On the side bar I've included a short essay I wrote for my development class (POR #1)- feel free to shoot ideas back or comments- I'd love to hear what you think (not necessarily about grammar, style, or structure- but the ideas at hand)
and if you have questions- anything I'm not writing about that you want to know about- feel free to ask!
Below is my latest, super-long post from the Mombasa and this week~
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Weekend in Mombasa and deeper thoughts on soccer
I spent the holiday weekend on the coast of Kenya in the city of Mombasa. I went with 11 other students, and we rented two cottages on Tiwi Beach on the Indian Ocean. The place was absolutely gorgeous! The sun was great, water was warm, and we had a great time. Along the side of the blog are photos from the weekend.
We left Nairobi on Friday night and took the night bus to Mombasa. Now, I like to think I'm an easy traveler, BUT this ride definitely tested my limits. We left Nairobi at 930pm and the first hour was interesting as our entertainment was something like the Michael Jackson lifetime music video collection- we all got a kick out of this. At about 1am our bus stopped and did a U-turn on the paved highway, we proceeded to cross over a rocky median and began driving parallel to the highway on a dirt road. I thought we were for sure going to get a flat tire. All the while the air conditioning on the bus has stopped and we are all sweating through our clothes as we are trying to sleep. The dirt path we had decided to drive on was so bumpy that none of us could sleep, and I think it was at least 90 degrees on that bus. It was so hot not one part of your body could be touching another or the person next to you-it was even grosser than your hottest day of runs, in overalls, in Appalachian heat. Well I suppose I've made this point very clear. The dirt road situation put us into Mombasa about 2 hours late, this was good however, because in Kenya you are never supposed to get off your bus before about 7am for security reasons.
We got off the bus and took a tuk-tuk to the Nakumatt (Kenya's chain grocery store). Tuk tuk's are three wheeled vehicles mainly used as cabs. At the Nakumatt we bought food for the weekend and of course, a crate of Tusker, Kenya's favorite beer (Their version of American Idol is even called Tusker's Project Fame). From there we walked to the ferry and got in line at the gates. There are literally two flood gates that fill with people and when they open everyone sprints down to the ferry, quite an awakening experience at 7 in the morning. But we all made it safely on and over, the trip is only about 5 minutes. We were a little apprehensive about the ferry because we were told that ferries here sometimes sink, but this seems like a problem that is too costly to not figure out the cause of- I don't know if they were overloaded or what, but we did not encounter this problem (obviously).
After the ferry we took a Matatu to Maweni Cottages were we had rented two cottages. The resort had a private beach and we basically did the beach thing all day Saturday and Sunday. The Indian Ocean is beautiful and very warm. The high tide and low tide are very drastic. The high tide made for a great swim and during low tide we took a boat out to a sand bar and sat with hundreds of starfish (photos coming soon I promise). This relaxing weekend on the beach was exactly what I needed after being sick. My congestion was essentially gone in Mombasa (and is back now in Nairobi, I'm going to assume this is largely due to the dust- and I've already made my case about dust).
We checked out Monday morning (Monday was a national holiday-the end of Ramadan) and had 10 hours to kill in Mombasa before our night bus home. We went to Fort Jesus, a fort built by Portugal, and also shopping in the Old Town- kangas (wraps with swahili sayings) and scarves were our favorites. Dumes (my friend Emily) and I bought a kanga we are going to have made into a skirt. They sell Kangas in doubles and they cost about 300 shillings or $4, and having them made into a skirt here is only 500 shillings- so hopefully I'll do that soon. :)
This week class has been alright. We started our "tracks", I'm in the education track. Our first lecture was pretty dry but I'm hoping they get more interesting. I really want to learn about private v. public education in Kenya, as it appears no one attends the public schools. I also want to learn about the Christian influence on formal education-my host sister goes to a Pentecostal school and last week she brought home a quarterly exam, in between all the math and reading questions there was one question that read "Who is your best friend?", and the answers to choose from were 'Teacher, Satan, Jesus'. Now I think we can all guess what was marked as the right answer- but this was so interesting to me. Also there was a question that read "My mother, father and I make up a ____" and the answer options were 'community, family, clan' and family was the correct answer- from here I'm sure you can guess the cultural implications of this, and the absolutism that is so overwhelming in questions like this for a six year old. Feel free to post thoughts/comments in the comments of this blog~
So ed. class is going alright, Swahili is going well- I'm not great but learn more every day. My host mom likes to quiz me, and they think its funny that in the US we 'eat' porridge because here they 'drink' it. I love the development and country analysis professors. For those classes we have logs that are due weekly about our experiences, observations and how they relate to development. I'll include a sample POR or Personal Observation Report on a side bar-- check it out.
