Loitoktok

Hey People,

I know it's been while, but they've been keeping us really busy here and internet cafe's are slow. Anyways, everything is going great so far. The town we are in is called Loitoktok, and it is on the Kenya-Tanzania border. The area is gorgeous enough as it is, but to make things even better it sits on the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Needless to say there are some ridiculous pictures being taken. Hopefully I can get some of them put on here in the next few days, but no promises. During the week I spend most of my days in language classes, and then split the rest of my time between cross-cultural training, technical training, and medical briefings. They are doing things a little differently with my group in that we studied Kiswahili for the first two weeks (the national language), and then starting today we switched to the local language that we will need to know based on our regional placement. I'll be in the Western Province close to Lake Victoria in a village near a town called Kakamega (which is on a map, although my village is not). I'll be working directly for the government in the Ministry of Health, and which puts my in the village hospital. I'm not 100% sure what i'll be doing, but from the brief description I got my job involves mobilizing the community for HIV/AIDS testing, counseling sessions, home care for people living with HIV/AIDS, and then some supervisory work. It's pretty broad, as most Peace Corps jobs are. On the plus side, I get on office, which makes me feel important. I also have a pretty sweet housing arrangement, which includes a two bedroom place with running water and electricity. Compared to how some of my buddies here are going to be living, I have a palace. And I make sure and remind them of that. So things are going really well here, we have a great group of people who are all focused and motivated, which makes it easier to deal with being so far away from home. That's all for now, i'll talk everyone soon, and as I mentioned i'll try and get some pictures up soon. Take it easy.

Stay classy.