A few pictures...

Liz the “Librarian” from Std. 8 at the Complex where NDSU English Club sent the first box of books. In the picture you can actually see the majority of the library. It is mostly used for reference and not pleasure reading. The students are rarely allowed to take books home because they never bring them back.

Jenna “Makena” (vernacular name which means one who is always happy) at the river by the Mutonga Quarry. A few weeks before there was a “lorry” which went into the river and many people died. The truck is still there, they haven’t been able to get it out. I have another picture of the quary where the men working there carved "Jesus Saves" into the rock face. Cara the other American here has gotten tan, but I am still the whitest white person in Africa I'm quite sure!

p.s. This photo was taken by Shem's daughter Kendi

5.

Last night there was a really big bug. I don’t know what it was but I hit it with a coaster and it is still underneath. I plan on removing it later and throwing it outside. It was about two inches long, brown, as big around as my pinky finger and had wings sort of like a termite. Maybe there is a book out there, “Insects of Kenya” I will figure it out when I get home. (Brief note on said insect: I checked about an hour later to throw it outside and it was gone… I don’t know where it went or who took it… gross)

I am sitting in my sitting area typing and eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Jane gave me so many bananas to eat and I still have the mangoes. I think I will eat one for supper with some fried eggs and toast, unless someone insists on taking me to supper again. Next time I go to the market, I think I will get some drinking chocolate to try, and some bread. On my own I prefer my tea without the milk, they think this is strange and bring me milk everyday anyway. So, if I have drinking chocolate maybe I will drink the milk then and there will be calcium in my diet. Milk will probably be the first thing I buy in the airport on my way home…

Outside my window there is a green banana tree. In Kenya there are two types of bananas the large green ones, and the small yellow ones. I have discovered that the green thing we ate so much of last time I was here, and thought was peas and potatoes mashed together, was actually green bananas and potatoes mashed together and mixed with corn. It is interesting to watch the bananas develop from inside the flower. Just beyond the tree is Rev. Edwin Mwirabua’s house.

Yesterday David took his brother, the head teacher of the Gianchuku School, and me to the restaurant “Seasons” in town. The restaurant was quaint and we had chicken and chips. I didn’t clean my plate but the food was good and the Stoney was great. I think it is funny that they name businesses after ours, for instance you will pass on the road a “Holiday INN” but it is nothing more that a tin shed which can be rented for the night. They have green Fanta here. I haven’t had one yet but I will. I tried one on my last trip and I remember liking it. Maybe when I go to town next I will get some sodas.

This morning I went to the classroom 8 Violet, I helped pass out their exams and take their scores. It went okay. Then I let the girls ask me whatever questions they wanted. Several gave me their addresses to find them pen pals. I foresee this pen pal thing being a problem. When school starts again in the fall I think I need to head to some classes and find girls to take these names and addresses. There are a few girls in my church who are interested, but maybe in the presbytery somewhere we have a 6th, 7th, or 8th grade teacher who would be willing to take a bunch of addresses to their students. The girls really are sweet and curious.

When I get home I think I know how to expand my book project. I will just keep a list of the libraries I have visited and what their needs are. When I get home I will have a better understanding of where things should go and the addresses and contacts to mail them to.

The first shipment of children’s books that I sent to David are a welcome addition to their library and are some of the better books that they have, however I am finding out that the libraries here run a bit differently. The Complex library is not always open to the students. They are allowed to come by class and they get 30 minutes to read the books. They are most interested in reference material, and didn’t have a lot of anything. David’s school especially focuses on international awareness. The students are encouraged to find out about other countries, but Liz (the librarian who is in standard 8) said that she only has reference material for a few European countries. The girls school here has a lot more books, but they are required to read a book a week, and are interested in more storybooks like the ones my English Club shipped at the end of the school year. Actually, I’m not sure that they got shipped because I didn’t take them there, but I sent Eunice the address, and if they haven’t gone yet I will send them when I get home.