We played the Kibera girls in soccer again- they beat us 5-1 this time. Half of them play without shoes and we played again on a dirt dirt field. This got me thinking about how soccer is such a simple game, yet we have made it so elaborate in the US. You really don't need shoes or shin guards to play, yet that is how we define soccer. For what its worth we have essentially 'developed' the game of soccer, and then by our definition of the game, drawn conclusions of others style of play. If you saw the two kids I saw yesterday playing with plastic bags balled together and tied with rope barefoot in the street would you consider it undeveloped? Now on face value, I think most of us would, but really we are comparing it against the image we have of soccer-something we have made into a best cleats, green fields game. Just some food for thought, I hope I'm not getting too preachy.
I think soccer is a great metaphor for development, I'm writing my POR #2 on it so I'll try to post that later.
Well that about sums everything up, wow this was a long post, I'm happy your still reading :) This weekend I'm 90% sure I'm going to Tanzania (no travel warnings) for a little adventure. One of the students on the trip, Molly, studied there earlier in her college career and knows a great hostel to stay in and is pretty versed in traveling there. So I figured I'd like to see Tanzania with Molly rather than go it alone at a later date. There are about 10 of us going and we leave tomorrow afternoon. We'll stay in the hostel she knows, enjoy soon food and a reggae festival and come back Sunday. I'm looking forward to it :)
I'll write again soon, love and miss you all!
We left Nairobi on Friday night and took the night bus to Mombasa. Now, I like to think I'm an easy traveler, BUT this ride definitely tested my limits. We left Nairobi at 930pm and the first hour was interesting as our entertainment was something like the Michael Jackson lifetime music video collection- we all got a kick out of this. At about 1am our bus stopped and did a U-turn on the paved highway, we proceeded to cross over a rocky median and began driving parallel to the highway on a dirt road. I thought we were for sure going to get a flat tire. All the while the air conditioning on the bus has stopped and we are all sweating through our clothes as we are trying to sleep. The dirt path we had decided to drive on was so bumpy that none of us could sleep, and I think it was at least 90 degrees on that bus. It was so hot not one part of your body could be touching another or the person next to you-it was even grosser than your hottest day of runs, in overalls, in Appalachian heat. Well I suppose I've made this point very clear. The dirt road situation put us into Mombasa about 2 hours late, this was good however, because in Kenya you are never supposed to get off your bus before about 7am for security reasons.
We got off the bus and took a tuk-tuk to the Nakumatt (Kenya's chain grocery store). Tuk tuk's are three wheeled vehicles mainly used as cabs. At the Nakumatt we bought food for the weekend and of course, a crate of Tusker, Kenya's favorite beer (Their version of American Idol is even called Tusker's Project Fame). From there we walked to the ferry and got in line at the gates. There are literally two flood gates that fill with people and when they open everyone sprints down to the ferry, quite an awakening experience at 7 in the morning. But we all made it safely on and over, the trip is only about 5 minutes. We were a little apprehensive about the ferry because we were told that ferries here sometimes sink, but this seems like a problem that is too costly to not figure out the cause of- I don't know if they were overloaded or what, but we did not encounter this problem (obviously).
After the ferry we took a Matatu to Maweni Cottages were we had rented two cottages. The resort had a private beach and we basically did the beach thing all day Saturday and Sunday. The Indian Ocean is beautiful and very warm. The high tide and low tide are very drastic. The high tide made for a great swim and during low tide we took a boat out to a sand bar and sat with hundreds of starfish (photos coming soon I promise). This relaxing weekend on the beach was exactly what I needed after being sick. My congestion was essentially gone in Mombasa (and is back now in Nairobi, I'm going to assume this is largely due to the dust- and I've already made my case about dust).
