My first week...

Yay I have internet connection where I am staying! I’m not sure if I really like how dependent I am on the internet… It’s great to be able to communicate with all of you, but I feel guilty for being so used to such a luxury. Other luxuries that I take for granted and have been missing are: being able to eat a healthy diet and being able to exercise/go running. The more extended time I spend outside of the U.S., the more I discover how difficult it is to be vegetarian. It was difficult in Korea because most of the food has some sort of meat/seafood in it. It’s difficult here because I live with children and they not only love meat, it’s also an important source of protein. I also feel silly trying to explain that the reason for my being vegetarian is because I love animals and dislike how poorly they are treated while they are alive. It’s hard enough for the people here to eat adequate meals every day. They don’t have the luxury to pick and choose whether or not they approve of how their food is treated before it reaches the dinner table. I’ve always thought I’d go back to eating meat, especially because experiencing different foods is a vital component to experiencing different cultures, but I’m finding it very difficult both physically and psychologically. My stomach wouldn’t be able to handle meat very well (I’d have to acclimate it, little by little), and meat just isn’t appealing to me at all! (It’s been almost 10 years since first I became vegetarian.)

I miss running tremendously. Usually, when I first move to a new area, I go for long runs to get to know the place and to de-stress. It’s useful because I get to know the streets really well and discover pretty trails or cute gardens and such. I not only feel antsy because I haven’t been able to run, I also feel more helpless and dependent. I don’t know the streets here and therefore need to be accompanied by someone (also because it’s not safe to walk around alone, especially as a foreigner.) Independence is another luxury…

But enough about my discomforts. It actually hasn’t been too bad adjusting to life here. (I say this while I am being torn apart by mosquitoes. Mosquitoes love me… hopefully I won’t get dengue or malaria… hehe) For the first few days, I stayed in the home of Suzy, my supervisor/contact. She just recently moved because she needs more space to take care of the 25+ children she has taken in (some temporarily, some permanently). There’s a home being built for them, but it’ll take about a year. In the meantime, they are renting what used to be the home of a big-shot military general. The house, located about 20 minutes outside of the area where I am working, is really nice, even by American standards. There’s a big yard with another decent-sized house on the property (where the current owner’s son lives) and two smaller houses. The property is great for the children to play in, but the inside of the house is a bit too nice for their destructive tendencies (i.e. there are such things as chandeliers.) I helped with the children while I stayed there – surprise, surprise! I had never really babysat before, but I think I am a pro now. :) I had one kid pee on my lap and another needed to be wiped after being sick with diarrhea… I’ll leave the details out, but you get the point. Interestingly enough, I’ve actually enjoyed helping with the children. Guess I have some motherly instincts in me!

I moved into my permanent place a couple nights ago. I live with two women and two children (ages 7 and 9). It’s certainly not nearly as nice as Suzy’s home, but I have my own room (I was sharing a room with 6+ girls at Suzy’s), which is another luxury I have grown to really enjoy… (I’m having more and more inner conflicts as I discover all these dependencies I have!) The room is sparse and you can hear every little sound outside (dogs bark and roosters crow at all hours of the day/night) and the roof is a tin(?) sheet with a couple holes in it, but I am grateful for the privacy and to be able to have a sturdy home with a roof over my head (more than what some people have in this community). Plus, I can walk to the local clinic where I work in the mornings.

In the mornings, get up around 5am and go to the clinic around 7:30am. Every day this week we’ve been walking around the community, giving free vaccinations and vitamins to children and vaccinations (tetanus) to some adults. It’s really great that the clinic does this. They also go around vaccinating dogs and cats, since rabies is a significant problem down here. There are so many stray dogs, it’s so sad! Walking around and giving vaccinations has been a great opportunity for me to see and be seen around the community. Yes, people stare at the unfamiliar Asian girl walking around, and the staring makes me uncomfortable sometimes, but I’ll be much safer once I become a familiar face.

I’ll try to get some pictures up soon. They’ll be pretty limited in scope since I don’t want to intrude on people, and I don’t want to look too much like a tourist. But I can show you my room and little stuff like that!