I´ve been eaten alive by the zancunos y insectos! Muy iritable!



Today is Saint San Juan´s Day. In celebration of the patron´s saint, they´ve been setting off bombas and partying all night in different parts of the barrio. They were setting off fireworks right in front of our house! Needless to say, I didn´t get much sleep.



This past Sunday, I rode the caballo and had an exhilirating time! Only my second time riding the horse I got the loco caballo and we fought our way through the journey. Once she bucked and kicked all the other horses, then she took off while the others were waiting and refused to stop until I yanked her reins with all my might. But I have to confess it was fun!



Anyway, for the past week and a half I´ve been shadowing nurses in different areas. I´m mostly trying to follow the vectorial infection disease technician into the different barrios where he´s been teaching the malaria health volunteers how to test for malaria. What baffles me is that malaria is hardly prevalent here and everyone has been crying out to me for dengue prevention and resolutions. Because unlike malaria, dengue doesn´t have any vaccination or cure. Currently we have had two deaths and about 36 suspicious cases. As I follow the technician around, he has barely educated these health volunteers about dengue except with miniscule pictures from a calendar.



I´m currently working on a project to develop dengue fever materials for the schools and health center. Unfortunately I lack certain artistic skills to make them more appealing. And I´m considering educational campaigns in schools to promote discussions about dengue fever. Kinda wishing my espanol was mas bien.

It´s been a little frustrating. I can´t believe I wasted five years of Spanish in high school and lived eight years without speaking a word of it. And now everything that wants to come out of my mouth is in Chichewa. At least now I know that I´m fluent in Chichewa!


Oh yeah, a hilarious story. I was sitting with my host family and my host mother asks me how to prepare a certain dish. She runs into the kitchen and she brings out rice noodles from China! (Which she received from her cousin in Canada of all places!) Then she asked me if it´s ok to prepare it with ¨salsa¨. After choking for a bit, I told her that no, we don´t eat it with salsa or tomatoes. Then she asked ¨But no salsa¨ and she runs into her kitchen again and brings out ¨Salsa China¨! After I stopped laughing, I told her that yes, we use salsa china with the Chao Ching spaghetti.

Adios amigos! The tortillas are calling my name now!

Week One in Nicaragua

Week uno in Nicaragua is officially over!

I'm currently staying with a program called La Mariposa where I'm taking Spanish classes and volunteering at a new health clinic. I moved in with my homestay family on Monday. I've been shadowing nurses in the morning - going into the barrios educating health volunteers about malaria testing, observing the family planning clinic, treating elementary students for lice, etc. My role, however, is supposed to involve dengue fever prevention. Dengue Fever is a major problem which doesn't have any vaccine or real treatments. I'm intrigued to see how the health care system will tackle this problem.

My homestay has been pretty sweet, though I miss having my own place to live in. Malawi was a better place when I could cook and clean for myself. But it has been a good bonding experience for me to get to know my family and practice my Spanish while watching the Capo Mundial avidly.

My experiences here contrast so differently from those in Malawi. How do I describe it? Well, for one thing, I'm having an easier time adjusting here. People don't stare at me as much and actually respect my role here as a volunteer and student. Regardless of whether I can understand them or not, I just love how they'll keep conversing with me. The health clinics here are by far more resourceful and the workers seem much more invested in their health care system, whereas in Malawi their jobs were less of a priority as opposed to their livelihoods (farms). It's strange actually, because I came expecting extreme poverty and my expectations were actually exceeded. I have electricity, a toilet (albeit I have to pour in water to make it flush), infrastructure, a working health system, and efficient transportation. I'm amazed and really grateful.

Anyway, I'll update again in a week's time and share more about mi Centro de Salud y educacion en Nicaragua!

Hasta luego mis amigos y familia!

Yo hablo espanol pero... no

Hola mis amigos y familia!

I am now called "Elena".

My mornings typically consist of shadowing a health professional at the Centro de Salud and taking Spanish lessons por la tarde. I rode on the back of a motorcycle without a helmet absolutely terrified because of the rain and muddy roads but saw the beautiful landscapes deep within the barrios and saw the destitution of the people there. I'm once again reminded that there are people who don't have what we need to survive.

Goal of this month: to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing at this health center!

More to come later!

Adios!