We checked out Monday morning (Monday was a national holiday-the end of Ramadan) and had 10 hours to kill in Mombasa before our night bus home. We went to Fort Jesus, a fort built by Portugal, and also shopping in the Old Town- kangas (wraps with swahili sayings) and scarves were our favorites. Dumes (my friend Emily) and I bought a kanga we are going to have made into a skirt. They sell Kangas in doubles and they cost about 300 shillings or $4, and having them made into a skirt here is only 500 shillings- so hopefully I'll do that soon. :)
This week class has been alright. We started our "tracks", I'm in the education track. Our first lecture was pretty dry but I'm hoping they get more interesting. I really want to learn about private v. public education in Kenya, as it appears no one attends the public schools. I also want to learn about the Christian influence on formal education-my host sister goes to a Pentecostal school and last week she brought home a quarterly exam, in between all the math and reading questions there was one question that read "Who is your best friend?", and the answers to choose from were 'Teacher, Satan, Jesus'. Now I think we can all guess what was marked as the right answer- but this was so interesting to me. Also there was a question that read "My mother, father and I make up a ____" and the answer options were 'community, family, clan' and family was the correct answer- from here I'm sure you can guess the cultural implications of this, and the absolutism that is so overwhelming in questions like this for a six year old. Feel free to post thoughts/comments in the comments of this blog~
So ed. class is going alright, Swahili is going well- I'm not great but learn more every day. My host mom likes to quiz me, and they think its funny that in the US we 'eat' porridge because here they 'drink' it. I love the development and country analysis professors. For those classes we have logs that are due weekly about our experiences, observations and how they relate to development. I'll include a sample POR or Personal Observation Report on a side bar-- check it out.
We played the Kibera girls in soccer again- they beat us 5-1 this time. Half of them play without shoes and we played again on a dirt dirt field. This got me thinking about how soccer is such a simple game, yet we have made it so elaborate in the US. You really don't need shoes or shin guards to play, yet that is how we define soccer. For what its worth we have essentially 'developed' the game of soccer, and then by our definition of the game, drawn conclusions of others style of play. If you saw the two kids I saw yesterday playing with plastic bags balled together and tied with rope barefoot in the street would you consider it undeveloped? Now on face value, I think most of us would, but really we are comparing it against the image we have of soccer-something we have made into a best cleats, green fields game. Just some food for thought, I hope I'm not getting too preachy.
I think soccer is a great metaphor for development, I'm writing my POR #2 on it so I'll try to post that later.
Well that about sums everything up, wow this was a long post, I'm happy your still reading :) This weekend I'm 90% sure I'm going to Tanzania (no travel warnings) for a little adventure. One of the students on the trip, Molly, studied there earlier in her college career and knows a great hostel to stay in and is pretty versed in traveling there. So I figured I'd like to see Tanzania with Molly rather than go it alone at a later date. There are about 10 of us going and we leave tomorrow afternoon. We'll stay in the hostel she knows, enjoy soon food and a reggae festival and come back Sunday. I'm looking forward to it :)
I'll write again soon, love and miss you all!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Dust and Family Bonding
The dust here is overwhelming. Because of the drought and the natural end of the dry season, the dust has been quite a nuisance these last two weeks.
My host family and I all managed to come down with something, they attributed it to the dust, but I had a fever on Tuesday night so I spent a good portion of Wednesday afternoon in Urgent Care. Don't worry though, they said its just a sinus infection, not malaria or anything, so I started antibiotics and will hopefully break this cold-feeling soon.
As for the health care system, my experience was relatively inexpensive- about $14 to register and see a doctor, $12 for a blood test, and $25 dollars for antibiotics- so not too bad overall. And the facility was great, basically the same as Southdale, and much more organized and efficient that the Man Community Clinic or Logan County Hospital (but we've all heard those logan county stories...). So clearly it falls into the range of acceptable American facilities, though I'd question whether the Logan facilities should, or if they just do because no one seems to notice (just an observation I thought I'd voice).
Other than the sinus stuff this week has been good. We have decided to play soccer on Mondays and Wednesdays, and when we got to class on Monday one of the MSID staff said he had set up a match for us. It was against a Kibera high school girls team (Kibera is the biggest slum in Kenya). We arrived in mix-matched clothes, thankfully one of my friends had sweats I could wear as I only had a skirt, though the pants were green and my shirt was red so I think I looked pretty ridiculous on the field. It was a dirt field, nicer than the one we've been playing on, with goals constructed from tree trunks. Out of nowhere a referee showed up and we realized this was the real deal. It was a lot of fun, I scored once on a great pass, and we won 7-3. The girls were really good though, we had two of our program staff play on our team and without them I don't know if we could have beaten them. It was great though, and we are playing them again on Wednesday.
