Saturday, September 4, 2010

2 weeks in the city

I got into the city a week ago for restocking and a general sanity-check. Actually, I thought that after 5 weeks in the jungle I'd be going crazy and desperately need this week in the city. Luckily though, I love my village and I wasn't as desperate to have a break from the village. Surprisingly, the city is the stressful experience, not the village. I think I'm going to be screwed when I get back to the States after 2 years here. Already, this city of 250,000 seems overwhelming and chaotic. After 2 years of not seeing cars, I think American cities are going to seem crazy to me.

I'm staying in the city for an extra week because all the flights back to my site were booked until next Saturday. I don't think this is a normal thing (hopefully). The country has vacation from school right now, so a lot more people are going back and forth from the city to the interior. I'm partly happy to be in the city for another week, because I didn't feel I had enough time to really buy everything I needed for site, so I'll be able to do that. But, I'm also kind of disappointed because 2 weeks is a long time to be out of site. I miss my home and my villagers! I'm so relieved that I do. I was afraid (before having actually been to my village) that I would dread going back, and I don't at all. This week I'm going to visit another volunteer for a few days. Her village also speaks Ndjuka, so it'll be a good chance to practice during these 2 weeks. Anyway, not much to say. Site is great and I've killed a tarantula in my house with a machete and got to pet a baby sloth in the same day. I've also found out that there are a lot of jaguars near my village. Great. I would love to see one, but that's a very theoretical feeling. I think if I actually saw one I'd be so terrified. I haven't seen a snake yet, or at least not an alive one. Knock on wood for that one.