Yesterday I made soup and put onions in it. I still can’t get the smell out of my fingers!

(Later)

I have just gotten back from the Complex. The computer teacher was out practicing with the children for the school athletics competition. David let me into the computer room and I showed him how to defragment and scan the computers. He sent in two girls to learn from me. I taught them how to take apart and clean the mouse (they break a lot and I think some preventative maintenance would not be amiss), how to use a few shortcuts to end programs and open the start menu without using the mouse, and how to run the scanning and defragmenting programs. The computer guy stopped by and we had a bit of a chat regarding my lack of Internet and very expensive phone issue. He was easy to understand and explained the problem well. So there is at least one person here who knows what is going on in computer land. I told him what I was teaching the girls and he said that it was good, but whenever he has a problem with his computer, he just wipes the hard drive and starts over. He does have an external drive to back up all of his music though.

The girls were Giselle and Becky. Giselle hopes to become a doctor and Becky wants to be a lawyer. They were very bright and I think they work hard. We sat and talked for some time about language and school. All of the students here think that it is fascinating that teachers in the US can be arrested for beating their students, and even parents for beating their children. David’s brother was telling me that teachers using the cane on their students was common, but now the teachers can get in trouble for it so it is rare. I asked the girls about marriage and how they will choose their husbands. They giggled, so I asked if their parents will choose or if they will choose. They said that they will choose but their parents will have some influence. The portion of the book that I read last night went into detail about “dowry and ‘bride price.’” In Kenya, they use the term “dowry” to describe the gifts that a man brings to the family of the girl he intends to marry. The other term is “bride price” and can be used interchangeably. The book said that now that the economy has turned to money holding more value than goods, some families are now requesting that the dowry be paid in cash, but this causes problems because now a man can say that he paid X amount for his wife and X amount for his car. The other system of giving cows, goats, millet, etc. seems to be more out of respect for the family of the girl than an actual purchase price. I asked the girls if their husbands in the future will have to pay the dowry, and they said that they probably would because it ties the families together and is an honored tradition. I asked them how much influence their families will have on their decision to marry a man. They told me that they will bring him to meet the family and later their parents will tell them if it is okay. They said that the only type of person that their parents wouldn’t allow would be a “Luo” because they are not circumcised. They told me that part of becoming a man for the Meru is circumcision of the boys. This is done after completion of standard 8 and then they are considered a man. Curiously enough on my last trip I brought a Discover magazine along to read and one of the articles talked about how AIDS spread in Africa and that it was less common in regions that practiced circumcision. In recent years, they have discovered that there is actually a scientific link between circumcision and AIDS because there is a small gland which is found in the skin often removed that has been found to affect how easily the disease is passed on. I believe I read that if a man has been circumcised he is 1/3 less likely to spread the disease. The book also talked about “female circumcision” and “the cut” but that is in a later portion and not very applicable to this region.

After my time in the computer lab, I came home and did a bit of laundry. I decided that it was probably better to do it now so that it can dry before I run out of clothes. I also washed the pillow cover; it was pretty gross. I have been putting it under the bedclothes so that my head doesn’t have to touch it. It smells like it got wet a long time ago and then sat and no one has washed it. The pillow itself is the root of the problem. I didn’t have any way to really wash that so I sprayed it with my foot spray to kill a few things and remove some of the odor. The bar of laundry soap that I got smells amazing. It is like walking into an import store. I’m not sure what the smell is, reminiscent of sandalwood. I will bring it home. It was actually kind of fun to wash my clothes in plastic “basins.” I laughed. Maybe I will get sick of it by the time I leave, but it is no bother right now. I do, however, refuse to hang my underwear out on the line. Edwin Mwirabua does NOT need to see those! I have hung them in one of the spare bedrooms that had a rope running across one of the corners and that will be just fine. I am looking forward to wearing the clothes I washed because I want to smell like the soap. The bar of soap to be used for the dishes is not as nice, but it still smells good. Yes mother, I have been washing my dishes.

