Another random update

So the internet cafe network is too slow nowadays for me to upload pictures.  I have a million of them.  Maybe when I get to Nairobi, I will have a better chance.  Otherwise, pics might have to wait until I get back.  I have so many things to update.

The interviewers started the surveys on Monday and we are now finished!  I promised one of them, my roomate Gylian, if we finished by the end of this week, I would dance outside in front of the market like a crazy mzungu for all the locals to see.  I think I might have to live up to that promise.  Both a good and bad thing.

On Monday, I also met with kids from Grades 6, 7, 8 at the local school, Konditi Primary School.  The headmaster, Barrack Randa, selected some of the top students from each grade and we explained to them the camera assignment.  I gave them disposable cameras and taught them how to use them.  I told them they had to take pictures of the things that are meaningful in their life. The way the question was framed was, "If you wanted someone to know about your life and where you come from, what would you want them to see?"  Then they have to write a page paper describing why they took the pictures they did, i.e. what meaning do the images in the picture have to them?  And the contestant who is the most creative will win the final prize: a Canon Z135 camera with 2 rolls of film.  Barrack and I agreed that the student selected should be the high performing students because they are an example to the other students that hard work pays off. The students looked really excited, so I hope all goes well.

I organized a relay race at Konditi Primary School with one of the teachers, and the winners got medals I have earned from my races, and some small prizes (soccer ball, frisbess, etc).  On Monday when I announced it, they were all shy and didn't seem interested.  Yesterday, they quadrupled in size!  There were so many more kids than I had expected and they were all really excited.  During the relay, they got into it and started cheering each other on and laughing.  I made them work for the prizes! 
Some funny things:
People think I am literally an ATM machine and I physically produce money.  People just ask me for things as though I have all the money in the world.  People will casually ask me to get them something.  The funniest one was when someone asked me to get them a memory card for their camera. Someone else wanted me to buy them a phone.  ha!  Rich mzungus don't travel by cramped matatus and overnight buses, so they must have me confused with some other mzungu in town.

Music:  the young folks around here like hip-hop and reggae.  And the local version of it is pretty entertaining because it has a religious twist to it.  You'll here a reggae/carribean beat, but the lyrics are all about praising God, and some of the matatus have a tv where you can watch the music videos.  Woman with big church hats and Sunday dresses getting down and praising God!

There is a woman in the local market who everyone refers to as my "crazy aunt".  She literally flips out anytime she see me.  She gives me 10 high fives, talks loud enough for everyone to hear, and practically starts dancing with me...good stuff!

I have temoporarily adopted a cat named Juliette and a dog named Nice.  They are my buddies.  Why?  Because I feed them some of my food and I like to pet them.  They're so cute and I miss my dogs.  Trying to explain to everyone that my dogs sleep in my house was so shocking.  I didn't want to give anyone a heart attack and say that they sometimes sleep on my bed! 

Fanta and coke are literally part of the staple diet here and I am convinced this is the case in all of Africa! Nothing like a warm coke at mid-noon with the equator blaring down on your back!

Hmmnnn...what else...oh the best one yet...there is a 2-year old girl named after Condoleeza Rice ("Condo" is her nickname) and she does NOT like me.  The irony is all too much.  She is the one child in the entire village who cries anytime someone brings her too close to me.  She seems to be offended that I don't care for the politics of her role-model.

So much more to report on but I'll have to process it all first!!!