Almost There

Hello everyone-
In a country where everything else moves at a snails pace, time continues to move very quickly. As stated before, i'm done now in about eight weeks and my folks get here in four days.

I've just found out today that my extension is not going to happen. I just received a semi-snooty email from my Country Director saying that Matt (the kid I wanted to extend with) and I don't fit the 'criteria' for extending volunteers. She also cited difficulties with logistics and the amount of work required for them to transfer a volunteer. I find these things to be annoying, but oh well, I'm sure I won't be complaining when I'm having a cold, frothy Sam Adams when I get home. I forsee myself gaining some weight when I get home.

As far as post-COS (completion of service) travel is concerned, this is still up in the air. My main travelling partner, Katie 'Montana,' has had some GI problems and ended up being sent to South Africa for surgery and then might be headed back to the States in the next week or two. What I do will depend on the outcome of her illness.

I left my village yesterday and had to say goodbye to my family's children for the last time. The family is moving to the capital city after I move and has begun the process, so the husband is moving the children this weekend while I'll be gone. That was actually pretty sad. I got a couple of pictures to mark the occasion, told them all that I considered them my younger siblings (mwaice), shook their hands (hugging isn't very typical here), and said goodbye. The cutest one, Kalumbi, was looking a bit teary-eyed.

I'll continue to update as I find out more along the way, but for now this will have to suffice.

much love,
brett