I hate mud.

“…Heal the world. Make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race. There are people dying, if you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me…” That was part of my 4 hour van/bus ride. We heard Heal the World twice, which was awesome, along with some Phil Collins, Celine Dion, and like 5 or 6 Backstreet Boys songs. Was the bus ride as amazing as the playlist and me singing along? I wish! Jeff, you know the 30 people vans in India? Yep, that was us. Did it smell? Yes. Was I car sick? Of course. Was the person next to me puking? Definitely. I was sitting in a folding chair spread eagle with my foot against the door to keep me from falling onto the doorstep. I didn’t fall then, but I fell twice this weekend.

Guess I should explain my trip out of town to Nyamsheke. I went with another trainee to visit 2 health volunteers at their site to see an example of how they live and work. The night before I left I slipped in my house and cut my arm on the wall. No big thang. We took the bus 4 hours, thru the rainforest again and then a 30 minute moto ride. We aren’t allowed to ride motos in the Peace Corps, but I guess there are exceptions to every rule. They can’t get to site without them. Mine ran out of gas of course so I waited in the rain. We rode in the rain then walked about 20 minutes in the muddiest mud I have ever encountered. I was wearing tennis shoes and it was still a nightmare. 2 girls live together in a really nice house with lots of running water and electricity. I guess the crappy weather conditions balance things out. The next day we walked to the health center where they work and met with some kids that are hiv positive. Sad. As soon as we got there, it started pouring and our trek home was thru the clay mud. My $2.50 Old Navy sandals couldn’t cut it, and I had to go barefoot. I had no choice. My sandals would not lift out of the mud. So I may or may not have worms and/or jiggers now. We’ll see. I was sliding all over the place and looked like the biggest tool of course but made it to the house safely. Once inside the gate I thought, watch me fall. Seconds later I slipped and fell SO hard on the bricks. Besides hurting my shoulder, I looked like I sharted in my pants. I am going to try and upload those pictures tonight.


So basically I sat around for 4 days and did a lot of reading. Watched Sex and the City, ate BOMB food. They shared care package goodies and knew how to cook! We had banana pancakes with jam and sugar, Kraft mac n cheese, sweet potato fries with bbq sauce, fajitas, soup with garlic bread, salad, pasta, and fruit salad. All made by them. It was wonderful not having the same meals we eat everyday here. Smuckers jam never tasted so good in my life. This week is Thanksgiving. People are in Kigali today shopping for food. I got an envelope from Jeff today with some books. I guess flat envelopes aren’t as good as boxes as there was a hole in his package. That’s it. Happy Thanksgiving.