In between homes

I haven't written a blog in a long time, partially because of very limited internet access, but also because I didn't want to blog anything negative. That's what journals are for in the Peace Corps. The good news is that my housing situation is almost certainly fixed. I won't, indeed, be continuing to live in the house without a latrine, bathing area, and with a copious mold problem. I count this as a victory. I have never really seen it as home, and was having a hard time with the idea of living there for two years. I think that positivity can only go so far, sometimes, and although i was convinced that PC could place me in a cave for all I cared, I now know that having a home that I like is incredibly important. I think that my counterpart has found me a place close to the mission in my community, which should be great because I love the fathers and nuns there. Although I haven't seen the house yet, I do know that I will have my own bathing area/latrine area, and that I am a lot closer to Tom now (and also the Congo...whoops!) I hope that being in a decent place will aid my productivity and creativity this upcoming school term, because I found it difficult to work effectively the last 4 months with all the uncertainty I was facing (and also all the biking to go bathe at Tom's place).

I just got back from training yesterday. We had about two weeks of IST and then a few days of the all volunteer conference, which takes place at a relatively nice hotel in Kampala. It's sort of like a conference meets spring break-Cancun. Think 180 20-somethings getting together at a hotel with a pool. It was kind of a magical disaster and definitely didn't feel like Peace Corps, but it was fun all the same. I also learned a lot about possible secondary projects that I could do, potentially. Until I move to my new place, I'm staying with my friend La Toya in town, which is great because I can go to the internet cafe and eat Ethiopian until my fingers turn into injera. I recently put up some new pictures on my facebook, but they are mostly of Arua-town and also Jinja-Town, where we went inbetween IST and Al-Vol, to do a booze-cruise and just hang out. Jinja is nothing like west nile; it's full of foreigners, both NGo's and missionaries, and so is stocked with "mzungu" food. I may or may not have spent a small fortune on lattes and veggie burgers. It's okay.

I think I'll feel more comfortable in my community, especially with a more stable place to live, so hopefully I'll get the camera out more. My plans for when I get back to site (tomorrow??!!) include setting up my house, starting to run again, and trying to start up a tutoring program and a lifeskills program at a few of my schools. THings move REALLY slowly here, so I'll be happy if I even make baby steps for some of my projects. It's still too early on to tell what will work and what won't.

I miss all of you and hopefully I'll start posting more regularly again!

love and lattes,
ilse