Data Entry, Office Days, and Miss Holly: What A Week!

So, guys. First off, I'm sorry I haven't been posting about Kenya as much lately. We haven't been doing many new things, but work in the office has been keeping us busy!This week has been unexpectedly slow. Monday has always been a day off, so I guess it hasn't really been that slow. Matilda hasn't been in since Friday and our trip to Uganda got pushed back- we  do not have much out-in-the-field work to do and that will always be my favorite part. We're having some issues with money transfer and visas and other things, but we hustled on Kenya work in hopes of leaving for Uganda early and unfortunately, that is not the case.Tuesday Isaac and I met up with a lady named Eunice at the office who showed us how to use the data analysis and entry software. She was very kind and patient with our (mainly my) questions. The only problem is the software is not on my computer and we've been trying to work through that issue for the last few days to no solution. I may just have to enter it on one of their desktop computers, but that shouldn't be an issue. The majority of the day was spent with her and going through the program. I went to the gym for a little under an hour and met the trainer who I think is also the owner and he helped me. I was (I'm pretty sure) pedaling backward on the bike, not lifting heavy enough weights, and not doing anything...but he helped. It's nice that there is something here in the compound that lets me meet local people and stay healthy! Wednesday SAME [minus the gym] ^^^^ Since the program wouldn't work on my computer, I went ahead and started the code book (I explain more on Thursday's date!). I left work at 4:57PM to head over to the school for my first day of teaching. I was very excited to get to meet the kids. I taught Form 5 English and every other word I spoke they laughed at me. They told me I had an accent...I hope it's a cool accent! At the end of the lesson (which was about an antelope, elephant, zebra, and hare being leaders), they asked me to say different words and they would say the word back. I taught them hello and goodbye in Spanish...it's my go-to when I don't know what people are saying to me! Their questions were so cute! They were surprised that it was morning at my home and not night like them, that English was basically the same for the entire country (they have local dialects), and they asked what I wanted to be "when I finished schooling". I said I didn't know because I still don't, haha. We'll figure it out, folks, one day at a time. They asked about Obama and I said he was nice and they assumed we were the best of friends. Isaac and I were the equivalent of celebrities when we were teaching and as we left to go back to the office to figure out my computer problem. The kids wanted to walk by us, wanted to touch us, and wanted to be the ones next to the mzungus. They LOVE pictures, so I've tried to include some below. Afterwards, I went to one of the IT guys, Chris, to try and get help....two hours later...and no solution. Silly computer! So, at 7:45 I make my trek back to the guest house to eat dinner. Chicken stir fry with vegetables, mmm mmm mmm.  Thursday Today was a "public holiday" here in Kenya, so we did not work! I woke up and had a pretty bad headache but it's gone now. The mosquitoes are out today so I'm really hoping I can get more malaria medicine soon. I ate breakfast with Khalela, our friend from UCLA, and Isaac and I had a "Spanish omelet" (omelet with vegetables), toast with butter, and watermelon. I went to my room to take my medicine and get ready for the day and then went to the seating area outside the Guest Centre with Khalela to work on our projects because it's very nice outside. I worked on my code book. I did order my backpack and travel duffel bag for school, pay my first student fee (25USD to be exact), and start the registration process for sorority recruitment. Along with that, I sent a few emails, talked to Joey, and happily scrolled through the beautiful pictures from last night's Miss Miller County pageant. All of the girls looked so pretty and I'm so happy with how everyone did.#StillDaQueenI went and took a nap until lunch to try and get rid of my headache and for lunch I had a burrito with beans. After lunch, I worked on continuing my "code book" for the analysis and date entry process of my project. I'll dedicate an entire blog post to this in the future so that you can all see exactly what I'm talking about. But, in short, it's the concept that you assign every option/short answer provided on a questionnaire (if you remember my questionnaire from before!) with a value and when you enter that data into the software you use that value instead of typing it in. It makes for a better consensus of the information and allows for an easier reading and analyzing process. Not as hard as it sounds, I promise!After that, I went to the "gym" for an hour at 4:30something. I'm actually dead. The owner/trainer makes me do the HARDEST things (keep in mind, I'm weak folks) and doesn't let me quit, which is nice. Khalela and I joke that I'll go home skinny AND buff because of the combination of working out and the food (don't get me wrong--the food is MUCH better than I expected). I promise a blog post is coming about the gym and about that experience shortly, but it's likely not what you expect. I took a shower with warm water (yay!) and now I'm sitting in the Guest Centre talking to you all, waiting until I'm hungry enough to scurry on to dinner for Mango Chicken Wraps and chips (aka fries).Thanks for following!