Happy Holidays!!

Hello everybody
Just thought I would say hello and wish everyone happy holidays. Everything is going well here. It’s a week till I can swear in as a full peace corps volunteer and I am excited and nervous to start. It’s starting to feel good being here in Kenya. When I first arrived, I was on my guard, always cautious of people, assuming the worst. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and sometimes exhausting, but now I am starting to get to know people by name and starting to feel like a part of the community. Although I am an outsider, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. I have people who I don’t even know their names but for some reason they know mine, come up to me and invite me to Christmas dinner. It makes the pain of not being home for Christmas a little easier to handle. It’s Christmas eve and snow is not on the ground, and music is not playing. The only sign that Christmas eve is here are the chickens inside the barn( I begged my family not to eat goat and they wouldn’t kill the damn cow). No presents are exchanged here so my sister, brother and I are making my mama breakfast. My baba said when Im gone, he would make sure they would continue the tradition. If you haven’t noticed, my communication is a bit off, but Im hopeful that it will get better at my site. I’ve been told I have electricity and running water so we’ll see. For those who haven’t read my blog, in one week, my new home will be a small community called litein. It’s in the rift valley province, 107km from Kisumu. Well, it’s time to say goodbye. My sister needs my help cleaning the chickens. So Merry Christmas, Happy New Years and I miss you all… Love, Danielle