My first month in the Sandbox

My life in the Sandbox is not anything like what I had pictured as I stepped off of the plane, but I really do like it. May 10th will be the one month mark and I can't say that I've hit culture shock yet. Maybe that's why I'm still enjoying it! I've spent the last month in training just trying to get things together before everyone leaves for the summer. I've been living with someone else and plan to move into my apartment on the 15th.

I have to say that life here is expensive. With so many NGOs and foreigners stuck in the capital (b/c the govt won't let foreigners out of the capital) they can charge whatever they want for housing, food, etc. The rent on my apartment is twice as much as I would ever pay for an apartment in the states, but the company covers that so it's not like I have to worry about it. It's just surprising that one of the poorest countries in the world is more expensive to live in than America. But the people are so friendly and the culture is less conservative than I expected. I don't have to cover my head and I can even wear pants every once in a while as long as my shirt comes down to my knees!

It is kind of odd though, when it becomes common to see cars with a stickers on them that have a gun with an X over it, meaning that they don't have any weapons. Does that mean that all the other cars DO have guns? I haven't quite figured that one out yet. We did hear that a famous movie star was out around here just a few weeks ago. I didn't see him and even if I did think that I saw him, I would never believe that it was him. What would a famous movie star be doing in the Sandbox?!?!?

Last week we went to a whirling Dervish service. They are sort of a sect of Msm that focuses more on spirits than on other stuff. We had to drive a ways to get there, but when we arrived...well...we pulled into a cemetery that was about as big as a square mile. I didn't know what to expect, but I did know that pretty much nothing good happens in a graveyard after dark. Anyways, it was an experience to say the least. The moment when about 150 of them made a circle and started to summon the spirits was pretty sobering. Just a realization that I'm really here, in the middle of Enemy territory, and he definitely has a stronghold in these people's lives.

On a lighter note, last night everyone from my company gathered for a Cinco De Mayo party. It was pretty much just an excuse to have Mexican food since we don't really get that much here, but we had good time just hanging out and being Americans (while celebrating another country's independence...hmm)

When we were in Kenya a few weeks ago, we went to visit the giraffe house. It was kind of fun to be up close and personal with giraffes. And I got to visit with Mark & Susie while I was there. The pictures don't really do Kenya justice. It was just beautiful and the weather a pleasant contrast to the Sandbox. We stayed up in the mountains at a camp. It was really more of a working conference than a vacation, but we managed to make plenty of time for shopping and other things.