Salut and à Bientôt

Salut, Let me just open with the fact that I become a feral person whenever the Olympics start. I have been religiously following the women’s gymnastics team and watching it evolve since 2012 when Jordyn Wieber failed to make the all-around and Gabby Douglas became the first African-American woman to win all-around gold. I watch every year, without fail, replays of Aliya Mustafina winning gold in 2012 and then doing it again in 2016 on uneven bars. In 2012, after one year abroad in Lagos, I came back on home leave for the summer and sat in my grandparents’ house in their upstairs living room (in my grandfather’s designated “man-cave”, which was just his most of the time, with the occasional visit by my two cousins). We sat around the TV and watched, cheering on Missy Franklin on primetime. I did the same thing in 2016, about to be a high school 9th grader, and in 2021, about to be a college sophomore. Now, a year finished with the Peace Corps. This will be my only post about the Olympi...

Salut, I finally was able to come back to my site after being locked in Bishkek for days because of medical leave. My health was perfectly fine ; it was mostly logistical. Because of dirt roads and possible mudslides, our safety security manager said I could only return to site via plane, which was scarce the first week of July for some reason. As such, I wouldn’t use the word “withering”, but yes I was withering away in a hotel room for the first week of July. I made the irresponsible decision to eat Indian food and Mexican food while on tons of new medication, meaning I became incredibly exhausted and threw up the food. The act of eating it was worth it! I have a tendency to make less than practical decisions, but it always leads to interesting stories. Another PCV, Michaela, said during training that her mentality was just to embrace the fact that even if things go sideways, it will always result in a fun or interesting story. Buckle up, because I have plenty of those this time ar...