pandastan

So, no big new to report, really. Life goes on; I'm still doing well, and projects are moving along as they do. My intake group of Health '09 just finished our Mid Service Training Conference. It was a little bit early because there will be a double intake in July, so Peace Corps will not be able to accommodate the double training schedule at the same time. It still feels like a halfway mark though, even if we still have 14 months to go. So far, all twenty of us are still here - tonight, we're having a one-year-in-country dinner here in Lilongwe since a bunch of us are still in town (I have to see the dentist tomorrow). We arrived in Malawi a year ago today. So hooray for us!



In other news, I've written two news songs this last month. I think both of them were inspired by frustrating experiences in my work that I don't want to go into the details of. The first one is "Feel Free": http://www.ziddu.com/viewfile/10080800/RaymondThomson-2010-FeelFree.mp3.html
In Malawi, "Feel Free" is a common expression people say after welcoming you. I always find it a little confusing though: Because I shouldn't feel free to just to any crazy or lame thing that comes into my head. This song is about telling someone they should feel free to carry on with behaviors that have alienated and hurt the other person, so I guess it's kind of a downer, but I like it.

The second song is "Ricochet":
http://www.ziddu.com/viewfile/10080704/RaymondThomson-2010-Ricochet.mp3.html
I think it basically speaks for itself pretty much. Anyway, anyone reading this who is my facebook friend can also find links to these songs on my facebook page: I have a link section in the bottom lefthand corner. I've posted the lyrics to each one in case anyone is interested and can't make out what I'm singing. Well, that's all for now!