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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169156322014-09-01T01:04:23.789-07:00Ross firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-39904865208130809772014-04-23T22:27:00.000-07:002014-04-23T22:27:36.640-07:00Monterrey Exchange

I am in Monterrey once again. This time I am here for an officer exchange. The two consulates trade officers for a few weeks with the idea that each person will learn how everything works in another place and maybe the consulates will learn something as well. Monterrey was the lowest on my list of desired places as I have already been. In my case it is with a friend of mine who I know from before. Her house is crazy nice with marble floors, a communal garden, 3 floors, 5 bathrooms, a walk in closet plus a closet room bigger than many bedrooms, etc. Out of curiosity I counted the number of light switches and came up with 65 wall switches. I live next to a really fancy mall and just about the nicest section of town. No driving as a shuttle picks me up every day. Her friends in CJ are hosting her as I do not think she wants to drive on the crazy Juarez roads or live in my house that regularly smells of sewage.

My goal for this exchange is to learn how to do worker visas and investor visas, both of which we rarely do in Juarez. This consulate does 40% of the US worker visas and is now doing about 900 a day.

Last week I spent all my work days relearning tourist visas and clearing out my cases. It is the 1st time in several months that all my cases are cleared out. It is a good feeling.

2 weeks ago I was the control officer for the Acting Director General of the State Dept. This is a big person and I am just glad nothing went wrong. Basically his role was to give everyone the bigger picture of what is happening in the Foreign Service and to hear our complaints. He told all the recent officers that we were the "pig in the python" and that promotion and desired jobs would be a lot harder for us, which was not news to anyone. When I crossed the border with him the Chihuahua state police surrounded us and escorted us to the consulate. Same thing going back to the border.
email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-12405633643250918842013-06-09T22:32:00.001-07:002013-06-09T22:32:42.024-07:00Monterrey, Mexico

I have been in Monterrey for a week now. 2 other employees from CJ and I are here for a few weeks to help out. Visiting the city is a complete revelation for me. All I had heard before coming was that it is considered more dangerous than Juarez and State Dept employees are not allowed to leave the city. The city is impressive with beautiful large building, nice roads and plants. The neighborhood I am staying in is apparently the wealthiest one in Latin America. I can believe it with the Lamborghini and Porsche shops down the street.

The US consulate is definitely showing its age but the employees are very welcoming and appreciative that we came. Our objective is reduce the backlog of interviews and allow the consulate employees a bit of time to work on their own projects. There is a lot more work to do but it is in some ways easier- visa interviews are quicker and a lot more black and white.

The consulate employees are very active- in the week I have been here I did 5 activities with them. One day was watching Pariah, a powerful movie about a lesbian black teenager growing up in a dysfunctional home. Another night was an Asian-American Heritage gathering featuring art by Mexicans about the Asian American relationship, good Korean food, and a famous Japanese American ballerina performing.

Yesterday we had the annual softball game between the consulate and the Ciudad de los Ninos (City of Children). It is a very successful school which gives education to low income students and their families. Last year the school spent months preparing for the event and stacked the team. This year it was a lot more laid back with children taking our positions after a few innings.

One thing I haven't quite gotten over here is that there is water. In the 2 and a half months I have lived in CJ I have not seen rain. In the week I have been here it has rained three times. Today 4 of us received permission to go out of the safe area and go a park called La Estanzuela. It is part of the run up to a green race the consulate is helping to sponsor. We did a walk in the park with guides and a naturalist from the university. Afterwards we did yoga in the middle of the park with a instructor who has traveled all over the world studying firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-80066251724066033502013-04-03T03:45:00.002-07:002013-04-03T03:45:38.452-07:00Bought Car
This Monday I went with a friend to check out used cars in El Paso. I checked out a bunch on SUVs but decided to buy a coworker's car. The options seemed to be $25,000 for a new Rav4 or $4000 for a used Honda Accord. The SUV would probably be helpful with all the potholes and flooding but most people seem to get by with the smaller cars. We also went to a health food store called sprouts which has every food you could imagine for those allergic to glutein. Afterwards we went to an excellent Palestinian restaurant.

Yesterday I bought the. The color is a little boring but it seems to run well and the coworker I bought it from as taken good care of it. The mechanic who inspected it was impressed with how well it runs. We did all the paper work in Texas and I had to buy American insurance just to register the car.

Earlier this evening I went over to El Paso to pick up some medications. El Paso is an OK town. It's pretty spread out so everything takes longer to get anywhere and it doesn't seem to have a center. I have been in no hurry to get a car and tonight I realized why. It is frustrating driving around a city you don't know. It was even worse on the Mexican side. In Juarez there are people waving flashlights around in the middle of the road trying to direct you to their parking places. The GPS on my phone barely works on the Mexican side and Juarez has the largest speed bumps I have ever seen. No roads go in straight lines for any length of time.

Work is frustrating and slow, but that seems to be the standard starting point for everyone. If anything strange comes up the answer to the problem is always: "There's an SOP for that." SOP is standard operating procedure and most of these are 25 pages long. A person who knows what they're doing can deal with a problem in 2 minutes while I might take me an hour to figure out the process. I wouldn't mind if I learned one thing at a time and did it several times to understand the process but most of the time it is in response to some strange issue with a particular email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-57554375735184727552013-01-22T01:02:00.001-08:002013-01-22T01:11:41.952-08:00Celiac's and/or Crohn's

My Situation<o:p></o:p>

I am feeling much better now. The clot has not returned. Every day that it does not return is one day closer to the promised land of being a healthy person. I don't know exactly what they did differently to stop it from clotting again but the surgery was more aggressive in several ways so something worked. I am still very weak and get lightheaded if I move around much but these are all common effects of just being in bed so long. I still walk funny because the entry point was my ankle so I can not put pressure on it. My leg was all kinds of swollen but now looks relatively normal. I think I have a small clot in my calf but that is not surprising. The doctors are not concerned with small clots.<o:p></o:p>

I will have a procedure done tomorrow, hopefully recover on Wed, and maybe leave the hospital on Thurs. I hope to be at work on Mon but my hopes and predictions have been wrong so far and I am not putting much weight behind them.

Celiac Disease and/or Crohn's Disease and/ or something else?<o:p></o:p>

I had occasional GI issues when I lived in Kenya and Tanzania and they mostly went away when I came back to the US. I also have anemia which has shown up pretty regularly over the last decade or so. I figured since I had decent insurance I should resolve all my health issues before I went to a new country. I eventually went to a GI doctor who suggested a number of tests. I did all of these before Christmas and got the results back a couple weeks ago. I phoned the doctor's office and the secretary said "Oh, you have Crohn's Disease." She faxed the results and I had one sheet that had a big check mark next to Celiac's Disease and another with a big check mark next to Crohn's Disease. The Crohn's sheet had "probability of complications chart" with 45% chance of complications in the 1st year and the probability going up every year. I have no idea what complications they mean but it sounds bad. It was pretty bad to go from thinking you are a generally healthy person to now knowing you have 3 lifetime diseases- some autoimmune disease that causes me to clot like crazy, Celiac Disease, and Crohn's Disease.<o:p></o:p>

I know what Celiac's Disease is. A friend of mine has it and basically you can't eat gluten or wheat products. The big things verboten are all bread products though there are a bunch of foods with preservatives that have gluten. If you don't eat them your stomach is happier, you absorb all the right nutrients, and you are generally healthier. I am pretty flexible in general and can switch my diet if it makes me healthier. The thing that bothers me most is that I hate to refuse food. I believe food is one of the great connectors of people. Accepting and eating food from someone is a sign of friendship, love, and companionship. To refuse food is to refuse all of these things and to, at a basic level, reject a person and their culture. I also like to be low maintenance, not asking for special things or to make waves. Now, if I have this disease, people will have to make other arrangements whenever I eat at their house or we talk about going out to lunch. I also have never worried about food. I generally eat healthy food but have never calorie counted or had to worry about food. Now, my life is slightly more complicated in that I need to pay attention to labels and learn a whole new gamut of information. I am told that the assay I took is 95% accurate and that it would explain my anemia.<o:p></o:p>

I have never quite figured out what Crohn's Disease is. I have read all kinds of literature but it never seems to add up to something understandable. The definition is something meaningless like "inflammation of the GI tract". The symptoms seem to vary quite a bit. A fellow grad student had it and my memory was that he had incredible pain in his stomach. The Wikipedia page told of people becoming retarded and had pictures of people with disturbing skin rashes. My brother told me of his neighbor with it who, because of it, leads a painful and useless life and cannot leave his apartment. Everything about it sounds horrible with painful and debilitating long term consequences. The GI doctor left a voicemail saying I have the disease and the results printout looks very definite with positive results and big check marks. The GI doctors at GW didn't seem to think the assay is very accurate and that nothing in my history suggested that I have Crohn's Disease. They did a CAT scan looking at my stomach which showed my stomach linings have not hardened which means there is a at least nothing exceptionally advanced.<o:p></o:p>

When I received these results and talked to the GI team they said there was only one way to tell if either of these results was accurate. The test is called an endoscopy/ colonoscopy and involves a camera checking out your whole GI tract as well as some machine which takes bits of your stomach for later analysis. I was supposed to do the test last Monday but the GI team balked because I had an occasional high temperatures and my heart rate was high, both of which are side effects of clots. They are used to doing the test as out-patients and commonly delay the test if someone doesn't feel 100%. This delay frustrated the hell out of me and my blood doctors, who are looking for a possible cause of my inflammation. My main doctor found a more senior GI doctor who is more used to working with non-traditional patients and I will receive the test tomorrow. The test will also say yes or no to a whole variety of other GI issues and things like parasites or other leftovers from Africa.<o:p></o:p>