The first few days I was not inclined to drink tea, but today I realized that if I am not drinking tea, what am I drinking? I actually LOVE tea, just not with milk in it and not over brewed like most people in the world make it. It does not take ten minutes or even 3 to brew, two is more than enough otherwise it begins to get bitter.

Trash or rubbish has been a bit of a problem. Like any other American, I like to throw things away. I have learned my lesson. If I cook and there are leftovers and I have gotten rid of all of my plastic bags, where do you put the waste? Good question. Also the obligatory ladies restroom garbage can is not always available. What do you do then? This is also a good question. The answer to both of these is to just figure it out. You just keep the garbage items until you have somewhere to put them.

I need to bring home a bunch of tea if for no other reason than to put it in a drawer so that it smells good. The girls’ teeth here are so white, but I think mine will be very stained by the time I get home.

Today, now that they have seen me a bit more the students are more willing to talk to me and ask me questions instead of running away.

I did have the mango and eggs for supper followed by many cups of tea. “It is good.”

3.

This morning I met with the librarian, who is also in charge of the English and Kiswahili lessons. I went through the library to see what they have and how it is arranged. The Kiswahili books have their own section, but they only have maybe 3 racks of them. The English books are placed into these sections: Fiction/Storybooks, Reference, Science and Technology, and Newspapers (no plastic covers). I think they would like me to help the girls with their English and reading lessons, and hopefully I can pick up some Kiswahili at the same time. The librarian is also learning about computers and would like to apply her knowledge to the library. She would like to organize the library and store her information electronically to better keep track of what she has and where it is. I think this is a great idea and I will think hard about the best solution. However, without a designed program I’m not sure how to approach this. There is also the problem of how the library is organized in the first place. They have started general sections and the books are arranged alphabetically by title. I think that if I had more time at the school I might reorganize the books by subject within their sections. The other thing that I thought might be helpful would be a system that also takes into account reading level.

We then went to the computer lab. This has 20 computers so the girls need to double up on them. The teacher said that she had trouble with the mouses breaking a lot. I noticed that some of the cords are in tough shape on the optical ones and on the standard ball mouse I showed her how to take the ball out and clean the inside. She said that it seemed that every day the computers had to be fixed. I had her turn one on so I could see what programs were installed and what the children were learning. She is teaching them very basic left click, right click, drag and drop, formatting, etc. The children are also supposed to learn excel, but I know very little about that. They currently have Windows 98 installed, but are saving up to purchase XP and more computers. I looked at the system tools and showed her “Disk Defragmenter” and also “Scandisk.” Their computers have never been defragmented so that is a relatively high priority on my list.

4.

The children had all finished their exams yesterday to compete against the other schools. Today was spent in the field running races and doing field events to decide which pupils would go on to represent the school in local, regional, and maybe even national competitions. They run so hard and when they have finished another student is assigned to help them walk so that they don’t collapse. The teachers and I sat under some trees and the students would come and report their results to us. The teacher that was in charge of placing them had bottle caps that they had written numbers onto. The students were so tired I felt so bad for them and worried that they would make themselves sick. The teachers had tins of glucose and they would put a spoonful into the children’s hands after they had reported their places. Licking dry glucose powder after running that far… I’m not certain that that is something I would choose, but who knows maybe it helps. I’m sure it boosts your blood sugar very quickly.

I spoke for some time with the teachers from Chogoria Girl’s Boarding School. They asked me a lot of questions about the US. They were interested to hear that even America has homeless people. I explained some of our government and charitable programs organized to take care of these people. They asked me, “How come it is that you can have people without homes when there are so many jobs.” I tried to explain that some people can’t find steady jobs and others don’t want them. (They didn’t really believe me.) I also said that lots of times they are people struggling with drug and alcohol addictions or maybe they are crazy. I have found that when you are trying to that someone is mentally ill or challenged, often the Kenyans have a hard time understanding, it is easier to say crazy and in their vernacular this means the same thing.