Missing Malawi

There are some days when I miss Malawi so much. I didn't realize how much I loved the serenity of the village life until I came home to find everyone running to someplace. In Malawi, I'd wake up and feel the sun rise on my face while the roosters make their wake-up calls. Even during the rainy seasons when the rain would beat the tin roof like a choral of drums, I'd sit in my simple chair and read away living in the bliss of a worry-free life. I miss breathing in the freshness of vegetables and fruits at the market. The hustle and bustle of villagers haggling over prices, men congregating over chippies, children running after whirling tires. But mostly, I miss the children. In my whole life, I have never had the privilege of playing with children on a daily basis. To see their precious faces before my day started at the health clinic was the highlight of my work. They brought so much joy to my heart that nothing America can ever buy for me. And I miss my Agogo. My 82-year-old grandmother whom I'll never see again. Sometimes I wonder how she's doing and what she's doing. There was something remarkable about her strength and dignity that I wanted to have more of in my life. Talking about Malawi in five minutes cannot do justice to the people I've met and loved the two years I was there. If only people had that deeper interest to learn about Malawi, I'd be gushing for days about the things I'd learned and the kind of people I met. But if I can't talk about them, how can I relive my passion for these people and nation?

Home Sweet Home

Jambo! Simba and Pumba send their love from Africa! :)

After five weeks of traveling in Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Dubai, I finally got a little taste of the motherland! My final trip was nothing short of incredible. The highlights were definitely Zanzibar (an island off the Tanzanian coast) and the safari in Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. We saw so many animals that the Lion King would have been put to shame! It was amazing to see the impalas, zebras, giraffes, and elephants all grazing and roaming together. Then we sighted the lions, cheetahs, and the endangered black rhino from afar. We saw a week-old hippo sunbathing with its parents at the Crater. :) Zanzibar was rife with amazing seafood, beautiful beaches, and alleyways to get lost in. The highlights of Kenya were feasting on crocodile and ostrich at Carnivore and visiting a kid whom I’m sponsoring through Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/). I loved seeing his home, his center, his grandmother (I think his parents died from HIV/AIDS), and the hope of his future. I spent the latter two weeks in Ethiopia which was an adventure for us. We traveled the historic route in the northern region; toured ancient sites including monasteries, Gondar castles, rock-hewn churches, and the alleged Ark of the Covenant. Dubai was clean, expensive, and hot, but I didn’t make my way into the seven-star hotel nor dig my hole on the man-made island.

Gondar, Ethiopia: Castle

Bahir Dar, Ethiopia: Priest showing ancient document

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania: Week-old hippo with parents


Then it was time to make my way home. I actually got back early August and was laying low for awhile while familiarizing myself with the environment. My father asked me to write a final update about my readjustment experience after being away for two years, and I thought, “How do I write about being home that’s home to everyone else?” I may not be doing my reentry experience much justice, but I thought I’d give it a shot.

People always ask me, “What’s it like being back?” And I always tell them that the reverse culture shock isn’t what I thought it’d be – a shock. The smallest, subtlest things are what take me on by surprise. Like getting lost in Oakland trying to get back onto the freeway. Or seeing the new buildings that suddenly materialized on the Berkeley campus. Or absorbing all the new information about my friends' lives over the last two years. Or feeling that all the things that were once familiar are not so familiar anymore. Sometimes I feel like an alien in my own home.

And then there are the unsubtle things. Like how I lost my appetite for a month, because I realized that there were tons and tons and tons of food! Just looking at them makes me full. Everything here also involves so many options. When faced with too many options, I can't make up my mind. Should I get beef, chicken, pork, or all of the above? And the flat screen TV in our home. For the first time in my life, I have over 10 channels! The pace of life is so different here. People are always in a rush to get somewhere, anywhere. Then there’s the economic recession. My junior high was closed down but my high school just finished remodeling. And there’s no greater way to welcome me home than a 9.75% tax rate.

But I do have to say that it’s good to be home. The best thing about being home right now is being able to breathe in the ocean and take a hot shower every morning - even if it’s summertime! And of course meeting up with friends and family and seeing how we’re all two years older. :)

