Coming home isn't always all that much fun

Today I was going to write about biking around the villages and surveying all the proposed well sites. It was a good time but it has to wait. A few of my friends from the HIV drama group I worked with when I used to live here tracked me down last night. It was Agesh and Eric. When I first lived here I used to do HIV work with the drama group 3 days a week for about 2 hours each meeting and most of the Swahili I learned was thanks to that group (which is why I know so many dirty words in the language =) ). I was really excited to see them as I had planned on going down to where they used to hang out today anyway to say hello and find out how everyone is doing. The answer turned out to be not so well. Three people from the group I knew, one of them being someone I would call a friend, have died since I left from HIV. Another one I was pretty close with before I left I haven't seen yet as she is in Njombe right now but I've heard she is kinda sick which means I'll probably get more bad news in the next two years if not this year and two more I knew reasonably well are also getting sick off and on. None of them is much past 35 and most are probably closer to 30 than 35. I didn't sleep well at all last night thinking about all of it. Reading about high risk groups, infection rates, and death rates turns out to be way different from excitedly asking what your friend is up to and hearing "Amefariki" (he/she died) or "Anaumwa kidogo siku hizi" (he/she is a bit sick these days). I'm glad I know now but....it is an experience I could have done without. It was kinda like getting punched inthe stomach over and over. I did go down today to see the ones who are still living in Songea (some have moved to Njombe and Dar) which was fun. Everyone was really excited to see me and they are still trying to do HIV education though the group has splintered into two or three thanks to some internal drama I haven't sorted out yet and some embezzling I think. It was great seeing all of them and I'm sure I'll head over there again but it still hurts knowing what's happening. I guess that's all I have to say today.