Today I woke up at 3:00 am, got dressed, and headed to the embassy with Leah to watch the election results come in. The embassy staff made me leave my (turned-off) phone and my bag with security, which sucked since I couldn't twiddle with anything or text updates to other PCVs. Oh well. The party was nice--I had some mango and watermelon for breakfast, and then fixated myself on watching the polling results. It was pretty nerve-wracking for a number of hours, but ultimately by 7:30 am being glued to the screen paid off! On top of the AWESOME electoral victories today, I also had the chance to talk with the ambassador. He was very nice and cordial. Some of the staff also recognized me from swearing-in, which was kind of cool.
Once CNN made its prediction, most people cleared out of the embassy to go to work. Steven, one of the roommates here at Leah's house, was a total sweetheart and escorted me to the PC office and then to the Mwenge carvers market downtown. I was super dizzy and weak (partly from no sleep, partly from my general malnourished-sort-of-fatigue) so I didn't want to walk anywhere in Dar alone. I did a little bit of shopping and bartered my butt off. It feels good to get prices down all by myself! It was a fun afternoon, though I spent most of the time hearing only out of the left side of my head. For some reason my ear is still having a lot of problems, but I'm hoping the make-shift medicine they gave me will kick in soon!
I spent the afternoon relaxing at the house. I should find out tomorrow if I'm being medically evacuated or medically separated--it's DC's decision, though I requested to be evacuated before getting the official PC ax. Regardless of what they decide, my flight home will probably be sometime next week.
Tomorrow I should find out what other tests they're going to run while I'm in Dar. I have a feeling I'm in for a lot of paperwork in the future....
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