibly tall glass wall. On the other side of the wall you ask? Bathrooms,
food, and shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need to be over
there. So I started my journey. This wall must end somewhere. NOPE. Had to walk
around until I found a break in the wall where I walked backwards through a security
check to get to the bathrooms. To get back to my gate on the other side of the
brick wall ( WHERE I HAD COME FROM ORIGINALLY) I had to go back through security which took approximately an hour.... you know after we let in a group of 8 or so businessmen in front of us claiming they were late for their flight but they sure did have enough time to hit up the duty free stores.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My landing in Nairobi was smoother than anticipated. I was
off the plane and through customs within five minutes and was anxiously
awaiting my luggage to try and make the 1:30 flight to Kisumu. As my bag came
around it was 1:00, I booked it to domestic departures and begged them for a
ticket. They only have business class tickets available. How much is it?
Ridiculously expensive, that’s how much. How about the 4:30 flight? Also only
business class. Okay, well if I’m paying that much for either flight I may as
well grab the 1:30. Ooops, no can do that flight is closed. So I hang in the
Nairobi airport until my fancy business class flight to Kisumu at 4:30.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fasten your seatbelts kids, I’m nowhere near done yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve arranged to stay with a volunteer in Kisumu since it
will be dark within an hour of my arrival. The Kisumu airport does not allow
entry to Tuk Tuks (which is my preferred mode of transportation) so I need to
walk about ¾ of a mile out to the main road to get one. There aren’t any when I
get there so I call one and begin patiently waiting for him to arrive. It’s
starts to drizzle. I’m slightly less patient. It’s pouring. I call the driver
again. On his way. It’s windy and pouring and cold. I call the driver again. On
his way. Once I am completely soaked from head to toe with not a dry spot on my
entire body my driver arrives (feeling not so business class anymore). The seat
of the tuk tuk is basically a giant puddle… but what do I care, I’m already
soaked. Anyway I safely arrived to my host volunteer’s house with my soaking
wet clothes and my hair stuck to the sides of my face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh yes, I wish there were pictures too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I slept somewhat intermittently and then caught a bus back
to Sega in the morning. However, not before getting a matatu into Kisumu town
where they threw my suitcase on top and just hoped it’d stay up there. I’m
anxious to be home and also afraid because on my outgoing flight from Kenya I
realized I forgot to take out my trash. I was expecting the worst, or so I
thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once I arrived and opened my garden gate I was welcomed by a
giant fallen tree blocking almost my entire entrance. Hmmmm. There was a very
happy to see me puppy though! I walked in and checked the trash first, good
sign there’s not maggots or flies or dead rats or anything. Whew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After getting the story about the fallen tree (it was
distracting. Distracting to who? We were afraid it would fall on a house) and
being handed my laundry line with the few clothes pins I left I headed back
home to really investigate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everything on my dresser was knocked over and there are rat
feces all over my house. They have set-up some kind of semi- permanent
residence. I threw on some gloves and cleaned until I felt like I was gonna
pass out, so I did. I was awakened by the priest yelling my name. There was a
man there to cut up some of the tree. He came, he chopped, he left, I slept. I
woke up to the sound of mice running around in my belongings. So it begins.
There’s one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom. I opt to go for the one in
the kitchen. It escaped. I decide to remove all my drawers from my dresser and
stack them in the middle of the room with my suit case on top. Rats have
lovingly pooped all over my clothes. The bottom drawer is stuck in the dresser
so I leave it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a while I decide to cook up some pasta and as I reach
for the bag I hear something, there, right where my pasta was is a mouse…
staring at me as if I can’t see him. I see you! I open the door, grab a bucket
and bang the shelf until the mouse jumps off at which point I scream and Viper
comes to my rescue and chases it into a drawer which was entertaining but not
at all successful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once I got my pasta cooking on the stove my electricity went
out. Welcome home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will be cleaning for the next 3 days most likely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, long story short? I’m back safe and sound and
overall happy to be here. For all the ridiculous things that happen to me here,
there’s a part of me that finds it hysterical that I can never anticipate
anything that’s going to happen. It’s definitely different from America but I
don’t think my trip could have been better scheduled. I feel like I can truly
appreciate my 100 some odd days left in this country but I also feel mentally
prepared to return and be like everyone else…. In enormous debt. Ha!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To everyone that I was able to see in America, it was so so
wonderful and I felt very welcomed and loved. To everyone that I was unable to
see in America, it’s a bummer, but you’ll be first priority when I get back.
Two weeks flew by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks for reading!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
(This one took me a few days to get posted because of internet issues, but expect another gut wrenching rat update in the very near future!)Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-66109640741167745482012-03-02T06:16:00.002-08:002012-03-02T06:16:54.554-08:00A spider in the shoe is worth 2 in the bush?Hello All! Happy Friday, and Happy March! Another month bites the dust. Not too much to share this week....<br />
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No pocket problem<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Several weeks ago a politician sent his troops into our Unit to measure all our students for new uniforms. All the kids were thrilled by this and the girls were constantly asking me if their dresses would have chest pockets. I told them, no probably not, but they had a pocket in the skirt so I wasn't sure what they were complaining about.</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The uniforms were finally delivered and the kids were ecstatic.... until they got home and did a full inspection. The next morning I arrived at school welcomed by an angry horde of girls who not only didn't get a breast pocket, they didn't have any pockets! The boys didn't get back pockets, it was a true disaster. Most of our kids are still wearing the old uniforms but one by one they are cracking under the pressure of that beautiful new clean fabric mocking them at home. </div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Today 2 more kids showed up in the new uniforms, one girl and one boy. The girl's dress flowed all the way down to her ankles and the sleeves came down to her elbows. The boy's uniform had shorts so long that it looked like they were sagging off of his rear.... quite gangster.... I hid my money.</div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">No respect for the peaceful</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Most days I write this blog to entertain people. It is in no way an outlet for me to vent, but things here aren't always rainbows and sunshine.</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Caning is an issue in Kenya that I don't think I've mentioned in this blog before. I've been trying to combat it for my entire service but to no avail. Even though caning is now against the law, I'd say the majority of schools still use it as a valid punishment. Because I work in a school that still implements caning I find it hard to earn respect from even our students, let alone the thousands of other kids I come in contact with in Sega town.</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I've been here for about a year and a half and every time I walk to the market I still get rude comments from kids, or I get laughed at, or they yell “Mzungu, how are you” in the most obnoxious high pitch that ever existed. Sometimes I come back with a smart retort just to entertain myself, most days I ignore and other days it makes me so angry that I can hardly stand it.</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">If you have no cane, you have no authority.</div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In relation to that....</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I decided to listen to music on my walk to and from town the other day to drown out the “how are you” remarks and as I was almost home, one of the kiddos that participated in the art exchange program changed my day and possibly my life. An American at heart I just can't seem to drop the habit of saying “what's up?” Especially if the kids just come to my desk and stand there, looking at me. I find “what''s up?” more polite than “What do you want?”</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">this habit rubbed off on this kiddo and as I passed a group of kids expecting to hear several disrespectful remarks I heard “What's up?!” The best part is, it wasn't said in a joking manner, he had no interest in making fun of me he was just sharing cultures. It's the little things.</div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tid Bits that don't belong</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-The other day as I was carrying home my groceries, a giant cow came over and sniffed them. She seemed interested but luckily did not try to eat them, if she had I probably would have just surrendered.</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-A few mornings ago I was getting ready for school and I shook out my shoes because I knew there'd be dirt in them.... yep, a spider fell out. Awfully glad I didn't put my foot in.</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-I got new sheets!</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Now that I have someone cleaning my clothes, I never know what to wear because my options aren't so limited by procrastination.</div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">School Progress</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As far as progress on the school we just picked up the money we need to pay for the physical planner. Hopefully we'll be able to withdraw the rest from our account and get it paid for early next week and start on a plan for building the toilets.</div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Oh the rain!</div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last year this time, we hadn't seen a drop of rain and wouldn't for at least another month. It was miserable and all any of us talked about. Rain came early this year and I am THRILLED! It's been raining everyday for almost 2 weeks now and it has started to really cool off, granted I'm not running around in pants and scarves but I'm not sweating my butt off from just sitting anymore. </div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have a new found love and respect for rain that I hope stays with me forever! It's beautiful, it clears everything out and makes it fresh and cool and crisp. Let it rain! Let it rain! Let it rain!</div><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That's all folks! Like I said, not a ton to report this week. </div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-73615250652227609442012-02-24T01:33:00.000-08:002012-02-24T01:33:11.707-08:00I am the chalk monster.<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello world! I hope everyone is doing well and ready to read two weeks worth of blog stories!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cindy vs. Rat</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You will all be happy to hear that I am FINALLY getting some sleep at night. That's right the rat is gone. Dead and gone to be more specific. I laid out poison several nights in a row before it started to actually take it's toll on the little rodent. In the early evening I was sitting on my bed when I heard something rustling around near a plastic bag. I decided not to investigate, until I heard it a second time. I walked over there to realize that it was our little rat friend slowly making his way around my house. I captured it under a cooking pot while I tried to find something to slide underneath of it to carry it outside. Thinking ahead, I also tied up Viper so she couldn't sink her teeth into our poisonous little friend and opened the garden gate door for easy access. I found a hunk of cardboard and decided to try and slide that under the pot, however I lifted the pot a little too far off the floor and the rat sprung back to life and ran around my house hiding in a tight corner between a chair and a water tank. After much consideration and ideas of plans I knew would not work, I decided to call in back up. At the promise of one million doughnuts I begged and pleaded at the Germans door for them to come help. This was not as much help as I had hoped. He ended up chasing that rat around my house for close to 30 minutes before he eventually captured it under a bucket and hit the same creative wall I had hit about an hour before. He went with quickly sliding the bucket from inside my house to out on my step where we again stopped to discuss our options for several minutes. At this point Viper is getting curious. We decided to slide the rat out of the bucket into another bucket but in the process the rat escaped!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Viper pounced.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Crunch.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I screamed (no doubt waking anyone who dare be asleep at 8:30) and hit Viper with a bucket until she released the rat from her death grip. I held her back as the German bravely scooped up the now dead rat and carried it out to the woods.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">What a night!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I slept like a baby.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Oh the Art Exchange</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The majority of last week was spent on this project. I heard about it through Peace Corps and decided, “Why not torture myself!?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To explain, this is a program where schools from around the world have 25 students create 25 pieces of artwork representing the culture and life of that country, send them to America and in exchange you receive 25 pieces of artwork from around the world. Great idea right?! Right! I thought so too. I figured this was my chance to bond with the hearing kids to a degree. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monday- 28 kids show up. Good, cushion</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tuesday- 13 kids show up, 4 of which were there on Monday to hear the instructions</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wednesday- 17 kids show up, some were there Monday, some were there Tuesday, some are brand new. I've handed out 60 pieces of paper (that I paid for) and have approximately 4 completed pictures, at which point I lecture the kids present that if they don't return the next day to finish their pictures I will hunt them down and make them finish.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thursday- Most of them returned and some were hunted down. I ended up with 27 completed pictures by the grace of God.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Needless to say this project was painfully time consuming, but I learned we have several very talented artists within our school.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Stir Crazy</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I've finally gotten to the point where being in my house makes me crazy. I haven't decided yet if this is caused by just being there or if it's caused by my house being the size of a large cardboard refrigerator box. Either way, I decided it would be a good idea to move some furniture around. Due to the interesting size and set-up of my house I have few options when I do something like this, so basically the only thing I accomplished was to move half the stuff on the front wall of my house to the back wall and half the stuff from the back wall to the front.... oh and making a HUGE mess. It took me a total of 8 days to get everything in it's place again.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Suds and Students</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As most of you know, I will do almost anything to find someone to wash my clothes for me. I hate doing it. Also, my clothes never actually get clean because I'm happy if they even come in contact with soap at all.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One of our students disappeared a few weeks ago. Rumors were that she was married and/or pregnant, which tends to always be the rumor if you're absent more than a week. The true story turned out to be that she was chased out of the home she was living in and was forced to move in with her step mother who found it a waste of time to send her to school when she could just have her working at home. When the guardian found out about this she pulled rank and moved the student back into her house and came to the Unit for our advice. The issue is that the guardian lives too far away for the student to walk and she can't afford to send her here and home on a matatu everyday. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The solution?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Someone doing my laundry!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Basically the breakdown is that I'm paying for her to come to school everyday on a matatu and she does my laundry. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We just started our deal yesterday and she was pretty mortified at how dirty my clothes were. Probably not because they were dirty from wear, but because they've essentially been collecting crud for a year and a half with a couple rinsings here and there.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Moral of the story? No matter how good you are at washing clothes, Kenyans are much much better. My clothes are twice as clean and she used half as much water.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Breakfast Burritos</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I am one of the luckier volunteers (depending on how you see it) because I don't really live in the village. Sega is a town, surrounded by villages, and even better, other towns. This means better food.