We also talked a bit about hair. At first I was confused because when they said “salon” to me it sounded like “saloon.” I was not sure how to answer “and do you go to the ‘saloon,’ what do you go there for?” No, I do not go to get my hair relaxed; it is this limp naturally…

Today I have been asking questions about marriage. “Which of you are married? At what age is it most common for women to get married?” While I got some answers, I was asked more about American customs. My reading tonight centered around marriages and how a spouse is chosen. The book talked about kidnapping brides (uncommon but it still happens) and also “dowry” or “bride price.” The topic of marriage is especially interesting to me at this point in my life because now is when my friends are starting to get married. Purity, the librarian here, is 26 and not married. I asked her if she intends to get married some day and she said that she would like to but not right now. I asked her if she had a man picked out yet and she was obviously not certain that this was a question that she should really answer. She said that she didn’t have anyone in mind yet, but I suspect otherwise. The other teachers I spent the afternoon with were all married. They didn’t say anything about their husbands however. I think that after they are a bit more comfortable with me they will be more likely to answer questions like that. I have not asked yet.

Doreen also came to see me today. I’m so glad that I get to meet her finally. She is a very energetic and motivated woman. Doreen is the woman who works at the computer center. (The infamous computer center funded by the presbytery) Currently she is on leave to complete a course in accounting. She said that in Kenya, after secondary, there are 6 levels of accounting training. Each level is 6 months and then there is an exam. She finished the first two levels right away, and then worked a bit, and now she is back working on her 3rd level. She will take her exam next week, so we have rescheduled our visit together to after she finishes the course. After completing the 6 levels she hopes to go on to the university to get a degree. I asked her if she was married yet. (I already knew she wasn’t) She said no and giggled. I asked her if she had anyone picked out and she does but she hasn’t decided when she will marry him. She said after she finishes level 4, “then I will decide.” I tried to get her to tell me about dating practices, but I couldn’t explain myself clearly or she didn’t want to tell me. She said “you need to research to see if he has good morals, or if he is a drunkard or a smoker… because then you can choose somebody else.”

I asked Doreen about divorce and if it is common, because yesterday David’s brother (I can’t remember his name) and I were speaking broadly about women’s empowerment, rights, education, etc. at lunch. He mentioned that education meant that women were now aware of their rights, so an educated woman is the one who will say, “I want a divorce.” I really liked his brother, he was very willing to laugh, answer my questions, and give lots of information. Doreen said that divorce is becoming more common now, but even more common is separation without divorce. The book also backed up this claim. Both sources said that when the man tires of the woman or likes another, he will just move to another town and abandon his first wife. Of course polygamy is still practiced here, though it is less common. I asked Doreen about this as well. She told me that the church and the government only support and sanction one marriage. She said that locally multiple wives will be accepted, in the church it is frowned upon and in fact once you have been married in the church, even if you get a divorce, the church (Presbyterian) will not allow you to marry another until the first spouse has died. The government will only recognize the first wife. I remember hearing on my last visit and the book also said that change in Kenya is often explained by saying, “…because we have gone to church.”

I have also spent a good deal of time trying to understand the school system here. Who pays the teachers, what determines their pay, how they get a job, the difference between private and public schools, etc. and the Kenyans would say, “I think I have got it.”

The schools have three terms with three 3-week breaks between them. They begin school in preprimary at 4 and go for two years. Then, they move to primary for 8 years. These classes are referred to as Standard 1, Standard 2, and so on. After Primary, if they have passed their exams, they are placed in Secondary schools. Kenyan President Kibaki is running on the platform for the next election that he intends to make secondary education free. This is a big step! The four years of Secondary education are referred to as Form 1 through Form 4. After completion of Form 4, you take another exam to see if you can get into a University (if you say college they get confused). Right now many students stop going to school after primary because it is expensive. Those that finish Secondary have the option of going on to a polytechnic school (rather like our tech or trade schools) or to a program that trains you to be a teacher for preprimary children.

