And the moment we’ve been waiting for…

After two months of training nonstop, I have finally arrived at my site — an extremely rural area about 35 kilometers from a town called Busia near the Ugandan border. We took an eight -hour bus ride from Nairobi. It was very crowded, but the roads were in satisfactory condition. Plus, I was able to sleep at least a third of the time.

Anyway, like I said, after two months of tightly-scheduled training activities, I am where I will serve for the next two years — and I’m finally able to e. The equatorial sun is bright and unforgiving… the antithesis of which is the black night, which seems even darker without the glow of electricity. It’s something I’m getting used to.

I suppose it’s implied, but I am now an official Peace Corps volunteer (pending one more language test — I’m a slow learner.)  Swearing-in was surreal. It was at the Nairobi home of Michael Ranneberger, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya. After living in not-so-cosmopolitan Loitokitok for two months, the posh ambassador’s house was almost too much to handle. Almost. It was welcome break. The imported American Doritos were reason enough to attend. Flushing toilets definitely sweetened the deal.

Oh, and another wildlife sighting.  As the ambassador spoke, a monkey made his way from one of the yard’s acacia trees onto the roof of the ambassador’s home. While the news cameras were on Ranneberger, the volunteers’ cameras were aimed slightly higher, waiting for that monkey to strike a pose.

After the ceremony, there was pizza and even legitimate cookies (they were soft!) It was great, but maybe not something on should experience the day before moving to rural Africa.

So — my home. I live on my supervisor’s compound, but I have my own house. It’s a one-room hut with a plaster floor and walls, complete with a grass-thatched roof. It’s idyllic, and exactly how I pictured my house to be ever since I started my Peace Corps application. But now that I’m actually here, making that house a home is the next step. I’ve already gotten a bookshelf, so we’re headed in the right direction.  I am really loving the house. Being inside is a very welcome relief from the blazing Kenyan sun.

Speaking of sun, a permanent sunburn seems to have graced my nose, forehead and cheeks, even though I wear sunscreen every day. On top of the sun being more ruthless here, I spend a majority of my day outside. I think my hair is one or two shades more blond.

I can’t wait for the day when everything here seems normal to me. I am told it will come soon enough, and when the two years are over, maybe I won’t be ready to go back to America.