Email: Africa is officially normal

I spent the last two weeks here in kombo. I thought I would be
emailing and doing all sorts of great stuff but like always, it was a
crowded rushed experience and now I leave back up country tomorrow and
am exhausted and don't even know where to begin relating my
experiences.

I'll just shout out a few bullet points.

1. Did beekeeping training and didn't get stung, even despite having a
hole in my suit and a few bee's enter my mask and land on my face,
which is unnerving when you're covered in honey and there's a bunch of
pissed off killer bees buzzing all over you. But I made it out okay.
However, while in village the bees that swarm the water pump stung me
thrice in three days. Once on my face, which ballooned.

2. Cut my own hair. Long story short, I shaved my head.

3. I built a fence with my host father, bonded, and now feel much more
secure in my host family. The fence sections off about a quarter
hectre behind my house, I will turn it into the only garden in town.
Hopefully, more will follow.

4. Still getting sick every time I come into kombo. Why, who knows?
The night I came in I started shivering. (kombo is like 10-20 degrees
cooler than where I'm at.) by the second day however I went to the med
unit and had a 103 degree fever and white puss spots on my tonsils. I
got penicillin and all has been fine. I have also been gaining all my
weight back. I stuff myself silly when I'm in town with fried foods
and beer. Then I go back up country and loose it all in a week from
slashing through bush with a machete and having massive diarrhea.

5. Africa is now officially feeling normal. It's been 7 months to the
day since I arrived. I am not shocked by much anymore, I have seen the
best and worst of this country (although I'm sure I'll see plenty
more) but I feel like it is just all so normal now. get on a gele, a
few hours here, a few hours there. Dust, sweat, confusion. That's
life. That's my life at least.

6. Thanks everyone for emails and packages. Everything is appreciated.

7. I have to get off the computer. I always feel like I am going
rather than arriving. Ending correspondence rather than beginning it.
I have been making a lot of little videos that will be online through
my blog soon. The videos are pretty much taking over the blog. I dont
journal as much anymore. It's hard to find the time actually, and it's
getting so hard to relate what's going on. Plus the videos are more
fun to make. So I hope you all get to see them.

8. How many of you lost a bet saying I wouldn't make it passed 6 months? Hm....

9. It must be spring in America, everything must look amazing. I miss
it. This is a great life I'm leading right now, but I definately
wouldn't mind going through some science fiction teleporter and
appearing back home to share a pitcher or two and shoot the shit for a
little while.

going back up country now.


until next month...