The usuals

Well, I have got nothing to say that tops my last blog….no mountains, no publications. Just the usual :)

But this time, I am going to put things in chronological order. Let’s see what happens…

Since I got back to my village after climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, I have been crazy busy. I feel like say that in every blog but it is what it is. When I first got back to my village, my secondary school had their final examinations. The exams went as well as normal with most of them failing, but I did have a few shinning students who actually prepared and didn’t do too bad. We also had a meeting to recap the past year. This meeting went fine except for both the teachers and students drove me absolutely insane. The educational system is defiantly one of those areas were American and Tanzanian perspectives on how things should be done completely CLASH. I also had an allergy / sneezing attack during the meeting so I had to excuse myself a couple times because I had snot all over the place. Fun times.

Also during the last weeks of school I met the other volunteers in my village in town for a going away party, which consisted of the usual fruit place, Indian restaurant, and a few cocktails including champagne to celebrate. The two volunteers who were in my area finished their 3-year service at the end of November and have already left the country. It was so weird to say goodbye to them and not to have them around anymore! They were both here when I arrived and been here my entire service. That means that I am now the volunteer who has been here the longest in my area, which is even weirder!! One of the volunteers was replaced with a new education volunteer. She is super cool and I really enjoy hanging out with her!

The morning after the going away party I had to rush home quickly because my boss came for a site visit. There’s nothing to report on; we didn’t do much. He just came to make sure I’m working and that everything is all peace and love and I don’t have any troubles. We chatted for a bit, visited the school, and then he left.

A few days later for Thanksgiving, I met up with the other volunteers in my area again. It was at the new education volunteer’s house and we made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. We made smashed potatoes, vegetables, and homemade stuffing. And the neighbors cooked us a chicken!! The meal was so good and as per Thanksgiving traditions we ate way too much :) For dessert we made fudge!! IT WAS SO GOOD!! I ate a lot, then ate for breakfast, and then took some home with me to eat more. Yummy.

So after exams, grading, site visits, old volunteers leaving, new volunteers arriving, going away parties, and holidays…thankfully, the school closed. It will be closed from December 3rd until January 17th. This is absolutely great and the break was very much needed because school was seriously getting on my nerves and it was certainly affecting my teaching. To be honest, I have kind of been hibernating in my house getting work done and only leaving to go for runs and to go to my Community Health Group meetings twice a week. I’ve just need a little break from my villagers. This actually is pretty easy to do right now because I forgot how dead my village is in December. A lot of my students, teachers, and villagers leave the village to visit their family in other regions for the holiday. It is also a million degrees right now. We are going into our hottest season of the year and it’s especially brutal because we completely skipped our rainy season in October and November. So again, if people are here, they’re hiding in their houses to avoid the sun too. Oh, and there is a lot of napping going on too because it’s so darn hot!!

Anyhoo, during my break from school I have a lot of work on my plate right now and I have been using the extra time to be SUPER productive (in between naps of course). I am getting so much stuff done; it’s awesome!! I love getting those things that are on your to-do list forever finally done and checked off. Most importantly, I have already finished my UD application and it’s all submitted. And I just finished my last essay for USD, so I have everything done and I am going to email it in tomorrow! DONE AND DONE!

As most of you know, World AIDS Day is December 1st and that my group and I had been planning another big education day event like we did in July. But Peace Corps WADC was not able to get us our grant money that was supposed to be used for the event prior to December 1st. this initially seriously irritated me and put a slight dent in our planning but it actually worked out for the best because now we are going to do it in January when my dad is here!! So he will be able to be a part of one of my big events and see what I do! YAYAYAY!

Jumping into the future a bit. Christmas is this weekend and I am going to spend it with my 2 nearby volunteers, my counterpart Joyce, and her family. It should be fun and I will give you guys all the deets in the next blog.

Facts, stats, and garble:
- MY DAD WILL BE HERE IN 20 DAYS!!!!
- Don’t expect another blog until the end of January.
- While I was taking a nap the other day on my couch I chicken came in my back door and pooped twice in my house and then jumped onto my back and woke me up. I hate chickens.
- I think Sparky is pregnant and I don’t know what to do. I finally found the one and only veterinarian in Tanga to get her fixed and now I think it’s too late. And to add insult to injury the veterinarian decided to go on a holiday the day after I found his office. More info TBA.
- As of December 19, 2010 I will be home in exactly 7 months.
- As of the New Year, I will be able to say ‘I am coming home this year!’
- I don’t know if I will have the vacation time or money to hop over to Uganda to raft the Nile. But I’m certainly going to try my hardest to make it happen!
- I got the Journal I was published in…it was so cool to see my name in print! Bitchin!
- I also got the J.Crew catalog in the mail (from my momma of course). ‘All I want for Christmas is….a spa day, clean hair, and new cloths…falalalala.’
- Half marathon training is going super well!
- I am going to be 26 years old in 28 days! WHAT?!
- I am on my 44th book in 19 months.

Much love and prayers to you all for the holiday season!
Jessie