PCV in Kenya: Week 10

Monday

School was normal and good. I stopped at the market on my way home for vegetables. When I got home, I cleaned up my house and made dinner. I was able to watch “Looper” and “S.W.A.T.” tonight. It rained very hard when the sun went down so the power went out tonight. It was ok because I had my portable charger ready 😊

Tuesday

I got a lot of work done at school today. I picked up bread and eggs on my walk home and called Andy. He had told me he needed to tell me some bad news and I could not have prepared for what he was going to say. He had to break the news to me that our friend Chase, Leah’s fiancé, had died this morning. Chase was a Georgia State Trooper and died while on duty. Chase and Leah mean the world to me. Even though I knew Chase because of Leah, he always included me like I was his friend too. I am truly devastated and it is not an easy thing to wrap my head around being away from my main support system at home. I managed to make some dinner and watched “Orion and the Dark” to help calm down before I tried to go to sleep.

Wednesday

I couldn’t sleep last night but I decided to go to work so I didn’t have to sit by myself at home. I started meeting with my students one on one today in hopes of figuring out what they’re struggling with and how I can help as we move forward. I think this was a good start and it is also helping me get to know the personalities of my students better. While being at work was a good distraction, I was still so tired and so sad that I left school early. I called my dad and Abbie which helped me feel a little better. I warmed up my dinner and watched “Fried Green Tomatoes” before going to bed.

Thursday

I had my early class and lessons with most of my students today. They went well and I spent most of the day in Peter’s office working on making quizzes and revision resources for my students. It also allowed me to be out of the main teacher work area so I didn’t have to interact with many people. Leah wrote Chase a beautiful obituary today and I should have waited until I got home to read it because I couldn’t stay at school any longer after that. I went to the market and then decided to have a language class with Elma which was another good lesson. I went home and was greeted by a snake in my house. It was green and black. I called Sammy to come help me kill it (see pic below for Sammy searching for it) and while he was successful in getting it out of my house, it slithered away too quickly for him to catch it. After this fiasco, I was able to talk to Leah and I needed that chat with my friend. While I love what I am doing and I love living abroad, it hurts me to not be able to be there for my friend. After talking to Leah, I called Aunt Susan and it was another much-needed chat. I heated up my dinner and watched “It Could Happen to You” before washing my dishes. Nala has decided to start playing with my fragile shoe rack and breaks it about every night now, so I will need to glue it together this weekend.

Friday

I had another normal day at school today. I responded to emails, made some assessments, taught my classes, and continued my one on one meetings with my students. I went home and downloaded shows and movies to my phone before resting a bit. Junior, a little boy about 7 years and one of my neighbors, was playing in my yard when I got up from my nap so I went outside and played soccer with him for about an hour. When the sun went down, I heated up my dinner and watched “Monk” before calling it a day.

Saturday

I had another Saturday morning of laundry and sweeping, but today I also got to use my vacuum cleaner (thank you Aunt Rhonda!). After cleaning up the house and finishing my laundry, I made pancakes and rested until Archer and Gladys came home. I talked to them some then collected my laundry from the line because it began raining. Back in my house, I worked on some crafts then made dinner. The bug infestation of January 5th happened again tonight which is less than ideal. I ate dinner in my bed under the bug net and couldn’t turn the lights on so I showered in the dark, watched some of “Yellowstone”, and went to bed.

Sunday

I had a rough start to the day being that I had to reclean my entire house because of the bugs. After I took a nap, I worked on finishing my shirt. I purchased a shirt in the market a few months ago that was a bit too small. So, I opened up the sides and made bows to go along the sides of the shirt so I can still wear it. In the afternoon, I went and sat with Gladys and Archer outside until they left. I also met all the new baby animals that were born this week (and I got to name them). We have three new baby goats, one baby lamb (born this morning), and many baby chicks. Two of the goats are twins and the third was born yesterday. Of the twins, I named the boy T’Challa and the girl Nakia. The third goat is brown and named Zuri. The baby lamb is named Shuri. This week’s animal names were inspired by “The Black Panther” 😊 There were too many chicks to give them names, but they’re adorable. After Gladys and Archer left, I went back to my house and ate ramen and pancakes for dinner because I didn’t have anything else to cook. I fixed some of my nails that had become chipped this week and used a pumas stone on my feet because five months of sandals is doing a number on them. I moved the big fan into my room for the night and slept through the night for the first time this week.

To Chase

Where to begin my friend. I met and became friends with you and Leah on what was truly one of the most chaotic days of my life. In true Chase and Leah fashion, you both helped me process what the heck was going on with my life while eating dinner in your living room. Little did y’all know, that would become a Sunday afternoon tradition that I will forever cherish. I will remember you every time I have a Collateral at NoFo Brew, stumble into a Waffle House past midnight, cheer on the Braves, watch Atlanta United, go out on Halloween, third wheel, or eat too many “hot balls”. Thank you for being an exemplary friend and human being. Look for my cousin Travis up there in heaven because I know y’all would be great friends. Until we meet again. 

P.S. I apologize for never doing the bottle race and I’ll make sure Andy and Leah hold me accountable when I come home.

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