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Name: Weston Thomas
Birthday: 11/5/1981
Gender: Male
Interests: Making the Love of my Life happy, Teaching, Traveling, Finding cool prizes inside cereal boxes, eating candy, playing video games, running, Camp Jorn, philosophy, and all sorts of other stuff.
Expertise: "The contents of this Web site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."
Occupation: Volunteer
Industry: The Mind
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  wesmaniac5
Member Since:
4/22/2004
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| It's hard to imagine that I was soaking up the hot sun just 33 days ago, but here I am just completing the medication I was required to take to prevent myself from getting malaria. I've been on malaria medication for the past two years, which many of us have taken to blaming most of our mental problems and strange dreams on, and now I'm through. I never had malaria, but I did have weird dreams, but then, I was dreaming about weird stuff before I went to Tanzania.
On my way back, I might have mentioned here that I lost one of my bags. It was a drag, because it got in the way of me reuniting with Christina. Well, one day a few weeks ago, I got a call from England, and it was someone with my airlines telling me that they found my bag, and that it looked like everything was there, but that I probably would not recognize the bag. Okay. . . Almost a day or so later, I got a call from a guy at 11:30 at night saying he was outside trying to deliver my bag, except that he was in Chicago at my permanent residence and I was in Champaign at my current place. Well, my uncle answered and received the bag and told him 'thanks' to which he replied that it was the first thanks he had gotten all night.
Now, when I got to my uncle's place, I already assumed that the bag would be different, and so it didn't surprise me that much when I saw it - a nice roll-around bag a bit bigger than the one I had before. I wasn't that impressed though, since the bag I was told I lost was a pretty expensive and nice bag, and I hoped the replacement was of good enough quality. Well, I took a look and it was nice, and brand new (not that mine was in bad shape), but I was still skeptical as to whether this was a fair trade. It was better than nothing.
Next, I opened it up to check inventory of all the stuff, and see if they lost any of it, and right there inside this bag is my old bag!! It had all my stuff in there too, the zippers were open, however, and maybe the person just got frustrated trying to close it and decided to send it in a bag. I take it as a good sign though. What was in the bag you might ask? All of the letters that Christina wrote to me throughout the entire two years! Yikes! It was a bit risky putting them all together, but I had to pack the smallest bag I had with the most dense stuff I had, which came down to the letters and some other souvenirs. Thank Goodness I got my bag back!!
So, a month down and I feel like this is normal. All of it - I'm having a hard time realizing that I was really gone for two years. I am working again - I got a job rather speedily back where I used to substitute teach in Champaign and this time, I have tracked down all of the science teachers I could find in order to give them my info so that when they are out, they can request me and I might actually get to do something related to my field someday. So far I have subbed as a special ed, english, speech, and spanish teacher (i didnt have to speak spanish, but I did tell them I knew swahili). Anyway, I have been told that there is a great need for substitute teachers, but I really haven't been called that many days, and instead, I called the district a few times, and thought I was being sneaky by asking for jobs, until I met another sub who works almost every day because he calls in and asks for them. I guess that's the strategy to having work. Also, I have completed the application for the next district over, in Urbana, so that I might actually get my week filled more with work. It all seems so temporary. I would rather have my own class and my own niche, but that has to wait until I am properly certified.
It's Christmas time, and I am looking forward to the convergence of family and friends in the next few weeks. I feel comfortable now, and I wonder if I will be tired of explaining the last two years to people. I don't worry about people getting what I'm saying, since I know Christina always gets me.
As I have been re-integrating, I have noticed my appreciation for some random things, starting with the nasty spluttering cold November rain that I witnessed after returning. Its just that I have spent so long envisioning this and to finally see it is cheering me up without notice or reason. I have been amazed/impressed with the following: crunching of salt as I walked in Chicago (that means that there was a planner thinking of keeping the sidewalks ice-free and the simple fact that there was ICE) the insides of various malls and all the people (wow!), the incredible number of gas stations that are EVERYWHERE, free water at a restaurant, and just generally the christmas feeling. Its good to be back.
