I finally have internet!!!

I am sorry I haven't posted in over a week now, but to my defense I have tried multiple times. I'm now sitting in the high school on the old dell desktop (of which the screen is violently shaking) and praying that the electricity will work long enough for me to finish this post.

Things are fine in Racondo. I have been keeping busy at the schools and the clinic (and by keeping busy I mean I've been there, not that I have necessarily done anything substantial). It is still impossible to count on anything being regular, which means my computer classes are made of new people each time, which means that I can't move past the first lesson. I find myself repeating phrases like "no, don't ever click the right side of the mouse" and "fjfjfj space ddddd" in the place in my head that used to resonate overplayed pop songs.

In primary school I teach seventh grade English, sixth grade math (or maths as they call it here) and whatever little kid class doesn't have a teacher on a given day. The little kids' English vocabulary doesn't span far beyond "how are you?" so I can only teach them math. It's kind of cool how I can communiate to 50 African first graders through numbers, although they don't understand my pronounciation so I have to have to write everything on the board. The class sizes, by the way, are HUGE. I am not exaggerating when I say 50 first graders. I made the mistake of collecting compositions from my seveth graders and spent my entire night heavily grading what seemed like a never ending stack of grammar mistakes.

As for home life, it gets better everyday. The compound I live on is made up of a really nice guest house, two small mud huts, and a whole lot Africans who are somehow related. I was having a lot of issues at the beginning with everyone being way too polite and always serving me and treating me like some celebrity. That may sound appealing but it makes a person feel incredibly alienated. Since being in Rabondo I have firmly decided I don't ever want to be famous. But anyway I just keep refusing their special treatment, insisting on doing what they do, and spending all my time out in the mud huts rather than the guest house. I am actually going to start sleeping out there tonight! I have to be more blunt than I have ever been in insisting how I want to be treated and what I am trying to say, but things have gotten far more comfortable and fun.

Trying to make people here understand me has been the biggest challenge so far. I think I mentioned that only those who have had at least four years of school school speak English, meaning a good amount of people between the age of 12 and 30, but I use the terms speak and English very lightly. Words from the English language come out of their mouths, but they do not always make up a coherant thought and sometimes have to be decoded from the British and Kenyan influence that affects all English here. Talking gets so frustrating! It takes such an effort to get any little question answered and I'm never sure if they actually understand what I am telling them. Trying to explain myself is often like being in an argument with someone. It's like when you are arguing something and you know so passionately in your heart that you're right, but the other person just can't comprehend your point of view. You lay out a perfectly reasoned, detailed explanation of why you feel how you feel and they just say, no you're wrong. And you get so mad, but it's not their fault that they just have a different understanding of the world.

Ok I have taken far more than my share of computer time and need to go to the clinic. I miss you all, and I love hearing from you so please keep commenting and facebooking and calling, etc.