Month-aversaries!

This week marked the fifth month I have been in Kenya and the third month I have been at site. I really didn't want to be one of those people who counts month-aversaries like a high school relationship but I thought it would be a good point to stop and reflect on my time here. Also, we got our first Volunteer Reporting Forms from Peace Corps and I may or may not have freaked out a bit because I felt like I didn't have anything to write on the paper. In training, we were told to always lead with accomplishments because nobody like a Debbie Downer (or Bitter Betty as is often the case with me). Thus, I present you the highs and lows of my PC experience so far:

Victo
Victories!
1. Women's group in Rotian
I have been working with several women's groups in a village Rotian, about 20km from town. OFDC provided a micro-credit loan for one group last year and they will pay their last payment next month. I am working on getting a work-able micro-credit program in place that can outlive my stay here in Kenya. On paper, there isn't much that I've "accomplished" with these women but I feel that there is now a trust between us and my sister/counterpart/translator/supervisor's wife/bestie Josephine. When I say something, they generally listen and they feel comfortable asking me questions, which I really appreciate. there's a kind of yes-ma'am culture here where people tell you they agree with something or you have a good idea but then they never do it so obviously they didn't like it. I feel like I'm getting less of this from the women.

2. Taking back my diet!
When I first came to site, it was a hard adjustment. I imagined I would be living in my own house, maybe with a guest room and sitting room and my own kitchen. Well, I live in a house that always has between 5 and 20+ people in it and all the cooking is done communally. It was hard at first to try and eat what I wanted because I had to conform to their meal times. And, even if I had already eaten in my room, if they didn't see me eat, they would make me eat again. Now, I feel more comfortable with my family here and will just tell them when I don't want something (I hate eating rice and potatoes) or when I've already eaten something. This was partially done by letting them taste a bit of what I had cooked. If they said they liked it, I told them I would make it for them. I'm still eating oatmeal alone in my room in the morning :-) Also the amount of oil and/or lard that is in every meal is just taking it's toll on me and I can't deal with it and I told them that. They think I should just get fat and marry a Kenyan. Ummm.... no thanks- Kenyan women do too much work!

3. Friends!
Even though I am super far from other PCVs, especially those in my training class, I have been able to make a few friends here at site. Two are pictured in the last post, Moses and Sachiko and there is also another volunteer working at an organization AfricaHope. There is another JAICA (Japanese PC) volunteer but I haven't met her yet, and another woman who works at a different safehouse who comes back and forth between Kenya and America. I'm estatic that many of these friends are girls because guys and girls really aren't seen as friends here. Friends pretty much equals FWB in some way. The first two months I was just hanging out with Moses and the two other PCVs in the Mara, Brian and Frank, so my town probably thought I was some loose floozy. Oh, and two of these friends have their own apartments with SHOWERS!

4. Internet and iPod
A bit of me was jealous of those PCVs in villages when I found out I would be in a 40k person town. Isn't that the whole PCV experience? Being in the bush, tucked away from society? Well, the good things about being in a town are: reliable transportation (as reliable as it can be in Kenya), access to different kinds of food (I found cucumbers the other day!), aaaaand speedy-ish internet service. Which means iTunes has been my best friend for the past month (iTunes gift cards still a great gift that needs no shipping!!!). Maybe it's a bit un-PC-like but I have been keeping up on my prime shows like Gossip Girl, The Good Wife, The Office and Modern Family. Oh and of course the podcasts- I heart Anderson Cooper and Neil Conan is my best friend I never see. Sure it takes a whole night do download one episode but when I lay in the morning under my mosquito net and listen to Michael Scott or chuckle at the ridiculousness that is Serena van der Woodson, it's like a slice of home and gives me some uuumph to get through the day. I could pretend that I didn't have access to these shows or the internet, but what's the point in that? PC is hard enough with me denying myself the small pleasures I can actually have.

