11.21.13

Hey guys! I'm trying to keep you updated as often as possible, but with the slow pace of life around here, sometimes theres just not much to report on! Eric and I have been working hard to finish our Phase 2 portfolio's (the projects and interviews and such we had to do since PST) since they are due at IST. I just printed mine... a ridiculous 27 pages! Mostly it consists of interviews with teachers, community members, and learners, but it also includes baseline asseessment scores from our future classes along with our analysis of resources within our community. So.. yeah.. its not fun. But its been a good way for us to integrate more into our community and ask questions that we would have otherwise not asked. Not to mention it has given us something to do when we are bored at school! ;-)
Life here has been pretty normal. Just going about our business. I've made good friends out of the neighbor kids and even pulled out one of our kites this week! Kay Lee and Dave gave us a couple of really nice kites as part of our wedding gift! It was so fun to see them playing with it! It only took us 45 minutes, a flashlight, and a torch to get it untangled from the power lines and well... i'm still working on the string but it was so much fun! The kids often come over and want to play so I'm taking it slowly as many cohort members complain that its a very slippery slope.
I spent the morning making my principal some mexican food. My mom was nice enough to send me some seasoning packs and I finally got around to making some enchilladas today for him. He spent 9 months in Ann Harbor Michigan back in 1987 (he won a scholarship to study at the University) and grew a love for Mexican food. He's been begging me to make him some! I sat on the floor of his office and made some tortillas and enchilladas. He was so impressed and loved them! He even bragged to a few of his closest friends at school and let them try some! Everyone was in love with the flavors of Mexico! (guess i'll be needing some more seasoning packs mom!) Malope is such a kind man and has done so much for Eric and I, I was glad to be able to do something for him! I was nervous about how they were going to turn out since I've never made my own tortillas before but they turned out fantastic! I was impressed with myself! haha! Of course I think I've started down yet another slippery slope here with showing them I can cook food that they don't know, now they want me to cook them everything I know how! haha! its a fun way to bond and have a good time with them though so i'm happy to do it! They by the ingredients and I put them together! (not a bad deal if I do say so myself!)
We are gearing up for IST this week-end ( we leave the 24th and come back the 4th of December.) I'm sure I've mentioned it but I'm pretty excited to see our cohort. I've been working really hard on a new workout program since I started to get a bit bored with running every day. I started the Insanity workout DVD's and woo! buddy! let...me..tell..you... they are a killer! But I'm absolutely loving it! I just finished the first two weeks yesterday and was able to do the "fit test" again along with my measurements! I lost 6.75 inches all over in just two weeks! Its supe insane and there just isn't any other word that explains it well enough! I thought I was going to die just doing the warm-up when I first started but I'm doing a lot better now and really enjoying it! I joke with Eric everyday, when I'm about to start, I don't want to do it, cuz I know I'm going to want to die, but then as soon as I'm finished I'm excited to do it again the next day! haha! funny how endorphins work like that! If only it was the other way around, it sure would be a lot easier! ;-) Either way, I've really been enjoyint the INSANE workouts that are on these DVD's. The second month sets make the first month sets look like baby's play. So I'm a bit nervous, however I'm sure it will be just like the month 1 sets where I thought I was going to die but then it gets easier and easier! Looking forward to seeing the progress after the 60 days are up!  I will be taking a 6 day break however, for our hiking trip since I can't bring our laptop with us! but I think the 60K of hiking will make up for it! (or at least count for something!) Haha!
Last week was a bit challenging as I found out my Uncle Tim was being taken off of life support. Unfortunately he was in a horrible motor cycle accident about 3 months ago and his brain just never recovered. I've been thinking of him a lot and had a hard time when I found out the news, for those of you that don't know we lost his wife (my dad's sister) only 5 years ago, also in a tragic way. For those of you that did know of this situation I appreciate all your positive thoughts, happy vibes and prayers that you have shared with my family.
A 4th member of our cohort left us yesterday. It is so sad/hard to see our group seperate like that. But each person has to do what is best for them and I wish them the best. Sometimes it is by choice and others are forced to be medically seperated. Peace Corps keeps a watchful eye on us at all times and they are not afraid to send us home if we are in need of mental/physical/medical help. I am so thankful for all their support and help all of the time. It will be interesting to see how many/who there is left of our cohort in septemeber of 2015 at our COS (close of service.) I hope we stay a large group and that everyone can finish their service! I'm sure that medical will have a few things we have to do coming up at IST; at least a few shots or something! Our medical team is top notch! We have Arlene (American) and Mike (American) along with Hildegard (South African) as our main medical Officers (PCMO's) and nobody can forget our head of safety and security Gert (South African.) He is so great! He has every base covered for any possible scenario. Its always nice to know you have a team like them behind you when your in rural Africa!