When I got the blood tests about Crohn's and Celiac's I showed them to one of the residents on my hematology team and he got very excited, photocopied the pages, and disappeared for several days. I found out that they were excited because this could explain everything that is going on. GI diseases like these can cause massive inflammation which can lead to both autoimmune disorders and cause clotting. They were especially excited about Crohn's, as it often causes pretty severe inflammation, which my body was showing. The GI doctors on the other hand were saying- Don't blame this on GI issues. His history is pretty mild and shouldn't cause massive clots like this.<o:p></o:p>

I was put on a very sensitive blood thinner two weeks ago in anticipation of this endoscopy but my blood has to be checked every 6 hours to be sure it is in "therapeutic" range. The situation is not ideal as my arms are like pin cushions with people often trying twice before giving up and finding the local blood drawing expert. The normal goal for the drug is 60-70 but for me it is 80-90 and my level regularly alternates from 30s to 120s in the course of a few hours. Even with the blood thinner my blood usually clots immediately so there is no bleeding from the blood draws. The hope is that with the endoscopy over I can go on a normal blood thinner by tomorrow night. There is considerable debate as to whether to take me off the blood thinner. It is dangerous to have thin blood while chunks of your stomach are taken out but my leg can also clot up again within hours. I never heard what the results of the debate are.<o:p></o:p>

Roommate<o:p></o:p>

Being in a hospital you see all the misfortunates of the world. Theoretically, I like to know that unfortunate people exist because it gives me something to work for and a reason to live and improve the world. Life is not just people getting bigger houses or snappier cars. I have had maybe 10 roommates who represent about as diverse a group of people as you can imagine. Generally people don't affect me emotionally but the latest roommate gets me close to crying at times and other times I just want to yell at him to shut up and stop whining. He is blind, hard of hearing, can't do anything, and is confused about the world. He still thinks JFK is prez. Every time anyone does anything too or for him he yells out constantly "Please don't hurt me!" It must be tough to live in a state where you don't know what is going to happen to you and to have no control over what is going on. Not that it was lacking before but I have much more respect for nurses now. <o:p></o:p>

email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-86646959644704463502013-01-18T13:20:00.000-08:002013-01-18T13:20:14.116-08:00Possible SuccessThe procedure was done on Tues and Wed so I did virtually nothing after both of the surgeries. Yesterday (Thurs) I started using crutches and doing exercises and my leg is doing far better than I expected. I have been doing leg exercises in my bed and walking around on crutches whenever I have the energy and nurses are available. So far I feel much better than I have since entering the hospital. I just talked to the radiologist. They added 4 new stints to my veins and they added some medications for now to reduce my clotting. It seems no matter what drug I have my blood can still clot very easily. I will have a procedure done on Tues and therefore will wait in the hospital until then. When I get the energy I will explain what the procedure will be email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-16798801389778480102013-01-17T05:48:00.002-08:002013-01-17T05:56:58.700-08:00Blood Clot I have not written in this blog for a long time. Mostly because I was in communication with everyone and very little was happening in my life. Recently I have had many questions about my current health status so I decided to start up the blog again to let people know a little about what is going on with me. There may be more information than you wish to know. Feel free to skip through as you wish.

On the 17th of Dec I started feeling a pain in my left buttock. It only happened when I stood in one place. I figured it was a muscle pull and went on with my life. I had a slight limp but nobody really noticed. A little less than a week later I went to Belize to visit a friend for Christmas. While there I went hiking up a river through a series of sacred caves filled with artefacts and human sacrifices. I had no problem with all the climbing but could not stand, so I squatted every time the guide talked. The next day I found it hard to climb steep trails and at an ambassador's reception I could stand to talk and be social but it hurt. The next few days I walked as little as possible because every step was painful. The embassy nurse had no idea what to do with me except give something a little stronger than advil. I scheduled a doctor's meeting for the Wed after I got back but was in so much pain I went into the GW emergency room on Dec 30th.

The doctors quickly figured out that it was a blood clot. They also found out that my blood is (or appears?) incredibly thin but clots much more than most people's. I can usually wrap my head around counterintuitive ideas but this one is still beyond me. The thinner my blood is the more it clots? Or my blood clots so much that my body doesn't bother making clotting material and so it appears thin? They called it some form of autoimmune disorder similar to lupus. They only have guessed this based on how my blood relates to other people's blood (not well?). I also have a fairly common anatomical disorder called May-Thurner Syndrome in that my left iliac artery is right next to my left iliac vein. This crossing point is a little below my belly button and to the left. These are the main blood vessels for the left leg and whenever there is a contest for space the artery always wins. Thus, sometimes the vein to my left leg gets very compressed. Throw in my tendency to clot and it is an accident waiting to happen. There was a debate with my primary team (all internal medicine) arguing to give me a blood thinner and send me home while the option of the interventional radiology team was to take out the whole clot, give me blood thinner, and send me home. Apparently, every day the clot stays in place it damages the vein as well as not being healthy for all the tissue not getting enough blood. It is also incredibly painful to have a blood clot.

The IR team won the debate and they took out the clot in a two-step procedure. The 1st is to have a catheter which slowly releases a powerful anticoagulant into the clot for about 24 hours. The idea is this will "melt" the clot ant turn it into blood. The next day they look at it and vacuum up any bits left and use balloons to open up where the vein collapsed. This happened on Jan 2nd and 3rd. The afternoon after the 2nd surgery (I forget surgeries don't happen anymore, they are all procedures) I could walk slowly around the room, weakly but with full weight on the leg. The next morning I found it hard to take a few steps and they hurt much more. Whenever I asked the IR doctor about the pain and reduced mobility he said "You need to exercise more." A couple friends took me home Sat the 5th. I used crutches but it was tough moving around. The pain just got worse and worse so that on Monday I called a taxi and went back to the hospital.

They tested me and my clot was completely reformed in the exact same spot. The doctor who had done the surgery was pretty unrepentant. He said that they had made a judgement call the 1st time in not giving me any stints. Stints open up the blood vessels and keep them open but apparently have long term side-effects and cause clots on their own. They had tried without stints which didn't work so procedure #2 they added 2 stints in the May-Thurner spot where my artery and vein compete for space. They decided the 1st blood thinner didn't work so they proscribed a different one. After the 2nd procedure I didn't feel any better. The pain from walking was just as excruciating so I did exercises in bed but that is not enough. A couple days later they looked and the clot had returned a third time. Exact same size and exact same place. They did all the same procedures on me Jan 15th and 16th although they started much deeper in my leg. Instead of in the back of my knee they started in my ankle. They also added stints in the veins coming from both sides of my legs and leading up into my vena cava, the big vein of the body. They needed more holes near my stomach for this so it is harder to move. I think they also changed the blood thinner again just as a matter of course. I have been doing exercises on my own in the bed and managed to walk twice during the night. It was painful but doable. Once the rounds are done someone will come and I will give walking another shot. I will update this blog in the next few firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-34225946346739354412012-02-20T06:01:00.000-08:002012-02-20T07:39:07.566-08:00Finishing training
 I am just about finished my A-100 class. It is the orientation class for all Foreign Service Officers. It doesn't seem like much on a day to day basis but this was definitely the best month of education I have ever received. Every day has 4-5 modules and they cover just about everything you could imagine. A lot of the modules are on how the State Department works and simply how to navigate the system. These include the various offices and how State works with all the other parts of government. Other modules are on health and mental well being in relation to living abroad or on personal and informational security. These are all courses I would have expected.
 Then there were lessons on all kinds of things I didn't expect. An example is the personality tests and how to work with your personality type. There were also bits on ethics, multicultural communication, and the history of the State Dept. We had several hours on State Dept. writing. Many of the students come from other parts of govt and the State Dept. apparently has a unique way of writing and communicating. We had a couple days where we changed location for what they call Leadership Training but I call learning how to work together. Think trust falls and the like but more sophisticated and much more difficult.
 Part of the training is listening to the bigwigs give talks. Usually they describe their division and how it works but much of it is war stories (sometimes literally) and opinion. These are big name speakers who are highly sought after by universities and think tanks and their visit might be touted for weeks. The A-100 class might have 4 of these speakers in a day including speakers controlling tens of thousands of employees and billions of dollars. The stories are amazing and the opinions come from true experts in a relatively uncensored setting (i.e. they say what they really feel). Our class mentor recently came back from being ambassador to Egypt where she saw the Arab Spring unfold and probably played an important role in the situation.
 The most surprising and powerful of the lessons were on Speech Making and Composure under Fire. I've been a member of toastmasters for years so I have a pretty good idea about both but these were intense sessions. The modules were taught by experts borrowed from press organizations or major universities. The speech was not easy because everyone gets videotaped and then your speech is picked apart. Not so much for content but for body language, gestures, voice, and the like. Then you have a couple days to redo the whole speech and get videotaped again. If I ever feel too proud I will simply pull out that DVD and see all of my mistakes. Composure under fire was far more difficult. Each person must defend American history, actions, and culture against a hostile audience from another country (played by your classmates). I got India and all the questions were about Pakistan. I answered one question with some ambiguity and the other students were all over me. It was like blood in the water and a feeding frenzy started. The second time I did the exercise was a more informal setting where the students surrounded me and asked inappropriate and tough to answer questions (You want to marry my daughter?, or my favorite: How big is your salary?). My goal was to take charge of the conversation and make the US look good. These sessions are like the "murder boards" often used except less specific and the questioners are completely supportive afterwards.
 All in all I would say it was a pretty impressive training. I learned a heck of a lot in a short period of time. Sometimes you learn things that are good for a short period (like in preparation for a test) and sometimes you learn things that give little info at the time but inform you for many years later (like a trip to the zoo). Most of this training was in the latter category. It is hard to say exactly what I learned but I feel that I will keep recalling these sessions as issues come up in embassy email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-36550132770391320882012-01-16T19:31:00.000-08:002012-01-16T20:09:06.574-08:00Jan 16
 I have moved into my new apartment. My stated residence is my parent's home which happens to be 56 miles away from DC. If it is under 50 miles I am expected to commute or get my own apartment. Since I am a non-resident I stay in a furnished apartment supplied by the foreign service. It is incredibly tasteful and has everything I could possibly need. It is also nice that most of the people training with me stay in the same location.
 Today there was a welcoming party hosted by 2 classes ahead of me. Mine is the 165th foreign service class since they started counting and the 163rd class is supposed to guided us and help us. Everyone I met today was very interesting and came from a different background. Many people had just come from other countries and most knew at least 1 other language. Jobs before this ranged all over the place from a professor to the air force to one guy who spent most of his life making tombstones.
 Tomorrow, apparently I get sworn in. I have yet to hear what the next weeks of training will be. When asked people dodge the question and say it is all kinds of stuff. Whatever it is it should be interesting.

