Happy Day!

It's a good week.  When making the commitment to Peace Corps, volunteers naturally have the notion that they are exiling themselves from home for two years.  But contrary to that pre-departure anticipation of exile, I feel so very much at home.  My house, squat toilet and all, feels like my house.  Power cuts, water shortages, concrete floors and lumpy mattress be damned, this is home!  I get that familiar feeling of comfort, coziness and relief when I return at the end of a long day.  It's my happy place.

The neighborhood kids have warmed up to me somewhat since my arrival (they no longer shout "Mzungu!" at me; we know each others' names; I try to amuse them by saying silly stuff Kiswahili; they like it when I play my Ukulele).  But there's still been a feeling that I'm a bit of an outsider; some of the kids are curious but keep their distance.

Today, for whatever reason, that barrier broke down a little.  When I got home the kids were climbing the guava trees next to my porch, picking the fruit for an afternoon snack.  They gave me a few, and I sat down with them on the porch to chow down.  Ramla, a little girl from next door who has been shy around me, decided today was the day she would warm up.  She started by playing with my hair (lots of kids are intrigued by the texture of European hair), and this progressed to us making funny faces at each other and eventually her climbing all over me like I was a jungle-gym (as 3 year-olds are apt to do).  A few other kids caught on to the idea, and soon enough I had a small group of 3-6 year-olds crawling all over me.  It felt really good just to goof around with them.  Playtime and laughter breaks down language barriers like nothing else.

All the physical contact felt really good too- touching pretty much doesn't happen here unless you're shaking hands or crammed on a bus.  I miss hugs and being close with people.  A good dose of little kids climbing all over me was just what I needed.

Tonight I sat out on the porch with two of my neighbors: 13 year old Zuhura and 5(?) year old Yahia.  Zuhura's a riot- she's got a sassy sense of humor and is often poking fun at me. She's also a good singer.  We traded off singing- I played my Uke and she sang some songs from India that she knew.  Yahia sang along in gibberish English with my songs.  Zuhura told me that she got good marks on the exit exam from primary school, so on Monday she's heading off to start secondary school at a good boarding school an hour away.  I was proud of her and told her congratulations, but it makes me sad that my neighbor and singing buddy is going away.  At the same time, it was nice to realize that I've grown close enough to some people to miss them when they're gone.  I've made myself a home!

Just a couple of pictures this time, but I'm extra fond of them.  Quality over quantity!

Christmas part 2!  My family somehow fit all these presents in one box!  I laid them out, made a cup of coffee with extra sugar and powdered milk, put on some holiday tunes, and set about a late January Xmas.

Power outage = Internet by lamplight