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There is a town nearby, it's about 5 minutes by matatu where I can meet up with other volunteers out in that area (who actually live in villages) and have a pretty decent meal. The place we go is actually an extremely overpriced hotel in a town smaller than mine with a pretty delicious restaurant. In my constant search for food that maybe tastes a little bit American, we have discovered we can make breakfast burritos! Last weekend I perfected the order. It must be ordered this way....</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“You can make scrambled eggs and just put cheese on top yes?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“yes”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“okay, I will have that and also a side of bacon.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">some writing happens... short hand doesn't exist here</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I will also have a chapati, but not cut, just the chapati whole”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">BAM 2 hours of waiting later we have our some assembly required breakfast burrito! I will be meeting a volunteer there again this weekend and we will be trying for hash browns and salsa to get added to the burrito situation. We would also like it to be on the menu, named after us. I'll let you know how it goes. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Moral of the story: It's important to set goals for yourself.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Peace Corps Goggles</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Quite the opposite of BCG's for you military kids out there! Peace Corps Goggles is a reference to how our standards for who/what we would date deteriorate over time. Yes, it's an exact science. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">For the most part, the rule is you assign a number as to how many months (or weeks, depending on how far into service you are) it would take before you would find a particular person attractive.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have self restraint, but I have realized I have my own distinct form of Peace Corps Goggles and this time instead of referring to people they refer to fashion.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yesterday I walked by a skirt that by anyone else's standards would be considered truly heinous and out loud remarked “oh, now that's cute.” I did a double take. It was a navy blue skirt that looks like something my kindergarten teacher probably wore in 1992. Heck! Maybe it is the navy blue button down free flowing skirt my kindergarten teacher wore in 1992.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm still trying to decide if it's one of those “everything comes back into fashion eventually” things or if I have just been here so long that I truly have lost touch with what normal people wear in society.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">December 2012: Possible fashion disaster coming your way, America! Look out!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cindy vs. Goose</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I get along with animals much better than this blog lets on. The animals here are just pure evil, except the lovely Viper, of course.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I haven't updated about the goose lately. We still don't get along and now they've had a baby which is now grown to full size and has the same full size hatred for me as his dad. Now instead of one goose chasing me extending it's neck and hissing like a pissed off cat, I have two. The female goose has no interest in me, it's kind of nice.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Maybe someday I will write a truly terrifying children's story about this goose.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dream Weaver</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">For weeks on end I can go without remembering a single dream and then BAM! I have a few days where I dream very vividly and remember almost every detail when I wake up, and then of course immediately report it to whoever I think would enjoy it's bizarre nature the most.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Animal mania</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The other night I dreamt my Mom was helping me clean my house (which at the time desperately needed it, obviously my subconscious knew that) and she was re-affixing my fabrics to the ceiling when she ran across one that had come unattached on one whole side and said “ew, there's scorpions in there”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was not phased by this one bit, which is odd because I've never seen a scorpion in real life and if someone reported there being several in my house, I’m pretty certain I would react.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After a bit more cleaning I decided to check the situation. It ended up being 2 cats and 2 dogs. Yes, I know dreams are weird. I rescued them from the fabric hanging down from the ceiling and then sat in on the couples' therapy session of the two dogs. They discussed their fear of being sent to two different owners because they didn't think their relationship would withstand the long distance aspect.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I later found myself on a couch asking,” Does anyone want any cats or dogs? I have two of each but if you take one dog, you have to take them both, because they're dating.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Baby mania</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The night before last I had a dream I had a baby. Not just showed up walking around town with a baby, I had a dream about the actual birthing process. It was awful. The baby was a boy and his name started with a J, I can't remember the name but I remember not particularly liking it so I'm not sure how the kid got named that. I also refused to use any kind of carrier or stroller, I just threw that thing on my back with a hunk of fabric Kenyan mama style and I was on my way.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It was a confusing time for me, and I'm pretty sure I brought him to a bar.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To teach is to change a life forever</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is true, though I think it means your own. Just like when you send a soldier off to war he/she will never be the same when they come back. Once you teach, you will never be the same. I will always think differently. I will always wonder what crazy project I can make out of bottle caps or empty water bottles.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I don't think I understood the importance of teachers until I started teaching. I never realized how much effort and creativity was put into teaching me when it was happening. It takes a special and slightly insane person to be a teacher, and a mostly insane person to be a good teacher. I don't know where I fall on the teacher scale, but I do know that if someone can correctly answer a multiplication problem I would probably give them a sack full of golden bricks.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I also always thought (always being, a year) that teaching students that are Deaf was far more difficult than teaching hearing students, WITHIN PEACE CORPS WORLD. At least with hearing students if they aren't looking at you, some of the information is bound to ooze into their little brains. Also, there are no language barriers and their vocabulary isn't so limited. I pretty much thought teaching hearing kids was a total breeze. NOPE. They listen worse than my students, they understand me less than my students and the information does not just ooze in. I learned this during my art exchange.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So, although teaching my students takes a special kind of nuts and requires a lot of drawing and running around looking stupid, it turns out, I'm much better at teaching this way. Hearing kids don't think it's funny when I dance for no reason. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To all the teachers out there, regardless of what hearing status, mental status, behavioural status, age, size, gender, or colour of your students, a big thank you for being crazy enough to educate our world!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I do believe this concludes today's blog, as always thanks for reading!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-70963832651293188922012-02-10T11:25:00.000-08:002012-02-10T11:25:35.801-08:00Thanks for the scissors, Peace Corps<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello all! Hope everyone had a wonderful, productive, rat free week! Here's what I've got for the week, enjoy:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The miracle of water</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I realize most people probably don't know my water situation. Neither do I. As most know I was pumping and carrying water. Just before the last set of Germans left, we got running water.... sort of. It's been an on and off thing ever since it was set-up. Note, I am not complaining, just stating the facts. Now if all the stars align, I get water, in my house! Now, if you saw my house video you know I have a bathroom style sink in my house. My current method is to leave a pot in the sink and always leave the water on when I'm home just in case it decides to come on. When it does come on, I cancel everything I had planned for that day until I collect all the water I can get. Recently I've been getting it about 2 times a week and it's usually 2 days in a row. Its strange and I don't understand the system, but I am thrilled to say that it's the dry season and I haven't had to pump and carry water yet!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thanks for the scissors, Peace Corps</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So, upon arrival in Kenya we were provided with a small briefcase full of all the medications and various medical sundries we would need for the next two years. Included in this pack was a pair of medical scissors. Those scissors are a daily staple in my life. They've saved me, helped in arts and crafts projects, cut open packages and performed a few basic open heart surgeries. Okay, I was kidding about the last one, in 16 months, I've actually never used these scissors for their intended use.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monday they were given new purpose.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">For the last few weeks I have been really struggling with my hair situation. It's been growing now without a hair cut for over 2 years and no matter how many gallons of conditioner I put in it it is ALWAYS ALWAYS tangled now. For fear of going bald by brushing out all of my hair I decided something needed to be done. I MUST TAKE ACTION!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">For anyone that's ever been in a car with me and said “Do you know where you're going?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and my response was “ Well I've been there like 6 times, but I've never DRIVEN there, someone else was driving and I didn't pay attention.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">You will appreciate this story.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have now learned that not only do I not pay attention when people are driving me places I also don't pay attention when people are cutting my hair.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">With my freshly brushed wet hair I reached for the red handled dull medical scissors and boldly went where I've never gone before. Snip.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's cut. … well, trimmed. I am not sure if I cut it straight but I know I'm eternally grateful for having curly hair. For those of you who are worried, I only cut about an inch and a half off the bottom</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dear future hairdresser,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sorry.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Love,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cindy</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Things rats like to eat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes, my little roommate has become a permanent fixture.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-trash</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-cotton swabs</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-rat poison which turned out to be rat candy, as the little turd ate the whole bag and is still instigating late night all out till the death human vs. rodent wars. (I need a vacation)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-tampons</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-wooden drawers</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-hunks of cardboard</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-bags, paper and plastic</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-bread</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-ommena (small fish that I feed the dog)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-bean sprouts</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Absence really does make the heart grow fonder</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Since I've moved to teaching the Class 2 and Class 3 group I've also moved my desk into the other classroom. The students in class 1 who I struggled with to pay attention to me during any lesson now swarm to me any time I walk into the room. Every time one of them hugs me or wraps their arm around their shoulders I ask myself, “when did these kids start liking me so much.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Though, I have to admit, it's kind of nice to get hugs just for walking into a room.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Juma's school of driving</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The other day on my way into town I walked across a fairly entertaining scene, that included one of the nursery school teachers learning how to drive a piki and Juma standing to the side grinning from ear to ear as he saw me approach. We exchanged pleasantries and he began explaining the this was a piki lesson. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“This is driving school, I'm the headmaster”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Really?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yes, I have 5 clients so far.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“You should advertise, put up a big sign that says 'Juma's school of driving'”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I'll just paint it on my forehead!”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yep, so that happened. About 35 seconds later I was walking the dirt road to the market where I saw a piki nearly take out a cyclist which stopped all the people on the street, naturally. I ran to the man and yelled “Juma's school of driving, down the road take a left!!”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">OK, I made up that last part but I would have yelled that if he had even slowed down after his almost collision.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tid Bits- the little ones that don't belong</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I've decided to let Viper in the house. Before, I had a very strict “you stay outside” rule, mostly because she drags in so much mud... she apparently also drags in fleas, I'm rethinking the decision.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After being in Sega for over a year, people are finally getting used to the thought of me being here. I don't get strange looks when I take the dog running on a leash, and people in the market are nicer to me.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I suppose I should include something about this stupid rat. Here it is: I'm sleep deprived, most of my crap in internally displaced in my house which I think confuses the rat, but really just confuses me. It's become a very stressful situation. Hopefully this weekend I can buy better rat poison. There is a recipe for it in my cookbook but it calls for cement, which as you can guess I don't just carry around in my back pocket.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">OK folks, after racking my brain, I think that's all I've got for ya this week!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Come again! AND Happy Valentine's Day!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-2743523436158673742012-02-03T11:43:00.000-08:002012-02-03T11:43:08.416-08:00Some Days Are Just Legendary<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Happy February to all! Another month of my service has passed and already the weeks are flying by! I thought I might be a little short on content this week but actually I got a phone call about twenty minutes ago that will change the lives of several people.... and therefore will change the content of this blog (just killed a mosquito with my bare hands). However, since it happened at the end of the week, you have to wait until the end of the blog to get there! (I know some of you will scroll down, nothing I can do about that but fair warning, curiosity killed the cat)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Mouse vs Cindy and Viper round 2 round 3 round 4 and round 5</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As you all know, I love mice... oops sorry I guess I just channeled an insane person that doesn't mind the sound of rodents gnawing through things in the middle of the night and shit laced floors. After Megan left last weekend I did a fairly thorough sweep of my house to make sure there was nothing desirable to a rodent. This did not work.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monday night I heard it. I slipped out of bed and found it hiding in its usual spot under the stove. I flipped on the light and decided I'd have a much better shot of capture or murder if I got Viper Sweet Face Chicken Killer on the case. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I opened the door and stood at the ready as I poked at it to come out from under the stove. Viper saw it, I saw it. We both went in different directions.... not as smart as I thought she was, that dog. Anyway I followed it over behind my “kitchen” shelves as Viper investigated under the stove. I found it, hiding out in a caddy that I stock pile extra food in, but just for a second my attention is diverted! Viper has knocked over my water container and I have to leap to pick it up and rescue whatever water I can from the spill. The mouse uses this as its escape! Rats!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Viper sees it and starts chasing it around the walls of my house, shoving her nose and paws into the smallest corners of my home as her butt stands high in the air with me waiting patiently behind her not sure what I'm rooting for because if she kills this thing and gets mouse blood all over my house I'm not sure I can handle it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The mouse got away never to be seen again that night.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Every night this week I was awake in the middle of then night chasing this mouse around or at least trying to get it to stop making noise.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last night somewhere around 3 am I heard it and it sounded amplified, why? You ask. Because it was in, on, or around my dresser. I decided to let Viper just sleep in my house which I normally don't do because my house is so small that its not fair to either of us, but these were dire circumstances. My logic was either she would kill it, or she would scare it enough to shut it up. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The problem with having a dog in your house is it sounds like having a GIANT dog size rat in your house. All night anytime she scratched herself or walked around clicking her little nails on my concrete floor or snored, it woke me up. I woke up again at 5:30 to the sound of her most definitely eating something. My first thought was, maybe she got into the dog biscuits. Second thought: What if she's eating the mouse. Third thought- If I turn this light on and there is mouse blood all over the place I will be beside myself and will either need to move or light myself on fire. Fourth thought- it sounds like she's crunching something. Fifth thought- Just suck it up and turn on the light, assess the situation and take it from there.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The light comes on. She's found a mango that I dropped on the floor earlier that night.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Today I ran on about 2 hours of sleep, I'm pretty sure to onlookers it was as if someone let a lunatic out of the insane asylum and told them to go teach some kids, hey have fun!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Mail call</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I got very lucky this week with a huge shipment! Monday I received lots of goodies from my mom and a few friends from home. Needless to say, I had a stomach ache the first half of the week because giving me American food is like giving a 2 year old 60 cupcakes and just leaving the room. I'm an embarrassment.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I also got another one today! People are awesome.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Creative Art</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is a legit subject in our timetable now and the responsibility has pretty much fallen on me to come up with activities. I'm a fairly creative person, but not in the right ways for an art class so I spend a lot of time looking up arts and crafts on the internet trying to use the few materials we have. A lot of days I have them just draw things, but this week we've branched out! </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Friday last week we colored some sand that we stole from the school (shhh!) and then on Monday we did sand art pictures! It was an overwhelming success and I've already hung them up in the classroom which makes the kids really proud of themselves.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I also stumbled on another do-able project this week which has made me kind of a maniac but I think the outcome will be exciting. I had all the kids trace their hands and cut them out and color them. Then we shaped them into lilies and attached them to straws. We just finished the project today and we have about 40 lily hands which I'm hoping to form into 3 bouquets for each of us teachers to keep on our desks. What will be in the vase with the flowers you ask? Good question! Leftover colored sand!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm pretty sure I enjoy this class more than all of the kids put together.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tid bits- stories that are too short to have their on title but worth mentioning.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-I went to buy spaghetti noodles at the store this week. I bought two packs and as I was interacting with the cashier I looked over and realized the bag boy was frantically shoving loose spaghetti back into the open package. I asked if I could just have a new one. They gave me a new one, but I was slightly alarmed that I had to ask. Whatever, it was funny.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-One of my students stopped my class this week to let me know my hair was messed up and they would like me to stop and fix it. Cool. Fashion consultants.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Dust and dust storms suck. Rain is awesome and I miss it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-Things that apparently only last a year- mop, broom, waterguard (crap that tastes like pool water used for filtering water), and propane</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">-This week for the first time ever I used the same piece of chalk without breaking it! What a triumph!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The story of all stories</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Several months ago I met a man who is originally from Kenya but is now living in the U.S. He was visiting our unit with his mother who lives in Nairobi. They mentioned how impressed they were that people had donated enough money to buy land for the school and said he wanted to help.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I haven't communicated with him a terrible amount recently mostly because we just came off of break blah blah blah.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">ANYWAY! Tonight he called me and told me we will start building next week, to which I said, “we can't build anything until we pay for the physical planner and we don't have enough money for that.” He responded with</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“We're paying for that, we're paying for all of it. We want you to have 3 classrooms and an office built by the end of March and we'd like to have the school built before you leave in December.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">PAUSE FOR GENERAL SHOCK AND WATERY EYES</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After checking to make sure I heard him correctly about 6 times he confirmed that he, with the help of his friends and co-workers would really like to see this school built.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">AMAZING</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I was also able to talk to his boss who said he and his wife were willing to contribute whatever they could and they were happy to see some good happening in the world.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's been about 2 hours since I hung up the phone with him now and I am still completely overwhelmed and in general awe.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There is a very good chance that we will be participating in sports at the end of the term under the title Sega School for the Deaf instead of Unit.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To everyone who has been involved in this project in anyway I am truly grateful and just thrilled that progress has been and is being made. Change is happening.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I hope we can have a class pet now. I hope it can be a giraffe.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thanks for reading!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-16049970868871299332012-01-27T11:00:00.000-08:002012-01-27T11:00:32.189-08:00Life in the dry season.<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello all! Happy Friday and congratulations to you and me for making it through another week! Unfortunately, this week wasn't terribly exciting until Megan's arrival on Thursday this week so that's where I'll start.....</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Shopping on the face of the sun....</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One of the towns nearby has a pretty sweet clothing market (or so I had heard from fellow volunteers, one of which met us there) on Thursdays so as soon as Megan arrived and I finished teaching we headed out. Unfortunately, because of the dry season it was as close to actually walking on the sun as I will ever get and less people were willing to set up camp and sell us ugly clothes so the pickins were slim but we were all lucky enough to at least purchase one item of clothing. I got two skirts, one of which looks like it was made from 60's couch cushion material... we'll see how that goes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The BUS!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As most of you know by now there is a bus that runs down the main road that I live on and it is by far my preferred method of transportation and for the most part I plan my life around the bus schedule. On our way back to Sega once reaching the main road we realized all the matatus headed that direction were empty which generally means you can sit anywhere between 15 minutes and 2 hours waiting for it to fill up with people. This time however, we got extremely lucky and I happened to see the bus in town and my reaction was “ACACIA BUS” and bolted through town to get to it hoping Megan would follow behind, luckily she did. We discussed how absolutely lucky we were the entire ride to Sega and decided it was as close to teleportation as we could possibly get in Kenya. Success.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Flash, sizzle</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My house has one electrical socket. ONE. Luckily we have available for purchase surge protectors that allow me to plug in several things at once! It's like the 20<sup>th</sup> century! </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Recently I bought this pitcher type situation that heats water and I figure it'll save me a little bit of gas if I start using it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As I'm preparing to take a bath, I turn on the water pitcher and suddenly hear a sizzling noise.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Did your extension cord just fry?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes... yes it did. None of the outlets work on it anymore. I decide to just use the luke warm water and bathe in it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When I come out and start trying to prepare the water for Megan we decide to go directly to the source and plug the heater into the electrical socket itself.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Megan says to me “I can't get the plug out and I don't want to break your socket.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I try.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I try again.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Man it's really in there. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A hammer is now involved. I pry the plug out of the socket. This takes several attempts. SUCCESS!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wrong.... one of the prongs of the plug busted free of the plug and is now stuck in the socket. It will not come out. Cool.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">(Note: The situation has officially been remedied, I got a new surge protector and hired someone to replace the entire electrical socket. Mission accomplished)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Just a Frog</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I lied about starting on Thursday but this story is important to the next story. Since I've been recovering from this absurdly long lasting cold I've been taking a lot of naps during the day.... which then means I don't sleep that well at night. I heard something crash in my kitchen in the middle of the night and I was sure it was a mouse. Sure of it. I waited to listen and see where it went and I heard it shuffling around near a plastic bag near my bed. Stealth style, I grabbed my flashlight and waited for another sound so I could turn it on. NOTE: If I did spot this mouse with my flashlight my plan was basically to tuck my mosquito net in tight and probably cry... I don't know what I thought I was going to accomplish. So... I heard the crumple of the bag and beam my light in the direction of the noise and realize it's just a frog which is a great relief to me and I eventually can get back to sleep.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The great mouse hunt of 2012</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thursday night Megan and I made tacos, we ended up with extra tortillas and cheese which I responsibly packed in ziploc bags to keep fresh and keep the rodents away.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At 4 a.m. I hear it! I know this sound. It is definitely the nibbling of a rodent through a ziploc bag. Again I lay in bed silently (next to a sleeping Megan) waiting to make sure I know where the sound is coming from. I know but by the time I get my flashlight on the it's gone. I lay down silently... waiting. I hear it again. Ninja style I slide out of my net and carefully pull back the curtain currently separating my “bedroom” from my “kitchen/living room/dining room” and BAM turn the light on. I hear it run. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I am a woman OBSESSED.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I proceed to shine my light in ever nook and cranny in and around the area. I find it. It's hiding out under the stove which is impossible for me to get to.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Viper makes a noise outside and it makes me scream.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This wakes Megan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Megan makes a noise.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This also makes me scream.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Apparently i'm jumpy at 4 a.m.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I explain to Megan I have staked out the mouse and am not sure what to do about it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We turn the lights on and start devising a plan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One of us will poke it from behind, it will run out from the stove and the other will trap it under a sufuria (cooking pot with no handles). BRILLIANT!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">(I hope you're picturing this vividly, we're in pajamas)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Megan grabs a knife (don't worry, it's the least sharp knife on the planet, I struggle to cut tomatoes)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I am standing by in my ready stance sufuria in hand sick with POWER!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Megan pokes</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The mouse instead of running out from the front of the stove runs out from the side flies over the chair and disappears.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We have failed. We both screamed and I am now running in place proclaiming how much I hate mice.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After serious investigation of the house we never found it again and we didn't hear it in the kitchen again.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Rodents:1 Humans:0</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Womp womp. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Price is Right Kenya</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sometimes my brain works in mysterious ways. This is my pitch for a new reality tv show in Kenya. Just picture it! The price is right, the way it is, only with a less ridiculous host..... you guess the price of things and if you guess over, sorry there's nothing we can do for you. However, If you guess under the price we send you into the market place and you have to try and bargain for it at that price, if you are successful you get half the points for half the money or half the furniture (I obviously haven't seen this show in a while and will need to talk it over with the producers)! Congratulations!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I think it would be thrilling to watch any human haggle for the price of something to win something on a reality tv show. Think about it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alright, that's all I've got for you this week folks! As always, thanks for reading!!!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-51128277624103804462012-01-20T13:36:00.001-08:002012-01-20T13:36:32.685-08:00Keep on floor after opening<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As many of you (let's face it, all of you) know there are certain stipulations for storing certain perishable items after opening: “refrigerate after opening” “store in a cool dry place” … things like this. When in America I considered these warnings very serious, as serious as ripping off a mattress tag dare I say. My new stipulation is open it and see what happens. Since moving here I've lived in a place without refrigeration or cool dry places and most things don't need them thanks to the invention of Kenyan products such as: Blue Band, no refrigeration needed “butter”, Miksi, powder milk, eggs straight from chickens, and ketchup, okay, that's American but it doesn't need to be refrigerated. Personal discoveries include: Spaghetti CAN last two days but you definitely have to boil the sauce and keeping drinks on the floor makes them slightly cooler than room temperature. This week I’ve been experimenting with how long I can get cheese to last if I store it on the floor.... so far so good, no mold and it's been about 5 days.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sick of being sick</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last week I did not report but I was sick. Real sick. Luckily it was short lived and I was able to shake it off and go back to school the following day. Last weekend on Sunday I woke up with the tell tale symptoms of on-coming illness: sore throat and just overall crapiness. By the end of the day Sunday I was achy and feverish and there was snot EVERYWHERE. Having a cold in Kenya is one of the more bizarre things I deal with almost every time the weather changes here. I took two sick days this week, but 3 sick days in one week for two different illnesses seems extreme to me and I’m not thrilled about it. This time though, I’m certain can be blamed on the weather, which has gotten almost unbearable as far as heat is concerned. I walked through a dust storm today just to get bread.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Viper vs. Chicken</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So it's Tuesday. I'm on my second sick day in a row just laying in bed trying to rest off my cold by watching a movie. I hear something going on outside, it's a real ruckus and it sounds like there's a turkey involved. My body seizes up and listens for more sounds to piece together whats going on knowing full well that if my dog has gotten at one of the Priest's prize ugly turkeys he's gonna be pissed. Deciding I need to find out what's going on I throw on my robe and run outside to see the following: German holing Viper by the collar. Viper's mouth covered in feathers. Chicken flailing in the corner of the dog pen. Me standing helpless in my robe with my hands cupped over my mouth.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The remedy the German and I decide is for me to take Viper and tie her to the pole while he goes and informs Juma of the recent happenings. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">While waiting for Juma to return Viper is running around like a maniac trying to claim what is rightfully hers (so she thinks).