 Jan 14
I have spent the last couple weeks going through all of the debris picked up over the course of a life. I have gone through my parents attic and taken down most of my boxes. There are mementos I picked up from various countries, school papers from middle school, and hundreds of books. More than half of it all is going to the trash or donation. It's work but I feel like a little bit of weight is being taken off. My nephew Brandon is also here for a couple weeks before he heads back to college for his freshman year. Tonight my brother from West Virginia came for dinner. Whenever he comes he brings a certain level of chaos with him. Tonight it was in the form of his Irish Setter Duncan who tried to eat the cat.

 December 17
 I have just gotten back to America. I spent the last 6 months in Tanzania learning Swahili. My understanding was that if I could speak Swahili well enough to pass a phone test I would likely get a job at the Foreign Service. It turned out to be true. I took a test in Swahili Jan 6 and got the results back on the 13th and received a job offer on the 14 which makes me very happy. I was hoping to be called up for March class but they were running behind on scheduling the Jan class so I was invited. I start training on Jan 17 and will be sent to serve in an embassy sometime later that year.
 It is a joy to be back in the United States. I loved Tanzania but it is nice to see my family, eat familiar foods, and have modern amenities. My parents have taken a house with several shortcomings (dried eggs on the walls, bright green shag carpets, etc.) and spent the last 30 years improving it. They altered the kitchen this year and it is a wonderful place to cook now. The house as a whole radiates serenity.
 One of the reasons I came back is my mom gets her knee replaced in a couple days. My understanding is that it is a difficult operation with months of very slow recovery.

I have decided to resuscitate my blog. Partly because I have a good job and hopefully interesting stories. Soon I hope to add my stories from my last 6 months in email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-203845319226842932008-08-02T22:27:00.001-07:002008-08-11T07:31:07.134-07:00Still looking
My job prospects are looking up. I had a couple interviews in the last week and will have a couple this week. A couple look interesting but I can only assume nothing will pan out and the search must continue. I have to say that this is a long and tedious process.

My family recently got a new dog. It's a sheltie from a group that takes in dogs which had been abused or unwanted. In this case she had been fairly badly abused and is incredibly nervous. She also has the unfortunate tendency to crap all over the floor which doesn't make her real popular in my family. It doesn't help that she refuses to come within ten feet of any person. I think this is going to be a long process.

In family news my sister-in-law Mariella passed her language exam at the Agency for International Development and will soon be able to join her family in Israel. My brother and their kids are already there and got massive sticker shock the first time they went to a store ($300 for a few items). Also, not surprisingly. the Palestinean branch of the state department is not exactly well funded and has refused to furnish their house with things like bookshelves and chairs. As an AID employee she is eligible to send 7,000 some pounds of stuff. Putting these pieces of info together Mariella is on a massive campaign to fill the complete shipment up with food and furniture. So far three rooms in the house are filled wall to wall filled with food and she has 3 weeks to go. Every Sat and Sun she goes shopping all day and returns with a van completely filled. I think the hope is that all 8 of them will live for the next 2 years on mac and cheese. Personally I hope to avoid the hospitalization that would result from the inevitable avalanche of canned firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-9940419814361525992008-03-16T18:11:00.001-07:002008-08-11T08:07:33.730-07:00Bruce's House
I just spent the last week at my brother Bruce's house. He lives in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia and sells rare books online. Mostly books he picked up from estate sales or retiring profs. He lives in a big, two hundred year old house complete with slave quarters and hitching posts for horses.

Living here is definitely a change. His lifestyle and house are directly opposite to my parents in just about every way possible. While the rents have spent the last ten years waging a war against clutter and trying to beautify their house Bruce allows clutter to pile up in levels I have never seen before. Every room is filled with books or big boxes of books. Some lamps they just leave on 24/7 because they are behind five foot piles and are unreachable. The dining room table hasn't been seen in months. He also has a no clean up policy where random things accumulate wherever they fall. Half empty diet coke cans and food lying around are standard and the floor to his room isn't visible.

While my parent's choose their pets based on fuzzyness and cuteness Bruce picks his based on energy and enthusiasm. He has two Irish setters who are big, gangly, and completely undisciplined. Duncan is a couple years old and a giant ball of energy. Wherever he goes destruction follows. He has a whole set of stuffed animals which he takes whenever he goes on walks. The problem is that his attention span is limited and he usually drops them a third of the way through the walk. Neighbors keep returning these dirty and wet, gnawed on toys. Dougle is older (5) and has calmed down considerably in the last couple years. It might have something to do with his 2 bouts of lyme disease and a nasty car accident. Mountains of rare books, open soda cans, and overeager dogs make a bad combo. My mentioning that his house was an accident waiting to happen was not appreciated. It was even less appreciated after a couple accidents.

Bruce's method of working is a little unusual. He spends basically the whole day in his bedroom writing descriptions of the rare books. A movie is playing constantly but he usually isn't really watching it and the movie may play repeatedly for days. While my family is made up of night owls he takes it to levels beyond the rest of us. He usually goes to sleep sometime around 4-5 and wakes up around noon.

Bruce has slowly built up a host of workers to help him in the day to day running of his business. Some list books, others do updating, package, reply to emails, etc. He probably has 8 or 9 potential workers with maybe 2 or 3 working any one time. They appear when they feel productive or poor and disappear when they have better things to do. He tends to attract people who aren't particularly focused and a rather offbeat. I suppose if they were normal they would have normal jobs. A good chunk of his success as a businessman is trying to keep them focused and productive, which isn't easy, especially as he often doesn't know they are in the house.

Another difference between my brother and my parents is their social views. Bruce loves politics and keeps MSNBC going all the time. He is always talking about what a great person Obama is and what an idiot McCain is. My parent's are staunch Republicans. While my mom ignores all political issues she votes based on their personality. It turns out all Republicans have good personalities and all Democrats are "crappoes" (sp?). My father's view is that Republicans are always right. Any criticism of President Bush is not allowed in their house. Neither Bruce nor my parents watch CNN as it is not biased enough in their respective direction. My parent's are very involved in their church, Bruce is proud of his lifelong atheism. They are avid fans of baseball and tennis, Bruce says that sports are a complete waste of time and he would be happy if all the professional athletes just died.

The one thing that my parents and Bruce share is a deep love of all British culture and an interest in the rest of the world. Both try to visit Britain regularly and are always watching English movies.

I came here for two reasons, the first was to hang out with my brother who I haven't seen much of in the last few years and the other was to help clean up his house. I never thought of myself as the "anal guy." You know, the one who is always saying you should put away your dirty dishes and pick up your clothes. The person who, for whatever reason, trys vainly shame people into better hygiene. Here I feel like that guy most of the time. The basement you literally need a gas mask to go into because the mold is so bad. In the pantry I found 7 mops (4 of which had never been used), 3 containers of rat poison, and a hole in the floor. The last day we moved his guillotine out of his house and into the shed. The thing weighed several hundred pounds and took something like 4 men 3 hours to move . Who keeps a guillotine in their house?

Last night and tonight I spent with Ahmed, who is like my adopted brother. My brother was adopted into his family in Tanzania and when Ahmed left Tanzania due to political, economic issues he came to live with Bruce. Right now he is a student at Shepherd's College and is planning to graduate as a nurse. He is the responsible one. His cousin and best friend, Khalfan, came over with him and now lives and works for Bruce. He is the more impulsive and energetic of the firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-42878375668203170782008-02-23T20:07:00.008-08:002008-07-03T05:15:48.575-07:00
Back in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>

 I got back into the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> a couple weeks ago. I've been given loads of warnings about culture shock and other emotional effects of coming back to the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I'm not quite sure what they were talking about. What is difficult about hot showers, good food, and the ability to drive? Granted, grocery stores are somewhat confusing places offering every form and flavor of food you could imagine (and a few I hadn't). Driving took a couple days to get used to. I wasn't the safest driver before leaving and time definitely hasn't improved my ability. Hopefully I won't not be running over grandma anytime soon. Otherwise life is pretty easy. I am currently staying with my parents who are quite mellow and agreeable, if somewhat eccentric. While the weather is definitely cold central heat more than makes up for it. My house in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region> got a whole lot colder and any time outside is pretty limited.

