4 weeks + Lessons

Sorry for the delay, let's just pretend that I managed to get this posted on Tuesday. Should be a post up here shortly explaining the craziness that was this week.

This week's list is things that I'm proud to have learned on this journey. As this is my third time living in dollar-a-day communities, I can't list things like doing laundry by hand, coping with intestinal parasites or having to skip two or even three meals a day. I'm also leaving off things that I learned from books (though I am very proud to know so much about Dean Acheson these days), and focusing on some of the practicals:

1. New languages. I'm not fluent in kiswahili yet, but people have stopped talking to me like a foreigner and they speak kiswahili to me the way they speak to other native speakers. I also learned a bit of Kenyan Sign Language (which is moderately different from American sign language) and tidbits of some local languages.
2. Driving on a manual transmission. Well, I had some lessons with my dad before coming here, but I never completely got the hang of it. Now I can get around in a pickup truck that doesn't have 1st or 2nd gear most of the time.
3. Making bread. I learned a lot in the kitchen, but successfully proofing yeast and getting bread that rises was probably my biggest accomplishment.
4. Using a slide rule. I got this as a graduation present and decided to bring it here and try to figure it out in my spare time. Then I discovered that the math curriculum in Kenya required me to teach students to make calculations using log and antilog tables. All of a sudden, the slide rule made sense.
5. Computer software. Yep, I went to a school that is particularly well known for it's computer science department, and I probably learned nearly as much in a year and a half here. I picked up database and accounting software as well as Ubuntu (I still have a lot to learn there) and now I'm starting on twitter.
6. Running a chemistry lab. Okay, so I never actually learned the lesson about not spilling nitric acid, not breathing hydrochloride fumes, and not setting my hair on fire, but I still managed some pretty nifty tricks. I produced ethene and laughing gas, but the best moment was definitely watching kids using test tubes for their first time.
7. Trees. Yeah, I learned a lot about them in books, but I learned just as much in the field and if you don't watch out, I'll probably talk your ear off about planting trees. When you finish reading this post, you should go outside and plant one.
8. Treatment for sea urchins. Rub papaya on the spines. I cannot underscore the importance of this lesson. (For those of you thinking of urine, that's for jellyfish stings)
9. Agriculture. My knowledge in this field probably increased one hundredfold since coming here. Of course, it was a pretty small base to grow from, so maybe one hundredfold is an underestimate.
10. Hitchhiking. This is definitely something that you don't want to do wrong. And sometimes doing it wrong means just plain having bad luck. Still, there are plenty of situations where I found it to be the safest means of transport. I would still say that I am far from being an expert.

Now, for a really long list, I would write the things that I wish I had learned. Good thing I'm coming back here soon.