It is only my second day cooking and I feel I am fairly proficient with the gas cook top. I have a lot of produce that I need to eat tomorrow or the next day. I have some mangoes and some bananas that need to disappear quickly. I think I will make fried bananas again and just eat the mangoes. As I learned from Phil on my last trip, I will not eat all my mangoes at once. He was sick for days! Last time I was here the girl’s dormitory for standard 7 and 8 was just being built. Now it is thoroughly lived in. Outside my window is where the girls are hanging their washing. I feel bad for them because it has rained every day I have been here so far and it takes so long to dry in the first place. Lesson learned 2nd day: if you get washcloth completely wet on first day, second day it is still wet.

My bed is quite amazing. I’m not complaining, it really is just fine, but I think it is funny when compared to American standards. We spend so much time complaining about our mattresses, myself included. The foam pad that I have for the top of my mattress is equivalent to what by bed is here. It is a simple bed frame with shelved headboard and under the mattress are slats of wood. On top of that the mattress is two pieces of foam about an inch and a half each. I can feel every board on the bed, but it really isn’t so bad if you can place yourself so that your shoulder blades and butt go in between the boards.

I got a bit sunburned today, but only on my neck. I remembered to put sunscreen everywhere else!

I also went to the Chogoria Girl’s Church today for their morning service. At the end Jane introduced me and asked me to sing the girls a song. I sang “You Are My Hiding Place” I think a few of the girls knew it.

I would like to be able to spend some time with the girls and get a perspective on the roles of women in Kenya from young eyes. Right now they are a bit afraid of me. They want to be near to me so they follow me around and giggle, but if I talk to them they run away and giggle more.

2.

(A brief note before this story; I HATE SPIDERS!)

As I was boiling my milk, a spider crawled out of the wall. I thought our spiders at home were hairy! This was the “Elvis Presley” of spiders; he had quite the ‘do. At first I was calm, and looked around for something to squish him with. I had an empty juice box and thought that that would keep my fingers a sufficient distance from him so that if I missed, the chance of him coming into contact with my skin would be minimal.

He moved. I missed. He jumped. I shrieked. No one came to rescue me…

He landed in my empty milk pitcher, so I quickly filled it up with water. He thought that he escaped but I reigned supreme… at least for now.

Now that I have finished with the milk, I am boiling some water “for 20 minutes to kill the amoeba.” I wanted to go to bed, but it is better to do this now so that if I need it tomorrow, it will be ready.

For supper, I had Ugali and beef and cabbage stew. Ugali is very similar to polenta except it is white and not quite as firm. It is made with cornmeal and water and boiled for 3 hours. The cabbage stew was fine, just very greasy. Lunch was corn and beans. The corn is reminiscent of hominy corn and run of the mill beans boiled together with some cabbage. Instead of cutting the corn off the cob like we do, they let it dry and then cook it for hours. It is still quite hard in the end but edible. I don’t like it much, but it is fine.

I have told Jane that she can teach me how to make all of the Kenyan dishes and I will show her some of ours. I discovered today that there are avocado trees in the complex. Perhaps I will make guacamole and tortilla chips or maybe French toast. There is no maple syrup but I do have a tin of strawberry jam.

Internet!!!

I finally have the internet!

It has been a real learning experience for me to "pole pole"(take it easy/ go slowly) and allow things to happen in "Kenyan time."

I have been writing a lot and I would still like to share what I have written and thought over the past few weeks. It will be dated information, but still new to all of you. I have been having a great time and I'm learning so many things. I am safe, healthy, and in good hands.

Please feel free to leave comments on this page.

1.