 During my close of service gathering the trainer said "<st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place> has moved on. The American culture you knew has changed in the 2+ years you have been gone." The amazing thing is how little has changed. Other than a few changes in occupants the neighborhood looks the exact same, the town has a few different stores, and the TV looks pretty much the same as it did before. Ditto for the people, a few changes but people seem to be pretty much the same. Have the same job, live in the same place, etc. I have changed somewhat but most of the people I know really haven't. I was counseled that this would be a problem but it doesn't bother me, that's just life. Everyone else has always seemed more rooted and stable than I feel. A big issue for many RPCVs is the desire to talk about their and having no one to talk to. A lesson I learned as a kid was that you just don't talk about the rest of the world to Americans. The kids in my school figured all Africans lived in grass huts and practiced spearthrowing (no, I am not exaggerating). I learned my lesson well and if my travels ever come up I am as noncommittal and nondescriptive as possible. Basically, it is impossible to portray a different world in a social setting. Through a story or blog, if the writer is good enough, a flavor or two of a place may be conveyed. I feel like most Americans live in a bubble where they try to keep the issues of the world at bay. I understand and respect that attitude. A lucky thing for me is that my parents have been there (physically and metaphorically) and are willing to talk about my experience as much or as little as I want. Another constant refrain is a desire for attention. In Peace Corps you are almost always the focus of attention. Here nobody notices you. Honestly, the latter condition is far easier.

 I was warned about one problem which is coming true, a lack of motivation. As a teacher I had 150 students to work for. There were lessons to be done, discipline issues, supply problems, etc. Here, the only person to help is myself, and that has never been a good enough incentive. I've been here three weeks now and I'm not exactly sure what I've done in that time. With no pressures on me I tend to go back to my natural state (which is vegetative). Part of the problem is that it isn't so easy getting a job in Neuroscience. Too bad they don't post the jobs in the newspaper. Generally you talk to people at scientific meetings and colleagues who know other colleagues arrange for the communication. I am coming in out of the blue with almost no connections in the field or the area. Through one connection I heard about a decent organization hiring but that's about all. When I talk to the organizations they usually refer me to their website which usually only lists dishwasher or director positions. My latest goal is to find interesting researchers and contact them directly. So far this objective is more in the can and should territory and has yet to migrate to the must do or will do categories.

 Another issue I was obliquely warned about is the dulling of your life. A monochrome American suburb just doesn't have the same flavor and taste of rural <st1:country-region st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region> or downtown <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nairobi</st1:place></st1:city>. There is a much greater intensity and vigor to your life. For the most part I found this excitement enjoyable, if tiring. Given the condition that I left <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Kenya</st1:country-region></st1:place> in I am actually happy to have reduced intensity. My default thought is that my life is boring and badly needs spice. I have no doubt that feeling will return. When it does I will undoubtedly get the energy to do something.

<o:p> </o:p>
email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-18494251806752972912008-01-17T01:40:00.000-08:002008-01-17T04:37:24.611-08:00The Election Jan 17, 2008
 It was very strange to come out of the calm retreat to hear about the election. The election was held on Dec 27. The whole population watched the news constantly throughout the day. The news was ODM (the opposition, Orange Democratic Union) is ahead, ODM is further ahead, ODM has a million vote lead. Due to technical difficulties (lack of paraffin for lamps and sleep deprivation) many poll workers went home for the night. In the morning they found loads of ballots marked for the current president. Some constituencies had 115% turnout with large numbers only voting for the president and not their MP. At the point they just said we need more time before we can announce the results. People in Kisumu (in the West of Kenya and the ODM center) started rioting. They knew the election was rigged. They started burning the city and setting up roadblocks. A couple days after the election the president was secretly resworn in his state house. When people heard this the country went berserk. That's when matatus started being turned over and people hacked to death. Whole villages were burned down. What happened with police varied from village to village. Some places all the police were killed, others the police shot anyone in a group, peaceful or not, and in some places there was a truce, "Burn and loot as you want but this is our compound, if you come in we shoot you." The Kikuyu and Kisii tribes were targeted all over Western Kenya. Any businesses owned by them were burned and/or looted. Many were just killed. All traffic stopped because of roadblocks everywhere. There has been little rain in Western Kenya and so the farms have little food. When the roads close down people starve. People are starving not just in Kenya. Mombasa is the largest port in East Africa. Relief food and supplies comes through it to refugee camps in Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Out of 200 food trucks sent through only a half dozen were not hijacked.
 Western Kenya has the highest AIDS rate, highest malaria, and greatest poverty in the country. The people thought their day had finally come and were rather angry to find it snatched away. In Kenyan society they don't have any duties- women deal with children, cleaning, cooking, and most of the farming. Men either work or sit around. In poor areas there isn't a whole lot of work. If educated you are angry that you spent the time and money for an education and got no job, if no education there is anger at that as well. End result is that young men throughout the country are bored, disconnected, and incredibly angry. They are happy to have this opportunity to express their anger, make some money, and maybe get a TV or two. Kikuyu have gone throughout the country setting up successful businesses and taking high level jobs. The poor see the businessman as being wealthy without working. This is a perfect chance to get revenge on this person for his success.
 The result is still not completely clear. Last I heard official death count was 700 dead. This is clearly completely wrong. There have to be several thousands dead from burnings, targeted killings, revenge opportunities, lootings, police killings, and starvation. Hospitals are especially bad. They had been flooded with patients but had no supplies and workers were unable to come in (or had fled). The number of "displaced" is estimated at 250,000. This is probably more accurate though only really includes those who have made it to refugee camps or stadiums. Plenty of people had their houses burned down and are now hiding in the bush or living with neighbors. The damage is estimated at $2 billion but that has to be low as the third largest city in Kenya, Kisumu, is basically burned to the ground. Tourism is dead. Virtually all tourists have left and most NGOs have pulled out of Western Kenya.
 Peace Corps has pulled out of Western, Nyanza, and Rift Valley Provinces (Western Kenya). Most were on holiday or were smart enough to have left the area. A few were hunkered down in their villages but, because of roadblocks, they were unable to get out. They have all been helicoptered out. The easiest place to put them is Dar es Salaam so 40 are there and 20 are in Nyeri (central province). Anyone on vacation was told to stay away. Yesterday was the day when they were told what will happen to them. No one is going back to those 3 provinces. The director said they will either be relocated within Kenya, sent to a different country, or given interrupted service (sent home). The deaf ed and science teachers can usually find other locations within Kenya. Not sure about business vols but public health is in trouble. Most of the need is in the west and they can't go there. It's really hard to find other countries to send people- language issues, different cultures, different issues, etc. As the director said, "It's hard enough to find good sites with 6 months notice, how much harder is it to find places with 3 weeks notice?"
 The current situation is complex. Parliament started a couple days ago. It is about ½ ODM with PNU (president's party) holding maybe 1/3 and a bunch of small parties holding the rest. End result is 50-50 split. People are switching sides daily as they are given promises or money from the other side. I understand that the parliament can hold a no confidence vote which would force another election. In the meantime the ODM leader has called for "mass action" all over the country. Mass action means demonstrations which will lead to looting, burning, and killing. It started yesterday and will continue today and tomorrow. Yesterday and today I have seen police all over Nairobi. I have seen a few beatings and the occasional tear gas. Right now I am sitting across the street from Hilton hotel. The GSU (paramilitary) are hanging out at the hotel. If the numbers on the street get too large they simply chase and beat anyone who is not fast enough. Nobody here is demonstrating. In other places the crowds can not get large enough before getting tear gassed. Western Kenya is apparently not accessible. I hope the food trucks can get in but I don't really know. Last I heard was demonstrations were happening in Kisumu with burning of whatever is left.
 The future is somewhat unclear. My major fear is that the president will do everything he can do to stay in power. He can never hold another election without cheating because people are disgusted with him. Therefore he will have to use more and more force to hold on to power. The only people willing to work for him will be Kikuyu people making them even more hated. Kikuyu realize they can not have businesses West of Nakuru town. ODM supporters are threatening to "push" (burn, loot, kill) all Kikuyu town by town back to Central Province. I don't think that will happen but tribalism is at an all time high.
 In positive news the only major troubles are in western Kenya, Nairobi, and in Mombasa. The rest of the populated places are quiet. The people in the North don't consider themselves part of Kenya and couldn't care less about the government. They are more worried about drought, lack of food, and either raiding or being raided by their neighbors. The people in the center and south are fine with the current situation.
 I could probably write 30 pages on the stories I have seen or heard about the current election. I don't have the time to write it all and you don't have the patience to read it all. I have not been able to access the blog for 2 weeks so not sure when I will post firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-85711980944754333762007-12-26T02:32:00.000-08:002007-12-26T03:11:08.965-08:00December 26
 The last few days have been very relaxing. I spent several days at a hostel in Kampalla waiting for my bus. It was much better than I expected. Read a book and spent a lot of time talking to all kinds of aid workers with a variety of backgrounds. Very few overlanders there which was all to the good. The bus trip back on Christmas Eve night was frustrating and uncomfortable. There were a host of things that were very Kenyan which just annoyed me. I figure if people annoy me just for being who they are I probably should leave the country. We hit 11 police posts where the bus paid bribes at most of them. Blackmailing innocent people seems a funny way to celebrate the holiest day of the year.
 Christmas in Kenya is very mellow. The usual way is for the family to gather and slaughter a goat. In Nairobi a common thing is to go to Uhuru Park with your kids. Kids get their faces painted, little balloon creations are made, and everyone eats ice cream. Relaxing, fun, and family centered. I celebrated by going to a movie and having a Christmas dinner of beef stew, apple juice, and pringles with sim-sim as dessert.
 Today I head into a Buddhist retreat run by a group called Vipassana. I don't know much about the group though a couple of my friends have done the retreat. I heard another girl in Peace Corps will be doing this with me. I am friends with her so the company will be appreciated, if true. I know almost nothing about this retreat. Basically you can not speak to the other people and only to the instructors at specified times if you have questions. You only eat about 1 and a half meals. No eating after noon. I am told the food is really good but if you eat almost nothing it probably would taste good. I just met a guy who has done 4 of these retreats- he says the first time is the best and the worst. No idea what he means by that but I will find out. They don't allow you to pay until you have finished at least 1 course. If you haven't seen the benefits then how can you pay? At least that is their reasoning. Clearly people like it because these retreats are all over the world. If you want more info their website is dhamma.org.
 Kenya elections are tomorrow. I am quite happy to miss them. The worst fears of violence have not happened so far. In the papers there are little stories of people being hacked up or having cars set on fire but there are not many. Police seem to be quick with the tear gas whenever crowds get unruly. I have serious doubts about how all of this will work. There are hundreds of thousands of people registered twice and 100,000 dead people somehow got registered. The polling clerks are threatening to go on strike over pay even though they are paid exceptionally well. The whole of the National Youth Service and Park Rangers have been sworn in as police for the next few days. Every polling booth has 7 members of each party as observors but even still the opposition candidate has said the election is rigged if he doesn't win. He will contest a losing result in every way possible. Not a good sign as I expect him to lose. I have no particular thoughts on who I want to be president. The current guy has done really well but he favors his people. The other guy is quite unstable, makes grand and impossible claims, and is very much a rabble rouser. But he would arrange for all the other groups to get their piece of the pie. Both are openly corrupt and plan to give huge benefits to those who have supported them. It sounds bad but Kenyans deserve a corrupt government. Their major interest in voting is tribe and how they personally will benefit. The last president was only voted out because his corruption became overwhelming.