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When Juma arrives he walks into the dog pen and stands looking at the chicken. I can't paint a picture for you as to what he sees because I do not deal well with seeing animals that are in pain, dead or dying, not my idea of a good time. Juma leaves the pen and mumbles something along the lines of “I'm not dealing with this, let her have it” I assume anyway... I didn't really hear him, but based on body language and general nonsense of the situation that's the jist.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Juma walked away and I turned to confirm with the German that I understood before I let Viper loose to claim her prize. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I returned to my house quickly, shut the door and turned the volume up on my movie so as not to hear anything that would provide me of any mental image as to what was happening out there.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Later, I decided if I just peeked into her pen I'd be able to stomach it. I didn't go in and thoroughly investigate but all I saw were feathers.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chicken was what was for dinner.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Viper vs. Random kiddo</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The day following the great chicken massacre of 2012 I ran into the priest as he was talking to a Mother and son. He called me over to inspect a child that had apparently been bitten by Viper the week prior. I knew nothing of this.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I asked how it happened because I'm the only one that takes her out of the garden and had she bitten someone on my watch I’m pretty sure I would have known about it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Turns out, in the process of teasing Viper this child ever so intelligently stuck his foot underneath the garden gate door and Viper bit him.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I will say as a side note that yesterday after work I caught a kid throwing boulder size rocks at her through the decorative brick of our garden.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Make your own judgments.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Small town life</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I ran into town today to pick up a few things at the market.... normally an enjoyable experience because everyone there knows my name. Today it was better. I was checking out at our fancy new register that then required the hiring of fancy new staff to run the register and the cashier realized they didn't have a one shilling coin and after speaking to the manager who also did not have a one shilling coin they asked me to settle for a piece of candy instead of a one shilling coin. YES. It's much easier to get rid of a piece of candy than a one shilling coin... trust me.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Other than that, I’m at the tail end of my sickness, thankfully. Next weekend a fellow volunteer will be coming to visit and I’m desperately hoping that I can break my latest habits and finally get some things done this weekend. I haven't done laundry in weeks and considered just folding my dirty laundry and putting it in my drawers and play pretend. Don't worry, I didn't.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Happy Friday! Thanks for reading!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-37560019560200695062012-01-12T12:13:00.000-08:002012-01-12T12:56:01.605-08:00Ok, I lied.Ok, my apologies for not actually posting every Friday, however in my defense I wasn't around a computer most Fridays. But now I have plenty of time to update you and then try again for the every Friday thing since I'll be around Sega for a while now.<br />
I did try to attach pictures but they were taking FOREVER, so those of you that are my facebook friends you can check them out there or bug my mom to show them to you!<br />
<br />
Model School<br />
So I traveled out to Machakos again to help out with training. One of the most stressful weeks of training is model school where a few poor unsuspecting kids at the Deaf school are forced to stay at school an extra week and let a bunch of brand new volunteers teach them. There were four volunteers "supervising" this week while the trainees taught. All in all it turned out to be a pretty good week, all the trainees did really well and all of them ended up swearing in!<br />
The most exciting part of the week was definitely getting to stay in the dorms in bunk beds trying to fashion round mosquito nets into something that would fit on square bunks. Oh it was a hoot! I'd like to include for anyone interested instructions for using the bathrooms in the dorms at Machakos School for the Deaf:<br />
Step 1: Hold up your skirt or it will get wet<br />
Step 2: Step carefully into the puddle also known as the bathroom floor.<br />
Step 3: Turn around and go back to the dorm because you forgot to bring toilet paper<br />
Step 4: repeat Steps 1 and 2<br />
Step 5: Choose a stall that doesn't have shit all over the floor<br />
Step 6: Hold the door closed with one hand and simultaneously pull down your underwear and pull up your skirt without getting it wet.<br />
Step 7: Hold the door closed and squat over the hole in the ground, don't let ANYTHING touch the puddle on the floor.<br />
Step 8: Try to hold your skirt off the ground while squatting and get the toilet paper out of the hand that's holding the door shut (because you forgot to put the toilet paper in the correct hand to start with, oops) without letting the door open.<br />
Step 9: Enjoy the cold breeze blowing in under the door.<br />
Step 10: Cleverly stand and pull up your underwear and still hold your skirt up at the same time.<br />
Step 11: While holding skirt up to avoid the floor/puddle cautiously step out of the bathroom<br />
Step 12: You did it! Run a victory lap!<br />
<br />
Medical<br />
Straight after training we hired out our very own matatu and headed in to Nairobi for our mid-service (YEA THATS RIGHT MID SERVICE!) medical checks.<br />
You know when you go to a fancy wedding and you check into a hotel and the reception desk gives you a welome bag from the loving couple?<br />
It was just like that but instead of a goody/welcome bag it was a bag for us to shit in. Isn't that nice?<br />
Through the night we considered several options for getting out of giving samples including but not limited to melting/smashing chocolate bars in the containers, and swapping samples.<br />
I'll spare you the tutorial on this, but my sample was a success. Actually our medical team was thrilled to see us with our little brown lunch bags full of our crap in the morning.<br />
Anyway I got as clean a bill of health as possible for being me. Mostly it was a lot of sitting around talking about our crap samples and talking about what we would eat the rest of our time in Nairobi.<br />
<br />
Ryan time!<br />
Most of you know by now, one of my closest friends here in Kenya is Ryan who lives way up in Marsabit which is practically Ethiopia as far as I'm concerned. She got to come back to site with me and visit for a week! It was great to have her around, and since there's not a ton of exciting things to do here we taught Viper some new tricks and had several movie marathons including a Harry Potter marathon which quickly turned into watching the first 1.5 movies and then skipping to the last two. We also had a one arm movie marathon... this only included 2 movies, but hey, we did it and I thought it was worth mentioning.<br />
At the end of our week together we traveled to Kisumu and ate delicious Indian food and then parted ways so I could go meet my MOM!<br />
<br />
The arrival<br />
So the plan was for my mom and I to meet in Nairobi and fly directly to Mombasa. Now the last time I tried this my visitors' flight landed like 3 hours late and I almost lost my mind. This time I ended up landing in Nairobi about 15 minutes before my mom, so I hurried to get my luggage and headed over to international arrivals to be crowded by a bunch of Brits who apparently have no respect for personal space. Of course, thanks to customs the arrivals just trickled out of the doors about 2 every 5 minutes, but eventually Mom came out and after elbowing some Brits out of my way we were finally reunited after 15 months. It was wonderful and we had plenty of time to catch our next flight to the coast.<br />
<br />
Coast<br />
Hot. Wow, so very very hot.<br />
We stayed again at Sarah's house in Kilifi and did a shopping day in Malindi where we almost melted. We did dinner on the Indian Ocean and just caught up on life.<br />
The following day we snorkeled in Kilifi which ended up being really great! We were the only people on the boat and the boat staff were great.<br />
With great enthusiasm we left the coast with lots of souveniers and heat rash and got a night train to Nairobi.<br />
<br />
Hell's Gate<br />
Luckiily we had smooth travel (with the exception of all the luggage we were carrying at this point) from Nairobi to Naivasha where we planned to meet with Ryan, whose travel unfortunately was not as smooth as ours so we headed on to our campsite out near Hell''s Gate.<br />
Upon arrival we found after lugging all our crap down this mountain that we had to go to upper camp which you guess it is UP. Luckily we were so pathetic looking at this point that one of the staff members carried two of our big bags for us to our cabin. God bless him, it was a real hike getting up that thing, but the view of Lake Naivasha was just wonderful.<br />
Don't worry, Ryan didn't die, she arrived shortly after us, equally as exhausted.<br />
Late to bed and early to rise we did way too much work and biked to the gorge at Hell's Gate which was beautiful. We hired a tour guide to get us through the gorge who did a great job considering our lack of skill at climbing anything. He had this fantastic walking stick and he kept throwing it in terrifying places and once the stick was thrown you had no choice you were climbing up it or down it. More than once this man actually grabbed my feet and shoved them into whatever divot in the rock they were supposed to be in but I just couldn't find. <br />
After catching our breath we biked the 5 km out of the park where we quite luckily spotted giraffes gazelle and some very territorial zebras.<br />
All in all one of my favorite things I've done in Kenya so far and I was thrilled that Mom was able to see it with us!<br />
<br />
Masaii Mara<br />
I almost don't want to write about this one. Sometimes I come across people that make me rethink almost all of my choices regarding Peace Corps.<br />
We were paired with two Kenyan families both with young children all around the same age who made it their life's work to annoy me to the ends of the earth. My favorite part was when one of the kids kicked my shoe out the door for it to become lion food. Luckily they were cheap and already falling apart, but still it was my shoe!<br />
Beyond that the safari was good, we saw all of the big 5 which was extremely lucky and our driver was just fabulous and just as annoyed at our being paired up with these families that refused to speak to us as we were.<br />
Towards the end of the trip we were able to hook up with some older kids from Nairobi at dinner and taught them to play spoons which was really entertaining, even to the people just watching.<br />
Our last morning was peaceful as it was an early morning safari and optional so it was just mom and I with the father of one of the families.... until we got stuck. VERY STUCK. We spun tires for a while and a few safari vehicle came and took pictures of us because apparently we fit right in with the wildlife? I'm not sure.<br />
Anyway, we got to beebop in a few different vehicles until ours got unstuck so we met some french people and then hopped on a giant party bus with people from all over that was pretty cool and a nice break from our other safari company. <br />
<br />
Kisumu<br />
More traveling! My Mom has become an honorary volunteer at this point. We dealt with several terrible and very long matatu rides and I think I complained more than she did, probably because she grew up with six siblings at the beach in a station wagon lots of sand and bathing suits... you get the jist (especially if you're one of the 6, Hi Heberts!).<br />
After arriving in Kisumu we hit up Laughing Buddha and we had the famous sizzling brownie which in America is probably nothing special but here its like Christmas on a freakin plate, yo!<br />
The following morning Ryan met up with us again and we did the Impala park which was FABULOUS! I've never been before but it turned out to be like a really low security zoo. After bribing some of the staff (story to follow) we got to pet a cheetah!<br />
Now by bribing I mean here's the conversation<br />
Zoo man: Hello<br />
Me: Hello, I want to pet a baby cheetah<br />
Zoo man: Well thats the baby, it's pretty grown now<br />
Ryan: Can we still pet it?<br />
Zoo man: Let me confirm<br />
(Zoo man leaves, all 3 white people have a fit over the possibility of petting a cheetah)<br />
(Zoo man returns)<br />
Zoo man: Yes its ok, you can just come<br />
(Arrive at gate to the cage)<br />
Zoo man: Normally we accept a donation. Its not required but it's 500 ksh<br />
Me: If that's the price then it sounds like it is required<br />
Zoo man: Well we are volunters and we appreciate tips<br />
Me: We are volunteers and my kids dont show up and give me 500 ksh to teach them every morning<br />
(Discussion amongst white people as to how much we'll pay to do this)<br />
Me: We'll pay 200 each<br />
Zoo man: Let me confirm<br />
(Zoo man leaves and returns and leads us through the gate)<br />
We then walk into the gate through the cheetah display and just go pet a cheetah! They were pretty much just like giant house cats except you know, they could have eaten us.<br />
<br />
We continued our journey and found some very unsecure monkey cages so we held hands with them and one of them tried to steal Ryan's sunglasses which was pretty entertaining.<br />
<br />
As we hit the heat of the day we decided to do lunch and then head back out for hippo watching in the afternoon. Luckily the boat people remembered me from the last time i went and they cut us a real break on the price and they were excellent sports about dealing with our sarcasm (by ours i mean mine). I was almost successful in convincing them that Queen Victoria's actual first name was Lake and that's why they called it Lake Victoria.<br />
<br />
Uganda!<br />
What an excellent end to the trip! Ryan, Mom and I headed out to the border to do some white water rafting with a bunch of volunteers I've never met before. True to Peace Corps form, most of them were nuts so naturally we all got along great.<br />
The night of our arrival they required we sign up for bunjee jumping if it was something we were interested in, so apprehensively I signed up and figured I probably had time to get out of it. NOPE! We were up bright and early ready to jump just moments before hopping on the bus and hitting the rapids. Nuts.<br />
I'd never bunjeed before and now that I'm practically a pro I can assure you the most horrifying part is when they write your weight on your hand with a marker. <br />
Of the 17 of us only 4 of us jumped 3 girls and 1 boy. I went 3rd and ended up being the only one that made any noise during my actual jump. In the moments leading up to the jump I was eerily calm as I watched everyone else lose their cool. It was bizarre.<br />
When my turn to jump came here's how it went:<br />
Me: Please tie that thing really tight around my ankles, I don't care if I can't feel them<br />
Bunjee man: Do you want to touch the water?<br />
Me: Uhm, no. I'm having a pretty good hair day and I'd like to keep it that way<br />
Bunjee man: Are you going rafting?<br />
Me: Yep!<br />
Bunjee man: You're gonna get helmet hair later anyway<br />
Me: Every moment counts man!<br />
Bunjee man: is there anything in your pockets?<br />
Me: Just my pride and self respect but I'm fully prepared to lose those<br />
Bunjee man: Ok then, grab on to the yellow bar and shimmy to the edge of the platform<br />
Me: This is not a bar, it's an extra piece of metal that is extremely hard to hold on to<br />
Bunjee man: Are you going to heckle me the whole time?<br />
Me: Yes, I'm sorry, i can't help it.<br />
Me: My mom is here, so if I die today you guys are in BIG trouble<br />
Bunjee man: Ok, remove your hands from the bar and give a wave to your friends<br />
Bunjee man: Cindy? Remove your hands from the bar<br />
Me: Ok<br />
Bunjee man: Don't look down, it won't help<br />
Me: It's not making it worse<br />
Bunjee man: Ok you need to jump off the platform like a belly flop<br />
Me: I have to JUMP? I thought I could just kind of fall off<br />
Bunjee man: No, you need to jump. Ready?<br />
Me: No.<br />
Bunjee man: Ok, ready?<br />
Me: Yes<br />
Bunjee man: 3... 2...1 BUNJEEEEE!!!<br />
Me: blood curdling scream<br />
Me: My neck didn't snap!<br />
Me: Ok, I'm down now, can I wipe my weight off my hand?!<br />
<br />
Now knowing how smooth a fall it actually was I would do it a thousand times over. The only unnerving was not knowing if my neck would snap off, and it didn't it was really smooth sailing.... and oh yea I guess its kind of horrific to jump off into nothing, but they really attached that bunjee safety line well. They definitely listened to my recommendation because by the end while I was hanging upside all the blood rushed out of my feet and the cord cut off my circulation and my feet started shaking, and apparently to onlookers it looked like my feet were going to fall out.<br />
<br />
I'd tell you how many rapids we went through but I don't remember. I will tell you that the first rapid we went through I was at the back of the boat and all this water came rushing into the boat and I felt myself be ripped from the boat.... and then felt myself flailing like a mad woman on top of my mother and then I was in the water, swallowing lots of good ole Nile water. Finally reaching the surface and catching my breath I found the boat and looked in to see how many other people had been taken hostage by the rough seas.... uh... no on. Just me. I felt overwhelming gracefully as my 7 other teammates pulled me into the boat asking what the hell happened and how I ended up out of the boat on the other side. I have no actual excuse for this but I blame our boat guide who I think was trying to flip our raft but actually just ejected me out of it, there is no other explanation.<br />
Our 2nd rapid was slightly more violent than the first and the entire raft flipped over. Now, the object of the game is when the raft flips to hold onto this rope on the outside of the boat, however, the way my brain works is "I've hit water, I must let go of everything except my paddle, it will save me!" So when I felt air on my face I looked around to find lots of little red helmets (I assume with bodies attached) floating all around and my boat several yards away in the middle of the rapid. Looking around I did find a teammate and being smart I told her to grab onto my paddle so we could you know, die together, she obliged. <br />
Conveniently they have ridiculously strong Ugandans floating around in trick kayaks which just look like mini kayaks that are there to save you from drowning. One of them found the two of us and instructed us "one get on front one get on back." By "get on" he does not mean get in the kayak, he means hang on to the front and back (which we had been taught to do in the tutorial prior to starting). So, very ladylike I am holding on to the front of a kayak with my feet wrapped around the top of it looking at the kayak man as he says "hold on, we'll go through another rapid." Being an intelligent person I refused to do this. Being a not so intelligent person, I had no choice, so straddling a kayak taking desperate gasps for air everytime I felt it on my face I braved the rapid, which ended up being pretty small, and pretty exciting to go through hanging on to the front of a kayak.<br />