I arrived in Nairobi safely and was picked up at the airport by Shem and David. We got stuck in traffic trying to get to Peter’s office. Not a big surprise considering it was 7am and every one was trying to get to work. Finally, we arrived and Peter took us all to get some breakfast. We left David with the car and went to get a cell phone and sim card. Through a series of events that took hours and would take hours to explain, we ended up spending 26,000 Ksh for the package of the phone, data cable, and software. We then went to the Celtel shop to get it configured and realized that the software was not compatible with my laptop. So, I will borrow one of David’s to work on my Blog. This whole business plus stopping for a few groceries on the way home took over 12 hours. It was well after dark by the time we got back and Rev. Mwirabua still wanted to greet me and Jane wanted to feed me. I finally got to bed after 11 and Jane wanted me for breakfast at 9 (which was very late for her, she gets up at 5:30).

I assumed I was staying with Jane in her house, and that she would be here during the week and at home over the weekend, however it turns out that in the Chogoria Girl’s Boarding School there is a building attached to the school that has several floors, each one a large apartment. The floor I was given to stay in is actually larger than Jane’s. It has three bedrooms, two small and one large. I have a big dining/sitting area, a small balcony, a bathroom, and one of the sweet housemothers will be bringing me a giant jug of hot water to bathe with. She wanted to bring it in the morning and the evening, but I told her that only in the morning was necessary. I can’t imagine hauling that up the stairs twice a day! Right outside of my window are the dorms for the young girls. The older girls are on the other side of the school in the newer building that was just being built when I was here in 2004. Those of you that have been to Chogoria Girl’s Boarding School might be able to figure out where I am staying from my description.

Jane took me to the market today and we bought groceries and a small gas stove. It is similar to our camping stoves, but with a bigger tank of gas.

I was just interrupted by a knock at my door. It was Millicent the housemother again bringing me fresh milk from the cow. She was just here about 20 minutes ago bringing me tea. She thought it was funny that I had never boiled my milk before. Yet another thing I am learning on this trip. (Joye, I had the milk thing explained to me and I will be careful, no I do not have a refrigerator)

Jane and I were talking this afternoon about what I should help with at the school and I think the best thing for me would be to assist the computer teacher. The other thing she thought would be to help organize the library, but I’m not sure what system (if there is one) they use and how fluent in it I will be.

This morning was a brisk 65 degrees which warmed to probably 75 in the afternoon. Jane in her huge sweater thought I was crazy to be wearing a short-sleeved shirt. She will be bringing me an extra blanket in just a bit.

This week ended up being an excellent time for me to visit because the students are taking exams. This means that Jane has a bit more time in her day than she usually would to make sure I have everything I need and know how to do things.

The girls outside are very noisy, but they sing beautifully!

"All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready to Go..."

It is not even midnight and everything is ready to go for tomorrow. I was hoping to get everything into my hiking pack so I would only have one checked piece of luggage. Alas! It just wasn't meant to be. I only packed three pairs of shoes! In reality, I think I did okay. I'd have to say that probably half of what I am bringing over is a gift or donation, and I intend to leave most of my clothes there.

It hasn't sunk in yet that I will be gone for two months! I haven't even had time to think about it yet. I just finished finals and handed in my last paper this morning. It's okay though, I will have plenty of time on the plane.

I just want to say thank you to everyone again for everything. So many people helped out in so many different ways. I'm really blessed to have such wonderful people in my life! I would especially like to thank Sharon for literally emailing everyone and their uncle in Kenya to make sure that everything was arranged and that I would be safe. Sharon you are an amazing woman!

This is just a test

This is just a test to make sure that I can post pictures from my computer without web hosting somewhere. This picture was taken on my last night in Venice last summer on tour with the NDSU Concert Choir. We sang in the street and all of the little Italian ladies leaned out their windows to listen to us. The gelato was definitely a highlight! Don't worry, I didn't actually lick the gelato statue.