So I've been slacking a little bit. The end of PST is definitely the busiest (and most stressful) between a weeks vacation in Machakos and the final LPI test. So I really have quite a bit to catch up on, because now we are in Nairobi and I have... over 3 weeks to catch up on.
So the vacation in Machakos wasn't actually vacation, it was an HIV/AIDS workshop but Machakos is a bigger town (about an hour outside of Nairobi) and we stayed in a very nice hotel with amazing food. By amazing food I mean legitimate burgers, and even good fish! We still had classes every day from 8am until 4pm, but we were all in the same hotel so we got to hang out every night as late as we wanted... that sounds a little sad when I actually say it but we really don't get that many opportunities throughout training to all be together and have fun as opposed to sitting in class for hours every day. It was a great bonding experience and really solidified some already close friendships. So we did learn a lot in Machakos too, Antony is the PEPFAR guy and he is hilarious and really did some research to make sure that we took useful field trips and had good guest speakers. But seriously, we took advantage of the actual grocery stores (that actually sold bottles of wine instead of just boxes) and excellent pizza delivered to the hotel rooftop where we spent most of the nights. One night we had a Mr. and Mrs. Peace Corps competition and a Talent Show. This was the night Iwona and I decided to split a bottle of tequila and cover ourselves in glitter. That's a lie, Iwona tastefully put a little bit of glitter on her and I trashed it up, but it was worth it, I'm still finding glitter in my scalp weeks later.
I also stopped by a Safaricom store and was able to get the internet on my phone working so now its way cheaper for me to just send messages on Facebook instead of texting! It has been really nice to be able to talk to people a little bit normally again. I've come to terms with the fact that I rely on technology, because I feel like it supports my mental health. One thing about Peace Corps is that it definitely teaches you a lot about yourself. Seriously, I thought I was a pretty nice person in the U.S., but you meet some of the people in Peace Corps and well, basically I'm an asshole. Don't get me wrong, I love my fellow trainees, but sometimes I feel like such a negative Nancy while they're like... crapping rainbows.
After Machakos we had two weeks until our final LPI exam. The Peace Corps does a good job at making sure you're prepared, or at least aware of how the test is going to be, so you have a practice LPI, which basically shows you how the interview will go. Then two weeks later you have a Mock LPI, and of course you do practices with your language trainer before all of these too, so you end up doing like 2 or 3 LPIs each time. But then three weeks after the Mock LPI is the real LPI, which is done by official LPI testers instead of just a different language trainer other than your own. I wasn't trying to get stressed about it, but according to some of my new friends here I'm a pretty chill person anyway so it probably wouldn't have hurt me to stress a little bit. Regardless, I passed and that's all that matters. We did have a few people that ended up having to retake it to pass, but everyone ended up achieving Intermediate Low so we can all be officially Sworn In!
The last couple weeks in Loitokitok were kind of bittersweet. I think most people will miss their host families, but we are all very excited to get to site and have our own space and freedom. I was sad to say goodbye to my host mama, but I am glad to be back in control of my own eating habits, she fed me like a freaking linebacker and I was nooooot feeling it. We had our Host Family Appreciation day at Outward Bound and it was a nice little gathering. I left my towel at my mama's house... go figure, it's fine though I will just buy a new one when I get to site, I think I had to forget something. After the Appreciation we all stayed at Outward Bound and had one last little party in Loitokitok with a bonfire :).
Sunday we left bright and early for Nairobi and actually made it there in good time, despite off-roading and almost rolling the entire matatu. Sunday afternoon we were able to spend some time out in Nairobi doing whatever we wanted, and I ended up splitting off with Iwona and Britt and Brett (three of my favorite companions) and going to this bar called Gypsy, where we enjoyed some cocktails... (wait for it) on... ICE! Yes, that's right, we had real ice. I then ordered this Rattlesnake drink, which ended up being super delicious. It was a shot of tequila and a chaser of tomato juice/tabasco/lime/pepper! Iwona met up with some others at the mall and Britt, Brett and I went to look for this Mexican restaurant we had heard about. We ended up walking around for almost an hour checking out other places on our way and finding some really good possibilities for other nights. We eventually found the place and enjoyed some sort of Mexican... they did serve chips and salsa which was sweet but the dishes themselves were okay. Luckily I ordered like a 5 year old and got the fried chicken appetizer which turned out to be delicious. After we ate we navigated our way back and managed to catch a matatu all by ourselves and made it back to AFRALTI almost on time. After we got back we all drank a little bit and had a good time.
However, our supervisors arrived in town tonight so we are all taking it easy. Tomorrow we have a workshop with them and Wednesday is our Swearing In. It should be suuuuuper fun. After Swearing In we all head out to our individual sites with our supervisors. I'm not sure what the plan is for the first night we go to site because I am pretty sure that I dont have a bed or anything... hopefully I don't have to sleep on a bare floor. But if I do, I'll just get a few things to make me feel at home :) I'm looking forward to site, but it's daunting at the same time. I guess I will make my final judgement once I get there... haha. It will be nice to have internet all the time and my own place though definitely! I think that's it for now, I'll try to update again soon :)
No comments:
Post a Comment