Kelly Jane

I just finished with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso (West Africa). It has been a long two years yet it is also utterly bizarre to see it end. I am very happy to be home, though increasingly prematurely nostalgic. I am starting a job as a Program Assistant with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Services/Office of Capacity Building and Development/Science and Technology Capacity Building Division just after Thanksgiving. Sooooo happy to have a job and be back in DC.In general, however, I would say that my state of being can be illustrated by the following comments...I say the word "awesome" much too frequently, often at inappropriate times. I thought this would lessen with age. It hasn't. I have only recently begun using contractions...it is still not first nature. I also overemploy the word, "phenomenal." I am overly fond of the use of elliptical points, even when they should not be grammatically applicable. I am stubborn. Some would say this is an understatement. I strongly dislike the way most Americans pronounce the word "pants." I find it icky. I really like birthdays, namely, my own. I eat a lot of potatoes. The junk foods I missed most while in Burkina Faso were cheddar goldfish and plain m&ms. Eastern Market is my favorite place in DC. I feel the world lacks a sufficient amount of tall people. I sleep with a teddy bear. He is yellow and his name is Chachy. I have discovered that you cannot swim and cry at the same time. I will miss the colors of my village. They are breathtaking during rainy season. I really like turkey, lettuce, tomato, and sprout sandwiches. I much prefer myself with long hair. I can speak a decent amount of a really obscure West African local language. I have little patience when I really want to know something. When I am cranky, I pretty much just need to be fed. My two fears in life are moths and down escalators. My favorite flowers are apple blossoms, followed by dogwoods and pansies. I do not think I have ever in my life used a toothpick...I believe my mother would have found the practice rather crass. The longest place I have lived since high school is a mud hut. I find this amusing. I very rarely get embarrassed. I am excessively wordy, longwinded, one might say...