HELPPPP!!!!

10/3/08

Sad tummy…

So a few days ago (can’t remember exactly when) I was complaining to Amanda about my frequent restroom trips and I must say, thankfully since I have been here I haven’t had any serious sickness (knock on wood). However, I have had a few irregular days per say and lucky ole Amanda always gets the pleasure of knowing. Anyhow, she suggests a possible reason-the fresh juice. I am not convinced it could be the juice. I mean, I have been eating the fruit since I have been here and nothing has happened. So what could possibly be wrong with the ‘fresh’ squeezed juice that Amanda so gracefully explained a few days ago to Haika? Well, I decided to watch Haika make it tonight and to my surprise she is NOT using bottled water. Go figure. I suppose I won’t end up dead in the bathroom if I start drinking their tap water now.

Well, that was my revelation I had tonight after eating dinner, but let’s talk about this morning…

Again, I awake before Amanda. That’s two days in a row and I think I should get some sort of applaud for that. Hell, I even went to bed later. So anyways, we rush out of the house with food stuffed in our mouths and a banana in hand, while telling Hakia not to worry. Such an American thing—eat on the go, but we were late. So we meet up with the other foreign Americans and begin piling into a daladala. We were headed off to the embassy to watch the debates. While standing to get into the embassy we met an American family who currently lives in Dar and is the pastor at a nearby Christian church. Everyone else seemed a little less interested, but I totally want to check out the church (it has AC!) and maybe get to know the family. They seem really sweet and even have a baby less than a year old. Ah, can’t get better than that. They offered to cook us some American food and handed us their card. Maybe next Sunday I will meet them for church and hang out at their house after. Hey, finally somewhere I might fit in! They even said their house has air—bonus!! I could get used to every Sunday after church hanging out in an air conditioned house and playing with a baby while devouring some good ole American food! I just really don’t know my way around Dar yet and certainly won’t venture out in the dark alone, but fear not! Anyhow, after the debates we managed to sneak into the cafeteria! We had to find us an escort and all he kept saying, ‘the food isn’t that great.’ Well, they had Heinz ketchup! That was a good start. I must say, my cheeseburger wasn’t all that yummy and Amanda and I decided we didn’t want fries as we had previously eaten a ton of potatoes the day before (our host family bought some American ketchup and we nearly used ¼ of the bottle while stuffing our faces with chips and having our own dialog with droll running down our chins). Anyhow, somehow we all managed to get French fries and they were also a tad of a let down. I am actually quite found of the fresh chips Haika makes along with out new found American ketchup! Despite my hamburger, everyone else seemed rather extremely happy with the food they had order. For the first time in three weeks I felt like an American, with a bunch of Americans, eating in the American embassy! Could I ask for anything more on my third week anniversary?! Ah, yes, Amanda and I ventured back to the movie theaters to watch Kung Fu Panda with a coke and some popcorn! I bought some honey—not sure what I will do with it, but it’s yummy and makes me happy for now. Since I don’t drink coffee or tea, Amanda wants me to mix it with hot water and drink honey water. I vaguely remember Crystal drinking something similar to this once in Utah when she was sick if I remember right, but I will give it a try one day. Oh, and still haven’t received the package Crystal sent. Great sadness, but no worries—I am eating plenty!


10/4/08

Sniff Test…

So my OCD is really kicking me in the butt and thankfully I don’t have a serious case of it-although that all depends on who you might ask. Maybe some of my crankiness stems from having to relinquish my ability of wearing fresh smelling clothes and taking nice hot showers twice daily. Seriously, when I awoke this morning I had a text, “how did you sleep?” Well my response was something along the lines of, ‘good, as good as one can sleep on a noisy boxy bed under a mosquito net with no AC.’ Yeah, real splendid and Amanda and I have conveniently forgotten to mention that sleeping under the net is about 5 degree’s hotter than sleeping outside the net. So the heifer I am went two nights without the net, but I have resorted back to my tent like princess bed after accumulating too many mosquito bites. I am not entire sure they are from not sleeping under the net, but until I heal I will use my net and try again another day. Anyways, before I went on a side tangent, my original thought process of explaining my OCD behaviors is the fact I can’t stop staring at my pile of clothes. I have about half my clothes unpacked (I packed WAYY too many) and the other half sit so beautifully folded and stacked on a shelf. Not! I don’t even have separate piles like, here are my shirts...here are my shorts…here are my pants…nope, they are all just there. Some are still actually clean (I am hoarding my clean clothes! Shhh…I have a very difficult time wearing them. I guess I want to keep them clean? Maybe it makes me feel better? Maybe I like the idea that I still have a soft shirt? Maybe if I use one shirt a week it’ll last me till December?) and some are dirty, but still wearable. Yes, they have passed the sniff test! I guess I would rather be a little stinky and in soft clothes than have Haika wash them and turn them crunchy! My thought process is so wacked, but nonetheless there is no rhyme or reason to my stash of clothes and it’s driving me wild! I want my shirts, shorts, pants, socks, etc to all have their own little home, but there they sit. Sigh. So, how does an item of clothing fail the sniff test you might wonder? Well, depending on the article of clothing such as a shirt—I sniff the armpits and if I can still smell the deodorant than life is good and it finds itself a home somewhere on the shelf if not, it ends up in the ‘dirty’ basket. Every time I do this, I laugh slightly to myself and wonder if I should keep this technique when I return home?!

