Hello from Omuthiya

Hiii! So, I am now visiting my permanent site in Omuthiya. I am lucky to be in a small town that has internet access and also basic amenities. I'm also about an hour outside of two major cities in each direction. It is really funny, b/c everyone gets really confused when when i say ami is my name b/c to add to the collection of things my name means, here it also means 'oh me'? I'm sure that will amuse those of you who have been telling ppl to pronounce my name "ah-me" for years, hahaha. They also take the greeting thing really seriously. Like, you greet each person (mostly older ppl) in turn, with the same long greeting (walala po, eee, nawa tu, eee nawa). Its cool b/c I can participate without having to say much, but i think they all think i am funny, which is probably true, lol. but yeah, so I am an HIV/AIDS coordinator, and I think my job is basically whatever I want it to be b/c they created the program to get a peacecorps vol. Just kidding... well not completely, but what they want me to do is to develop a Peer Education program for people that is not limited to HIV, but behavior change, stigma, alcholism, etc. Also, they want me to develop their computer skills and internet capabilities, but as there have been three vols here in the last 6 years, it seems like a lot of people are pretty well versed in computers. Also, they want me to particpate in income generating activities and help them to get funds for these activities, and on top of that, I should be incorporating OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) into this. and start a school newspaper and if possible other confidence building activities. Sprinkle in a little community development, and its gonna be a packed two years. I am a little worried b/c i'm not sure if they are just giving me info b/c they wanetd a pcv or they really need help. I'm also worried that there are already other organizations doing what i am supposed to be doing, aka unicef, (aka it would be amazing if i could actually work with unicef). If I can pull it off, it seems like it will really exciting, especially b/c there are ppl here who will help me out, as opposed to other jobs that I've heard about, but it also does seem like it will be slow going. Other ppl have much swankier jobs working for non-profits in major cities with much more structure, which kind of worried me at first, but I think that I am actually best suited to this position, where I can kind of make my own way. Besides, it seems like sitting in an office is just not my destiny...as you can probably guess if you know the other things I can do. I did freak out when I first got here, b/c I am staying at a homestead, and I guess I just wasn't prepared for it. It is very pretty in this traditional sense--at night, when they all sit around the fire and cook and eat dinner and play their battery powered radio, and I can't see the bugs, it is amazing. BY the way, as you probably could have guessed, my fear of bugs is a constant source of amusement. I dont know if this was the exp I was originally thinking of, but you have to hand it to the peacecorps, they did listen when i told them what i wanted to do, and i think that I can really make a tangible impact here, which is more than we're taught to hope for ("its the little things you will remember") which I am sure is true, but itd be nice to have a big thing to cherish too. we'll see. THanks for all your commments... if you have a user name, that doesn't say your name (or if i dont know what it is) pls leave your name at the end of the comment! thanks!