Last week at site

There are several weeks till I am home but tomorrow I enter my last week at site. Already leaving is not as easy as I thought it would be. The increase of visitors and requests for gifts was expected; this is both enjoyable and aggravating. Some are sincere in their interest and others are just looking for gifts. It's fun to be with friends but I have difficulty with one teacher, who though we were amicable before suddenly wants to be my best friend. I do like him but it is clear that whenever he comes over he is looking for something to take home. I don't really want to tell him off, but I also want the visits to change. On the plus side my house is slowly losing its clutter. I keep intending to do a practice pack, but I have a feeling it's just going to be a final pack.

I remember leaving America and it didn't seem that hard, because I knew I would be coming back. Now, I get choked up just thinking about my final week at site. There are three things that cause duress. First is there is the conflict between things I want to do for different people and you can only be at one place at one time. Then there is the fact that my COS date is coming up and it is still not clear what day I will be finished, and aside from a mental itinerary no plans have been made for travel in India. Finally, the most emotional thing is to be finished with teaching and life in Africa. Grading tests I am pleased to see how some students did and wish I could teach others more, but it's tough saying you will see someone again when you don't really know if you will. I don't know when my last trip to Mnyama, or Kilipa or Lambo will be and I don't know if they will be around. America is my home so I always knew I would come back; Africa is a long ways so the return is very uncertain.

Five minutes ago I surprised myself. There was a light rain and I didn't want to go across the street to buy a CD needed to burn pictures.