All I've eaten today is fish...and sugar

Kelly and I are thoroughly enjoying our vacation now after the 2 days of travel to get here!

On our first day in Pemba, we went for an exploring run (when you go out for a run and walk/stop where you want to see things more). We stopped to watch a major dance party at a school or something before approaching the cluster of women with their buckets of treats and buying at least one of everything. These snacks included little twisty things, scones, mandasi, etc. Then we decided to run to Pemba town. We found an ATM, a covered market similar to malawi, and wandered around some. Neither of us were very impressed and people were a lot more hassle-y in town. So we got a hitch back to our place and decided to have lunch (seafood of course!) and go play in the ocean. So that's exactly what we did!

The water was decently warm and pretty clear although it was very shallow! Most of the time we were only swimming in like 2-3 feet of water, and you could walk out really far in the bay which was neat! Nobody bothered us, so we laughed and played in the water for awhile. Then before the sun set, we ran to the bar to grab a beer and sat on the beach watching another day finish with the sinking orange sun setting over the crashing waves.

Moving to the Big City

April is coming to a close, and I need to do another update on my life. A whooooole lot changed this month, but the biggest changes were my location, my job, and my health. Last month in March, a bunch of emotional things happened. Two of my closest friends left Liberia, dry season heat was at its peak and making me miserable, and the lack of work at my site was reaching a tipping point. I thought long and hard about my options. My favorite little 9 month old is almost walking I felt torn. I didn’t really want to leave Liberia, but I also wasn’t sure how much more of my situation I could emotionally handle. I felt like I’d lost control over every aspect of my life; my well-being, privacy, daily routine, and happiness all felt dependent on my environment and the people around me. I tried not to stress about this realization, but I also felt like I’d reached an inescapable and unhealthy place. Thankfully, things sort of fell into place all at once. As I was...

One at a Time

"I just paid the money," she told me as she twisted her hands and stared down at them. I was immediately flabbergasted and almost shaking with anger, frustration, and sadness. One of my wonderfully dedicated but extremely timid SOLID members who I began working with last year had been facing trouble at home. Following our graduation from the program in May, she'd been attending meetings less and less. I assumed it was because she lives 2.5 miles away from our meeting place, and that she was probably busy at home. Then one day I ran into her at the health center. She had a large cut on her forehead and was filling a police report. I refrained from snooping in her business. Then, about 2 weeks ago, she showed up to our weekly training. After we finished, she approached me and apologized for being absent so much. She explained that her husband had been abusive (the gash on her face had been from him) and that she had applied for a separation from him. She didn't ask me...

I Saw a Circumcision Today

The scurrying and thumping continued just above me, and the darkness surrounded my eyes. I reached over and peeked at my phone- checking the time. It was 4 AM: not time to wake up yet. I rolled back over and closed my eyes, trying to will the time to pass until morning when I knew the rats in the ceiling would either leave or be quiet. I heard a distant rooster cry through the dim dawn pushing its way through my window. The sound seemed to echo off every edge of the community as other roosters called back to the one, setting off a chorus of sounds. 'Not a great nights sleep for my first night back,' I thought to myself as eventually woke up almost three hours later. I tried to rouse myself from the deep indent of my body in my 6 inch foam mattress on the floor. The carpenter in town, whom I gave money to 6 weeks ago for materials, still hasn't finished my bed frame which will get me off the floor and out of the way of curious rats who might make rounds around my house...

Under the Milky Way

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