email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-21195378902909454772007-12-21T07:34:00.001-08:002007-12-22T04:52:38.609-08:00December 21
Today was the most stressful day in quite some time. Due to allergies I couldn't sleep much last night. I was supposed to leave on a bus at 6 in the morning to Kampalla. My alarm woke me at 5:20 but somehow I managed to turn it off and woke at 6:20. After a hairy motorcycle ride straight down a gravel road I found that some things in Africa do run on time. The bus had gone. As far as I know it's the only bus going to Kampalla. The options were to take the one the next day, try to to piece together the trip (go to one town, get a bus to the next, etc.), or take a taxi to the border. Everyone there wanted me to take a taxi which costs $50 (the bus cost $10). After refusing I got a different guy for $25. I figured that in 25 minutes we would overtake the bus. I was quite mistaken as this guy comes to a full stop at every pothole and drives like my grandmother (deceased). I caught up with the bus at the border but had to pay $50 to get into Uganda. My 3 month visa only covers one entry and unlike most countries a transit costs just as much. I think I met the happiest man in the world there- the immigration offical. He spends his whole day charging white people for entrance. The angrier people get the happier he gets. Everyone he talks to gets angry so he is an incredibly happy man. He is paid to officially scam wazungu, a job many dearly love to have. His reasoning was that it costs more for a visa to the US and even then you don't always get one. He wasn't happy about my comment that US is 100 times larger and we aren't trying to live in Uganda. I have no doubt that quite a few visitors are not officially registered and he makes an excellent profit every day. When I got on the bus the window seat I thought I had booked out not to be true so no sleeping on the bus for me. The person sitting in my seat really didn't want to give it up so I went over the whole bus to find a free one. When I got into Kampalla I had to search out and go to every bus company in town. A frustrating affair as every piki piki driver wants to overcharge you and take you to his friends. I tried 4 different bus services all over the city and the earliest I could get was for Monday afternoon. That means I get to Nairobi on Christmas day at 6 in the morning. Also the bus company is pretty shady so I am expecting a breakdown or the like. I really need to eat now as the last time I had a real meal was yesterday noon. It's rush hour on a Friday so I decided not to fight for a seat and instead walk to the hostel. It took over an hour to find the place in the dark. I plan on doing nothing for the next few days and simply firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-51555516276267003652007-12-21T07:08:00.000-08:002007-12-23T05:06:59.098-08:00Dec 20
 After the museum I tried going to Nyungwe Forest. I only made it as far as Butare before dark. This is a small town on the Southern end of the country. I decided to treat myself to dinner at the nice restuarant. There were a couple British people talking so I asked if I could join them. Turns out they were the high muckymucks at the National University. When they heard I taught English they wanted me to come help them as the school is mostly taught in English and the students know very little. After they heard I had a degree in Neuroscience they were pretty excited. They were leaving at 9 in the morning but they wanted me to have an interview with the dean of medicine and the head of biology. I figured it never hurts to interview random people. Both the dean and the biology chair wanted me and they offered me an enhanced senior lecturer position. By enhanced they mean my housing, medical and airfare would be paid for. It was a local contract so it pays about $800 a month. The teaching sounded very interesting and I think I would have really helped there and learned a lot. After a fair amount of thought I decided I would pass. It sounds like I will be automatically hired at Johns Hopkins or NIH in the US. Much more opportunity to learn and do proper science. Also I need to build up my resume and I actually miss some aspects of the US. One thing I am seriously thinking about is their offer of working there for a term sometime in the future. It would be a great opportunity to visit a new country and get a lot of teaching experience. The campus was quite beautiful and seemed pretty well run.
 Today I was planning to go to Nyungwe Forest, which is famous for having hordes of all kinds of monkeys- 450 or so in each pack. The way to get there is through some tiny town called Uwinka. It seems Uwinka is not easy to get to and then you have to get some kind of transport the 20 kms to the park. At the gate is a guest house outside of my price range ($40 a night). I also thought of going to Burundi but all I heard is that it is still in the middle of the war. These people were saying that there were kids everywhere armed with rocket launchers and whatnot. While that would be interesting to see I decided to pass. I think I have had enough of hassles and was done. I have seen enough and after 2 weeks my patience in dealing with people is waning rapidly. I just want to sit, relax, and vegetate. I saw the Rwanda National Museum this morning and took a bus to Kigali. Tomorrow I'll head to Nairobi.

Dec 19 Kigosi Genocide Museum
 I've been to scores of museums in my lifetime but I have never been to place like this. It's pretty mindblowing. The museum is really well done and quite factual in explaining the causes, the events, and the aftermath of the Genocide in 1994. For those who don't know much about it there was a Tutsi minority who were something like nobility over the Hutu majority. When the Belgians came they made this official and treated the Hutu pretty badly while giving high positions to Tutsis. After independence the Hutu took over and treated the Tutsi poorly, occasionally killing off a few. It was a popular thing to criticise the wealthy Tutsi so the rhetoric just grew. Eventually some groups published the Ten Commandments which said anyone who marries or befriends a Tutsi is a traitor. Many of the Tutsi moved out and formed an army which held the Northern border. The genocide was actually planned by the government- they bought loads of machetes and started training local militias. One of the top officials got cold feet and sent all the documents over to the UN army commander. The plan was to start by killing a few Western soldiers so the rest would leave, make sure all Western media and people were gone, and then they would systematically kill every Tutsi in the country. The UN army commander asked for more troops but was told not to act or even move around. Right after the president had arranged a ceasefire with the rebel army his plane was blown up. That was the signal to start the killing. The UN commander tried defending the moderate prime minister but she was executed along with her Belgian guards. Afterwards the Western countries did as they were supposed to. They sent in thousands of soldiers to evacuate every white person in the country and then pulled out. The only UN people left were a few hundred poorly armed African soldiers. Once the Westerners left the killing started in earnest. It became mob rule with gangs wandering around killing anyone they thought might be somewhat kind to Tutsis. It lasted about 100 days and 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus died. While the Hutu were preoccupied with killing, the Tutsi army invaded and took over the country.
 All in all the whole thing was pretty shameful. The major killing grounds were the churches. A lot of people fled to the churches hoping for sanctuary. Instead their priests called up the government and arranged for the congregations slaughter. People happily killed friends they had known for their whole lives. The UN and every Western country knew what was happening and refused to help in any way. They had been embarassed in Somalia and they would never put troops at risk for a small African country with no oil reserves or other worthwhile assets. I saw some of the interviews and spokespeople said it's a confusing situation and until we know more we can't commit anything. The thing is everyone knew and simply didn't care. If the troops used for evacuating whites had stayed the genocide would never have happened.
 In terms of bright spots a few Hutu hid people in their houses and farms. The UN troops were ordered to sit in their hotel and do nothing. They refused and went out and saved as many people as they could. The Red Cross and Medecins sans Frontieres stayed and saved some 65,000 people. They also documented the killing as no media were in the country. One american missionary saved a few hundred himself. A couple American relief organizations gave some humanitarian support.
 Afterwards the whole country was horrified about what had happened. The Tutsi army commander is now the president and most of the country is against "genocide idealogy." Not everyone though. Even in the papers today they were talking about principals and parents handing out slips of paper saying "the Tutsis are snakes. We must kill them all." I guess genocide idealogy is still fairly strong, but at least no one is acting on it. One odd outcome is that refugee camps in the area suddenly got more money afterwards. It was perfect timing for all the Interahamwe (Hutu militia) who were fleeing the Tutsi army. These militia are still waiting for a chance to invade Rwanda. One good thing is that many countries felt embarassed about ignoring the genocide and have been fairly generous in their donations. The government is relatively uncorrupt so the country has been doing well. It seems most would rather look forward than back. The event seems to have been cathartic. Once it happened people felt ashamed. Burundi has the same issue but never had an all out genocide. Instead they've been fighting ever since independence.
 One section of the museum was called Lost Lives. There were pictures of kids and it listed their age, favorite food, favorite game, etc. It also showed their last words like "Mummy, are we going to be saved?" and how they were killed, e.g. smashed against a wall. In the garden there were several mass graves. You see these mass graves all over the country. Plain, square, concrete platforms with a few wreaths on top. You also see groups of men and women walking around in pink shortsleeve shirts and shorts. These are all the people accused of low level genocide- they had only killed, they were not leaders. They have to do community work until their time is up. One thing that is strange to me is that just about everyone over 25 is either a perpetrator or a victim. Most of the victims died so the people you are ordering food from or riding with are killers. Strange thought.
 The last section of the museum was on recent genocides- Hottentot, Armenian, Holocaust, and Cambodian. It shows how the genocides were started and what happened. I don't know if it says something but 2 of the genocides were caused by Germans. The last comment was that "Never again" could easily be "Again and again..." I don't normally go off on political issues but the exact same thing is happening in Sudan right now. There is a systematic slaughter of an ethnic group as you take their land. A couple years ago it was 200,000 people dead and it grows on a daily basis. It's very clear no one cares. Once again the only troops are poorly armed African soldiers with far too much work to do. Western countries refuse to send troops, help pay for the people there, or even give equipment. Last I heard the general there decided that the lowest possible troops necessary was 26,000. He was eventually given 9,000, all African. He asked for 8 helicopters and was given none. Russia and China are no better. China is actively helping by signing oil contracts with the government. Just next door to Rwanda the war in Congo has been going on 20 years now and is still going strong. 4 million+ people have died and most people have never heard of the country. It's clear nobody cares. Once again the only people are helping are a few African countries, Red Cross, and Medecins sans Frontieres. I talked to a lady working there. She said that she was treating 15 people every day who walk out of the jungle. They had been severely beaten and gangraped. These were the lucky people who survived. The catholic church's response is that these fetuses should not be aborted. Maybe the women shouldn't be raped in the first firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-52032381676190687322007-12-18T03:58:00.000-08:002007-12-18T04:25:00.736-08:00Dec 18 Kigale
Yesterday the whole day was spent travelling from Mgahinga to Kigale, the capital city of Rwanda. To me Rwanda is a confusing country. Most of the people don't know English, some know a little Kiswahili, some know a form of French, and everyone knows Kinyarwanda. Unfortunately every time I try to remember my French I come up with the Kiswahili equivalent. There are some words I know only in French but unfortunately these are all useless things like colours and descriptions. Thankfully I am not driving as everyone drives on the right (in comparison to the rest of East Africa) though the cars are all made for driving on the left and it really doesn't matter as people drive on whatever side has the fewest potholes. Most cities have a clearly visible center but it's really hard for me to find the center of Kigali as there are no tall buildings and there are miles and miles of similar looking houses. My guidebook is 5 years old so the map is completely outdated with all the construction going on here. The money is currently a little confusing as I mentally figure one Kenyan shilling equals 25 ugandan shillings and one rwandan shilling equals 4 ugandan. Converting once is bad enough.

