Hahahaha…
I have found myself in a small scenic town, full of animal statues and cheap fruit, yet severely lacking in the “assignments for the intern” area. My first week started off auspicious enough: things were chugging along with some spreadsheet formatting and a trip to the local immigration office to get a work visa. On Wednesday, unfortunately, my supervisor Alfa came down with a mysterious bulging eye disease. No, I have not Googled, and no, I have not further inquired. Suffice it to say he is MIA for the time being and I have spent an inordinate amount of time reading e-books at work.
That’s not to say life here doesn’t have its pleasures. My alarm goes off around 7:20. As usual, even if I went to bed at 10, it doesn’t feel like enough. Leanna-sloth to the resc – zzzz. But breakfast is at 7:30, and if I want to eat every crepe on the table I’ve got to move.
After crossing a small bridge, I arrive at the health workers training area. There’s dozens of small buildings scattered around; some are dorms, some are meeting rooms, and some have signs written in Swahili that are destined to remain a mystery. The best part, though, are the gaudy life-sized animal statues nestled inside pruned bushes. On the 5-minute walk to work, I say hey to all my safari friends.
Lunch break is from 1-2. I usually walk out of the medical compound to one of the little produce stands. There are gigantic papayas, bunches of bananas, oranges, and other delectable lunch food. I buy it all and return to my room for a daily ritual, watching The Disney Channel as I eat. Hello, Austin & Ally and Shake It Up! I also get a surprise: what nonsensical pattern will my sheets be in upon my return?
This past weekend without work let me shake up my riveting schedule a bit. On Saturday, I woke up for breakfast, went back to bed until 2, went for a run, and had my first Skype with my parents from the office here.
Sunday was a surprisingly social day. The mosquito entomologists were back from the field, so I started off the morning with a long breakfast with Laura, the UC Davis post-doc. Towards the end of our meal we met Clara, a researcher from Uganda who’s just beginning a two-year stint here. We made plans to meet back up at 3 and walk around town.
I returned to my room for some Russian social intrigue and napping, woke up at 2 to run, and met up with Clara and Laura right after. It was great to have a group to explore with. Laura knew her Swahili numbers and was an expert shopper, while Clara and I blundered along through our purchases. I found some peanut butter - no more naked bananas! Soon enough, we’d circled back to our compound, passing the Romanesque cathedral, convent, and monastery right before we entered. Colorful Sunday singing rose from every church, women biked by with infants wrapped to their backs, and the temperature began to fall. I got back early enough to shower, scrub some clothes I would need this week, and head to the office for Skype date #2 with the parents, who were very glad to hear I’d made some friends in my rural outpost.
For now, the crickets are chirping, I’ve listened to Jesus Christ Superstar twice in one evening, and Tolstoy is calling. I’ve just got two more things to say: 1) Wouldn’t Khaleesi be a great cat name? and 2) Apparently Evangeline Lilly’s character in The Hobbit, created for the movies, is going to be Legolas’ love interest. 12-year-old me just died a little.