Saturday, October 31, 2009

The last month! What a blur!

So I wrote a new blog this week, but then was rummaging through my belongings and found a blog that I had written about 4 weeks ago, yet never posted. And since I went through the effort of scribbling it on a napkin and everything, I thought I ought to post it before posting my new blog entry.

So this was life approximately 4 weeks ago...

It's been quite a week. Where to even begin? Perhaps I will pick up with the rodents in my bedroom. I declared war on the mice in my room and managed to catch two of them - But in the end, I think they got the last laugh because the noises they made when they got caught in my trap will forever haunt me. I also managed to catch some sort of stomach infection. I am feeling 100% now, but plan on exercising extreme caution in the future, so I will hopefully never experience anything like it again (though I know that it is inevitable that I will get sick here again...whether it be a parasite or a bacterial infection, malaria or whatever, I will get sick again). I also electrocuted my left hand - twice. It happened on a shower at our training center. I'm hoping this will only lead to an awesome super hero power and not any sort of permanent nerve damage. But anyway, perhaps the biggest news this week is that I found out my site! I am going to be working at a baby's home just outside of Mbale and I can't wait to get to site!

And here's life right about now...

It was hard to imagine that training would actually come to an end, but I am finally at site. I was sworn in as an official Peace Corps volunteer two weeks ago and now I'm working at a baby's home just outside of Mbale, which was established by the Catholic Diocese in the late 1960s. The home itself is run by several nuns and support staff: mothers (women who take care of the babies in the home), cooks, cleaning and laundry staff, compound cleaners etc. The home takes in children (ages 0-5) that have been abandoned and those whose mothers have died at childbirth or are too severely handicapped to care for the children. Some of the children have fathers and/or some relatives, others are total orphans. For most of the children, when they reach age 5, the home seeks to either resettle the child with their father or extended family, if they have any, or resettle them in a foster home.

I've been here a little over a week now, and I have already found myself very busy. When I arrived, the baby's home had made a three month plan for me regarding the work for me to do. Last week, I spent time in the home, observing the daily activities of the children and staff, and then I also went and introduced myself to the local leaders in the community. My organization also took me around to other non-profits, clinics, and orphanages in my district. This week, I taught hygiene classes to the staff at the baby's home and next week I will be monitoring the implementation of the methods I taught, as well as planning nutrition classes for the following week.

On the side of this, I am working with my mom to make a website for the baby's home. I really should say that my mom is making it because I have no clue how to make a legitimate website. I am simply providing the pictures and the information. So, thanks mom : )

In terms of adjusting to the new community, I'm getting use to things. Slowly by slowly. I know where the grocery store and produce market are and I am starting to figure out what sort of things I can cook for myself that taste okay and have at least some nutritional value. I've also located the fast internet cafe and a restaurant that serves impressive hamburgers and pizza and another that serves a good breakfast. And thankfully, now that I have started cooking for myself and eating things a little more familiar to me, my stomach and appetite are back to normal.

I'm learning how to get around here as well. It's a bit of a walk into town. Well, to be honest, it's probably not that far, but with the heat I normally don't want to do it. Last week, my supervisor showed me where to catch a mutatu and told me all the correct fees for things, like the bicycle taxis. I took one a few days ago and I have to admit, it was really fun. It was only a bit awkward when the journey home took us up a hill and our pace slowed down to that of a snails. At that point, I could have worked faster and felt a bit like a jerk.

I'm also learning what it means to live next door to a Catholic church. As for living next to a Catholic church, at least the church I live next to really wants to make sure that no one forgets to go to mass. On Saturday evening, the church blasts old hymn music for a couple hours. It's so loud that I can hear the song lyrics crystal clear in my house and Saturday nights I have a bit of a sing-along with the church's loud speakers. So as for as Saturday night music goes, I don't mind it much, the old school stuff doesn't get on my nerves. But come Sunday morning, starting right around 6 a.m., the church blasts contemporary Christian music, ensuring that I will have music that I don't enjoy stuck in my head for at least that day and that I will never sleep in on a Sunday for the next two years. Maybe God is trying to tell me something...