after a lot of medical tests and discussions, guess what? the peace corps nurses said i had allergies. imagine! but they also said that i could move back to my house in the village and work to cement the walls, put up plastic as a drop down ‘roof’ between me and the thatch and add a few more windows for ventilation.

i was so excited and hurried back to the village to move my stuff back into MY house!

it’s saint patrick’s day! i’m wearing green to celebrate! although no green beer will be drunk – but now that i think about it, i don’t think i’ve ever had green beer!

i went with jacqueline to pre-natal today. all in all, it was a good trip, and i explained to the nurses why i’m here as a peace corps volunteer. i still take for granted that everyone knows why i’m here.

mr. banda [principal of the school] wasn’t at the mission today to talk about my house so i’m just going ahead. i don’t think that bawelsey [host dad] likes the idea but i want to get started right away. i’ll fill in mr. banda later. and ms. kaumti [a teacher at school] said people thought i had left. especially when they saw us putting all my stuff in the truck. but i’m really proving them all wrong!

i think i’m ok after my melt down last night. i’ve come to terms with the termites and being able to hear them. much like i’ve done with the bats. this is africa and it is one big termite mound, no matter how you look at things. so i’ll let the termites eat my house and be ok with it. as long as they don’t eat my stuff! [the photo at the top of the page is the evidence of their existence.]

the kids and i had some fun with bubbles this afternoon. i decided to break out all the stuff i was saving since i could leave anytime because i’m sick. i’ve also been taking lots of pictures of the kids since i’m here on borrowed time. and i’m not sure how i feel about that. but it is nice to be back with the kids. they distract me from my real life and i really love them for that.