5. My iPod
So, I was going to the airport on May 26 and halfway there I realize I forgot my iPod on the charging dock. Who does that?!!? We thought we didn't have enough time to go back even though my flight ended up being delayed so I totally did. At that time I was in the whole, let's not be materialistic, this is the Peace Corps frame of mind. Well, I landed in Nairobi and saw that my music had also not transferred from my Mac to my netbook. So I had no iPod and no music on my computer= NO MUSIC AT ALL! Seeing as how someone in the post office stole 6 letters to my mom and sister and 4 packets of Crystal Light someone sent me, the chances of my iPod making it from Cincinnati, Ohio to Narok, Kenya were below 0. Thankfully, my mom was able to send it to Nia, who was able to bring it with her when she came last week. Yay!!!!!!!!

6. Health
I haven't been sick yet! Well except the one day I accidentally ate a piece of meat and another day when I don't know what happened but I spent the night with my bucket. Both of these were one night occurrences that passed by morning so I don't count them but during the 12 hours when they happened I could tell that being sick here would make me very unhappy. And Josephine's dad happened to be in the room next to me that night and told me in the morning he heard me hurl. That must have been awesome for him...

Frustrations
1. Lack of personal space and privacy.
Those of you who know me, know that I like my me time and I like my space. No one in my house (except my supervisor) has ever lived on their own, alone, and they think I am crazy when I go sit in my room and read or surf the internet. I definitely try to be social but I'm usually working alone for a few hours in the day or running errands in town (I hate running errands with people) and then at night they pretty much know after I take a bath and eat dinner I'm going to my room. They think I just sleep a lot even though I told them that I go and read for a bit and then go to sleep. They seem incredulous but I just can't sit in the living room for 3 hours while the TV is on super-full blast watching terrible Nigerian movies or even more horrible Kenyan dramas. Sometimes I like to watch the English version of the news at 9 but usually by then I am in my cocoon.

2. Lack of work
Yes, I know, 2/3rds of my "job" here is supposed to be cultural exchange. I share about America and learn about Kenya. However, that in and of itself is not enough for me to spend two years away from my friends and family and out of the real work force. Part of me joined PC to have a slower pace of life and take some reflection time but a much bigger part joined to DO SOMETHING! Which means I need to DO SOMETHING! There's not much to do, or more likely, I haven't found it yet. That's not to say I haven't been looking though. I try to meet at least one new person a day, explain that I'm a business volunteer and let them know if they need any help to call me. I figured as free labor I would be highly sought after. Not so. Once they see that I'm not giving out money (with the exception of Rotian), they usually aren't interested. Part of it is that I am wary of pushing myself onto someone's business or their group. If you don't think you need accounting help, fine. You think your inventory and pricing are the best they can be, cool with me. I would think that learning how to make more money would be just as interesting as getting loan money. Oh well

3. Being out of the loop
Kenya is about 2x the size of Nevada, so a decent size when you are traveling by car all the time. PCVs are throughout the country but many are clustered in Western (about 5 hours from me) and the Coast (about 15 hours from me). The PCVs in Western get together all the time, some see other volunteers on a daily basis because they live so close. Even those who aren't clustered are usually within a 1hr walk/ bike ride from another volunteer. My closest volunteer is a 1.5hr matatu (van) ride away in Bomet, where there are 5 or 6 volunteers around each other. Although I am making do (see #3 Victory), I always feel out of the loop of what goes on with fellow PCVs. After all, the PC friendships many people make last a lifetime and I'm lucky if I get to meet up with other PCVs once a month and it costs me 1/4 of my living allowance and a full day's trip.

4. The choo
I just hate it. I don't think I will ever get used to it. It's gross and inevitably smelly no matter how you clean it because it's a hole in the ground filled with people's waste.

So, all in all, the victories seem to be outweighing the frustration even though it doesn't feel that way on a daily basis. I constantly wonder what the heck I am doing here and if me being here will actually make any difference. I have had some moments where I didn't want to be here, as in at site, but I haven't yet had a period of time where I wanted to get on a plane and go back home. They say the first three months are the hardest so I'm putting a lot of stock in November!

Sorry for the long post!