And apparently, so is September.

Yup, that's right. We're more than half way through with September and still haven't gone back to school yet, thanks to the nation-wide teacher strike demanding a 300% salary increase. I definitely agree teachers deserve to be paid more money, but 300% seems a little unreasonable. Although I know virtually nothing about those kinds of politics so maybe it's like bargaining (which I now am fabulous at) - start high and end up meeting in the middle. Either way, this is the third week of the strike and my school compound is still completely empty. I walk through it on my way into town sometimes and it just makes me sad. I miss those kids somethin' awful.

Thankfully, however, if I wander around town long enough I always seem to see a few them, who have come back into town from home, because they're eager to get back to school, or just eager to get out of the village. Usually when they come back into town they end up staying with another one of my kids' families, which means at least they have someone to talk to now. A lot of the Form 4's have come back and have been going to Kilifi library all day everyday to study for their exam. They biggest exam of their life is next month, the KCSE, and they're trying to make up for the lack of school. They're so dedicated! Granted they haven't had the best education their whole lives, so the realistic chances of them passing are pretty slim. But that's a morbid way to look at it. Maybe some will surprise me! Who knows.

So the last time I wrote I was in Nairobi at the Peace Corps office, and we were all just about to leave for our COS (Close Of Service) conference. Boy was that FUN. I'll get there. First let's talk about animals! Before the conference started I met up with Anna and Josh, other deaf ed-ers, and we biked around Hell's Gate for a good number of hours. As tired as I got biking (I don't exercise much around Kilifi because it's too bloody hot) we did see some cool stuff, and MAN was it beautiful! Here's some of that evidence: 

The crew for the morning :)

Almost hit these dudes with the bike!

Zebra butts.

Pumba.

The conference was held at this really cool camp thing just outside Naivasha, which is about an hour or two outside Nairobi. The night we arrived we were told we had to do medical stuff that evening, so we needed to be on time. Little did we know "medical stuff" actually meant a free happy hour, thanks to our fabulous country director! And obviously once you get a group of Peace Corps volunteers near some free alcohol, madness ensues. Those pictures are on Facebook ;)

We spent the mornings and afternoons learning about life after Peace Corps - how to write a good resume, how to present yourself in an interview, all the benefits of being a returned volunteer. And when we weren't in the conference room we were spending as much time as possible soaking up each other's company, which consisted of a lot of ultimate frisbee and jumping in the pool with our clothes on. I've said it before and I'll say it again: my group here is the best, most eclectic and wonderful bunch of people I could have ever asked for. I'm gonna miss everybody.

THE GROUP - Even though Shub isn't really looking at the camera, this is still a wonderful picture :)

The last night of the conference was basically just a big party for us. Before the ridiculously fancy dinner we had a gathering of our whole group, plus our training manager Joseph, one of our directors John, our Education boss Enos, and our incredible Medical Officer Lisa. We all got presented with nifty thank you certificates signed by all the PCKenya staff, an envelope of letters from each other, and then we did a fun Peace Corps Kenya tradition (though I'm not sure how far back the tradition goes). With all of us in a circle, one long spool of ribbon was wrapped around each of our wrists, symbolizing how connected we are now, and then Enos went around the circle and cut each of us free, since Peace Corps is just about finished and we all need to go get a real life now! The kicker is that we have to keep the ribbon on our wrists until we successfully make it back to our homes in the States. Cool huh?

The ribbon stuff was followed up by an absolutely AMAZING meal, a gorgeous Peace Corps cake, and finally lots and lots of dancing and hugging and picture-taking.

All of Deaf Ed!!

Myself and Amanda - my partner-in-crime, and one of the best people I've ever known.

And I didn't get a shot before they cut into it, but you can still see how pretty it is :)

While at COS conference we finally got our actual Close Of Service dates, as well. I will be officially finishing Peace Corps on November 30th, 2012. Once I get all the paper work done in Nairobi and say goodbye to everyone there, I'll head back to Kilifi (private citizen and everything!) to say my goodbyes here, square things away with the new volunteer who's supposed to be moving into my house, and pick up the kitties. No tickets are bought yet but the plan is to fly out sometime around the 15th of December. I'll keep you posted on that stuff as it unravels.

I'll definitely be back to Kilifi August of next year, for a very important and exciting wedding, so I'll be able to see all my friends here again. My kids, on the other hand, will not be so easy to find when I get back. So keep your fingers crossed that school actually does open this term, so I can at least see my kiddos one last time before I leave. I wish I never have to say goodbye to them. Another post will probably follow in the near future about how much they mean to me, since I think this one is long enough.

One last quick shout out to my CRAZY WONDERFUL brother, Morgan, and his newly engaged fiancee, Ala! I love you guys! Congrats and make sure you get married while I'm in the country :)

Loads of love and hugs to everyone from Kilifi!

And happy Autumn!

~ Shub out :)