I’ve finally managed learn to give a 15-second answer about my last two years’ experience as “amazing, hard, and life-changing” and narrowed down viewing my thousands of pictures to 400. But it doesn’t take away the place Malawi left in my heart. When I’m not busy figuring out my life or readjusting, I’d start missing my nursery babies and my agogo, and I’d wonder when I’ll ever see them again. Mostly what I miss most is the simplicity of life in Malawi. Since I have been back, I have been eating A LOT on the food I’ve missed out the last two years (yay for In ‘n’ Out!) and preparing for my future endeavors. J I’ve been working a part-time job (while looking for a full-time job in the public health field) and applying for masters programs in public health for next year. I can’t wait to start learning more about all things public health. J I know this update is way overdue, but I did want to let you all know that I’m back! I’ve finally uploaded some more pictures for your viewing at http://www.flickr.com/photos/26853368@N04/, but unfortunately I reached my limit so I was unable to upload more pictures from my trip. (If any of you decide to travel eastern Africa, do let me know!) I would also love to meet up with you and share my experiences, as well as to catch up on the last two (or more) years! Maybe I can entertain some of you with a video of "preparing" a chicken Malawian style.

Well... this will be my last update. Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm back! It really has been one great adventure. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Much Love,

Elaine

P.S. World Food Program went on the road to see Malawi and you can get a glimpse: http://www.wfp.org/on-the-road/malawi

The End of the Road

Dear friends and family,

My journey in Malawi has come to an end. I have officially moved out of my house, out of my site, and soon to be out of country. It is amazing how fast two years passed by. At first, I thought time could not be any slower, and now that the end is here, I almost wish that I could make time slow down.

The end is surreal though. My brain has not fully processed the fact that I won’t be here any longer, and that in fact, I probably won’t see most of my friends and family ever again. Including my 81-year-old agogo, who shed tears when we parted. And the pastor who burst into tears during his farewell speech that left the congregation crying. And my dear supervisor whose teary eyes nearly set off my own waterfalls. And my counterparts who promised that they would continue the work that I’ve started with the under-five and youth shelter and the natural medicine garden. Little did I know that two years with all these people would leave a mark on my heart. I already miss them and know that I’ll never forget about them.

But I know that it is time to move on, as do all my friends and family here. They wish to greet you all, especially to my parents. They say that they know it’s time for me to go home to you. They send you their love and greetings from halfway around the world.

This will be my last update from Malawi, and I want to end it with snapshots of my life in Malawi. These are some of the highlights, though there are so many that I cannot put them all down in one sitting.

Exhibit 1: My favorite part of the day was when I strolled out of my house at 8 A.M everyday. As I approached the nursery school, I could hear the 3-4-year-olds chanting my name, “Ellen-e! Ellen-e!” A few of them would run up and hug me tightly. They would look up at me with their big adorable eyes and beautiful smiles. They were my babies.

Exhibit 2: My Saturdays spent at the water tap. I would bring my 30 liter basin and 20 liter pail with my stash of laundry. After filling them up with water, I would sit on the steps of a house and scrub the dirt out of my clothes and rinse them. Two hours later, I would hang them on the line and dry them. Then, at the end of the day, I would take them up. In the meantime, my agogo would come out of her little house and sit on the step with me as we chatted about everything. And as of a few months ago, there was a missionary living in the house with whom I would talk to about faith, life, and love. They were both my surrogate grandmother and mother during my stay and my Saturdays belonged to them.

Exhibit 3: The May 19th election. The same president won his second term! For all his success in his last term, he had done something right to be re-elected by a large margin. I do believe he had about 3 million votes while the oppositions followed with 1 million and less. The vice president is a woman! There is actually a good number of women serving in the parliament as well. And the best thing about the election was that it was very peaceful. Not a fight broke out. It was a very proud moment for Malawi.

Exhibit 4: The annihilation of the roaches. Not really my favorite memory but definitely one of the most unique ones. After I got tired of not being able to urinate at night (because the roaches were fond of coming out of my pit then), I had the brightest and the dumbest idea. I mixed a mosquito treatment tablet (used to prevent mosquitoes and other bugs from entering the beds the nets were covering) with water and dumped it into my pit. When I saw a diaspora of hundreds of cockroaches all over my yard, walls, and latrine, I completely panicked, especially when I saw some of them trying to creep into my house. (What can I say? I’m not fond of roaches.) After I ran away and returned with my agogo, I found most of them plopped over dead or being consumed by my neighbor’s chickens. My agogo looked at me told me to shush my mouth and not tell a soul that the roaches were poisoned, because the chickens were going to have a little bowel problem for sure. (At least they didn’t die as I thought they might.) My latrine was roach-free for at least a few months before they started mass reproduction in my pit again.

