a real post

soooo... i am really horrible at bloging. looking back i have noticed that i have told you about pink mangoes, singing plants, and penises but not much else. the reason this is because it is really important for me to tell the truth to you and fiquring out what the truth is can be a tricky thing so i have been giving real scientific facts instead. all plants are doing well by now with germany and control grouped tried by the way.

truth #1 thanksgiving was hard. i kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking ok right about now they are cutting the turkey.... and a little later.... ok right about now my friends are a little buzzed. it was good practice for christmas. i always remeber irv during this time. it has been 11 years since 1998. on thanksgiving weekend whatever i do i do for him. on sunday i hiked with giraffes for irv.

now i will tell you about my work. for the past month i have been working with a group of women who are hiv positve. they pride themsleves on being above stigma. what is stigma? probably a bigger killer than AIDS itself. i reasd about stigma in school and in stuff i like to read. it is one of the reasons that HIV is so hard to manage and why it spreads so rapidly in some parts of the world. fo a rough definition it is a mix of misleading beliefs, lack of knowledge, peer pressure, and fear. it leads to discrinination and therefore people lose their libves because their support systems crumble. the reason these women have fromed a group is for social support, community outreach and financial stability. Each women had thier own story of how HIV has effected their lives. Manyy lost thier husbands through death or abandomment many of thier children are also sick. this decreases thier econonic welfare and creates emotional trauma. community and family members often turn their back on people in kenya infected and therefore support groups are really important. our daily activities include jewly making, counseling, home visits to community mebers who are sick, planning education seminars for the community. the unique thing about the group of wmomen is that they are vocally speaking out about their status to fight stigma. stigma is so strong. last week i could not go to a bedriden patients house because a white person going to her home may signal that she has AIDS to her nieghbors causing larger problems. knowing ones HIV status is one of the first steps in fighting the spread of disease. i could really go on about how diifcult this simple thing can be i could talk for so long. i really care about the issue of HIV/AIDS. i feel lucky to be doing this work at this time of year when their are worldwide AIDS campaigns occurig. on the news everynight this week there has been an educational segment on AIDS. for every depressing factoid i hear about the disease a good thing also happens which leads me to belive that one day things will be what ever they will be. hehe. on the 1st kenya even had a gay and lesbian AIDS awarness day HUGE STEP! as a nurse i have seen health so differntly this past month. i really love public health, community health, home health even more than before. and maslows hierechy of needs is truly illustreated infromt of me daily. FOOD FIRST! the women i work with are on ARVs to stop the rate of growth of the virus inb their bodies. theses medicines are free to them abut food is not. so they have the medications for the disease but are often not able to eat. without nutrition how nuch can medciation do? well actually a lot the drugs work really well to help people living with the disease but you undersatnd right?

in the past month some political changes have occured that have forced us to change the place where we work, and the dynamics of the group. i have truly learned the meaning of empowerment and the value of working slow and listening. it is something i will take home with me. it has forced me to view aid work and volunteerism from several difernt angles. if you are praying please pray for a posiive impact, and patience, smart choices, and hope.

a crazy week. on friday i was invited to an aids seminar in kibera the second largest slum in the contient in africa. waht i learned. if you want kenyans to pay attention.... make a lot of noise!!! it was great to see. in my opinion, community heaklth at ists finest. they started with a coulpe of hundred people, a school band, and a huge puppet. when we got to the fairgrounds they had pry one thousand people gathrered. the organizers sang, danced, had drama, and a football, game to illustrate the information on the importantce of HIV testing and health. it was amzing! and of couarse hot!
the vert next day i travekd to a multimillion dollar home. the contrast was stunnjing. spemdiong one day in kibera with open swears and 1 million people and the next on a vast homesteaad with 6 cars, mango tress, and a talking parrot. the gap between rich and poor is so startiling and visible here.

i am just scratching the surface of some of the things i think about. i feel weird sharing so much on a blog because it is new to me. there are some really intamait( not sexy)things i would love to share about the experirence hera so we have coffee talk when i get home and i will talk your ear off.

i think about you everyday. thank you for your comments, texts, emails, prayers and good wishes. paula abdul is on the radio right now : "rush rush" so much fun in the basement on cantebury.

books i am reading:

so much ROald Dahl. my bother has a roald dahl treasury, THE BFG, GOING SOLO so good
invisilbe cure
half the sky thank you mary
just bought a book called half world away- yeah and it is referencing the OASIS song SCORE! BTW they are breaking up.
2006 readers digest

i really love hearing from you. i am so thankful for you.

TIM the TOolman ALLEN WISDOM: excerpt from 2006 readers digest

Leave every situation better than you found it