We eventually ended up back in the boat and didn't flip anymore for the remainder of the day. Overall I'd say it was a success.<br />
<br />
Sega and a Farwell<br />
We finally returned to Sega to meet a few of my kids and just see what my life is like here. Turns out my life was like making a ton of banana chocolate pancake batter and then running out of gas and none of the surrounding towns having any. It was relaxing to just be back home in my own bed and see Viper again.<br />
A few short days later I said my goodbyes as Mom left from the Kisumu airport. Although it will be less time between when she left this time and when I see her again than the 15 months we were apart before it didn't make it any easier to say goodbye. There's something comforting about having a parent around, especially when they give you clothes and cookies and stuff! Honestly, it was a joy to have her here and share a big part of my life with her. I tried to get her to stay but I guess she doesn't love me enough (KIDDING).<br />
<br />
And back to my life again<br />
School is now underway. We are now 4 classes and 3 teachers which surprisingly leaves me with a very smiliar schedule to what I had before but now I'm teaching classes 1, 2 and 3 which is really great and I feel generally happier and more fulfilled when i leave for the day.<br />
We have officially entered the dry season and it's pretty much just hot dusty and kind of miserable, but it's my last dry season here so I'm making the best of it.... by praying for it to be over. I will mention, when it is over I'll be almost at the end of my service and wishing i hadn't wished my time away but itsn't that just the way it always goes?<br />
<br />
Safety<br />
I'm not positive how much news reaches the U.S. and my family and friends at home, but I know some leaks through because sometimes I catch the articles. There is a lot happening here as far as safety is concerned but there haven't been any security issues in my area of the country and my dog is a total bad ass. For all that are concerned Peace Corps is on it and we are following strict safety measures. Doesn't that make you feel better? :-) Really though, I'm safe where I am.<br />
<br />
Special shout outs!<br />
To Aunt Kathy: I handed out lots of new pencils today and the kids and teachers were thrilled! We don't have to wait for kids to share pencils to finish their assignments anymore, Thank you!!!!<br />
To Aunt Janice: As always for sending cards and adding a little more decoration to my house each week. It never fails when a volunteer comes in my house for the first time they always say "wow, you have a TON of cards, people must really love you" <br />
To Mom: Thanks for coming to visit! and thanks for leaving me stuff! and thanks for being a good parent and not a real whack job!<br />
To Niki: Woman! I don't think one holiday has gone by that I haven't been able to decorate for thanks to you! It's wonderful and it makes me very anxious to hang with you when I get back!<br />
To Bev: Thanks for also still sending stuff! Alot of things I clip out of your clippings and hang around my house or use for bookmarks and such!<br />
<br />
And to all of my other readers however many or few you are, thanks for reading and thanks for your patience on this one and sorry I used the word shit twice (... well thats three now)<br />
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Hope everyone had a great holiday! See you next Christmas!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-19491388437822951382011-11-18T15:05:00.000-08:002011-11-18T15:05:36.874-08:00Just another day in paradise<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello all!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So I've decided to try and avoid getting so back logged on my blog... blog-logged if you will. I'm going to jot down things I'd like to include in it, add to it through the week and try to post on Fridays.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This way I don't forget about all the smalls things that I don't mention once I wait a month to update everyone! It's a win win and I'm going to give it my best effort!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Cindy Cow</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This giant pregnant cow has been grazing all over the church compound for several months, she literally would take up my entire house if I could fit her through the door.... or my window, once she tried to eat my curtain through the window.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last week she gave birth to two beautiful calves (which will eventually grow older and be ugly normal cows, but for now they're REALLY cute), one boy and one girl. I have been informed that the female has been named Cindy. I now refer to her as Cindy cow so people don't think I'm referring to myself in the third person when I talk about how much weight she's gained.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I had the pleasure of meeting her about 16 hours after birth, that's right, she still had birth gunk on her rump!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm her namesake indeed. She is extremely stubborn and loves to eat.... she got a hold of my skirt, which I'm glad to say survived.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Since then, I have spotted the man that cares for the livestock have to physically pick up Cindy cow and move her to where he wants her to go because she simply won't go somewhere just because someone smacks her rear and yells a little. When I see this man struggle to carry this calf, first I smile, because it's just delightful, then I think, I wonder how much longer he's gonna be able to carry that cow. Finally, I wonder, how does he still have all his clothes? I met her for ten minutes and if she'd had her way I'd a left that place naked.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Word Seepage</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Although I will be the first to tell you.... scratch that the first to tell you would be my Kiswhaili tutor, I'd be the second to tell you I am not fluent in Kiswahili, or the local language here. Even though I am not fluent doesn't mean that some things don't just seep into my normal conversations anyway. When I write emails or talk to people from home I analyze almost every sentence before it comes out to make sure it doesn't contain Swahili or some other interesting lanugage mannerism i've picked up since being here. These things most often include the word “pole” which means sorry and truly covers the whole spectrum of things from tripping on a rock to the death of a loved one or spilling your milk. It's a great word and eliminates any feelings of awkwardness or inferiority when faced with a situation where you just don't know what to say because you can't relate.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Another thing, I hadn't even picked up on until one of our new trainees realized it is ending almost every sentence or question with “yea?” When he said this we happened to be eating breakfast and quite honestly I kind of blew him off and thought, “i've never heard myself do that.” </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">…. fast forward about 8 seconds.... I turn to a fellow volunteer, “So it was just the math science people that met for that yea?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As soon as the word flopped out of my mouth everyone realized how often we say it without even realizing. My current theory is that we are misunderstood so many times that we want to check for understanding or at least make sure a person realizes a question has been posed. Since then I've realized sometimes I give them both options, I'll pose a question and end with “yea or no?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This is a very limited list of the words that have “slowly by slowly” oozed into my normal speaking patterns and I know I won't even pick up on most of it until I'm back in America saying things like “even me!” or “I'll just pick it later.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Future Careers</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Due to the way our school schedule is set up it allows me quite a bit of free time which I suppose is a blessing and a curse. Based on things I do in my free time and things I do during my school day I believe I would be able to move very laterally and smoothly into the following careers, mind you these are in no special order:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Movie critic</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Food critic</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Some type of warden at the loony bin</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Some type of resident at the loony bin</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bouncer</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Corrections officer </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Body double</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Secret Agent</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Designer of skirts that never come higher than two inches below the knee</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dead body day</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Okay, maybe not the most diplomatic way to word that, but I found it the most entertaining. Living in a big town has its perks... as i've already mentioned, cereal, and also we have a mortuary. Now I haven't been to a Luo funeral as of yet but I know that they are quite an affair and I know when they come pick the bodies. Friday. The day that normal marks my weekend and puts a smile on my face because I have time to clean and cook good food... on my way home from grabbing groceries or sometime during the school day or even when I'm just at home I can hear them coming. Usually it is one or two vehicles full of the men and women that cared about the deceased blaring music, singing, and beating tamborines to no specific rhythm. They back their truck up into the mortuary (We have a sign coming into to town boasting “Sega Mortuary with freezer”) and retrieve the body. During the process, onlookers crowd the street to watch the transfer until it's complete or until they grow bored and go home. The truck with its singers and professional tambourinists then leaves and carries the body to it's eternal resting place.... actually I think it makes several stops first.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Character Synopsis</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I realized I've been here a year and very rarely mentioned the people that play a daily role in my life here. Therefore, I've decided to include a character synopsis each week.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Juma</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Juma is the cook on our church compound... the cook and so much more. I don't know his job title but he does pretty much everything. He is also more than willing to help me with anything that I need or answer any questions that I have. Also, he brings food to Viper every night. This man is always smiling and always in a good mood and making jokes. I am more than appreciative to have him here because he's the last person I see in my day and he is just so friendly and can usually say something ridiculous enough to make me laugh. He also finds the saga of Cindy vs. goose extremely entertaining. I'm not sure if this story has been told but in the first few months I was here, this is an exact conversation I had with him:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Juma, that goose is evil and it hates me. I named it Satan.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“The goose? It doesn't like you?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“No, it chases me. I think you should kill it and feed it to the priest for dinner.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I can't kill it. It's here for security.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I thought that's what we had all the dogs for..”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yes, but the goose is meaner than any of the dogs.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Enjoy your weekend and Happy Thanksgiving!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-64841735966544398092011-11-11T05:02:00.001-08:002011-11-11T05:02:55.214-08:00Scrambled Eggs<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I worked on a blog several weeks ago and never posted it so here it is, followed by my new blog. It's been a long time this time.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I remember being a kid. People would say, “I wish I could bottle that energy” or, “If I had even half that amount of energy.” I thought that energy would last forever, as if it were some gift that only I was blessed with. I was wrong. Dead wrong. I find myself wishing I had as much energy as my students... or even half as much... dare I say i'd like to bottle it! What's next? “Because I said so.” I know it's coming.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Shoes... not so helpful</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So, several months ago I broke my sandals playing with the kids and began wearing my beaded flip flops. In an intense unit wide soccer game I broke my flip flops too.... worth it (my team won).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I went hiking with a few fellow volunteers 2 Sundays ago. It was a good time but regrettably I fell like 6 times. Tennis shoe traction isn't all its cracked up to be I guess.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">On the bright side, all my shoes are fixed now. Thank you, Kenya for being able to fix ANYTHING.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monsoon run</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I went running with Viper a few days ago and left about a half an hour later than usual but thought it would be fine since I didn't see any sign of rain. Well.... about a half mile from home it started to drizzle a bit but I didn't sweat it because normally it drizzles for a while before the real rain comes. Well.... it didn't. It drizzled for about 3 minutes before just letting it's bottom out. For half a mile Viper and I ran through torrential downpours and returned home soaked to the bone. I literally had to ring out everything I was wearing when I got home. I was pretty okay with it but Viper was a total diva about it. She kept shaking off and making this whining noise. She tried to run underneath of bushes to shelter herself from the rain. Since my Ipod did not get water damage, i'd say it was an amusing and kind of fun experience except the rain pelting against my face and eyeballs didn't feel good and my shoes took days to dry. In the spirit of optimism 2 days later I left almost an hour earlier for a run with Viper ad we not only got hit with rain but with hale.... It's hard to escape this type of preciptation when you're in the middle of nowhere miles from any kind of shelter. Ow.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Exciting new things.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">1)There is a new flavor of Sunlight washing powder, mixed berry. I bought it!</div><ol start="2"><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A new sponge</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Different brand of soy chunks... a lot better!</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chicken flavoring powder is now sold in my banking town except going all the way to Kisumu</div></li>
</ol><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Overall, yay for all these things.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Random tid bits:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The man at the post office is out to get me</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The right burner on my stove doesn't work. Hasn't worked for months. I tried to fix it several times, by fix I mean set myself on FIRE.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My sheets will never ever be clean.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I will punish any future children of mine by making them wash their sheets in a bucket.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I make a to do list everyday and maybe 1/3 of it gets done.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I feel like all I ever do is dishes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">On to new things:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Out of the closet fan</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I've always been a fan of Celine Dion... a lot of people probably don't know this about me, but it's oh so true. In America you are kind of a disgrace to admitting to Celine Dion fanhood. Things are different in Kenya, they worship her here and it's thrilling. I am very out loud about my love for Celine Dion. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When I was in college and would drive home I used to turn on a Celine Dion CD at the Bay Bridge and then I would get home just before the CD would end. Now everytime I hear one of her songs I am reminded of being on my way home and the bridge I've crossed oh so many times and the convenience of driving my own car. I love Celine Dion. Judge me if you dare.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The power of scrambled eggs and toast</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As far back as I can remember I had scrambled eggs and toast everytime I was sick. My mom made the best scrambled eggs they were fluffy and buttery and filled with love and pity for her sick child. Anytime I've been any kind of sick here in Kenya (including being home sick) I make scrambled eggs and toast.... still works like a charm.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Matatu Anatomy</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I know i've mentioned matatus a few times and any volunteer in Kenya can probably tell you hundreds of matatu related stories. For my next story to make sense however you'll need to know the basics of these matatus. First of all, they are different everywhere you go but here in Nyanza and Western provinces we are known or overfilling them to the point where people are hanging off on the outside which is such a common site that it doesn't even phase me anymore. Generally speaking though, in my area our matatus have the two seats next to the driver and then seperated by a bar is the first row of 3 seats followed by another row of 3 split so there is an aisle to get to the seats behind. The one seat closest to the door is generally off limits because that is where the tout/conductor/the man that snaps his fingers at you for money sits. If you are lucky enough to be sitting in the aisle sometimes they'll give you a board to lay across the two actual seats you sit between to rest your tooshy on, if there is no board you just spread your butt cheeks as far as you an in order to have a part of each one on a part of the seats you sit between. Pleasant. The very back where you lift up what Americans would call a trunk is referred to as the “boot.