Fumbling in the Dark

A white Toyota Corolla pulled into the Kanye Education Center around 1 PM, which was already five hours later than we were expecting. Pam, another Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) and I exchanged a few brief looks of panic before realizing that whether we liked it or not, she and I would soon be crammed into a tiny car for the rest of the afternoon. Drivers were sent from all around the country to pick up PCV's and whenever possible, they tried to bring people who lived in the same region in just one vehicle. This makes plenty of sense, as long as the vehicle is large enough for everyone and everything. Pam & I spent the better half of the morning saying good bye to our fellow Bots 12 PCV's and watching them drive away in big shuttle vans (called khombis), mini school buses, or fire trucks. And there we were, with large piles of our belongings & no alternative solutions coming to mind.

Here is a picture of just exactly how much we crammed into the car:

oh what fun! 

You learn to go with the flow here!

As we drove away from Kanye, I had mixed feelings about moving onto the next chapter of my Peace Corps Adventures. I was definitely excited about all of the new challenges, but at that time, I still wasn't even sure if I had a house in Kang. With a little bit of faith, I knew things would turn out alright.

Bright rays of red and gold sunlight filled the sky as we pulled into Kang. Although I could only see out of one window of the vehicle, I was so pleased to see what little there is to be found in my new village. My heart filled with joy as I realized this new little village will be my home! Our driver took us to the clinic where I will be based and he left me with my supervisor, Dr. Katungu. He was very pleased to meet me and he drove me to my new home in Kang.

As I was warned, there is no electricity in my house, so I immediately rummaged through my bags to find the candles and matches I bought earlier that day . Fumbling in the dark was a bit of a challenge, especially since I had never seen the layout of the house before.

My lovely new PINK home (liz, you should be so happy!)

It turns out that even during the day, I still feel like I am fumbling around. I have been here for a week now, and I am just  trying to learn everyone's names and faces. It's difficult to try to figure out exactly what I should be doing here, but that's why I am working on a community assessment. I have two months to talk to community members and clinic staff to gather enough information to write a report about what projects I will be starting in September, based upon the needs of the community. Working on this report feels a bit like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle with a million pieces painted the same color. :o) I'll work on putting some of the pieces of the puzzle together & I will find where my piece will go as well.

And of course, I'll be doing all of that by candlelight :o)

Hope all is well with you, I'll write another update again this weekend!

Love & Light,

TMV