Im ALIVE

Well hello again. Did you think you had all (and by all, I mean my parents, sisters, and 3-4 friends that probably read this blog) been abandoned? I have been living the high life. Flat screen TVs in my bedroom, wireless internet across the village. I've just been playing coy so you'll miss me more.

LIES. I haven't seen a computer in 7 weeks! I was utterly unprepared for this glorious window of time to use Internet and sadly have no formal entry prepared.

What have the last 6 weeks been like? OH, you know...right you don't. I still go to bed in my wildlif e preserve, I mean bedroom, at about 830 pm. Everyday is intensive Kiswahili training, practical (?) health sessions, etc. Lots of information smacking me in the face.

I'm sitting now at an internet cafe in Mafinga town, Iringa region. Google it. I'm with one of my great gal pals and we're shadowing a current volunteer. After living in a village that doesn't even sell toilet paper since mid-June, suffice it to say homegirl is ready to splurge. Yesterday, in Morogoro they dropped our busload of wazungu (white people) off at this small Westernized grocery store. Oh. My. God. It was like the apocolapse was 10 minutes away, it was like a drunk person waiting 2 hrs for their pizza delivry at 2am, it was like, OH WAIT. it was like 50 Americans who hadn't seen cheese or ice cream or DORITOS in 2 months. I watched a 90 pound girl ravaging a full block of cheese. Full tubs of ice cream were being bought and NOT shared. Myself, I wetted my appetite with a chocolate dipped ice cream cone. Tossing the wrapper aside (in Africa, the world is your trash can), I licked my fingers (can't waste a morsel), and moved onto the Nacho Cheesier Doritos. 5 minutes later I shamefully ate a Snickrs bar almost biting my finger off in the process. For that 29 minute sugar high, my life made sense. Bliss, ecstacy, religion. I had it all.

Sadly, I lost some of my fervor for processed foods as a likeness to a higher power while I hunched over the choo saying wiping goodbye to all 12,000 shillingi ($12 and 3 days stipend). It was worth every.damn.penny.

Dairy goods? Everyone go out and eat somthing severely lactose today. Do it for me.

So here I sit, about 8 hours away from my fabulous lil village in Iringa, the southern highlands of TZ. I will be here for 1 week hanging out, seeing what it's like to actually be a PCV, and eating my body's weight in cheese.

On Saturday I head to Dar es Salaam where we will get Tanzanian bank accounts and our VILLAGE PLACEMENTS!!! Aug 12 I will know where I'll be living for the next 2 years.

So what else is the scoop? I've been so many fantastic friends. I am absolutely obsessed with my host family. My mama and I text eachother sometimes when I'm at school or away for the weekend. My sister is SO cool and has decided to say "OH MY GOSH" at some point in every conversation.

I hope to post pictures one day (mungu akipenda-said a lot here and means, if god wills it!)

OHHH GREAT NEWS. We ate our fucking rooster. In my last entry I believe I wrote somthing to the like of being woken up at 4 cuz it sounds like the rooster is at my window. Actually, it lived in the house, like the other 20 chickens. They just sleep in the house. YEP. Anyway, on JULY 27, we ate the rooster. I've been sleeping like a princess ever since!

Ok, my time is running out quickly, so sorry for you I have not had time to edit or even read this entry.

In conclusion, thank you everyon for your support. Some people get annoyed with me because I get so much mail. I read every letter over and over, and they have all made me SO happy. Seriously, I'm so proud of all of you, starting your lives and showing up to real people jobs.

OH FINAL thing....EVRYONE get skype and put a lil money on it and CALL ME!!!! it's like 25 cents a minute. just do it. and then drunk dial me.

KISSES to everyone.

I love my family and friends more than anything. I am so grateful for every one of you.

It's now5pm and it's time to present our shadow guy with a bottle of wine and Doritos. Lets get Sring Break Iringa rollin in high style!!
XOXO