Rwanda is known as the land of 1000 hills but I personally think they missed quite a few. The only flat place I've ever seen was on the lakes between the hills. It's really tiresome to walk around as everything is up or down and I'm still tired from walking up the mountain in Uganda.

Last night I spent 2-3 hours wandering around the city getting the feel of the place and trying to figure out where I was. I was going to sit on a bench next to the tourist office when I realized the door was open. I went in and met the incredibly friendly assistant director of tourism for Rwanda. He was finishing work (at 830) and offered to take me to a good hotel which was in his neighborhood. After going there he took me to the local restuarant which serves cheap, good food. It really changes the flavor of a place when you meet a friendly face.

Today I'm thinking of going to the genocide museum and then head out tomorrow to either Lake Kivu or Nyungwe Forest, not sure which one email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-54401753474826726842007-12-18T02:40:00.000-08:002007-12-18T03:58:28.807-08:00Dec 17 Mgahinga National Park
A couple days ago I took a bus from Kampalla to Kisoro on the far SW of Uganda. Turns out the bus company I went with has a really bad reputation. It's not surprising it left 2 and a half hours late and only went 2/3 of the way. The last third I was jammed into a matatu which stopped in the middle of the road for another half hour. I got into Kisoro town around 8 in the evening. It's a little town with 1 dirt road going through it. The main activity at night seems to be at the barber shop. The place I stayed at also functions as a bar but the only one drinking was the receptionist who was agreeable in the falling down drunk way. I have no complaints as it cost less than $3 to stay the night.
 The next day I tried walking to the park but missed the turnoff and almost went to the Rwandan border. Anyway, that afternoon I went into the park and saw the Garama Caves. The pigmy (pronounced Pijme) people apparently lived in these caves for a 100 years while fighting the local bantus. Some 80 families lived here while the bantu never could find them. I was wondering whether this is some story made up to impress tourists as there is virtually no sign that anyone ever lived in the caves. The caves are huge, with several chambers which go up to 20 feet or so. Apparently forest animals are incredibly shy so there are lots of signs of buffalo and duiker but no animals visible except a couple bushbuck.
 Yesterday I climbed Mt. Sabinyo which they say means old man's teeth because there are several jagged peaks next to each other. Definitely a workout as top to bottom the distance is almost a mile. You go up to 1 peak then walk down and up the second and up/ down for a third and reverse it for the way back. In short there is a lot of up and down. As the elevation changes you keep seeing different types or plants. Around here mountain peaks are used to determine borders. So the first couple were on the Rwandan border and for the third you stand in Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. I don't care too much about these borderlines but the views were stunning. All of these are extinct volcanoes, most of whom blew their tops. The ones which blew up have big craters at the top with lakes or swamps inside.
 Today was a trip up one of the mountains to see the Golden Monkeys. I've never heard of them which isn't too surprising as they are only found in these Mountains. Fun to watch. They eat bamboo so you sit in the bamboo forest while these guys move all around you. An enormous amount of work must go into this park. Wherever I went I had a guide/tracker and an armed ranger to protect against poachers or buffalo and the mountains were covered in ladders to help with climbing. Also it can't be easy to get the animals used to humans. Every morning they send someone to hang out with the monkeys so they don't run away when tourists come. The park is well known for it's gorillas which take 10 years or so to get used to humans.
 The last couple nights I've been staying at the community guest house which is completely empty. It's the middle of rainy season so most people don't come now. A truly relaxing place though it's pretty cold up here and bathing is a somewhat frigid experience as you do it outside at email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-6634503235117269442007-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:002007-12-14T22:26:13.249-08:00
Dec 13

Outside Kampalla now. I just spent the last day and half checking out the city. Even though it's about 1/3 of Nairobi it feels pretty similar. Really crowded streets, perpetual traffic jams, lots of street vendors, and the usual mix of low, mid, and top end shops. It also has mix of vibrancy and chaos which I find invigorating. The only major differences are that it's really hilly and that piki piki (motorbike taxis) are everywhere. Ebola is still going all out and people are getting pretty concerned. Apparently the last time ebola came here was the worst in the history of the disease. They're not any better prepared this time. Even so I figure I personally have a much greater chance of being killed on or by a piki piki. Every couple years as I was growing up my parents mention that they got engaged in Kampalla and they then go on to reminisce on what a beautiful city it was. I don't have these romantic memories and it seems as polluted, noisy and smelly as any other African city though some people have said that before Idi Amin it was renowned for its beauty.

So far Uganda doesn't seem much different than Kenya. The people are a little smaller, a little more polite, and the women a little less attractive. The language is different with most people speaking Luganda and very little Kiswahili. Luckily it's a Bantu language so I still get the gist of it (and yes, mzungu means whitie here as well). The only big difference I've seen so far is that everyone lives right next to the roads. In Kenya everyone lives in fenced or walled compounds set back. You never see the houses because there are a couple hundred metres of corn or banana trees. Here everyone seems to live a pretty open lifestyle. I assume it's because it is safer here. Today I stopped by the old king's house which is a giant thatched hut where the last few kings have been buried in the back half of the house. Interesting little cultural trip with the tour guide/ artist spending half the time trying to sell his not so special artwork.

I came up with a plan of action today. Tomorrow at the crack of dawn I will try to get a bus down to the SW corner of Uganda. The bus trip is listed as 8 hours long (so add an hour or 2) and is then followed by a 14 km walk/hitch. All in all a long and somewhat uncertain day. The goal is to end up somewhere close to or in the Mgahinga National Park. It's famous for it's gorillas but I am far too poor to try such an option ($500 an hour or somesuch and often the guys can't be found). I might see them on my own but I hope to do some long walks around the park and up some of the highest peaks in Africa. I won't have to pay for porters or the like as you can do each of the mountains in a day. A bonus is I will find almost no white people (and esp overlanders) and it is supposed to be quite beautiful. When I get bored I will head right over the border into Rwanda and see what is up there.

email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-72183372309628922852007-12-11T07:02:00.000-08:002007-12-11T07:30:00.914-08:00Dec 10
In Uganda now. Two days ago was the looong bus ride from Nairobi. Yesterday was rafting on the Nile. Pretty cool experience with a dozen or so rapids- mostly class 4 or 5 with a 6 thrown in at the end. While fun it wasn't quite the adrenaline rush I was hoping for. Somehow it wasn't quite as dangerous or scary as I wanted. Even though the waves were 4-5 metres high and some of the drops were 2-3 metres in a raft it's fairly hard to fall and there's not a whole lot of skill involved. We fell only a couple times and I was under the water for about 15 seconds one time. I think the way to do this is by kayak. I don't have contacts so I'll save that for some other time.