On Monday night I got home and my host mom was home (she's usually at work) so it was great to spend time with her. And Tracy (my 6 year old host sister) was being so goofy that night that we all ended up on the floor laughing after a competition to see who could jump the highest and touch the ceiling. The dust is so bad that I don't spend much time extra time outside because walking 45 minutes each way to school on Ngong Road and playing on a dirt soccer field are about all my system can handle on the dust count.
Tuesday was class again, and I found myself sketching up plans for the chicken coop my internship wants me to build. However, these plans looked more like a room addition than anything and would probably be a bit overkill for chickens, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
This coming Monday is a national holiday, the end of Ramadan, so we do not have classes. A group of decided to travel to the coastal city of Mombasa. It is supposed to be hot and muggy, but I'm very excited for the beach. We are taking the bus and arriving Saturday morning. We've rented a few small cottages on the beach and are all pretty excited about a weekend away. We'll arrive back in Nairobi on Tuesday morning and probably head straight to class. Other groups of students are traveling to Mt. Kenya and a group wanted to go to Uganda, but their trip was canceled because of violence.
A note on cattle in the city: we are learning a lot about the impacts of colonization as well as seeing it everyday. The area Nairobi is in used to be occupied by the Maasai. The Maasai still rely on cattle and the market and slaughterhouses are a few miles further out of town than my neighborhood. The location of these and the consequences of the drought bring herds of cattle into town to graze on their way down Ngong Road. The herds also find their way into the neighborhood and it is not uncommon for us to walk along side them on our way to school.
Ngong Road runs from the city center, downtown, past the small university where we have class, intersects Suna Road and continues out of town. I live off Suna Road in Jamhuri, Suna is dotted with vendors and we usually but fruit on the way to school (yep. mom and dad, I love bananas again), then we turn onto Ngong and pass a few grocery stores, Java- our favorite coffee shop, and many other stores. I don't mind the walk to school, though hot, it is always in good company which I enjoy.
My host family and I all managed to come down with something, they attributed it to the dust, but I had a fever on Tuesday night so I spent a good portion of Wednesday afternoon in Urgent Care. Don't worry though, they said its just a sinus infection, not malaria or anything, so I started antibiotics and will hopefully break this cold-feeling soon.
As for the health care system, my experience was relatively inexpensive- about $14 to register and see a doctor, $12 for a blood test, and $25 dollars for antibiotics- so not too bad overall. And the facility was great, basically the same as Southdale, and much more organized and efficient that the Man Community Clinic or Logan County Hospital (but we've all heard those logan county stories...). So clearly it falls into the range of acceptable American facilities, though I'd question whether the Logan facilities should, or if they just do because no one seems to notice (just an observation I thought I'd voice).
Other than the sinus stuff this week has been good. We have decided to play soccer on Mondays and Wednesdays, and when we got to class on Monday one of the MSID staff said he had set up a match for us. It was against a Kibera high school girls team (Kibera is the biggest slum in Kenya). We arrived in mix-matched clothes, thankfully one of my friends had sweats I could wear as I only had a skirt, though the pants were green and my shirt was red so I think I looked pretty ridiculous on the field. It was a dirt field, nicer than the one we've been playing on, with goals constructed from tree trunks. Out of nowhere a referee showed up and we realized this was the real deal. It was a lot of fun, I scored once on a great pass, and we won 7-3. The girls were really good though, we had two of our program staff play on our team and without them I don't know if we could have beaten them. It was great though, and we are playing them again on Wednesday.
On Monday night I got home and my host mom was home (she's usually at work) so it was great to spend time with her. And Tracy (my 6 year old host sister) was being so goofy that night that we all ended up on the floor laughing after a competition to see who could jump the highest and touch the ceiling. The dust is so bad that I don't spend much time extra time outside because walking 45 minutes each way to school on Ngong Road and playing on a dirt soccer field are about all my system can handle on the dust count.
Tuesday was class again, and I found myself sketching up plans for the chicken coop my internship wants me to build. However, these plans looked more like a room addition than anything and would probably be a bit overkill for chickens, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
This coming Monday is a national holiday, the end of Ramadan, so we do not have classes. A group of decided to travel to the coastal city of Mombasa. It is supposed to be hot and muggy, but I'm very excited for the beach. We are taking the bus and arriving Saturday morning. We've rented a few small cottages on the beach and are all pretty excited about a weekend away. We'll arrive back in Nairobi on Tuesday morning and probably head straight to class. Other groups of students are traveling to Mt. Kenya and a group wanted to go to Uganda, but their trip was canceled because of violence.