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This past weekend I had the pleasure of travelling to a fellow PCV's site for a student's camp to spread our knowledge about various topics. On my travel back I was on a matatu that was what we refer to as a shuttle, this means it has the first row of 3 seats and then the second row of the seats is uninterrupted but the seat closest to the window lifts forward to allow access to the last row of 3 seats. I was lucky enough to be seated as the 4<sup>th</sup> person in this back row of 3 seats. Once we started moving I realized the tout was nowhere to be found. Odd. Maybe the driver would be collecting our money once we reached our destination? I leaned forward and rested my eyes for a few minutes when I heard a tap on the ceiling... usually a sign it was someone's stop and they wish to alight. I looked around and realized the person who had tapped the ceiling was indeed the tout who had apparently been lying down in the boot of the shuttle the whole time and I just never realized.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">School</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So our term is coming to a close. This week I'm off everyday but Friday so the class 8 students can take their KCPE. Next week we will have exams and call it the end of a school year.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I hear a lot of people say they feel like they aren't making a difference or they aren't really needed but I can truly say that in one way or another all of my students have improved since the day I met them. This doesn't mean all of them will be passing this year, but even behaviorly they have come a long way.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I can't believe I've finished an entire school year. It blows my mind that this time next year i'll be packing my bags and saying my goodbyes. It's going to come faster than I realize I'm sure of it. Whatever happens I can say I will never regret being here and when I leave I will always miss it. I will undoubtedly leave a piece of my heart in this house and with those kids.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's also an interesting thought to say this will be my last Christmas in Kenya. Once we get past Thanksgiving I will have only one more of each holiday in Kenya and when I think of it that way it doesn't seem that long at all.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As I write this....</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I used to have this wonderful wicker chair. I loved it and sat in it outside to do work and just relax. Viper also loved this chair.... so much so that she sat in it enough that her evil talon like claws wrecked it completely and it is now missing all the wicker where my butt would be. At the moment I have a cushion from another chair in my house on it.... however I've just realized the back part is just as broken as the butt part. Tragic. My butt hurts.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">CORNFLAKES</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The major supermarket here in Sega is called “Mamalizz.” Mama Lizz and I have been on good terms since I arrived in Sega. I am always welcome in her store and greeted by her and everyone on staff by my name which is nice. Mama lizz has been expanding her store and has recently been getting in some exciting new products. Within the past few months I've seen the addition of red bull, powder deodorant, chocolate bars, and now that's right CORNFLAKES. I HAVE CEREAL.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The cornflakes just showed up yesterday and I bought them. She asked if I liked them and since it's some weird Kenyan brand I told her I didn't know but I would try them. I was in town today again so I dropped in just to pick up a few unnecessary items and mentioned how nice the cornflakes are. Mama Lizz proceeded to tell me she just wanted to see if she could sell them but if I'm buying them she will keep them in stock.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I've told various people, I think she keeps track of what I buy and for several items in her store, I think I might be the only person in town that buys them... after today however, I may be wrong. One other person in town bought a box of cornflakes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Any way you slice it, I'm thrilled at her expanding, I'm needing less and less things from the city... and have now gotten to the point where there is almost nothing I can't get in her store... except for white person hair products, none of that YET.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That's all for now, I hope everyone at home is doing well and I am going to make a conscious effort to blog more, especially since my internet has become more stable.</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-32907036281768844062011-09-14T05:16:00.001-07:002011-09-14T05:16:43.638-07:00Mbwa kai and my new fear<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“mbwa kali” is the sign you'd post if you had a dog like.... well like viper. Most people in town are aware of her reputation and steer clear. We were walking through a pack of school kids yesterday and it was like watching the red sea be parted. That being said, the other animals refuse to give her such a wide berth. She taunts them and be it a cow, a goat, or another dog if they take her down, I’ll go down with her. Though I do not look forward to this event, I know its what my future holds.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As part owner of this delightful creature you'd think I’d be used to her but I’m not. The other night when they brought her food I was going to open the gate and she literally ran right into my legs. I fell. I fell HARD. I actually thought I may have fractured my elbow but in reality I probably just landed hard right on a nerve. How do I now this? I have 20 doctors at my disposal...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My refusal to believe science teachers are not doctors</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">My apparent requirement for medical professionals is that they have some science background. No matter what category medical issue I have, I decided which volunteer (if they were a doctor) has that specialty and give em a ring and expect a diagnosis. Usually I call Ryan because she worked at an animal hospital. QUALIFIED! If you can surgerize a dog you can certainly diagnose my symptoms over the phone. Yes, several people have expressed to me that just because they teach science it doesn't mean they know medicine. They're lying. I keep calling.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Strike off</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As some of you know, Kenya’s teachers went on strike for the first week of the term. I thought that meant I’d get stuff done. I was wrong. I accomplished approximately nothing. We;re officially back now but as far as my class is concerned we won't resume classes until next week when I have all my rugrats show up. I have a new discipline chart for this term that I have high hopes for, I’ll let you know how badly it crashes and burns.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Fair price</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Going to town is not normally the highlight of my day. There's always kids being rude and lets not get into the issue of the blazing equatorial sun. But! The other day I was there with my new market lady and she gave me everything for local price AND gave me two free limes y’all! I love her. Seriously. I almost cried.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Kenya's Alaska</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">we have a volunteer from Alaska and I went to her site in the Rift Valley for a week of language training. I didn't know Kenya could get so cold. I froze... the whole week. Do you know how bizarre it is to be able to see your breath in Africa? Really bizarre.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A heartfelt farewell</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's hard to imagine or explain being such close friends with people I haven't even known a year yet. I feel like I’ve known some of these people my entire life. Some argue seeing other volunteers helps them keep a grip on their sanity. Seeing other volunteers helps me cling to my insanity which is exponentially more important in my eyes. Anyway, when they leave it sucks. A good friend of mine left last week and I’m jealous America gets to have him now. Without this kid I’m not entirely sure I would have survived training. Anyway, to Karl: you'll be sorely missed by all. See you on the other side.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A few quick thoughts:</div><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">the other day I was almost done hanging my laundry and the entire line snapped in two dragging all my clothes into the dirt.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I took Viper to the lake to rinse off and when she got out she was at least twice as filthy as when she got it.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Did I tell you a red pen exploded on my bed? My sheets look like a crime scene.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Lime makes everything better</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I think my students consider gym class to be punishment for something. It's funny.</div></li>
</ul><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thanks for reading!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-78979936832731453982011-08-22T00:46:00.001-07:002011-08-22T00:46:54.605-07:00Planes, Trains, and Automobiles<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Hello All! I'd like to start by wishing my Mom a Happy Birthday! Sorry I'm gonna miss this one.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm sure you're all just on the edge of your seats to hear about my vacation. Buckle up! This will probably be one of the longest blogs yet!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So in a very serious attempt to save limited vacation days I chose to fly from my side of the country out to the coast to meet my visitors from America. It was a very nerve-wracking trip as I've never really had to navigate any Kenyan airports. I survived though. I arrived way before I needed to at the Kisumu airport which is approximately the size of my gynecologist's office and waited patiently before it was time to walk out about the distance of a football field to board the aircraft. I will say, the Kenyan flight attendants give the most accurate demonstration of flotation devices and such, so I appreciated that.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In true Kenyan style, we left late which means we arrived late. Originally I had a 40 minute layover in Nairobi before my flight to the coast to pick up my checked backpack because the airport staff in Kisumu didn't think the bag would make it on to my next flight in time. When we landed I was 15 minutes into the boarding of my next flight. I anxiously tapped my foot on the floor to will my backpack to show up on the carousel and once it finally did I grabbed it and ran like a maniac and immediately boarded my next flight.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Once I arrived in Mombasa I had about an hour before the other flight got in so I sat down and had a sandwich and admittedly went to the bathroom and primped so people wouldn't know I came straight out of the village (not sure it worked, but the effort was there).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Their flight was delayed. Big surprise.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After about 2 hours their flight landed and I was the first person lined up outside the international arrivals door as people flooded past one by one reuniting with family and friends. I continued to wait as the flow of people came to a slow trickle, convinced every person coming through the door was there to see me, but none of them were. The airline staff came and closed the arrivals door. I literally had no words,I just stared at the door in enough shock that it made the man ask me if there was a problem. I looked up at him and asked “Is that everyone off the plane?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yes, ma'am”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Everyone? Like, there is no one left?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yes, is there a problem?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yea, my friends were supposed to be on that flight”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“From Ehtiopia?”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yes from Ethiopia.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Sorry.”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">AND THE MAN WALKS AWAY!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So I sat for a hot minute thinking of what to do since I have no contact information for anyone and just as I give up hope they came walking through the door. Apparently, one of them had left duty free alcohol on the aircraft and needed to go back and get it. I won't mention names.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anyway, I brought them to one of the fancy (and by fancy I mean a total dump that is affordable to volunteers) hotels in Mombasa for the night and we toured Ft. Jesus which was pretty interesting.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The next day they got their first taste of Kenya, we ventured out with all our luggage to find a matatu to bring us to the resort they had reserved which none of us had a clue to it's actual location. Turns out there are about 80 roads that lead to this place and 2 different signs. We learned fast from our mistakes.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The resort was beautiful, but we spent most of our time out and about so they could get a feel for what Kenya is really like. We did snorkeling in Watamu and took a trip to a local town so they could try Ugali and Sukuma. We were also able to take a quick trip and visit a friend of mine in Kilifi and have dinner on the Indian Ocean. Overall, that week went by waaaay too fast. I probably could have just lived at the resort. It had a bathtub! And two bathrooms! It was wonderful and I was not too thrilled to leave.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When we did leave, we took a luxurious (and by luxurious I mean crappy) bus to Nairobi. I think in total it took us about 10 hours and a ton of music to get there. On the bright side, I haven't heard much new music from America, so Steets was nice enough to let me listen together with him on his fancy whatchamacallit that's a phone and a music player and I'm not sure what else, but I asked and it does not make belgian waffles which was a pretty big disappointment.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">That night we ate a famous restaurant called Carnivore which is a lot like that brazilian place where they basically just walk around with meat on sticks and plop it on your plate. YUM! We had tons of different kinds of meat including camel, crocodile, lamb, pork, chicken, ostrich etc. Regrettably we all ate way too much but it really took it's toll on the two of us girls since neither of us were hungry when we showed up. We paid for it later. Actually, in the middle of the night Lindsay got in bed and said, “I just threw up 3 times.” In the morning we were trying to decide if she had thrown up or if she had dreamt it. Apparently, it did in fact happen because Steets checked the door and all the locks were locked by the door wasn't shut all the way.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We started the next day bright and early... earlier than planned actually. The safari was due to pick us up at our hotel at 7:30 and they called at 7:00 to tell us they were waiting outside. Lindsay and I were still moaning and groaning in bed. After shoving everything in our bags and shuffling outside we headed off for our safari!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When we arrived at Masaii Mara we had an hour to settle in to our tents and meet back for our night safari. The tents were very spacious and by very spacious I mean not spacious at all but surprisingly no one in our group complained... including me! It was basically I small army looking tent but they set up real beds in it which really cut down the space, but we were able to throw stuff under the beds.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Luckily we were teamed up with 4 real cool Canadian kids who have been volunteering here for about 6 weeks and were about to go home. By the time we left for our safari it was raining which made it really difficult for picture taking, but we did see a myriad of animals including lions! Yea, we practically stalked them. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We started our full day safari the next day and saw tons of other animals. The weather was absolutely beautiful and in total we saw all the big 5 except for the leopard. Also, since it's August we're in the midst of the Wildebeast migration so there were MILLIONS of wildebeast just hangin around all the time. We also came right up on a cheetah that was just chillin in the sun. We were about 10 feet away from it in our vehicle, apparently though, the animals are so used to the safari vehicles coming through that they just act like giant house cats... though none of us ventured out to pet it or give it kibble.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After a morning safari the next day we headed with a different group of people for a short excursion to Lake Nakuru which was absolutely beautiful. The views were just beautiful and there were monkeys all over the place. We actually witnessed a woman get bit by one which was probably the highlight of the day. Do not feed the animals. Monkeys are cute, but i'll be honest, they scare the ever loving shit out of me. They are bold, and carry rabies ya'll. I'm not taking any chances thank you, I'll keep my distance and use the zoom on my camera. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And so we started our travel back to Nairobi and before they could even leave I missed them. I begged them to stay. They declined, but did offer me a space in their giant yellow suitcase in case I wanted to escape, I declined. They also both vowed they wouldn't eat Chipotle until I got home which I thought was a very sweet gesture because misery loves company :-). Maybe it will be even harder for them since they actually have access to them? We'll see.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Anyway, we ran into a few volunteer friends of mine in Nairobi and went out for Ethiopian which turned out to be a bigger hit than I expected... thankfully.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The following day their flight went out in the afternoon, so before they left we squeezed in breakfast and a trip to the giraffe center. I got a kiss from a giraffe! I was told that was a possibility but I kind of just thought they loved humans so much they'd just lean over and kiss me, but there's actually quite a bit of bribing involved and you have to hold a pellet of their food between your lips and they grab it out with their enormous sandpaper tongues. They were soft and looked just like the one from toys r us. It was wonderful.