After the rafting there was a nice dinner and then people proceeded to get really, really drunk. I felt like I was in the middle of a frat party with beer bongs, guys smoking week in the bushes, and naked men running around. Some guy end up getting the snot beaten out of him by some guards and ended up in the hospital while someone was passing around a camera with pictures of a couple found having sex. I feel claustrophobic and out of place sorrounded by so many wazungu. I don't really think I'm ready for the US. This morning everyone over 25 moved out with the hope of finding somewhere more peaceful. The volunteers who came up with me headed back to Nairobi. Can't imagine the 2 day journey and $50 visa was worth it but they seemed happy. Went bungee jumping this morning which was fun. It was a 44 metre drop where you land in the water. I think I will cross that off my list of things to do in my lifetime (Unless I come across a much higher tower). Otherwise this place is absolutely beautiful and I have lazing around in these comfy couches on a porch overlooking the Nile.

This is the freest I have felt in my entire life. The last time I had no pressures on me was between undergrad and grad school and then I didn't have any cash. The peace corps check goes a long way in Africa.

Bad timing in coming to Uganda. Ebola just hit Kampalla and is heading East while there are also cholera, yellow fever, and some other epidemic all hitting at the same time. Add to this the schistosomiasis that I probably got from swimming in the Nile. If untreated I will be pissing blood in a few months. Good things to look forward firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-13990556127661884012007-12-08T05:37:00.000-08:002007-12-08T06:17:54.467-08:00Dec 8 Sat
Tomorrow I head to Uganda for whitewater rafting with a few other volunteers. I've been hearing about how amazing this rafting is for the last 2 years so I'm looking forward to it. It's supposed to be some of the best rafting in the world. Otherwise I'll see Kampala and maybe some of the smaller countries that way. No particular plan but just see where things lead me.

Other travel plans are to do a 10 day Buddhist retreat in Nairobi. It's right after Xmas and is perfect timing. I go in the 26th of December and the national elections are on the 27th. No contact with the outside world is allowed so I will skip the inevitable tribal battles and lootings. By the time I get out all the bodies and burn marks will be cleaned up. It sounds callous but it's not my country and I have no desire to be killed in it's wayward march towards democracy. Afterwards I fly to Ethiopia for a week and then to the US via a long layover in Amsterdam. I figure a few days in Holland can sufficiently corrupt me after any cleanliness remaining from the retreat.

Last Friday was the school closing. A very small affair where all the tests and reports get handed out, awards distributed, and a couple speeches. I said something about it being a pleasure to teach them and then we all went our separate ways. The whole weekend was spent organizing my stuff. Sell some, burn some, give some, and pack a little. I have never minded living in Kikuyuland until this weekend. Kikuyu culture is very acquisition oriented and very interested in getting the best deal. Being good Kikuyu people their strategy is to get as much out of me while giving as little as possible. People would come by, complain about how bad my belongings are, tell me how rich I am, and then offer absurdly low prices for everything. Several told me what good friends they are and then demand gifts. Some of these people I have never met before. My students all wanted "something to remember you by." "An education" was not the answer they were looking for. All in all annoying but very livable. I gave deals to all the deaf community and on the last night I walked to my neighbours and friends houses to give gifts to those who never asked for gifts.

Monday through Wednesday was spent spent filling out the hordes of paperwork associated with finishing a government contract. More annoyance. I sometimes think of that poem by TS Eliot about " the world not ending with a bang, but a whimper." When I joined Peace Corps it was a big deal with a 2 day introduction while staying at a Hilton. It ends with everyone leaving at different times, TB tests, and forms signed in quadruplicate. Now that I'm out it's kinda nice not being under the thumb of Peace Corps. No forms declaring where I will be and no restrictions on how and where I travel email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-41498073953760554512007-12-08T03:23:00.000-08:002007-12-08T05:35:44.458-08:00Nov 27
 The exams are over now. Every day for the last week and a half the kids got 2 exams a day. The 11th graders have been getting at least 1 exam or practical each day for the last 3 weeks. Not surprisingly they're pretty tired of the whole process. The teachers are pretty burnt out as well. I haven't gotten a full night of sleep since last Monday. Basically I mark for a couple hours, take a break, do a few things, mark some more, sleep, mark some more, etc. I will hopefully finish the marking tonight. A massively boring life. For 9th and 10th grade everyone gets 2 papers in English. One is writing compositions while the other is grammar, pronounciation, and comprehension. I feel bad as these are area exams and are written by the top schools. As part of their feeling superior the testmakers try to use impossible language and question twists that kids like mine can't handle. An example might be: "Indicate evidence of the stylistic devices apparent in the previous passage." My best students might know what evidence and passage mean but the rest is complete nonsense so they copy random sentences from the writing and hope they get points for it. Physics questions are things like: "If you mix 2400 cubic centimetres of salt water of density 1030 kg per cubic metre with 1600 cubic centimetres of fresh water of 1000 kg per cubic metre density than what is the density of the combination? Write the answer in SI units." It takes 3 formulas, 2 conversions and a fair amount of arithmetic to answer. Way beyond my guys. Almost everyone failed the physics exam but my english students actually did fairly well with most getting in the 30-60% range. Some even got into the upper 70%s which is a highly valued A. I'm kinda proud of my students. I think English was the highest scoring subject when it is normally one of the lowest scoring.

 After Friday's exams I headed into Nairobi to celebrate Thanksgiving with an embassy family I know. It was an interesting affair with conversation being the main course and food being the side dish. It turned out the occasion was a Bahai feast gathering which served traditional American food. The guests were a mix of Bahai people from all over the world doing various jobs in Nairobi. Most of the night was spent talking to an Angolan food development guy, an Irish African Geography prof, an Austrian UN intern, and an incredibly mature teenager. I spent the rest of the weekend with the family and yesterday started my close of service medical exam. Their main interest is in making sure all our medical issues are under control before sending us back. My Peace Corps contract got extended a week so I could focus on grading instead of admin. Tomorrow most people fly back to the US. I go back to site so I can turn in all my grades, fill in all the report forms, and close the school. It turns out the other PC teachers left most of their marking and the forms for their colleagues to finish. Somehow I can't see that happening at my school with our small, overworked staff. It's the last time I will probably see most of the other volunteers but I don't feel too bad about this. I think most of my connections are with the people in my community.

My parent's fundraiser raised about $3000. This is a pretty impressive amount of money given the size of the church (maybe 100 members) and the miniscule number of people I told about it. I bought a bunch of maps and textbooks using this money earlier today. One map per classroom and one revision book per subject. The rest of the money will be used to buy all the desks and chairs for the incoming class. If anything is left over it will be used to help construct a new classroom and maybe some athletic equipment. Ideas are soccer nets or a high jump. I think all are going to be greatly firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-86763922109115775392007-11-11T03:56:00.001-08:002007-12-08T06:19:46.454-08:00Fundraiser
My parents and their church are raising money for my school (Kiangochi Secondary School). There is no target goal though they are hoping to raise at least $1000. They are doing pretty well already as each of my brothers has chipped in $100 and I will do the same once I get my end of contract bonus. I will never pressure anyone to give money. You do so based on your own pocketbook, ethics, etc. and not on being nice to me. That said the school could really use money. They need 200,000 shillings ($3000) to finish a classroom for next year. This is a pretty basic need as it will allow the school to split the 9th graders from 90 students into two classes of 45 apiece. Government funding is stretched to the max and my school is politically irrelevant so very few outside funds come in. Building a school is a step by step affair and each step is very difficult as the students are generally poor, no teachers salaries are supported, and everything is from scratch. Any funds donated would be greatly appreciated. If you wish to donate you can email me (email@example.com) or my parents (email@example.com). Contacting the rents is a much better choice for a range of firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-74756295255826315512007-10-28T05:59:00.002-07:002007-11-11T03:26:34.378-08:00October 28, 2007
 Sorry I haven't updated in forever. Here is the basic update of how I am doing. I have thoughts and impressions written down which I haven't gotten around to typing out. Soon I will put these on this blog. I have one month left of service- 3 weeks of classes, one of tests and grading, and 1 of medical tests and filling out forms for Peace Corps and my school. Afterwards I go traveling and relax.
 I am looking forward to ending with thoughts of relief and wistfulness. All the students are beat down after a year of classes and intensifying pressures. There has been a recent crackdown on people who haven't paid their school fees so all the classes are much smaller- eg. from 40 down to 25. During the last set of exams a bunch of girls decided to pelt a teacher with rocks while he was proctoring their exam. Apparently 1 hit him pretty hard in the groin area. As expected no one would admit to it or turn in another person but 5 girls got suspended for 2 weeks. No idea if they had anything to do with the stoning. Added to this short rains have started- torrential rain at random times of the day and night. Altogether you have low morale among the students and faculty. As of next Thurs the worst will be through for me. Classes will finished and all I have to do is proctor exams and mark. These are the mock exams prepared by the area. Much easier to mark and no issue of bad printing jobs.
 My last entry was at the beginning of the term which was especially frustrating. All of those issues are annoying but generally you just ignore them and go on with your work.
 In terms of Peace Corps people in my group have already started leaving. Some are going directly back to the US non-stop, some are traveling, some are going stay in other jobs, and a couple are extending for another year. Virtually all of the teachers will join up at the end of the month for our end of service medical exams (which last 3 days).