A note on cattle in the city: we are learning a lot about the impacts of colonization as well as seeing it everyday. The area Nairobi is in used to be occupied by the Maasai. The Maasai still rely on cattle and the market and slaughterhouses are a few miles further out of town than my neighborhood. The location of these and the consequences of the drought bring herds of cattle into town to graze on their way down Ngong Road. The herds also find their way into the neighborhood and it is not uncommon for us to walk along side them on our way to school.
Ngong Road runs from the city center, downtown, past the small university where we have class, intersects Suna Road and continues out of town. I live off Suna Road in Jamhuri, Suna is dotted with vendors and we usually but fruit on the way to school (yep. mom and dad, I love bananas again), then we turn onto Ngong and pass a few grocery stores, Java- our favorite coffee shop, and many other stores. I don't mind the walk to school, though hot, it is always in good company which I enjoy.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A Day in the Life
I have finished my first week of classes and can now fill you in a little more on our routine :)
I get up at 6:30, have breakfast, usually Wheatabix and toast, with coffee, then take a shower (showering consists of one pot full of hot water, which the house-help Eda puts in my basin, and then I can add cold water from the spigot in the bathroom as a wish), and get ready to leave. I get a fresh Nalgene of treated water for the day, and then treat it again myself. I leave the house at 7:30 to meet with 5 others girls around the corner and we walk to school together~about a 45 minute walk.
We discovered this great coffee place called Java, we like to grab coffee again there in the morning if we aren't running too late. Its one of those spots that feels like home considering how much time we spend in coffee shops during the year, and it was nice to find after living without one all summer in Jonesville (wow I really sound like a coffee shop junkie, but I'll be honest, I love the place).
Class starts at 8:30 and we have three classes throughout the day. 8:30-10:30, a fifteen minute tea break, 10:45-12:45, a 45 minute lunch break and then one more class in the afternoon, 1:30-3:30. We don't find out which classes we will have in which time periods until the week before- they change slots week to week and it is a very different feel from the structure of UW.
After class we head home. On Mondays and Wednesdays we have decided to play soccer. About 20 of the 32 of us go, and usually some locals play too. Yesterday we played after class and the MSID staff came as well (and they are really good!). I'm a little rusty, but this is definitely my favorite way to exercise so I'm glad others are excited about it as well. The field we play on is all dirt, the grass has been grazed over by cows and they have also left behind unpleasant additions to the field. Sometimes the dust clouds are so think you can't see the rest of your team, but this seems to be a general trend across the city in the wake of no rain.
Speaking of the city...the neighborhood I live in is called Jamhuri. There is a main road between the University and Jamhuri called Ngong road. We walk for probably 2-3 miles down this paved road with varying sidewalks and then turn into Jamhuri which has lots of local vendors lining the streets. And the roads turn to dirt roads that would beach the Smart Car in a second. On our walks we are usually accompanied by herds of cattle, or goats, all grazing and fighting for what's left of the greenery here.
After school and soccer or shopping, we head home and are in for the night. We are not allowed to leave our homes after the sun sets. I live in a gated area and so do most other MSID students, we have a security guard on 24hours (the day guard always wears a Twins hat! though I dont think he understands my excitement ;)) Crime in the city is really bad, and muzungos are especially targeted, through we haven't had any problems so far. Street children will ask us for money, but one of the first things we learned to say was "Mimi ni mwanafunzi, sina pesa." or "I am a student, I have no money."
Last night we went out to Smart Village, the Ethiopian restaurant my host mom manages. There were about 20 of us, and we all shared food. Ethiopian food can be really spicy (especially for us Midwestern kids) but it is very good. Mama Tracy's boss also made us a cake which we all shared too. Afterwards we all shared cabs downtown to a restaurant with live music. The music was Kikuyo (one of Kenya's 42 tribes, and also the one my host mother descends from). I went home around midnight, as I usually go to bed around 9, and am also getting over a cold (some nasty sinus thing I picked up at the end of the week, but don't worry ma, no fever or anything so I'm pretty sure its just a cold). The cab driver who brought us home is pretty much the resident MSID driver, he is friends with the program staff and knows all about the program. A cab from downtown to the front door is only 400/= which is like $4, so not bad regardless, but especially when you split if four ways.