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| I am settled in now, to my new home for the next 8 months or so, in Urbana, IL. Life is good. I have been trying to get the job I had before I joined the Peace Corps, to be a substitute teacher, and am only witheld by one detail, which is that I need medical records which are not in transit between Tanzania and Washington DC. So I have to wait, unless I want to go get a new TB test and physical, but I literally just did them before leaving, its just a small crack I seem to have fallen in just now. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to hanging out with old friends who are arriving this weekend and so its sort of convenient that work has to wait a little. For the past few days, I have been attending the small details of grocery shopping (which takes a long time now, since I want to look at everything!) and emailing everyone and trying to get back into touch with everyone. I have a new phone now, so if you want that, you should get in touch with me so that I can get it to you. Constant internet is a huge plus to hanging out without too much to do. I'm happy with the weather too - cold is good.
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| Yes, its true! I arrived home on Saturday November 17th!
The plane was on time, and I rushed to the front of the lines in customs (thinking I could beat the crowd and get to Christina sooner) and I got through to get my bags, and then waited until all of the bags had circled around the carousel until finally resigning to the fact that one of my bags was not there. That was a bit of a killjoy. So instead of having that moment of pure bliss and harmony with choirs of angels singing as I ran to Christina, I had to wave to her from plated glass doors, stupidly pointing at bags and signalling one finger and pointing off to a counter she couldn't see. After finally describing my bag and its contents, I was given a number to call and a code for my lost bag. Darn. It wasn't one of my major clothes and stuff bags, it just happened to be the bag with something completely irreplaceable inside - all of the at least one hundred letters that christina wrote to me in the course of two years. I'm not going to be upset about it because I'm still going to believe that it will be found and returned to me. This whole thing sucks, I know, no need to remind me. You can cross your fingers along with me.
Finally, oh so finally, the world stopped turning for a full minute and I had found Christina. That was . . . pretty unexplainable.
Life back has been good, mostly because I'm spending alot of time with Christina. She makes the world go away, and the time i've been gone, I've had to deal with the world on full volume, which has made it hard to concentrate and focus. I'm home now, seeing her everyday feeds my happiness, and getting back to normal seems incredibly simple. We spent the first night on our own, and then a few nights at Kevin's house near to my old town. I was able to go through some of my old stuff and figure out what might be useful in the next month, and marvel over my rather large stack of comic books there. We also had a welcome back dinner, and managed to gather my friends, many of whom had come to my going away, and it was at the same place, so it seemed that everything was returning to the place it had started.
We spent time with my brother, and some time with both her family and mine in a sort of travel tour that crossed from the north side of chicago to the south. I've been enjoying the welcome and warmth of everyone we've been visiting and catching up with. Somewhere in the first two days I also got a stomach ache that wouldn't quit. I figure it was due to my change in diets of all natural to all preserved and flavored. I took it easy and set my focus on researching my next laptop. I bought one that is hovering around the top of the line and with so many cool features, it almost made me forget my stomach ached. Now, my stomach has adjusted and the laptop is on its way. Next stop: Champaign/Urbana - now I'll be the sort of weird old grad, come back for glory and honor. Oh yes.
Top Questions Asked:
What was the best part of your two years?
When Christina visited, she stayed at my house for 3 weeks. That was great, to share everything day-to-day, and not just do the touristy/safari thing with her.
What was the worst part of your two years?
Tough to say. I did get robbed, but that really wasn't so bad. And everywhere I went, if there were hard times, mostly there was someone who understood, and helped either to assuage my anxiety or alleviate some of the stressors. I really can't think of too much that was quantifiably 'the worst'. I had bad days at school, where I lost faith in what I was doing, and I had a few days where I had a sort of breakdown in communications with Christina, so I think that was the worst. Overall, missing Christina was the worst. I feel like I could work any job, so long as I can come home to see Christina's smile. Cheesy, I'm sure, but that was what the last two years lacked.