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I left the two of them at the airport after several more failed attempts at getting them to stay and headed to the train station for my ride home.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now. I've never taken the train before and new forms of transportation make me anxious (which won't be an issue anymore now that i've traveled by every means possible in this country) and therefore didn't really know what to expect or how long it would take. The bus takes about 9 hours so I figured the train left at 6:30 pm and we'd be there pretty early in the morning. I was wrong. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I decided to travel first class which is something I never do, but I figured it'd be a nice way to end my vacation. It took me about 20 minutes to get myself on the right part of the train in the right compartment and it's not like there's anything to do so I just kind of sat there... with the door like half open. I don't know the protocal, obviously. Anyway, the train manager came in to inform me it would be 15 hours of travel and dinner would be served at 8. Thanks. I did everything I possibly could to keep myself awake until 8 which turned into 9 which turned into me almost smacking my face into a plate of food out of exhaustion. After I made it back to my compartment and got the door locked I slept pretty well except I kept dreaming the door kept sliding open and shut because the lock didn't work (which was not true, it was pure paranoia). We also stopped at every single station between Nairobi and Kisumu which made sleeping slightly difficult but I did feel somewhat refreshed when I woke up. I was able to walk from the train to the bus station and catch the next ride to my site.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Finally, i'm home and I haven't done hardly anything. I thought I was kidding when I told my friends I was going to sleep for a week after I got back. It took me almost twice as long to get about half of my laundry done because there was so much of it. Beyond that I haven't done much that I would categorize as “productive.” Oh well.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The running water here is still non existent which is confusing considering how much it's been raining, but those 2 months of running water were wonderful while I had them. I have just about 2 weeks before school starts again and I'll be spending another week out of site for a language immersion that I'm actually pretty excited about, except for having to be away from my site... again. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alright well if you made it through that whole thing without sleeping, congratulations and as always thanks for reading!!!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Also, thanks again to Steets and Lindsay for coming to visit, I had a great time and I'll see you at Chipotle in a year and a half!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-49760322658062822512011-08-01T04:47:00.000-07:002011-08-01T04:47:44.302-07:00Yep, I'm still in Kenya<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Um, hey! So I am still alive! Again, i've been collecting blogs like smashed pennies and here they are, most of them are short. I've got another coast vacation coming up so stay tuned, i'll try to document this one better, I promise! Hope everyone at home is enjoying your long awaited beach time!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Bathus Interruptus</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Since Viper technically belongs to the Catholic Church, the cook on the compound normally brings dinner for her between 8 and 9. I either bath before or after this hour so I can be ready when the cook comes to open the garden gate. The other day I chose to bathe early around 7:15 because we lost electricity and I didn't think we'd get it back. Once my hair was fully shampooed and my face was fully face washed, I hear Viper making her usual ruckous because the cook had arrived with her food. I threw a robe on and proudly walked out covered in soap so the dog could have his dinner. I went back to bathing in the dark and about 20 minutes later the electricity came back on.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
Land ho</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So our little Unit was able to buy the land we wanted! On the last day of school we took the kids on a field trip to check out their future home. It was so exciting for everyone, it was like watching dreams come true. This is such a huge step for the Deaf community in this district and I can't wait for further progress! To finally have a place to call our own I think changes everyone's attitude about things. They've told me they're going to name a dorm after me... I hope that's not true. I've heard tell of one girl who had her whole face painted on the side of a building. I'd rather not deal with either of those things.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Grey Goose</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The goose and I are still not seeing eye to eye. That's all I'll say. I'm the bigger person.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">African Sunset</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">So I have the pleasure of seeing the sunset in Africa everyday, because, let's face it... I cannot drag my butt out of bed early enough for a sunrise. Normally in the evening I take Viper out for a jog and once I get about 2 kilometers out of town we take a turn onto the path that goes around the airfield. In the distance are the most beautiful mountains being lit by the most beautiful sunset. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It's tough to be here, but everyday that something bad happens i experience at least one beautiful or awesome thing that turns it around again... just like anywhere I suppose.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Another compromised bucket</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Normally after bathing I bring my bucket inside, but for whatever reason last week I left it in the bathroom. I was extremely grateful for this laziness on Thursday because it was the first time in a very long time that i've needed a toilet and a bucket at the same time. Yet another bucket compromised. P.S. i use the previously compromised bucket as a trash can now.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Shout outs!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To Aunt Janice: Thank you so much for all the cards and pictures! I love them! Some of the pictures in the last batch I was thankful for the commentary on the back because they kids have gotten so big I didn't even recognize them. Anyway, it always puts a grin on my face to open my mailbox and see a few letters from you! Thanks for still writing and keeping me updated!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To Niki: I LOVE the postcards! i think I'm going to hand the MD one in my classroom so everyone can see it. I appreciate your constant and truly entertaining letter writing. I thought my life was ridiculous. I have nothing on you.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To Bev: Thanks for all the reader's digest pages. I cut out the quotes I like and cover my bookshelf with them! Also? I've already started using the things you sent me, the tote and notepad and such!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To Mom: I miss broccoli salad, and chocolate chip cookies and hot taco dip.... and YOU of course. Thanks for all the good stuff that you can send!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To Steets: Thanks for spending a probably absurd amount of money on calling cards to listen to me talk about how insane my life is.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To my church at home: Thank you again for everything you've done for my students! Everyone here, including me is overwhelmed by your generosity. You made a difference that will last long after i'm gone.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">To all my readers: Thanks, as always for still reading!!!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-90262813678945607412011-07-12T05:52:00.000-07:002011-07-12T05:52:09.405-07:00Chicken is what's for dinner<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Why did the chicken cross the road?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The age old question, has more answers than you might thing. Having the opportunity to observe free range chickens in their natural habitat i've come up with the following reasons:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">because there's corn over there</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">to escape an african mama with a knife and a hunger pang</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">to have relations with the chicken on the other side</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">because the dirt is always browner on the other side</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">because its chicks have wondered off and need to be rounded up</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">in short, chickens cross the road for pretty much the same reasons humans do.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Matatu Slalom</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Someone once told me kenyan roads are shoddy. No one has ever been more right. Just since I arrived on this side of the country the condition of the roads has gone downhill fast. Now, matatus feel more like roller coasters since they're forced to swerve around potholes and giant pieces of road that are just inexplicably missing. I think we officially spend more time on the “shoulder” than the actual road. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">While i'm talking about transportation, my favorite bus company got a new bus which is exciting until you realize: shocks not included. Speed bumps are kind of fun, but potholes are terrifying.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
In other news:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This term is already almost over! We're working on making and printing exams this week and then testing next week. The following week we'll be there for about 3 days and then we're done! I can't believe how fast this one went by and I'm sure the next one will go by even faster!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tis the season for visitors. I have someone coming in August and December which covers my next two breaks from school which is really exciting and gives me something to look forward to.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">For the fourth of July i met up with some other PCVs in Kisumu and we took a boat ride on Lake Victoria and were lucky enough to spot a ton of hippos!!! Pictures to come on facebook!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Other than that, all is well here. Everyone is excited at the prospect of a new school and so am I!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thanks for reading!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-14215559073838859652011-06-19T08:29:00.001-07:002011-06-19T08:29:44.587-07:00Chicken Bouncer<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Due to extenuating circumstances I am staying with my new Peace Corps neighbor for a few days and have had a pretty nice stay so I thought I'd update my blog!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I arrived here Friday afternoon and had the pleasure of teaching a Deaf Awareness class to her Form 3 (Juniors) kids which went over really well. I think the kids learned a lot because at the beginning of the lesson I asked what they knew about Deaf people and there were A LOT of misconceptions that I was able to clear up. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Friday night we made soy tacos! Thanks Mom and Niki for sending seasoning packets!! They were delicious! Saturday we went to the local village's market and just browsed around. I picked up a few pencils for my kids because they almost never have them and I'm excited to return to site and hand them out! The walk to and from the village is about a twenty minute trek down a really beautiful path but is, no lie, pretty exhausting since I walk about ten minutes on flat land to get to my market. For dinner we made Indian food and ate it real proper on banana leaves and sat on the floor, the whole 9 yards! The food was beyond delicious, one of the best meals I've had here, hands down!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I've had the opportunity to see how another volunteer lives which is fantastic! She lives on a family compound where the chickens roam free and quite often into the house and we've had to shoo them out several times. She is very lucky to have me around so that while she did dishes outside I could fulfill my life long fantasy of being a bouncer by waving a mop at the chickens to keep them away. I'm very confident in my chicken bouncing abilities and have already added this newly discovered skill to my resume. Her neighbors here on the compound is a wonderful family, a mother and father with their young son who has come in to visit several times, and only peed on the floor once. The mom is also getting ready to give birth to another cutie and I'm excited to come 5008back and visit the baby!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Today we went to our banking town to find a hospital for one of the other volunteer's students and then headed back and tried to get some relaxing done.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Good News!!! My church at home has decided to sponsor my school and pledged all the money needed to buy the land. Don't worry! You can still make donations! We still need dorms and a kitchen and beds and such so whatever you send will definitely be put to good use!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thanks for all the support from home it is much appreciated!!!!!!!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As always, thanks for reading!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-2815519138693751762011-05-29T01:51:00.000-07:002011-05-29T01:51:02.938-07:00Ah real children!So the Unit has a new addition. She's tiny and adorable and i'm glad she's not mine. Today she graced us with the wonderful talents of her tonsils, almost all day long after her mother dropped her off. I had to laugh to myself because both mine and my supervisor's class continued completely ignoring this screaming child and her crocodile tears. When she finally stopped I literally thought I went deaf.<br />
I got indoor plumbing yesterday... so basically I can flush my toilet without dumping a bucket of water in the toilet tank. My sink is bathroom size and is doing just above a dribble, however the Germans' house has a faucet that can fit a bucket and i'll be able to get water from there so I won't have to pump water anymore and I won't have to carry it nearly as far. i expect to gain about 15 pounds with this lack of exercise.<br />
Not too terribly much going on here, we unfortunately lost a really fantastic Volunteer this week to America which was a disappointment to all. Beyond that it's pretty much the same ole same ole in Sega with the exception of a giant upcoming project. We're gonna give turning our Unit into a school a good ole college try. We'll need to fundraise money to buy the land and then after that we can hopefully find Kenyan organizations to build and find people willing to donate their time and skills. Hopefully once we get the land bought it'll all be downhill from there. It's gonna be a big project but i'm really excited about it. Currently most of our students walk at least an hour to get to school and home which cuts down their learning time. None of their parents/guardians are able to sign with them so they don't get education or language from home at this point. I've also learned recently we have at least 12 deaf kids in surrounding villages that live just too far to come to school at all. With a boarding deaf school in our area we'd increase our population tremendously and the education would just be better in general.<br />
More to come on that.<br />
Thanks for reading!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-60772889214176579372011-05-16T03:47:00.000-07:002011-05-16T03:47:44.054-07:00Another exciting compilation!<div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hello world! We haven't spoken in a while, I hope all is well with you! So back in training I did a blog that was a clump of short stories and I think that is the best way to manage my blog negligence. Sorry about that, but it was an exciting month! Lucky for you I'm typing this blog in advance so you'll get the best of the best stories of sports, vacation, training, and the beginning of term 1 (you deserve it for having to wait so long)!</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Is it over yet?</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately, I found myself asking this question several times during sports week. I started out so very optimistic but after a stressful and crowded travel to the the host school it seemed like the whole week was engulfed in a dark cloud. Upon arrival we learned their school had a water shortage (who doesn't?), so for the week we bathed in river water which was fine. The following day we learned the host school didn't have their own field and that we would need to be bussed 10 km down a “road” to another school's field. The bust drivers were unaware of this arrangement and went on strike Monday morning. Tuesday morning the bus drivers went on strike … again which pushed sports back from 8 am to about 1 pm. They had gusto those bus drivers. </span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After rooming with Kenyan women in a dorm for the week I learned the following inexplicable things: if there is electricity, they will sleep with the lights on, and nothing can stop them from waking at 3 am and in the process waking everyone else.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although our kids didn't break any speed records in any races I was really proud of them just for participating.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A reunion</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I headed to Nairobi to meet Ryan for our “fly by the seat of our pants vacation” and ended up meeting up with several other PCVs and was able to catch up over dinner and drinks two nights in a row! It's always great to see people that you don't expect to see.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let's rewind</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Wednesday of sports week my body started rejecting the change in food and I struggled with diarrhea which continued through Nairobi (this is important for the next stories).</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ryan</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I feel I should talk about this individual before I continue to describe our ridiculous and exciting vacation. She is one of the coolest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Actually, she was the very first Peace Corps person I met, we messaged on facebook and made a plan to meet at the Philly Airport and share a cab to the hotel (we hit it off instantly). Anyway, she teaches secondary school science so she's ridiculously smart and used to work in a Vet Hospital so she knows an absurd amount about animals. She also language trained with Kiswahili which is a vital part of our tag team bargaining schemes. I think everything she says is hilarious and she thinks everything I say is hilarious, in short, we get along great but come from pretty much completely different worlds.