Sick…

It’s been a lazy day and quite honestly, I am driving myself crazy. I didn’t feel like hiking to campus today with Amanda. I really didn’t have enough typed and figured why submit myself to such a torturous uphill hike? Anyhow, I skipped breakfast and decided to be a bum and lay on my squeaky springy bed. Amanda totally got the better bed…it’s raised and it’s quite! Damn her and her stilted silent bed! Anyways, Debbie comes up to our room around 1 and asks me if I am ‘sick, daddy wants to know because you haven’t come downstairs.’ Argh, no I am not sick I just lack the social skills Amanda has and I prefer to hibernate in my room where I know it’s safe with my phone and book. Speaking of which, Emmanuel won’t stop texting me! I need to really stop listening to Amanda. She assures me, after I give her a wide eyed look when he grabbed my arm, that it’s ok and nothing more than a cultural thing. Hell, this would be awkward for me if I was in America, but I pretend like everything is kosher. Ha! When our other foreign friends showed up (thanks to Amanda—she has finally done something right!) he finally released my arm to greet them. Big sigh of relief…I have never been so grateful to see all the other foreigners and thanks to our other American friends I am now aware that it’s NOT culturally ok! I have been ignoring his texts or saying I am busy, but if it continues perhaps I will take matters up mama Kaaya because this could make for a very long awkward two months especially since he works in the links office which is where all the foreigners go!


10/5/08

Classes…

So classes are supposed to start tomorrow. Ya, lets hope! Baba is going to drop me at my first class because it’s on his way. Yes, it saves me a hike! Whoo hoo…seriously, I am really excited because the hike to school is all up hill and totally sucks ass!! Although, I have a funny feeling there won’t be a class or at least not the right class I am looking for. Who knows, but we shall see tomorrow morning! I mapped out my class schedule today and though it makes very little sense, three of my classes overlap on one day. How is that possible? Ah, I guess that’s a mystery left up to the African school system. I am not worried though because I have another funny feeling that this is not really when the classes are or where they really might be located, but I really hope classes start tomorrow. Sitting around watching monkeys play outside and messaging on my phone is very entertaining, but I am afraid it’s getting old and boring.

Music…

How is my little music man doing? Is he still seeing Clare or does Tracy need to come collect my piano?! ;) Ah, I am listening to Fantasia hence my musical thoughts…I need some new music. Ok, I don’t need but I am waiting for blank CD’s to snatch some music from Amanda and maybe some other foreign students! Anyhow, it’s 9 pm and I have had a very successful day of doing nothing! I am trying to enjoy my free time, but also failing miserably at this social game!

Oh, before I forget…yesterday at the little birthday celebration they had for Debbie, mama Dorica asks Amanda and I if we want to attend this casual dinner party for a family member’s graduation. We agree figuring we have no other plans and nothing better to do. Well, I almost backed out, but figured I would suck it up and go. We get dressed and head up to campus with mama Dorica. Ha, these Africans are funny people because it was more than just casual! I felt like I was at another wedding! Amanda conveniently gets a phone call from her dad and leaves me alone. I am a big kid, I can handle this, but Amanda is my side kick. She does all the socializing while I nod and smile! Anyhow, she comes back and to her surprise I managed to find her some good ole Tusker beer—yuck! Anyhow, we decide we feel out of place and this event might actually last hours so Amanda decides to ask baba if we can catch a daladala back home. It’s not far and we’re actually still on campus, but baba says he will take us. So he drives us home and follows us inside telling Haika to feed the Americans (she thought she had the night off!) and he goes upstairs to catch the new soccer game. Ah, that was his only motive for taking us home! Ha ha! Anyhow, while we are eating Haika wants to play with Amanda’s camera. The two of us totally reinforced her behaviors which lead to a very interesting night. It was pretty priceless, but totally left Amanda a little agitated!

Ok, that’s all for tonight! Hope to post this tomorrow sometime…so until then…oh, wait…Emmanuel texted me AGAIN…it reads…

“HI! I took to the place, I took three tins of cocacola, I danced until 10pm, I took my way back to sleep on campus, it was nice. How was the birthday party?”

I have not responded to his last THREE messages! HELPPPPP!