the nature of the beast the whereabouts of a peace corps volunteer in the west region of Cameroon.

the nature of the beast
goings on
computers in bandenkop
computers in bandenkop

The computers arrived in Douala (the port city and economic capital of Cameroon) in mid-December after one long month of shipping. Once they arrived, the port held them asking for more money even though we had letters from the head of Peace Corps Cameroon, the US Ambassador and other “big people” asking for exoneration. We […]

homesick

before you leave for peace corps you think two years will fly by like they did in college. You think about the big events you may miss, weddings, babies, and shrug a shoulder thinking of the big adventure you’re jumping into. When you’re miles away and a year and a half in it isn’t only […]

join the club
join the club

“At the end of last school year, my voice was calloused and my hands were dried out and white after each day of school. My school saw its first computer lab which had opened halfway through the school year, and the with the addition of the lab my computer classes were made a little easier. […]

thoughts on freedom
thoughts on freedom

In lieu of our country’s independence, here are some thoughts on freedom: The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being […]

red teeth for a week
red teeth for a week

5/22/12 I’m overwhelmed by the radical emotions I come across here. In a day I can start out happy—wake up, turn on taylor swift and mix up my instant coffee with a spoonful of target mint hot chocolate mix (thanks katie!) and powdered milk. After only a few hours I’m fuming after being called “la […]

this ain’t summer camp

3/2/12 I’ve never been one to miss people when I travel or move cities. Even when I was little and went to summer camp and all the homesick kids would cry at night with the counselors assuring them that everything would be OK and they would see their parents in just a couple weeks. My […]

joyeux noel
joyeux noel

  This may possibly be my busiest year to date. If I had succeeded into training myself to use a planner like I tried in middle school, I may have filled in every little box and used up all the stickers on the back page for appointments and birthdays, vacations and minor life changes. If they […]

little rivers
little rivers

8/26/11 i took my first hot bucket bath hours ago and my hair is still not dry. It rains here everyday. Sometimes the misty kind of rain that just lingers making the air seem wet and never making a sound. Other times it starts slow with little drops i can hear tapping on the tin […]

it’s official
it's official

Yesterday was the swearing in ceremony for the trainees. We took the same oath that the president takes to start service, and I became a volunteer in a matter of seconds after weeks of wishing i could just be a volunteer already. I loved Bafia, and my host family with Mama Lydie and Papa Piment, […]

child-bearing hips
child-bearing hips

I can’t believe it’s already august. Right now I’m waiting for 11:30 to roll around to teach my last practical class (the students have an hour of IT every day for theory and 1 day practical using the computer lab). I’m hoping that the other half of the class will get to create email accounts […]

drawing ninjas

7/23/11 The end of my first two weeks teaching came much easier than the start. I’m still teaching the same Première IT class and Sixième English class, but by now I have much more control over my classroom dynamics. With my only teaching experience being senior citizens, discipline problems were never something I was dealing […]

stolen shoes

7/13/11 This morning when I was packing for school and the first day of clubs I discovered that my cleats had been stolen out of my room. It affected me in the strangest way, because I love my family and have only been locking my door when I wasn’t at the house, but I remembered […]

i’ll miss the big city, but I’m ready for my village
i'll miss the big city, but I'm ready for my village

I have less than a week before I leave for Africa. On my bed I have stacks of clothes organized and ready for boxing, and my computer is playing BBC radio where Obama is giving a speech to both houses of Parliament speaking hopefully about the future. I thought I’d give it a listen before […]

new site
new site

my new site is up and running at kimkoelling.com! With the help of hundreds of youtube tutorials I finally coded my own website complete with css and some snazzy jquery, too!

last day of school
last day of school

i’m excited for my last day of class tomorrow. i’m going to cover computer updates and an intro to iphoto. also, at the request of my elderly students, i’ll be giving a glimpse into the techno-teenage world of twitter, facebook and much, much more! i made this super cute diagram to show the different versions […]

old people & computers
old people & computers

tomorrow is the day I get to talk to the lady at the front office of the neighborhood and ask her about the possibility of teaching a computer class at the club house. (the neighborhood community center next to the marina) I’m super excited about the whole plan. I’ve researched and created some lesson plans […]

a fresh new year
a fresh new year

aside from this not so positive update, i’m excited for this new year. even though everything’s been thrown off from plan a little, I love not having so much stuff. I have just the basics. all the clothes, belongings and memories i love in a trunk. surrounded by my family that I love dearly and options to go anywhere with enough money to take me. not many people get such a fresh start.

moving and shakin

I haven’t had too much to write lately. not because of a lack of thoughts— more like too many. everything has been taken off the walls and the rest organized to sell off. the past few nights before falling asleep the last thing i see are these blank unfamiliar walls, which spins me into a […]

silver bells and orange juice in guinness glasses

when my roommate and I have the same day off, the morning is guaranteed to be awesome. this morning was no exception. i woke up first and started making biscuits and eggs for some breakfast sandwiches. i put the morningstar sausage in the microwave and rinsed off some strawberries. i woke up katie—mom style—and we […]

photo booth
photo booth

photo booth history of the past year

nashville weddin
nashville weddin

my roommate when i lived in nashville got married the other weekend and i flew out to see it all happen. it was the most beautiful and classic nashville wedding that ever occurred. pretty sure. they had the ceremony on the pedestrian bridge that crosses the cumberland river. the reception was on the rooftop of […]

culture flog. culture blog.

aside from my 9 1/2 hour shift at work, today was awesome. my friend ife* invited me and my friend galo** over for dinner. we’ve been on rotation for these dinners. galo is from ecuador and started us off a month ago with a traditional ecuadorian meal. so authentic his mother probably talked him through […]

when a weekend is a weekend

my cousin carroll came to visit me this weekend. she’s thinking about going to KU after taking a year off after high school traveling around europe with a performing arts group that does community service works, too. the group is called Up with People. our uncle david did it in the 70’s and apparently still […]

judgement day

i’ve been helping judge a photography contest for the past week now for River to Well, an annual event held to raise money to fund wells in south africa. last year the event raised over $5,000. i blushed when katie’s sister asked me to help judge, but i’m really glad she did because i’ve had […]

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