May 26-June 1

I was definitely lonely on the 26^th. Normally, when that happens I’ll reach out to others through sms (texting) or Facebook or whatever. Unfortunately, the internet on the cell phone tower went out. I went to the clinic to hang out at my supervisor’s place. However, my plans to hang at her place had to be tweaked because she had a guest. I ended up hanging out in my office (aka soup kitchen) all day. I wish I had electricity because it’s somewhat inconvenient to have to go to my supervisor’s or my office to charge things. My computer battery only lasts about two hours so I cannot watch much media. I guess it’s also a blessing though because I can’t just hide away in my hut. It’s not too bad, just wishful thinking. I had a really good talk with one of my host brothers. I am really trying to form bonds of trust and friendship with a few people here. I also had a really good conversation with my supervisor about being lonely. I ate wheatbix for lunch, but my supervisor called me later to come eat lunch that she had made. Side note: I LOVE lentils and pasta and Chipotle Tabasco Sauce. I have become addicted to Chipotle Tabasco Sauce. My loneliness was gone after a few hours in the morning. By the end of the day I felt really good, trusting God to take care of things. While my family and I were eating dinner, one of them pulled out a huge chicken and said it was a gift for me from a neighbor. I was surprised to say the least. I said “That’s great…but I don’t know what to do with it. I only know how to kill it, and after that I have no idea.” They laughed and said they would cook it for me. My social worker ethics came in and I wondered if accepting the gift would look bad. I decided to avoid the entire thing and also, because I don’t like a ton of meat in general, I said the family could share it with me for dinner the next night. I went to my hut early that night, around 7pm, and typed up my journals and watched Downton Abbey. My family brought me a Fanta soda. I had to go to the bathroom three times that night due to mild diarrhea; it was cold. I had to wear socks and a sweatshirt to bed because it was so cold.

I woke up on the 27^th continuing to feel cold. I had planned to go to a co-worker’s village, but plans fell through because her son was taken to the hospital. The internet on my phone was finally back on and I smsed one of my best friends in college, Aimee. I really missed her and it was so good to talk to her. I typed up my journals at work that day; it takes an extremely long time to because I write so much. I went running around 415pm, after work. It was great! The rest of the evening was quite discouraging and didn’t feel good.

My devotions on the 28^th was really convicting; it talked about God wanting us to give up things we have grown accustomed to. I went to the school with my counterpart, but the head lady was not there. I did have a really good talk with my counterpart on the 6 kilometer round trip though. We talked about some personal problems as well as about ideas for working at the school. One bit of good news that day was that my best PCV friend told me she might have a wonderful, new place to live. It was the nicest place she’d ever lived in, which is ironic because the nicest housing was in Africa. I made up my mind to try and not compare my site to hers and others because I want the best for her and I am happy with my site. Comparing just makes life more difficult. There was an interesting argument at work. Our security guard found snare traps laid around the clinic to catch the chickens that we keep here. The security guard saw one of the kids. Later, the child’s mother came by and a boisterous, yelling argument ensued. The mother said her kids wouldn’t do such a thing, and my supervisor said to bring the child over and they’d ask him. The lady knew the kid would tell the truth, so she refused. I was entertained when the people from my clinic, although not superstitious, threatened to bring over the witch doctor who is coming from Zambia in a month or so. They said he would know who did it. I had a good heart to heart with one of my friends after work that night and then went to bed.

My devotions on the 29^th hit me pretty hard. I was having a bit of a difficult time until I read the scripture “Peace, be still” and talked about how God is with us in the storms of life (Mar 4:35-41). This day was…different. My only stress here has been personal issues brought out by different friendships. Unfortunately, in trying to fix the problem the night before, I reverted to old habits and put a block between me and my best friend here. She noticed and I had to remove the block. Anyways, the day was uneventful except a lady gave me a huge cauldron of mahangu.

  I was in a really good mood on the 30^th. I took my clothes to the lady whom I pay to wash my clothes. I just don’t have the patience for it, and she can use the money. I had a record 12 wheatbix bars with sugar and milk. I ate so much because I was trying to finish the milk because it would spoil over the weekend because I was planning to be gone for the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday because my best friend and some other volunteers were coming for the weekend! Crystal told her counterpart about how many wheatbix bars I ate; her counterpart responded, hilariously, “oooh, that’s not normal!” The rest of the day I was just excited to leave for the weekend.

I woke up several times during the night. I had a lot of dreams, both good and bad. The bad ones were really unsettling because they were based in reality. I left for Rundu with the car. The ride was great. Then I went to the PC Office. I skyped one of my best friends, Kimberly, and uploaded pictures. I love being in the office by myself because I can skype without worry of being overheard or having a bad internet connection. I was really tense for most of the afternoon, but things got better. I fooled around on the internet for a bit and went grocery shopping. I took a taxi back to my lodging for the night, at a PCV’s place. There were six other PCVs already there, and we had a blast. We made chilli, which was extremely spicy. We talked about plans for the 4^th of July weekend as well as a separate paintball outing. Crystal and the two other PCVs from Kayec arrived really late. Gio and I went to pick them up, and I smuggled two chocolate chip cookies from our dessert for them. It was soooo good to see them, especially Crystal. I ended up hanging with her for a while and then went to bed.

Last night was the beginning of sickness Hell for me. The chilli destroyed my insides and I think I got food poisoning or something. I was also severely dehydrated. I reaffirmed my belief in not getting drunk because if the feeling of dehydration was anything close to a hangover, I never want to experience it. Anyways, I walked Crystal to a taxi and went back to Gio’s. I was feeling extremely sick and I got severe diarrhea. I tried to sleep and drink water all day, but it was miserable. A shower made me feel better, temporarily. I walked to the PC office and skyped Mom and Dad. It was not a good skype session because I couldn’t concentrate due to sickness. My friend Denise was absolutely amazing and took such good care of me. I had zero energy. I don’t know if it was smart or stupid to walk an hour to the three visiting PCV’s place. I felt better during the walk, but after, I felt sick. One big encouragement was getting a “P.S. Friends for Life” chocolate bar from Crystal. Alicia, Crystal, and I walked back to Gio’s. We had all been invited to a wealthy man’s lodge that night, but I was feeling too sick to go. There were about 15 people at Gio’s who decided to go. I felt a little bit better after a catnap in the living room while all the others talked. Then I took some nasty Oral Rehydration Salts, anti-diarrheal tablets, and anti-fever tablets. I forgot to mention I had a nasty fever. I felt better, but I knew I needed to rest, so I went to bed.