Dada Carrie Had a Farm...

Whew, it’s HOT! It is getting to be that time of the year when I guess I am going to sit in my house sweating no matter how physically inactive I am. And to think that back home it is probably nice and cool and fall-like, even cold by now perhaps! Don’t take it for granted people! I’m sweating enough for all of us over here!
So let’s see, what has happened since my last update? Well, I got TONS of packages I had been waiting for all w/in 2 days and it was just like Christmas! I now know that I’ll never starve no matter how broke I get because I can always live on granola bars. And Hershey Kisses arrived intact so send that chocolate people! Just make sure you put anything open-able inside Ziplocs because magazines soaked in exploded shampoo or iced tea powder are stickier to read. Seriously though, you should have seen Keith and I after we went to the PO and both got packages. We were SO happy we just ran to the bar at 9:30am to bask in the glory of People magazines and Crystal Lite powder (I have been much better hydrated now that my water doesn’t taste like mud). So THANK YOU Mom and Aunt Dawn!
Other news- I finally got all the bat holes in my house sealed up and my choo doors fixed (hoping the junk will be out by the end of November), my boss visited my site and met all my people, I barely saved Sloopy from drowning in my water drum, and I survived my first bout of some horrible sickness/may’ve been giardia. On Halloween, conveniently. So that was a great holiday.
On the work front, I finished writing the 1st draft of my VSA and am working on the presentation of it for IST. Keith and I are planning an event to have at my market day on Dec. 1 since that’s World AIDS Day. That will be our first big project. Also translating penpal letters, studying Swahili, getting a teaching schedule set up for next year. I also started some vegetable seeds inside although I think my garden is going to be a miserable failure; I’m too much of a city girl. So basically everything is in the planning stage still but I’ve at least decided a lot of what I’m going to try. Still looking for people to sponsor kids’ school fees (let me know if you wanna) and hopefully early next year I will have some other projects you can contribute to. Also found out none of the potential sites for new education volunteers in our district were ready so it will be just me and Keith still until at least next August! Woo, rockin’ it w/ no other friends!!!! And also, my villagers are trying to convince me to get a goat for some reason. I’m trying to resist, but part of me is like, “When else in life will I be able to say I have a goat?” So I’ll let you know if that ever happens.
All that and I’ve still had plenty of time for evening runs, cooking/baking sprees, and reading voraciously. Next week I’m going to bust out my camera and try to make a little video either for my VSA presentation or just for facebook to show people my new ‘hood. No promises how soon it will be done though.
So overall life is good. If you read this leave me a comment at least, or better yet email me! I miss my friends and I want to know what you’re up to!