Last night my host father came home! Papa Tracy is a tour guide and is gone for days at a time so I had not met him yet. We sat and talked for quite a while and he is very nice. (Note for Pete: he said Tenant should check out Nakumat (the chain grocer/everything store here), and that they would hop on to the new technology. I mean I have no idea how this would play out but I thought I'd pass along the message).
Papa Tracy told me about a weekend long trip to one of the national state game parks where you camp in large tents that have beds provided for you, and that we would for sure see elephants and lions, so a few friends and I might to that in two weekends.
As for the upcoming weekend, the 21st will most likely be declared a national holiday (though they haven't declared it yet...) so celebrate the end of Ramadan. So we won't have class on Monday. The other students who had internships in Kisumu and I are thinking of going to the coast for a weekend, most likely the city of Mombassa. Papa Tracy said the beach is great, and it would be nice to be in some hot weather for a change.
With the early curfew I have a lot of time to read. I am in for the night at 6:30, and don't have too much homework (yet...) so I've already finished three books. If you have any recommendations, send them my way! Being able to read this much is fantastic, and because I think I read literally only 20 pages of one book all summer. Another contributing factor is that I am not so into the TV shows my family watches. They include: Storms over Paradise (a spanish soap opera dubbed back in English), and an east african rendition of American Idol, so yay, lots of ready time :)
I finally found out my address, it will be the same for the whole semester even though I move:
Marta Jewson
c/o MSID Kenya
PO Box 66731
00800 Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
Thanks for reading!
I get up at 6:30, have breakfast, usually Wheatabix and toast, with coffee, then take a shower (showering consists of one pot full of hot water, which the house-help Eda puts in my basin, and then I can add cold water from the spigot in the bathroom as a wish), and get ready to leave. I get a fresh Nalgene of treated water for the day, and then treat it again myself. I leave the house at 7:30 to meet with 5 others girls around the corner and we walk to school together~about a 45 minute walk.
We discovered this great coffee place called Java, we like to grab coffee again there in the morning if we aren't running too late. Its one of those spots that feels like home considering how much time we spend in coffee shops during the year, and it was nice to find after living without one all summer in Jonesville (wow I really sound like a coffee shop junkie, but I'll be honest, I love the place).
Class starts at 8:30 and we have three classes throughout the day. 8:30-10:30, a fifteen minute tea break, 10:45-12:45, a 45 minute lunch break and then one more class in the afternoon, 1:30-3:30. We don't find out which classes we will have in which time periods until the week before- they change slots week to week and it is a very different feel from the structure of UW.
After class we head home. On Mondays and Wednesdays we have decided to play soccer. About 20 of the 32 of us go, and usually some locals play too. Yesterday we played after class and the MSID staff came as well (and they are really good!). I'm a little rusty, but this is definitely my favorite way to exercise so I'm glad others are excited about it as well. The field we play on is all dirt, the grass has been grazed over by cows and they have also left behind unpleasant additions to the field. Sometimes the dust clouds are so think you can't see the rest of your team, but this seems to be a general trend across the city in the wake of no rain.
Speaking of the city...the neighborhood I live in is called Jamhuri. There is a main road between the University and Jamhuri called Ngong road. We walk for probably 2-3 miles down this paved road with varying sidewalks and then turn into Jamhuri which has lots of local vendors lining the streets. And the roads turn to dirt roads that would beach the Smart Car in a second. On our walks we are usually accompanied by herds of cattle, or goats, all grazing and fighting for what's left of the greenery here.
After school and soccer or shopping, we head home and are in for the night. We are not allowed to leave our homes after the sun sets. I live in a gated area and so do most other MSID students, we have a security guard on 24hours (the day guard always wears a Twins hat! though I dont think he understands my excitement ;)) Crime in the city is really bad, and muzungos are especially targeted, through we haven't had any problems so far. Street children will ask us for money, but one of the first things we learned to say was "Mimi ni mwanafunzi, sina pesa." or "I am a student, I have no money."
Last night we went out to Smart Village, the Ethiopian restaurant my host mom manages. There were about 20 of us, and we all shared food. Ethiopian food can be really spicy (especially for us Midwestern kids) but it is very good. Mama Tracy's boss also made us a cake which we all shared too. Afterwards we all shared cabs downtown to a restaurant with live music. The music was Kikuyo (one of Kenya's 42 tribes, and also the one my host mother descends from). I went home around midnight, as I usually go to bed around 9, and am also getting over a cold (some nasty sinus thing I picked up at the end of the week, but don't worry ma, no fever or anything so I'm pretty sure its just a cold). The cab driver who brought us home is pretty much the resident MSID driver, he is friends with the program staff and knows all about the program. A cab from downtown to the front door is only 400/= which is like $4, so not bad regardless, but especially when you split if four ways.