Exhibit 5: My neighbor’s “warm heart of Africa”. My neighbor, a deputy headmaster at the secondary school, was the only one in my community who knew how to display Malawian hospitality at its best. (I can’t really say the same for the other women in my community.) He was like a uncle to me. Obsessed with pumpkins and fruits, he always loved bringing back food from his garden and cooking them for me. He knew that I especially loved tangerines and always brought me the freshest fruits for me. He helped me out in so many ways, especially when I had all kinds of problems with my house, and made my life so much easier and better. He would always tell me that though he had met many foreigners, he admired me most because of the way I lived my life.

Exhibit 6: The Asian vs. American identity. “Where are you from?” America. “No, really? But you look so… Chinese/Japanese/Korean/European [take your pick].” But I was born in America. “No you must not be. Aren’t all Americans white?” Uh… no. There are all kinds of people there. All kinds of cultures… Oh, never mind. I’m from Russia.

Exhibit 7: And then there were the Asian stereotypes. One of my favorite conversations with this educated community development officer went like this: “So, were you there when 9/11 happened?” A pretty good question but my answer was “No, I was at the other side of the country.” He responded, “Oh… so sad, so sad. Ah… so do you know kung-fu?” “Uh… no.” How did this intelligent man get such a stupid notion? “Why not? Don’t all you people know kung-fu?” What in the world?! “Well, no. It’s just like do all of you play football (soccer)?” “But isn’t Bruce Lee your brother?” Needless to say, the conversation ended right there.

Exhibit 8: The mosquito bites. You may not recognize me when I come back, because… my face has been pretty disfigured. I hate it when the Malawians always stare at my face and ask, “Are those mosquito bites on your forehead?! You must’ve been bitten pretty badly. Pepani, pepani, (Sorry, sorry).” I’d glare at them for a second and grumble, “Yes, those are my mosquito bites…” compounded by all the dirt and sweat Malawi had to offer!

Exhibit 9: Snakes. Apparently some snake shedded in my backyard... so I decided to not urinate after dark for awhile. Then my youths and I saw a black mamba snake hiding underneath the bricks next to the shelter we were constructing. My counterpart obliterated it with my hoe.

Anyway, those are just some snippets of my life in Malawi. I would love to share more with you, but that will have to wait until I return to America! Come August, I will step foot on American soil! It’s funny, because I don’t feel so American anymore. My friends all call me “Malawian” and even when they asked me to sing the American National Anthem, I could only belt out the first line or so and then draw a blank. Then I told them, “Pepani, ndinaiwala (Sorry, I forgot)… I guess I’ve been Malawian for so long that I can’t remember my own national anthem anymore!”

But now it’s time for me to move on… to Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia! My friends and I will be backpacking through for a month. I take off on July 1!

It is weird that I have been emailing you about my experiences and emotions but not seeing your faces. But now my adventure is coming to an end and I will get to see your lovely faces. I can’t wait to see you all!

Tiwonana Malawi! We shall see each other again Malawi!

Love,
Elaine Lo

I'M COMING HOME!!!

July 1, 2009 is the day I officially end my Peace Corps service. Can you believe it? I’m almost done! It seems so surreal that I’m actually going home…

I just spent the last few days at the gorgeous lake for our Closing of Service Conference with my health group. It’s so hard to believe that almost two years ago, we were this one group of a mess leaving Philadelphia one last time, and after losing six people, we met again one last time. I’m just amazed at how far we’ve gone…

Sorry, I know I sound overly sentimental. I’m still processing through my emotions about leaving...

O.K., so even though I officially become unemployed on July 1st, I won’t be flying straight home. For about a month, I’ll be traveling to Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. And then, it’s back to USA!!! (Where I will be officially broke but not homeless. :))

And do I have exciting news for you! One of my friends is now in Chicago with an orphan with an over-sized heart who’s about to receive an operation! I met up with them the day before they flew out and shared in their excitement. Turns out a kind journalist/writer/benefactor, Chicago Sun Times, and United Airlines graciously offered their support to pay their way for the child’s operation in Chicago! Go to http://vascosheart.blogspot.com/ to read more about the child, Vasco, and how they got there.

Last but not least, some eye candy: pictures are worth a thousand words. :) (If you're wondering about the black mamba, it was a poisonous snake found near the shelter I was building... hacked to death with my hoe.)

Lake Malawi

Traditional Dancer shaking my hand

Black mamba snake found next to my shelter... hacked to death with my hoe

Co-worker's baby... isn't she so cute??

Mayankho - "Answers"