Sunday, October 05, 2008

Adjusting to life at site....




Lots of hiking to do in Aioun. There are lots of scenic views around the city.


Showing off my henna I got for Eid. And notice the Longhorn on my right hand. TEXAS FIGHT!

It has been two weeks at site and this is my life so far...

It's surprisingly easy to get used to not having electricity. There are no convinces like a/c but I've lived without that since leaving America, so that's not a big deal. Now there is no TV or a way to charge my phone. But it has lead to me reading a lot of books... and one of my region mates is giving me their solar charger, so it is definitely do-able. The only bothersome thing is not having light at night, but that is easily remedied by going to sleep around 9.

Integrating into the community is so much easier in a small site. There are less then 2000 people in my village, so everyone knows I am the first American in town and they all know who I am and want me to come over. Of course the first thing anyone asks is if I want milk or tea. Milk is huge in the country side. It definitely takes some getting used to to chug a bowl of milk from the cow about 20 feet away from where you are sitting.

Water comes from wells. To have a readily available supply, we fill up big bidons with water which are big plastic barrels. When the water gets low, we go to the well and fill up our bidons again. Thank god it's a kid's job to keep the water full, so I never have to actually lug the water up w/ the rope and bucket. However, when you get towards the bottom of the barrel, the water becomes really dirty and sandy. I almost had a break down the first week because my bath water was literally brown. And I'm lucky if I get a bath once a day. So the water situation is going to get some taking used to.

The sun here is ridiculously strong. I took a walk for about 10 minutes one day and got a sun burn on my face. First of all, it was around 5 when the sun was not strong and getting ready to set. And I have never burned on my face, my freckles just darken. Apparently they have reached their melanin capacity because I walk in the my family's compound and they asked me why I was so red.

Eid was the other day. It's the big holiday at the end of Ramadan. All the family comes in so I met so many people. And they were all jolly because of the holiday and you could eat again. We had awesome food and just partied. I got henna-ed and got my hair braided and everyone was so impressed with me because I suddenly became beautiful. It was a pretty awesome experience.

School officially starts on the 12th, so I'll be lesson planning soon and getting the kids prepared to speak in English! I'm really excited and can't wait to be doing my actual work as a Peace Corps Volunteer!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Summer, you rock. Hang in there and best of luck. I agree with your statements on don't be afraid to ask for help and things are a lot harder than Americans are ever used to...I'm sure more so even for you than for me...but I think those things often where I work too. I'm thinking of you.

Anonymous said...

I know this was posted awhile back, and you must be teaching now. Dad said you sounded a little more cheery lately. I'm glad to hear that......... has the weather started cooling down yet? Does it cool down? I have no idea really.

To give you a little insight on home life, heather told me she told you about her bf. He seems pretty nice, Peter doesn't like the idea though lol. Mike is moving to Louisiana for a new job in a month or two.

All in all, the US has been supercharged with political and economic themes. This is the first time I've seen so many of the younger generation actually excited to vote to be honest.

Ok, take care, we miss you.

-B$

Anonymous said...

sweet henna pic. i miss you kittay and can't wait to catch up during the holidays, man do i have some excellent videos for you ;-)