Something modest

So much has happened since I last posted in here, nearly two months ago.

Once I get out of the habit of writing, it's always difficult to start again. Now I feel I should write some type of massive, inspiring entry. For now I'll stick with something more modest.

Here's the brief update: I'm in England. I was never able to go back to Kenya, as the volunteer organisation shut down for 6 months, as of January 3rd (the date of my last post), due to security concerns. For a little while I desperately tried to find other ways to go back to Africa, but the Kenya debaucle emptied my/our bank account to such an extent that I finally had to accept that I had to stick around Oxford for a little while, make some money, and save up to go back.

Which is exactly what I've been doing the last few weeks. I'm a temp employee at Oxford University Press, and overall I like it. It's a good job for right now. I like having a daily grind; being unemployed for a month, without any external pressures structuring my day, was beginning to drive me batty.

(Bear with me as I head full-force into the mode of using British spelling.)

In the meanwhile I've applied and gotten into three grad schools. They're all here in England (well, London & Oxford to be exact) and I'll be making my decision in the next few days. Maybe I'll even announce it here. ;) They're all Masters programmes in Development Studies departments. I feel lucky and completely flabbergasted that I got into all the programmes; my first choice, in particular, was not a place I ever thought I would get into -- certainly not at this stage in my life, so I am grateful for the opportunity.

I'm still struggling to finish up some undergrad coursework (independent stuff), so that I can officially graduate at the end of spring term from PSU. What with working full-time as well, the next couple of months are going to be insanely busy.

Nathan is doing well overall, though this is his most difficult term of his whole programme and so I do not envy him right now. I'm getting a sneak peek into what MY programme is going to be like in the coming year, as both his and mine last just one year (as "taught programmes," not research degrees, usually do in the UK) and incredibly intense.

As you may or may not know, Kenya finally brokered a power-sharing deal between President Mwai Kibaki and his opponent Raila Odinga just yesterday, after two solid months of violence and strife. I plan to go back to Kenya this summer, finances permitting, but I know it will be different in ways I could never prepare myself for. I miss it every moment of every day, even though I appreciate my life here very much in Oxford with Nathan. I miss the smells, and the views of the sisal plantations as I rode in the matatus on the road to and from Mombasa, I miss the kids, I miss the village, and I miss my friends. I talk to someone from the village at least once a day in some way (usually by text message/SMS); I've really made an effort to stay connected to that part of my life. It is a great comfort to me.

I know many of you have been confused about where I am on the planet--sorry about that! I definitely want to keep this more updated; there is so much news I could share on a day to day level, but at this point I had to start again with the most general of updates.

Probably the easiest place for me to start is to post some more photos from my time in Kenya, from my brief but wonderful time in Malawi, and from my trip with Nathan to South Africa. But in the meantime here is a photo of the two of us in the huge, lovely park by our flat:



I miss all of you in the states and I look forward to our visit at the end of this year. I'm on Skype very frequently, so please feel free to find me on there. It's a great way to stay in touch.