Last night my host father came home! Papa Tracy is a tour guide and is gone for days at a time so I had not met him yet. We sat and talked for quite a while and he is very nice. (Note for Pete: he said Tenant should check out Nakumat (the chain grocer/everything store here), and that they would hop on to the new technology. I mean I have no idea how this would play out but I thought I'd pass along the message).
Papa Tracy told me about a weekend long trip to one of the national state game parks where you camp in large tents that have beds provided for you, and that we would for sure see elephants and lions, so a few friends and I might to that in two weekends.
As for the upcoming weekend, the 21st will most likely be declared a national holiday (though they haven't declared it yet...) so celebrate the end of Ramadan. So we won't have class on Monday. The other students who had internships in Kisumu and I are thinking of going to the coast for a weekend, most likely the city of Mombassa. Papa Tracy said the beach is great, and it would be nice to be in some hot weather for a change.
With the early curfew I have a lot of time to read. I am in for the night at 6:30, and don't have too much homework (yet...) so I've already finished three books. If you have any recommendations, send them my way! Being able to read this much is fantastic, and because I think I read literally only 20 pages of one book all summer. Another contributing factor is that I am not so into the TV shows my family watches. They include: Storms over Paradise (a spanish soap opera dubbed back in English), and an east african rendition of American Idol, so yay, lots of ready time :)
I finally found out my address, it will be the same for the whole semester even though I move:
Marta Jewson
c/o MSID Kenya
PO Box 66731
00800 Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
In Nairobi
I am settling into the Nairobi scene after two days of traveling, a week at Nakuru national park with fellow students and moving into my host family's home on Saturday.
We arrived in Nairobi after 30 some hours of traveling. I was on a group flight with other students and we had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. Hopefully on the way back our layover will be long enough to explore the city. We then flew direct from Amsterdam to Nairobi and got in around 6pm, Monday the 31st. After all 32 of us were in Nairobi, we boarded a tour bus and headed to a hostile nearby. Right away we were thrown into the reality of cautious water drinking, and not exactly what you would expect for showering and bathroom facilities- but this was to be expected.
We stayed at the hostile for one night and then continued on to Nakuru national park. The park was gorgeous! We stayed in a small compound within the park that consisted of 3 bunk houses, a kitchen and dining area, and a few stalls with holes in the ground that doubled as showers and toilets. We eased into the program with short sessions throughout the three days we were there, lots of tea breaks, great meals, game drives, and hanging out in the evenings. The compound was right in the park so it was not uncommon to wake up with zebras standing at the gate, or water buffalo grazing along the fence. Though we were able to easily coexist with most of the animals the baboons were another story.
They would raid our camp, usually during meal time, and open the doors to bunk houeses, bathrooms, the kitchen, whatever they felt like! One morning we were eating in the dining area, and the back door swung open, a baboon jumped in and grabbed a banana off the plate of the girl sitting next to me. I am told they are scared of humans, as long as you dont jump up, scream and run away like all of us at the table did- but it was quite startling.
We saw lots of animals on our game drives: flamingos, monkeys, packs of giraffes, rhinos, and much more- I have photos that hopefully I will get up at some point.
After our three days in Nakuru, and one practice outing at Nakuru's market place, we left for Nairobi. We arrived in Nairobi early Saturday morning and our host families came to pick us up.
My host mother Jennifer, or Mama Tracy as I call her, and her daughter Tracy, 6, came to get me in a cab and we were off to their place. They live in a modest apartment/villa in Jamhuri, a neighborhood in the city. There I met Eda, the house help who also lives with the family and I share a bedroom with. My host father is a tour guide and left Saturday morning so I have not met him yet, but he will return on Thursday.
The villa has 2 bedrooms, one bath, one sitting room and a 5' by 5' kitchen. All in all I'd say its about 30ft sq.
The country is experiencing a harsh drought right now. Today someone told me that the rains that were supposed to come in April never came, and they will not start again until October. There are many people starving across the country and many animals are dying. I think the news does a better job covering these issues here than the national news does at home-but I'm sure that is open for debate.
