Sitaki chapati ambayo imekatwa ndogo ndogo

That means, "I don't want chapati that's been cut into little pieces," in Kiswahili. Chapati...mmm...I'm at the posta on a Saturday for the first time ever! This is also my first blog post from Kenya ever! Whee. It closes in 2.5 hours and I have 4 surf cards (internet usage cards) in my possession (2 100 min cards and 2 partially used cards), so I'm mzuri kabisa (totally good) for the rest of the asubuhi (morning).

My computer is bad though and gives up frequently so let's hope I get this all typed and published. I have received a couple of letters and one package, and I MUST spread the word that everything gets here in 1-2 weeks. It's shockingly fast! The part of Kitui that we're in is pretty nice. I mean, 5 weeks ago I might've considered it poverty but now that I'm living it I realize how comfortable a living it is. People live off their own land and hard work. The main food products they buy are cooking fat, tea/coffee, and sugar. In general, they raise or grow everything else.

If you're ever curious and I haven't already told you, I will give you a rundown of why I think the improved pit latrines are better than flushing toilets. Bucket baths are pretty nice even though I prefer a shower, though it teaches me that I could use about a hundredth of the water than I usually use.

One of the biggest achievements on my part is re-learning how to ride a bike and riding it on the death-trap roads of Kitui, where size-of-vehicle is directly proportional to right-of-way. I white-knuckle my way to and back from town almost every day and have fallen twice. It's awesome.

In Kitui, avocadoes and papayas rain from the sky, unlike in the US where they cost $800.

I have requests for things to send from home that can be contained in an 80 cent envelope:
- pictures of yourselves
- color clippings or printouts of crowds of Americans, because most people here DO NOT understand how diverse americans are. (Don't they all have white skin and brown hair?) You can't possibly send me too many of them because my fellow PCVs could use them too.

Other requests:
- Bittersweet chocolate. My favorite is Ghirardhelli's baking chocolate which is like 71% cocoa or something like that. There is tons of Cadbury MILK chocolate here but no dark.
- CDs of your favorite music. They can be mp3 CDs because I have Gary's mp3 CD player!

Anyway it's pretty expensive to send things so no one is obligated. I am writing a little bit almost every day but there isn't much time when nighttime = lights out. I <3 the letters and am super duper grateful to any and all that you've sent me so far.

Sorry I didn't talk much about what I've been doing in terms of training and learning. I will say that I've done a lot of digging and playing in manure in agriculture-related trainings and that it's been awesome. I also haven't posted any pictures because you can't load anything onto these terminals at the posta. They're so slow that I probably wouldn't try anyway. All my pics have mostly been of fellow PCTs, too, because I've kept my camera stored at the PC training office most of the time.

Awesome! Nimeshiba sana (I am very full, but literally "I am very satisfied") that I finally got a post written. Hope everyone is well. I know I'm having an amazing time!

All my Love,
jenly