The Day I Surfed Into Town...

Pictures:

1. My lil girlfriend Agape. She is the daughter of my best friend in the village. She is the daughter of the principal and teacher at the primary school. I am at their house prob 5/7 days of the week.

2-4. Primary school graduation!

5. My "library room". Notice I haven't painted BEHIND the bookshelf yet! It's so heavy, so it's going to take some initiative to finish. I painted the library this week, and you may not be able to tell but it's green. The bookshelf is the color of my living room.

Okay, let's get this started. There's no time like the present so I'll begin with a recap of my morning adventure. I woke up around 6:30 to screaming goats...or children (kids or kids, get it hahah). Regardless, it was loud. I completed my morning ritual (empty the 'chamber pot' :) ), drink chai, brush teeth, etc, and headed off to the bus stop. I'm in town a day early because two of my friends have decided Peace Corps is not the life for them and are returning to America. A bunch of my training class is coming in and we'll have a nice little send off tonight. I'm really disappointed but they will move on to new and exciting things and life will continue.

Here I am getting side tracked. As I walked to the bus standi (I can't count how many English words have an i thrown on the end and become Kiswahili!) I was actually almost charged by a full herd of bulls. The last near-charging incident was only one bull. Today, it was about 7 and just to prove I'm not over-exaggerating, a villager ran with me to hide! Shagala bagala (chaos)!!

To describe the bus portion of the morning, I have prepared a few jokes.

Q: How does one get to town on a bus without sitting or standing?

A: They surf!

It was standing room only on the cramped bus/van and I say standing room in the vaguest sense. The aisle was piled with massive sacks of maize. Having no option I hopped onto a big sack and held onto various things throughout the trip: a seat, a pole, a head. The whole while I was navigating the 'waves' of the road, bobbing and weaving so as not to split my skull open on the ceiling that was about 2 inches above me. Having never surfed before, I am now patting myself on the back for lasting over an hour with knees bended and arms balanced. I even managed to send a few texts in route (but I'm sure that won't surprise anyone).

2nd joke!

Q: What does a burlap sack say when you punch it?

A: Sqwuuuaackkkk. Didn't know it til the last leg of the trip but the bag next to me had a family of chickens in it. Hehe!

This week was both fast and slow as the African days can play so many tricks. The beginning of the week is pretty hazy now but I remember going to school, taking some walks, the usual. I had a great meeting with the PLWHA (People Living With HIV/AIDS) group on Sunday. They're so motivated to spread AIDS education and I can't wait to work with them!

The highlight of my week would have to be Wednesday: primary school graduation. The teachers and myself started cooking at 8am. Imagine massive cauldrons of rice, beans, veggies. I wish I had taken a picture, because I guarantee you can't imagine it. To create a big stove, we use three rocks and then burn a bunch of sticks in the middle. The pot goes on top of the rocks with the fire from the sticks below it.

Graduation was set to start at 12. We arrived sometime after 2 and waited a bit for the festivities to begin. After about 4 HOURS of sitting, tuning out, clapping, being stared at, I left with the teachers to set up for the meal. Something big happened. Usually, because I'm white, I'd be served at the same table as the government officials and other important guests. Not anymore! I was slinging food with the rest of the teachers. In fact, I even served the students! I was cranky and hungry after working and sitting all day in the sun.

However, I somehow got dragged into the 'disco room' with the students. I thought what the hell, let them at least think I'm funny. I started dancing. I could barely hear the music over the hooting and howls of laughter. It was so much fun! I went nuts. A little later, a few teachers and I slipped away into a pitch black classroom and drank beer!!! I felt so naughty. Do you think chaperones at high school dances are doing the same thing? When the principal came in I thought I'd get in trouble for some reason, but he didn't even mention the fact that all the staff were boozing on school grounds.

The night couldn't get any better...or so I thought. As I was headed home, my besti told me to come over for a bit. What happens next? Wait for it...We started dancing to gospel music videos with the whole family and house girl. It was probably my favorite moment in Africa so far. For at least an hour I was rocking out Tanzanian style and praisin the lord in Kiswa!

And on a final note: I'm FAT. And while you're thinking shut up, no you're not, get this: Last week I SPLIT MY PANTS!!!!! My house girl patched them for 10 cents, but I'm still mortified. You will not be seeing any body pictures until the situation is remedied.

Beyond the need for an African Weight Watchers program, life is good! I'm happy, healthy, and getting pumped to start work.

Lots of love,

Kate