As a result of the drought, there is water and electric rationing throughout the city. My neighborhood has no electricity MWF from 7am-6pm when the sun sets, and water is in and out. I guess a lot of the electricity is hydro-power- still checking into that though.
We began classes on Tuesday and they all seem really interesting so far. A lot of our assignments are reflections and observations about what is happening around us, and then relating this back to international development. I'm taking Swahili, International Development: Critical Perspectives and Theory, A History of Kenya, and eventually a course specifically relating to education in Kenya. We have classes until October 23rd when we will all move to different places in the country. I will be right outside of Kisumu.
I hear Kisumu has 100 degree weather and is really muggy....ha not my favorite but I'm excited to see the rural side of things. I will be working in a school, probably teaching some and helping with after school clubs/activities. The school administration read my resume and saw I have experience in construction, so i've been told they are going to ask me to design a chicken coop! A little different than ASP but I'm definitely up for it.
All in all everything is wonderful here! Thanks everyone for your support, messages, help packing and everything! I will write again when I can :)
We arrived in Nairobi after 30 some hours of traveling. I was on a group flight with other students and we had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. Hopefully on the way back our layover will be long enough to explore the city. We then flew direct from Amsterdam to Nairobi and got in around 6pm, Monday the 31st. After all 32 of us were in Nairobi, we boarded a tour bus and headed to a hostile nearby. Right away we were thrown into the reality of cautious water drinking, and not exactly what you would expect for showering and bathroom facilities- but this was to be expected.
We stayed at the hostile for one night and then continued on to Nakuru national park. The park was gorgeous! We stayed in a small compound within the park that consisted of 3 bunk houses, a kitchen and dining area, and a few stalls with holes in the ground that doubled as showers and toilets. We eased into the program with short sessions throughout the three days we were there, lots of tea breaks, great meals, game drives, and hanging out in the evenings. The compound was right in the park so it was not uncommon to wake up with zebras standing at the gate, or water buffalo grazing along the fence. Though we were able to easily coexist with most of the animals the baboons were another story.
They would raid our camp, usually during meal time, and open the doors to bunk houeses, bathrooms, the kitchen, whatever they felt like! One morning we were eating in the dining area, and the back door swung open, a baboon jumped in and grabbed a banana off the plate of the girl sitting next to me. I am told they are scared of humans, as long as you dont jump up, scream and run away like all of us at the table did- but it was quite startling.
We saw lots of animals on our game drives: flamingos, monkeys, packs of giraffes, rhinos, and much more- I have photos that hopefully I will get up at some point.
After our three days in Nakuru, and one practice outing at Nakuru's market place, we left for Nairobi. We arrived in Nairobi early Saturday morning and our host families came to pick us up.
My host mother Jennifer, or Mama Tracy as I call her, and her daughter Tracy, 6, came to get me in a cab and we were off to their place. They live in a modest apartment/villa in Jamhuri, a neighborhood in the city. There I met Eda, the house help who also lives with the family and I share a bedroom with. My host father is a tour guide and left Saturday morning so I have not met him yet, but he will return on Thursday.
The villa has 2 bedrooms, one bath, one sitting room and a 5' by 5' kitchen. All in all I'd say its about 30ft sq.
The country is experiencing a harsh drought right now. Today someone told me that the rains that were supposed to come in April never came, and they will not start again until October. There are many people starving across the country and many animals are dying. I think the news does a better job covering these issues here than the national news does at home-but I'm sure that is open for debate.
As a result of the drought, there is water and electric rationing throughout the city. My neighborhood has no electricity MWF from 7am-6pm when the sun sets, and water is in and out. I guess a lot of the electricity is hydro-power- still checking into that though.
We began classes on Tuesday and they all seem really interesting so far. A lot of our assignments are reflections and observations about what is happening around us, and then relating this back to international development. I'm taking Swahili, International Development: Critical Perspectives and Theory, A History of Kenya, and eventually a course specifically relating to education in Kenya. We have classes until October 23rd when we will all move to different places in the country. I will be right outside of Kisumu.
I hear Kisumu has 100 degree weather and is really muggy....ha not my favorite but I'm excited to see the rural side of things. I will be working in a school, probably teaching some and helping with after school clubs/activities. The school administration read my resume and saw I have experience in construction, so i've been told they are going to ask me to design a chicken coop! A little different than ASP but I'm definitely up for it.
All in all everything is wonderful here! Thanks everyone for your support, messages, help packing and everything! I will write again when I can :)
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