Letter from Home

Hey kind friends,

I don't really know how to approach this email, mainly because I feel like it opens the door for more questions than answers. As (very) few of you have heard, I am back in California, lying in bed at my parents' house falling asleep every 6 hours for every 1 hour I am awake. I had to leave Kenya to come to the U.S. because of an incredibly painful mysterious bleeding ulcer. The good news is, apparently it is not an ulcer, just stomach lesions. (is that too gross, too much info? not sure)

1. What happened?
I have no idea, and I am waiting to hear back on the endless tests run at the hospital.

2. Are you going back to Kenya?
I honestly don't know, but the one thing that's certain is I cannot go back in my previous capacity.

3. What will you do next?
I don't know, but I'll be unemployed and sleeping at least through 2007.

4. What's your phone!?
The same as it was before; apparently if you reactivate w/in 6 mos. you get your old number back. Oh, silver linings.


I know this is curt and doesn't tell you anything interesting, but I wanted to answer a few of the questions I've been getting over email. Please forgive me if my answers are not prompt or thorough or if I cannot call you in a timely way. I am just so tired.

Am wishing you the best and hope you are all well,
Camille

[a somewhat early] Letter #9 from Kenya: Halloween, Elections 2006, and baking

Howdy folks,

After the excitement of the Nile, it has been a quiet and relatively boring 2 weeks in Busia. The boringness is compounded by the fact that my obsessiveness with saving (for winter travel) has left me awaiting my next paycheck, that there are no more public holidays until Christmas, that I worked through two of my favorite subcontinental/transcontinental holidays (Diwali, Eid), and that I have come down with the flu, which brings the disease total to 6 non-travel related health incidences in 4 months. All that said, I am in a surprisingly good mood :)

In this email:
1. Working Abroad
2. Soapbox: GOTV
3. Halloween/Mitumba Party
4. The Nairobi Marathon
5. body & soul


1. How did you get this job?
A few folks have asked if they can forward my information to people who want to discuss working abroad and to juniors/seniors in college who are contemplating grad school vs. work, the job search (especially abroad), and the fellowship application process. Please do send my email address to anyone who would like to discuss. I can't claim to be an expert, but I will do my best to offer my perspective and any help I can provide.

Also, you all know I... a) love to talk and b) love to meet people, and I am never too busy to do either of those things :)

And thirdly, for those who are interested in the work being coordinated by MIT's Poverty Action Lab (or by the NGO affiliate I work with), please visit either of the following sites: http://www.povertyactionlab.org , http://www.poverty-action.org.


2. Get Out the Vote: U.S. Edition
I just wanted to encourage everyone who is eligible to go vote in the Nov. 7 elections. As many of you know, mid-term elections have notoriously low voter turnout, but there is a battle for the future of checks and balances in our federal government this year. In my opinion, democracy is only useful when people participate.

Let's say only 40% of registered voters come out to the polls in this year's California elections. If a majority of them vote for Candidate X, that means only 21% of the voting population made a decision on behalf of the other 79%. And contrary to popular rhetoric, your vote today will impact the fiscal and legislative health of your country/city/state for decades.

You might be saying to yourself, "Oh Camille, why vote, my vote doesn't count I'm busy blah blah whine excuses excuses." We are all busy, but that is not an excuse to opt-out. If I can correspond via snail mail with my county clerk and hand-write my ballot, then you can go down to the polls and touch a screen/color in little boxes. Yes, I really just pulled a virtual guilt-trip :)

If you're not registered, put in your registration so that you're eligible during the next elections. (Friendly reminder: you have to reregister every time you move addresses, hint hint nomadic collegiate and post-collegiate friends).

And for you Californians, beware of all those deceptive propositions, and please remember that a constitutional proposition amends the California constitution and can only be overturned by another proposition. Think about it. That is some pretty permanent stuff. You may be thinking, but aren't initiatives an amazing example of direct democracy? To which I reply, hell no! If you would like a cogent and lengthy rant about the hijacking of the California initiative process we can discuss.


3. Halloween... Expat Style
In honor of Halloween, we decided to celebrate a week early by having a mitumba party. [an aside: We - the expats - are not so vocal about celebrating Halloween proper since the local staff already think we are weird. We don't need to give people an excuse to accuse us of witchcraft or devil-worship.] A mitumba is a place that sells readymade/used clothes; in the Busian context, usually stuff shipped from Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. If you ever wanted to know where your 80s prom dress went, it came to Kenya. In Busia, the mitumba market is behind the post office on Mondays and Thursdays. Willa and Eva, two of the other RAs here, have been going to the market looking for clothes for the past year. Sometimes they find something so ridiculously hideous that they have to buy it. For 15 shillings, how can you say no?

So in honor of all the absolute crap bought at the market, Eva hosted a party in which guests had to wear the ugliest clothing they had found at the mitumba... and pull it off. (ugliness was more valuable than "pulling it off"-ness, however). For Willa, the most ridiculous outfit I've seen to date is her neon green and yellow western-adapted kimono, bought from the friendly roadside shop, dotcom fashion. Eva's most ridiculous outfit entails wearing her curtains as a skirt with an African headscarf which made her look a bit like Mata Hari.

Anne and I were at a distinct disadvantage, having only been to the market once (each) this year. Nonetheless we enjoyed music, peanut butter cookies, popcorn, and a ridiculously funny fashion show.


4. The Nairobi Marathon
As I type, our most recent addition to the house, Garret, is running the Nairobi marathon. Originally we were all going to go as a vacation/cheer squad, but then three of us came down with the flu. To be honest, the marathon blows my mind a little bit. Not only are you running a ridiculous distance, but you're doing it about 5000m above sea level (about a mile high, like Denver). On the plus side Nairobi is relatively cool, so I guess you avoid the blazing heat you would have at lower altitudes. I'm sorry to miss it, but for those of you who enjoy putting your body in extreme physical duress, consider training and running next year's marathon, same time, same place (October 2007, Nairobi).


5. Body & Soul
I think one of the things people don't really tell you when you go abroad is that it is easy to go a little stir-crazy. Whether you are working in refugee relief in crisis areas or working with a local NGO, the adjustment that comes with moving across the world - and the sudden lack of intimacy - can be pretty jarring. While I am able to sleep at night (not the case for people working in crisis areas), I find I have a lot of time to think about life, the world, myself. That probably sounds heinously selfish, but what I mean is that there are plenty of opportunities for introspection. Sometimes being inside your own head for too long will make you go a little crazy. I see this mostly in the Peace Corps Volunteers here, although, let's be honest, the Peace Corps in Kenya is like Peace Corps Gone Wild!

But I've realized that there's also a lot of opportunities to maintain your sanity. For me this has come in the form of cooking, long exploratory sunset walks, cooking, letter-writing, and yoga. So here's my point: If you are ever planning to go abroad for more than 3 months, and not in a study-abroad context, bring yourself things that will help you tone down the crazy.


So that is the very normal and mundane news from this side of the world. Hopefully next month will bring a trip to Turkana, or at least to Sipi Falls. Please do holla back if you get a chance. And Tiffany, Tracey, Taylor, Laktalk - I am expecting updates when you resurface from the post-campaign trail!


Lots of love,
Camille