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The wheels on the bus</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bravely Ryan and I ventured out into Nairobi to grab a bus going to Mombasa (easier said than done). After having several different bus representatives battling for our money (it was slightly violent, someone got pushed... anything for a commission) we chose our bus and boarded, finding our seats directly on top of the back wheel well. Although the ride was bumpy and hot and we were both exhausted from our failed attempt at pulling an all-nighter the night prior, we kept our spirits high.... until we got far enough in this bus ride that crapping my pants seemed inevitable. For the rest of the 7 hour trip I spent 100% of my energy NOT thinking about my bowels. </span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kilifi</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the PCVs we ran into in Nairobi gave us the key to her house in Kilifi so we crashed there for the whole week. We went snorkeling on the first day with a group of completely belligerent Germans that were pissed that we bummed their “private tour” even after the Captain told them several times that it was a public boat and he would take whoever he wanted. That's besides the point. We went to a desert island and enjoyed fresh lobster, tuna and coconut rice before throwing on some embarrassing masks and heading under water. The view was beautiful and a crazy dark purple fish with neon blue spots swam right up to my mask like he wanted fight.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another great thing to enjoy in Kilifi is dinner at a restaurant with great food right on the Indian Ocean, we went there more than once, mostly for the view.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There are also several stores in town so we got to cook for ourselves stuff that we wouldn't get normally at our sites including the ever so fancy macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dogs.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Malindi</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Malindi is a town about an hour north of Kilifi that has tons of cool historical stuff to see so we commuted there a few times. We saw the Vasco De Gamma pillar as well as the Gede Ruins. Most noteworthy (surprisingly) was the Malindi Falconry. Ryan and I scored our own private tour and saw loads of not very exciting snakes until we moved on to the owls of every make and model. It was unbelievable to see so many owls up close up and shove my camera in their faces! We also got to pet one which was pretty much the highlight of my vacation.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Abuko Sakoke Forest</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In an effort to continue our completely unplanned vacation we looked at the map and found a national forest to visit one day. Upon arrival we met a great couple from Colorado who acted as our parents for the day (at the end of it they advised us not to put our drinks down in bars... they didn't wanna see our faces in the newspapers). We spent the entire morning touring the forest and seeing endangered species and weird trees that look like they came right out of a Seuss book. </span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The people on the bus go “ow”</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately the bus ride back to Nairobi was no better than the one that had brought us to Mombasa. </span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Boarding this bus without assigned seats we ended up in the last row in the middle. About an hour into the bus ride the driver (possibly related to the Captain of the Titanic) didn't even see the speed bump that he went flying over at about 85 kph. Everyone on the bus came flying out of their seats and back down. About halfway through the bus ride we gained a few extra passengers which forced our row to hold more people than it should. Ryan and I moved over to the seats next to the window but due to lack of space I scooted up on the seat to allow more space. Suddenly the bus swerves to the side of the road... there is no crash or bang sound but all traffic stops and drivers get out. Our driver knocked the mirror off an oncoming vehicle because he was too far over the center line. After everyone settles down... KERPLUNK!!!! Speed bump... again at about 90 kph this time. Due to my new position in the seat, my head crashed into the overhead compartment and came back down and smashed my nose onto the seat in front of me. After confirming with Ryan that my nose was not bleeding I continued to complain for the remaining hour or so of the ride, which for whatever reason was highly amusing to the passengers around us which is adding fuel to the fire for me.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Upon our early departure the other passengers asked us why couldn't we go with them the rest of the way? We explained to them that we like living, but that we would pray for their safe travel. They agreed they needed this prayer and waved politely as we deboarded.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Watch it.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So as some of you know, I came to Kenya with a watch which was unfortunately stolen with several of my other items. This event forced me to purchase another watch in Kisumu. Apparently, I wore that in one too many bucket baths and successfully blew out the motor of the thing. On vacation in Malindi Ryan spotted a man peddling watches and I bought the coolest of cool yellow levi's slap watch that lasted about 22 hours before I lost it in the great Indian Ocean.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Training</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nothing especially noteworthy here other than WOW the food in Nairobi knocks my socks off and I miss it on a daily basis. Leaving Nairobi was almost like leaving America all over again. Tragic.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was great however to see everyone and get to spent two entire weeks together hearing about their sites and ridiculous people and things they have encountered over that time. I learned a lot and was bored a lot.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">23</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Luckily my golden birthday landed on the first Saturday of training and everyone was more than willing to celebrate it with me. Admittedly, I started celebrating before everyone else (guilty). The plan was to leave at 8 for Ethiopian food and then out dancing. During a call to my Mom I was rudely interrupted and told that we were leaving a half an hour earlier which forced me to kick my preparations into high gear. At 7:30 Ryan and a few others and myself started heading out to the main road... the rest of the group had left us behind to go wait for the taxis (how rude, but I wasn't too bothered due to my lack of sobriety). Ryan wanted to stop into the dining hall before leaving to get her water bottle and wanted me to come with her even though I resisted. Once we got up to the hall I saw all the lights go off and then come back on when I came in. All of my fellow Volunteers were crowded around to sing Happy Birthday and share an ice cream cake that was actually just straight up delicious ice cream! As far as the rest of the night, we ate till we popped and partied till we dropped! </span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home sweet home</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After all that traveling I'd never been more happy to see my site... for like two days until I realized how long it'll be before I have pizza or Ethiopian food again. However, term 2 has started off really well. The kids and I set up a picture oriented rules sheet and now they are sure of the rules and the consequences. It doesn't even feel like I'm teaching the same 5 kids. I've got a lot in store for them this term and am pretty excited about it.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rain, Rain, stick around</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Most people here are annoyed by the amount of rain we get. Like clockwork everyday between 4:30 and 5:00 it starts raining and I love it. It cools everything off and I can flush my toilet like 5 times a day if I want! The mud situation is truly not that bad.. yet, not sure if it will get worse because it has been wicked hot during the day which dries all the rain from the night before before the new rains come. Fun fact, I did yoga with one of the Germans the other day and since we picked such a convenient time of day we were able to just walk outside and cool off under the African rains.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">National Geographic Cindy Style</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have battled more critters than I'd like to admit. Beyond the obnoxious and ever present fruit flies that I have now I've got bigger things on my plate. One night it was Cindy vs. Giant Bee. After about a half an hour of scheming and screaming I came out victorious. The following night I battled a giant moth, I also won that battle after standing on a chair and capturing it in a bowl that I had used to crush tomatoes in for dinner. Classy. Recently I was engaged in a full on war against about 10 flies. Took me about an hour of crashing around my house, knocking things over trying to kill the buzzing menaces. I felt so good about myself until about 5 more showed up to mourn the loss of their friends. I gave up. </span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cindy vs. Goose</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, the fight continues. It very literally chased me the other day... for no reason I might add, I don't provoke it and I give it plenty of space. Last night I dreamed that it finally bit me. It didn't hurt that bad but I was certainly shook up about it! Stupid, evil goose.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rats or Bats?</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There's something in my rafters. Every night it scratches and bangs at my ceiling as if on a serious mission to come right through and attack. Without actually seeing the creatures it's hard to tell which it is since they both make ridiculous high pitch squealing noises and their poop likes pretty much the same. Oh yea, even though they live in the rafters they manage to leave little presents all over my floor by the window.</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's it for me. That sums up the best of what went on in the month of April, I hope it was somewhat entertaining. I'm toying with the idea of voice recording stories and then typing them because I'm 100 times less amusing through the written word. I'm workin on it for you guys!!!</span></div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As always, thank you for reading!!!!</span></div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-12059847743991282972011-03-23T05:11:00.000-07:002011-03-23T05:11:49.410-07:00Things that go bump/squawk/bark/drip in the nightI'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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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. <br />
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.<br />
Makes life interesting.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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!<br />
till next time...<br />
thanks for reading!!!!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-37118881319547036762011-03-21T07:08:00.000-07:002011-03-21T07:08:52.138-07:00Bless the rains and around the wall in 80 daysI couldn't pick which title I liked better, so you get two! <br />
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!<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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. <br />
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.<br />
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!<br />
Thanks for reading!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-85475009738830847752011-03-02T23:29:00.000-08:002011-03-02T23:29:09.893-08:00Round TwoRemember 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:<br />
Stared at the wall<br />
Read three books<br />
Stared at the ceiling<br />
Rearranged ALL my furniture<br />
Stared at the floor<br />
Toasted a marshmallow over a candle<br />
Took my temperature obsessively<br />
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.<br />
Hope all is well with everyone at home! Thanks for reading!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-10379796487509329332011-02-28T00:06:00.000-08:002011-02-28T00:06:22.812-08:00A thief, a fever, and a breakdownIt's been just over a week since I last posted but boy oh boy do I have updates!<br />
Last weekend I was in Kisumu celebrating a friend's birthday and unfortunately someone broke into our hotel room and stole all our stuff... well all our valuable stuff, they were nice enough to leave my underwear and such. There were three of us in the room that all lost laptops, hard drives and cameras among other things including money, a watch, a video camera, ipods, and a back pack. The hotel owner was not helpful nor were the police but we all saw that coming and kept really great attitudes about it.<br />
Coming into the week I had a cold that I thought was finally starting to dissipate, but on Thursday I got hit with a 103 fever and was barely able to peel myself out of bed for the next few days. By Saturday afternoon I felt well enough to pump and carry a bucket of water I decided so I got dressed and headed out to find... there is no water. I calmly went back to my house where I proceeded to break down and freak out that I couldn't bathe, eat, drink, or flush my toilet. I called Peace Corps Medical who told me to pack my things and come to Nairobi. After an 8 hour bus ride I arrived yesterday afternoon. Not sure how long i'll be here... until the water situation gets cleared up and then i'll be headed back, but it looks like i'll have enough time to look for a new lap top which is a plus.<br />
Beyond that, not much else is going on, i'm hoping I can just sit back and relax for a few days and shake off the stress of this week. Our first term will be over in April and i'm really looking forward to the break and being able to see the other volunteers!<br />
Hope all is well at home and that things are starting to warm up a bit!<br />
Thanks for reading!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235154845215342711.post-44307329416236011942011-02-19T00:43:00.000-08:002011-02-19T00:43:27.945-08:00We're all in this together<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that think Kenya is a whole nother world. I thought that before I came here, but quite honestly it's the exact same if you break it down. Everyone, no matter who you are, what color you are or what you do for a living is just trying to survive. That statement makes life seem difficult and I recognize that it isn't always that way but everyone goes through times where your main objective is just survival.. "let me just get through this..." Kenya is just like America, the parents just want their children to have what they didn't have. We're all just living, one day at a time. Although everyone on every continent does it differently it doesn't make anyone's way wrong.... makes some people's way more exhausting, that I'll admit. I was at school the other day while the kids were on break and I closed my eyes for a few seconds. The sounds of kids on the playground is international, sure some of them kick around nice fancy soccer balls and other kids play with balled up plastic bags but they just hang around and be kids and have a good time.</div><div class="MsoNormal">That’s my insight.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Moving on… I know I haven’t updated in a while, blame it on my internet and then blame it on me for not having enough credit on my stupid stupid modem. Anyway, this week I started loads of new projects, I’m teaching a computer literacy class for teachers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and a KSL for teachers class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.<span> </span>I’m excited and apprehensive about both but hopefully they will get some good information that they’ll be able to use even after I’m gone. Otherwise, my students are getting better, little by little they’re understanding my teaching style<span> </span>but I’m going to assume the entire first time is just going to be a struggle, but we're halfway through.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Celebrated another holiday in Kenya… Valentine’s day! I went to the market to buy all my food for the week from the pineapple lady… she finally had green peppers and I spent like 200 shillings stocking up with fruits and veggies and then she gave me a free banana!!! I bought a candy bar at the little supermarket that was probably not worth 40 shillings but it made it feel a bit more like Valentine’s day. I also had my kids decorate hearts and hung them in my classroom even though Kenyans don’t celebrate the holiday as enthusiastically as Americans do. I did some yoga, took a bath made dinner and watched Valentine’s Day the movie, all in all I can’t complain.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The gray goose still hates me and I am still terrified of it. Today it was near the water pump and I was so scared it was going to come after me. I talked to the cook about it and told him it was evil, he told me it was good security because if people come on the compound at night it squawks… I told him I thought this is what the dogs were for… he told me the goose was more effective! This means that yes! This goose is more vicious than a DOG! It’s the devil, I’m convinced.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Germans and I have been running together fairly religiously and I have a bet going with one of them that if I work hard enough will get me a free dinner! Mwahahaha. It finally feels normal living right on top of each other, it’s kind of like living next door to family at this point. I have a new German name… it’s Heidi. I also have an African name… it’s Nyasega Achieng, imagine the number of names I now respond to. It’s hilarious fun!</div><div class="MsoNormal">So i wrote this blog earlier in the week and am now editing this part in:</div><div class="MsoNormal">My Peace Corps supervisor came this week for my site evaluation. Unfortunately he arrived to late to see me teach so that evaluation remains blank. My school supervisor was out of town... kind of on purpose because apparently the two of them have had words. My house definitely passed inspection... he was surprised and amazed at how clean it was. Anyway, it was fairly uneventful and I survived!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day! Thanks for reading and thanks if you’re still sending mail!!</div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128625257356679082noreply@blogger.com0