Sept 20
 There are days I am just so tired of everything. Teaching seems like a futile exercise. I've tryed for 2 years to get my 10th grade students to write anything interesting. If I ask them to write a story 80% of the time there is a paragraph about how they woke up, went to bathroom (Frog's Kingdom), made tea, and had breakfast. The other 2 paragraphs are about getting on a matatu and traveling to visit someone. Sometimes they write about being held up in the matatu. It gets really old reading 50 versions of the same boring story. For comprehension they are completely unwilling to use their own words. All questions are answered by copying a sentence from the text. Often one completely unrelated to the question. When asked "What is the story about?" the answer is always the title or the first sentence. When asked for a summary more than half copy the 1st paragraph. The intelligent students copy the first sentence of the first four paragraphs. A few students aren't very intelligent and some don't understand English well but the main thing is they are just so afraid to try anything new. Partly it's a lack of self-esteem and partly it's a cultural thing. Either way it's incredibly boring. All attempts to broaden their writing repertoire or to use their own words have failed.
 In terms of Physics I am especially depressed. The opener exam was written by the other teacher. He's pretty lazy so he basically copied the exam we gave them 2 months ago, word for word. All my students failed. Most got around 20% with the best student getting 50%. I thought most of the questions were pretty easy- convert cm2 to m2. What is the point of teaching if your students never learn? It's the same in the teaching. You could spend an hour having them one work one simple equation. A week later you give the same problem and you get complete confusion. Many will sit there like fish out of water and say "We are not understanding" in this helpless voice. It's like you have to start all over again. When I give a question I go around and either give a red check for correct or a chalk X for incorrect. If a student gets an answer correct everyone around copies him. I've watched the migration of many an answer from one student to the rest of the class. Out of a class of 40 usually only 3-8 students got the right answer and the rest copied. They then want me to write "good work" or the like. They are desperate for approval but unwilling or unable to actually do the work. They have this idea that getting the right answer is more important than thinking.

 It's especially frustrating teaching the 9th graders. There is absolutely no feedback. Whatever you say or ask they will not respond. After 8 months there are a couple students who respond with whispers to simple questions. They have gotten to the point where blatantly wrong statements get whispers of disagreement. It's also frustrating because no one will ever do homework. If I make it less than 5 minutes a little less than half the class does it. Some students write absolutely nothing. If you look in their notebooks they're empty. They just sit and stare at you. Partly they don't understand English, partly the attempt is just too much, and partly they just don't care.

 It's funny. Whenever I get frustrated at seeming stupidity I have 3 voices whispering in my ear. One is an ex coworker saying "they're just kids, give em a break." Another is my brother saying "they're from a different culture, they have other priorities." The last one is my own "this is their third or fourth language, they have no idea what you're saying."

 I understand where a lot of these problems are coming from. Partly they are just teenagers. Most are 16-20. The attention span of your average teenager anywhere in the world is zip so asking a student to do homework and then not enforcing it is like you never asked.

 A lot of these things are cultural. There is enormous pressure from the parents and community to perform well but then no actual support for the student. A student studying at home is considered lazy, because studying is not real work. They should be fetching water, carrying firewood, milking the cow, or the millions of other chores necessary for a farm. There is little attention paid to the actual kid. Most parent's are uneducated and don't really understand what education is, other than that it is critically important and it leads to good jobs. The educated parents would never think to talk to their kids about school. Beating is the preferred method for misbehaving children while positive reinforcement is considered spoiling the child. Also, everything taught in school is a world apart from normal life. They see no relavence to things like Pascals Theory or the use of the apostrophe and the reality is that there is none. The only purpose of 90% of the info is to pass the massively difficult graduation test.

 The language issue is critical. I've been told of studies done teaching and testing students in their native language. Kids do just fine. At school they're overwhelmed with thousands of English words every day. It's not surprising that most of them turn their brains off.

 Even with all of these reasons I find that understanding is not enough. I can comprehend why my students remember nothing, have zero creativity, refuse to talk, and copy like crazy but I still have problems accepting it. My various attempts to reduce these activities have had almost no impact. The question is "Do I give up or keep trying?" My answer is to keep trying for the next 3 months. I can keep myself together for 3 more months. I think I would be incredibly unhappy if I had to continue this for the rest of my life, or even for another year. Every day I vow to never teach stupid, unmotivated kids again. I know these kids are not truly stupid or unmotivated. It just seems like it. At one point I was thinking about becoming a teacher. The problem is I kept putting conditions on this. I would not do it if the pay was low, the place was boring, the administration poor, or the kids were stupid, unmotivated, or rude. I think that pretty much cuts out just about all teaching.

 On the plus side I am deeply grateful we have no hardcore students

 There are other things I am tired of. I am tired of this cat allergy I have. No medication can fully control it so my nose is runny most of the time. Annoying when you shake hands so much and are in public view the whole day. I am tired of giardhea. A peace corps nurse told me I was treating it wrong and that I must treat it her way. Result was an antibiotic resistant strain which is painful, inhibiting, and very difficult to cure. Generally it stays quiet except when I eat good food or travel. There are other school issues beyond the students. The opener exam was so badly printed that I had the whole exam out loud to the students and spell any difficult words. A real pain when you have 2 tests going at the same time and comprehension has a story a page and a half long.

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email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-8176387376904242992007-08-24T10:09:00.000-07:002007-08-24T11:12:22.386-07:00July 15
 This has definitely been my best term. Every term is an improvement in teaching ability and slightly reduced stress but this one is a major improvement. I haven't had to fight to get the soccer balls fixed and the admin battles with the students aren't happening. Things like Fri cleaning are made a whole lot easier by having a soccer match afterwards. Two classes each put in money and then play a game after the cleaning is over. With something to look forward to the cleaning gets done in record time and the match is a nice way to end the week. It's also helping to build a community because the student's stay afterward to watch and root for their sides. I've played a couple times but usually sit on the sidelines and watch. This is an informal enough environment that the girls come and ask questions about the US or me. I also learn a little Kikuyu from them and just relax and enjoy talking to them.
 The form1 students are getting used to my teaching style and are improving their English to the point that they get the general gist of what is going on. For the most part I'm not trying to push their boundaries as much as I was before so things aren't quite as frustrating. I was stupid enough to try teaching haiku to the form 2s last term. Not the brightest idea.
 I finally have English textbook which is nice but a pain. There were 15 at the beginning of the term and 3 got stolen in the robbery. Just enough for 1 class. What I end up doing is taking all the books to 1 class read the story with them and giving them homework from it while for the other class I give a writing assignment or go over some idea. Basically I end up carrying the books back and forth constantly. It's hard to keep up with the books. Some kids try to hide them and every time students get sent home for lack of tuition I find half the books are missing. In any case it's a major improvement over me trying to produce different lessons every day for them.
 This term there have been no major fights or other drama items. One of my favorite students and his brother transferred to a better school nearby. As is usual the good students with stable money go to the better schools. One form 1 girl dropped out due to pregnancy and another got married. 1 boy was in the hospital for a while but just came back. A couple student's fathers died which is always a little sad. As always in sickness or death you don't ask why. One father had lung issues so it was either lung cancer or TB. Most TB happens in people immuno compromised by AIDS. Also, as always, when there is misfortune a harrambee is held. This is a simple school harrambee where the problem is announced at parade and kids give money to their prefects who pass it on to the class teachers. Most students give 10 shillings apiece and just under 2000 shillings was raised for each of the funerals and the sick boy.
 A big blow to the school was not getting a teacher from the government. Apparently we were in line to get a new teacher but at the last second the ministry official erased our name. I assume this is corruption because in looking at the list I know several of those schools don't need teachers. I understand we are supposed to forward some money but the school doesn't have the money for bribes and I really can't see my principal dishing out email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-16915632.post-19687879505970635992007-08-24T09:56:00.000-07:002007-08-24T10:03:15.527-07:00July 4th weekend
The biggest social gathering of the year for Peace Corps and the American community is the 4th of July. Everyone comes in Thurs or Fri and we completely filled the campground. People lying all over the floor and tents everywhere. The gathering on Sat went pretty well. It's pretty clear the American Community is real looking after the volunteers. We get free tickets (for food and whatnot) and gift bags filled with random promotional stuff. It has certain traditions- chilli cookoff, raffle (which favors volunteers), tug of war, roasted whole animals, and lots of beer. A good day- relax, listen to stories, eat decent food. For some reason I still find black clowns vaguely disturbing.
I was planning to go to the party that night but ended up talking to a recent volunteer. She started talking about her college and I started thinking that is sounded a lot like my school. Turns out she had also gone to to St. Mary's College and graduated last year. An unusal coincidence give how small the school is and how rarely I talk about college. It seems the school has improved considerably in the last 10 years and has all kinds of traditions now, most of which started after I left. It seems to have improved in just about every way and lost the heavy partying reputation it had for so many years.

An extra Cat
Last year 3 kittens were born in the school for the deaf. A few months later the mother was killed. One kitten joined my neighbor, one sortof lives with me, and a third is taken care of by my neighbor on the other side. The problem is she is deaf and tends to ignore the cat, sometimes for days. It's always on the pathway meowing loudly at people and is clearly unhappy. I felt bad enough that I started to feed it. It's naturally afraid of people so it would come in eat the food and then run out again. After a couple weeks it stopped being afraid, ate better, and even comes to me for pats sometimes. It wants the attention but doesn't want to get too close to people. The cat I've had I call Kitty Cat and this cat I call Annoying Cat. It deserves the name. It just sits there, back arched and meows pathetically. I remember reading about children who tend to get abused. They go from one family to another and otherwise decent parents start hitting the kid. It turns out the problem was the children's voice. It was so annoying it frustrated the parents and they let it out on the kids. I thought the idea was odd until I met this cat. This meow is so annoying it makes me want to hit something. Even if there is food the cat still meows. I feel it is my duty to give the basics to this pathetic creature but I can't say it's very firstname.lastname@example.com