PCV in Kenya: Weeks 51 & 52

Monday

Today was the day after our Thanksgiving feast, so we were still at Andy and Cici’s house. Andy made all of us blueberry pancakes for breakfast. They were delicious! This was another meal I haven’t had since being home. Shortly after breakfast, we packed up and left to go to Kisumu. Here, we ate lunch with Laura from Cohort 1 because she completes her service this week and we wanted to say goodbye. We then headed to the Peace Corps office so that a car could take us to Galore Resort, our site for Mid-Service Training (MST). I got settled into my room and then received a call from the Peace Corps Medical Office. In the excitement of seeing everyone and going to the resort, I had forgotten that I needed to get my second and final post-exposure rabies shot. So, I had to get back into the car to be driven back to the Peace Corps office for this shot. When I returned to the resort, it was time for dinner and time to catch up with everyone 😊

Tuesday – Thursday

During MST, we reviewed past training concepts and planned for the upcoming year. We also took another Language Proficiency Interview (LPI) to see how well our language has progressed since our Pre-Service Training LPI. It was nice to have a few days to catch up with some volunteers I don’t see regularly. We took full advantage of the pool and the food 😊 We also played a different game every night after dinner (Clue, Uno, Scrabble). On Tuesday, we were given updated COVID and flu shots. That same day, we were given a tuberculosis skin test. I thought this was a skin swab and was a bit bummed when I found out it was an injection. We were given that injection on Tuesday. This injection site was inspected on Thursday and I am negative for TB (yay!).

Friday

I woke up and packed up my things before going to breakfast. Around 9AM, a Peace Corps car drove us back into Kisumu. Laura and I used the next few hours to book some things for our trip next week 😊 From here, I headed to Megacity Mall. I did some quick grocery shopping before going upstairs to finally watch “Gladiator II”. It was so good! I was the only person in the theater again 😊 When the movie ended, I got on a matatu and headed back to my site. On my walk home, I ran into two of my students and they were nice enough to help me carry some of my bags. It turned out they are close neighbors of mine which was fun to learn. Once I settled back in my house, Nala and I had our snuggle session. I have to enjoy it while I can because she usually likes to have her own space on the couch. When I return from a trip is when she likes to be clingy 😊

Saturday

I woke up and got all my laundry ready. I then unpacked from the week and completed my Christmas decorations with a bow and a Christmas tree with materials I picked up in Kisumu. I then worked on my Istanbul blog before completing my action plan for this upcoming year of being a Peace Corps Volunteer. I also reached out to another Global Connection class. The teacher responded back to me today, so I am optimistic that it goes well and our students can learn a lot from each other. I then did some vacation preparation 😊 Around 5PM, I collected my dry clothes from the line and took pictures of some birds on the compound. They are bright yellow and make really unique nests in the trees. They are very loud as well. Back in my house, I made popcorn and mac n cheese for dinner while watching “Smallfoot”.

Sunday

I slept in and enjoyed a cup of coffee before making breakfast. From about 10AM – 2PM, I worked on trip planning. Laura and I’s trip is more spontaneous than the November trip, so there’s many details we need to hash out before we leave next week. I then spent the afternoon reading and checking out the new baby goats on our compound. We had twin baby goats born this afternoon and they are adorable. I made a quick dinner and watched “Rio 2” before calling it a night.

Monday

I started my day off by making café con leche and pancakes. I then finished my Göreme (Cappadocia) travel blog before going to the market. I spent almost all day here. I did some clothes and vegetable shopping and spent a lot of time at the tailor. I ran into Principal Richard and one of the board members and enjoyed a soda with them at one of the local hotelis. I got home around 6PM and wrapped my gift for the person I got in our Secret Santa group 😊 I then made shakshuka for dinner and watched “Law Abiding Citizen”. I also did some quick laundry for some of the clothes I found in the market today because I want to take them on my trip! I showered, did some sudoku, then called it a night.

Tuesday

I slept in a little then had leftover pancakes for breakfast. I then got Nala’s things ready for when I leave the house in a few days. I also weighed her so I know how much of the deworming pill I need to give her tomorrow. This involved me using my luggage scale and her carry case and some subtraction. She weighs 8lbs now! This is so crazy to me because she barely weighed 1lb when I first got her. I then spent the afternoon doing my nails. I gave myself a manicure and a pedicure. They turned out super cute and they are now vacation ready 😊 I watched “Law and Order: S.V.U.” to keep me entertained while I worked on my nails. When I finished, I heated up dinner and ate before packing for my trip. I still have a few more things to organize tomorrow morning, but I got a lot of packing done tonight. While I was working on this, I got a notification that my grant was fully funded! I am so excited to begin working on refurbishing and restocking the science laboratory when school starts back up in January. I am so thankful for all the people that helped spread the word about the grant and for those that contributed to the grant.

Wednesday

I spent the morning finishing my packing. Jack came over around lunch to charge all of his technology because he is still out of power. We spent a few hours playing cards on my porch which was very relaxing. When Jack left, Mama Gladys arrived. I spent some time catching up with her then headed to my house to make dinner and ensure my house was ready to leave tomorrow.

Thursday

I moved Nala and her things in with Mama Gladys before closing up my house. I then headed to the tarmac so I could take a matatu to Owimbi. From here, I caught a bus to Siaya Town. In town, I met up with Luke for lunch at Hotel Lordes. We enjoyed some pineapple pizza which was pretty good! We then did some grocery shopping before parting ways. I treated myself to a tuktuk instead of a probox to Laura’s house. We spent the next few hours editing down my packing (I’m what some would call an over-packer) and booking all our bus tickets at our destination. We then made rice and cabbage for dinner before calling it a night so we were well rested for our trip tomorrow!

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