Some post-return thoughts.

by Dom on October 7th, 2008

I’m a bit scared to come home, I’ll be honest. I mean, I can’t really form cohesive sentences to explain my probably now more strange thoughts. I use Malawian English. That includes a lot of pronouns and use of the words “just” and “somehow.” An example “My school, they have just somehow managed to build shelves.” As opposed to “My school built some shelves.” So yeah visiting schools is going to be fun talking like that! I’ll be honest I don’t care what words I use as long as I can think of them when I go. It’s worse when I sit there for like 5 minutes trying to think of a word I used to use fairly often. That’s definitely more awkward.

Of course most of my fears don’t lie in my now jacked speech. I’m more worried about what is going to annoy me. I mean stupid things annoyed me before like french fries and people who wear bluetooth headsets when not in use. Now I think I’ll be annoyed at plastic wrapped tomatoes and too much air conditioning or something. I don’t know. Then there’s the economy…

So if you think I’m acting funny, don’t be surprised.

Of course I also have come to like Malawi; I mean I dont want to stay a volunteer teacher but I like the weather and the market and other things. The lifestyle is nice. I’m going to miss my friends and my leisure time. It’s going to be very different. I think what it comes down to is when I came I was happy to be leaving America and happy to be coming to Malawi. Now I’m only happy to be coming to America. So we’ll see how it all goes. Again though, if I act funny, don’t wonder why.

Thanksgiving ‘07

by Dom on December 9th, 2007

We went to the Ambassadors. It was a nice festive event. The trainees were there. I was pretty much at the height of being ill so I can’t say I was happy to be mingling. It happened though. I even tried swimming once, I went under, got an incredible headache and was then greeted at the surface with a coughing fit. The water was ok though. There were like 30 people in a pool the size of Tim’s. I missed the first bus too, so I didn’t get any of the good beer like some black&tan or some other dark beers that weren’t Carlsburgs. Man I am tired of that beer. The food was decent. Honestly though, my memories of home and Shoney’s were a bit better. One funny thing did happen, this kid got stuck in a life preserver. He tried to dive through it but was too fat and got stuck. It wouldn’t come off. He tried pulling up, and sliding down, and diving back in both ways, but ended up in the shower with soap. It worked. I think it was the morning after two black mambas were killed maybe 10m from our tent. scary…They were only like half a meter long but one had eggs.

Finally

by Dom on October 17th, 2007

So I can leave tomorrow. I have been here for a week and a half and I swear goal no. 1 was get these stupid shirts printed. Everyday it was something. So yesterday I finally got down to the place, on my way out of town, it was open and I got the order in, only for them to ask me to come in tomorrow at 3. So I could look at a sample print. It looked pretty good. The screen wasn’t exactly like the design so that upset me a bit, I mean what’s the point of me making a design if they can just change it. I told them to correct it and to go ahead with the order, so hopefully everything will turn out ok. They look pretty good, if I do say so myself.

The night before Philly

by Dom on September 25th, 2006

So it’s the night before. (I noticed most of my posts begin with the word “so.” I may try to cut that out. We’ll see.) I have finally finished getting all packed up. I have a 2 bag, 50lb a peice, weight limit. One is at 48.2lbs and the other is like 44-ish. I hope this scale is right, or I could be in some real trouble. I had to leave a lot of toilletries and foodstuffs behind. Nothing too crucial though, don’t worry.

I have to be up around 4am tomorrow so I can get ready and head out to be there on time. It will be a fun trip I’m sure. I’m just really hoping we leave on time so I don’t have to run around Charlotte. I woke up this morning around 10 and realized that tomorrow I will already be there by this time. Alright well I’m going to try to wrap up a few loose ends and head to bed. Thanks again for everyone’s support. It’s greatly appreciated.

My Address!

by Dom on September 23rd, 2006

So I found my address, but I’m not going to post it up here. Too many crazies. Anyway, if you want it send me an email before I leave and I’ll forward it on to you. Don’t forget I don’t know what kind of email access I’ll have in Philly(mon-wed) and I won’t have any during training. You could also leave me a comment, or contact my parents.

Malaria pills and what there is to know

by Dom on September 21st, 2006

Lariam(mefloquine) - consumer reports - peace corps online

So yeah, I’m thinking I might write myself a note so that if I go crazy I’ll remember why.

Practice Run #2

by Dom on September 19th, 2006

So I did a second practice run at packing today. It went pretty well. I have a 50lb. weight limit and some size requirements to fill. I already knew I met the size requirements so I was really just curious about the weight issue. It turns out that my hiking pack weighed about 26lbs. and my old air force bag was about 32lbs. So I’m definitely under the weight limit. Now however I need to figure out how to get the heavier stuff into my pack that I will wear on my back and not carry in my hand.

Flight Times

by Dom on September 19th, 2006

So some people have been asking how long my flight will be. I finally pulled out the paper and found out. It looks like it will be 17 hours with a stop over.

A Story and Time-Killers

by Dom on September 18th, 2006

So I ran across this story. It was enticing. Almost as many new questions and ideas came from all the little stories and anecdotes they shared. That island resort does sound like a pretty sweet idea. This site also has some pretty good pictures and stories.

So I’m looking for ideas on how to pass the massive amounts of time I’m sure I’ll have over there. Peirce seems pretty adamant about me bringing my Gameboy SP, but I stilll don’t know. I’ve considered:

• writing/drawing
• harmonica
• bringing a flattened soccerball and maybe a little pump
• frisbee
• running and stretching and general type athletic stuff
• chess/backgammon/cards

If you guys have any ideas let me know.

The Passport Resolution

by Dom on September 14th, 2006

So I called the lady at the Malawi country desk today. I told her that the county health dept. wouldn’t give me a Yellow Card, unless I got up to date on my shots, and that I decided to bail and just wait. She agreed. I then asked her if there was some way to check on the progress of my passport. She said she’d walk down there personally and check and give me a call back.

Maybe ten minutes later(a surprisingly short amount of time, in my opinion) she called back and said that she physically saw both my birth certificate and my Peace Corps passport. So I am good to go. That is unless they somehow lose it on the way to Philadelphia.