What did Tanzanians think of you?
This is hard to answer too. Mostly, those who knew me: the teachers, workers and friends, knew I was a volunteer and that I worked really really hard. They respected me and were quite friendly. Those who didn't know me, who saw me as a tourist or stereotypical rich white person, usually treated me with less respect, but that sometimes changed after I spoke to them in swahili.
Do you know Swahili well? Did you always speak it?
I didn't speak it all of the time, and I taught in English. By the end of the training in the first few months, I was given an 'advanced low' grade, I might have improved a little, but I certainly wasn't fluent. It always helped my everyday interactions to use swahili, but I was a hardcase to my students and fellow teachers about always speaking english - to the point where most of them didn't believe I actually knew any Swahili.
What was the first food you ate after arriving in the states?
Christina and I went to Chili's. She got some ribs and I got fajitas. Then we had a chocolatey dessert, which was spectacular. I also enjoyed circus peanuts, brought to me by christina along with root beer and gummy bears. My girlfriend is awesome.
Have you been readjusting alright to american life?
I think my readjustment has been pretty smooth, mostly because I can relate everything to Christina, and she knows almost exactly where I've been (she still has the 100 letters I wrote her, so no worries on that regard). What has stressed me out a little is trying to make a decision quickly, especially when there are so many choices to choose from. And when you thought you chose one, there are subchoices to make too. Its a bit overwhelming sometimes. Case in point, I spent at least ten hours researching laptops just to be sure I got exactly what I wanted. There are so many choices here. Wow.
Those were just some of the conversations I've been finding myself in with friends and family, in case you were interested.
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| Hi Everybody
Shame on me for not having updated.
The BIG news is that I am almost finished up here. I dont think I need to give any details - you probably know already, or you know where to get the information. In the next few weeks, you might start seeing me pop up on the radar in a town near you. . . .
So how do I feel? I am a bit overwhelmed. I have been working like crazy on a book of chemistry questions and answers. And that sentence didnt quite capture it. I mean, I've really been working harder than I've worked on a project before, and that I've almost driven myself crazy in the process. Thank goodness one of my students has been working on solving the questions with me, and helping me collaborate. For his trouble, he gets a better understanding of how to answer these questions, so I figure its a good exchange for him.
Other than that very massive block of my life, I have been trying to wind things up here at my school. I had a going away party that was pretty successful, and drew a variety of people (mostly peace corps) and left me with an overabundance of sliced potatoes, tomatoes, and bread. I have done my best to try to put them to use, but by now, I still have more than half of the leftovers and Im just going to have to load them as ammunition into the crow/rooster-rocket.
Okay, I dont really have one of those (next thing I hear is "do you really shoot crows in Africa with a rocket??").
Anyway. There's a spare bed in my house that I have loaded all of my stuff that I want to take home with me. It keeps getting more full, but I'm pretty sure I'll have enough room to carry everything I need home with me. There is a point in time, when packing, you start to see the stuff and realize that it's really going to happen: you are going to leave this place. And that's pretty wierd when that hits you. For two years, I've been counting down the days until I get back to my girl, with Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound" floating in the air around my head. I mean, I have enjoyed life here, too. I certainly have taken every opportunity I have had to work as hard as I could and make that difference, but somewhere in the back, as a sort of static, I have a buzzing about when I'll be home. . . and now that time is now. The right words do not exist, I'm convinced, that can explain enough what I mean.
I am really looking forward to coming home. I need to start the next phase of my life. I have enjoyed this adventure, and I have accomplished more than I thought I would, but now is the big step forward, and I'm trembling with anticipation to take it. Soon, everyone. Soon.
If you want to see me when I'm back, just send me or christina an email. I think we're going to sort of tour the chicago area for a while, I would love an opportunity to catch up.
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