Hey folks at home. August has been a challenging month for a variety of reasons, but I’m living through it, and its almost done. Work has been slow, my cat died, and while I’m reasonably sure that the group who raises chickens, with whom I have been working, will be awarded the grant that we requested from the United Nations Development Project, it’s a little scary. This is, of course, very exciting; we worked very hard on it and did lots of revisions. However, now the REAL WORK will begin, and I feel a lot of pressure and responsibility for this $15, 000. We’re digging a well, we’re fencing their land, we’re buying, vaccinating, and raising 450 layer hens. However, the very day after I had learned that we would likely get the money (and the very day my cat died), I heard some drama from the history of the group, which makes me question their integrity. Seriously, guys, we’ve been working together for a number of months. This information would have been helpful, oh, any day but today. With careful management, this project could be profitable for the community, and with only a few people slacking, it could go to hell. So we’ll see.
Other work has been slow. I’m looking forward to school starting up again, I liked working with the kids at the secondary school.
When I’ve been feeling down, or frustrated, or just plain bored, it’s never anything outwardly very meaningful that makes me feel better, and I have to keep reminding myself that. It’s usually something really small, like teaching the kids across the street Itsy Bitsy Spider (and man, we can sing it like mo-fos, let me tell you), or seeing how many clothes pins we can to clip each other’s faces (you’d be surprised how many, actually). The other day, I went over to a co-workers house, he wasn’t there, but I chatted to his wife for a long time. She seemed genuinely happy to have me there, and not just because I’m white and therefore might sponsor her children to school, and not just putting up with me because she knows my host mother. We chatted for a long time and she made lunch. It was just nice, being appreciated for me.
So that’s that. I’m out of here.