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Adjustments
By Harmony | November 28, 2008 | 1:09 pm
Hamjambo!
Well, I made it to Kenya in one piece. This place is far more remote than I ever imagined; my home stay has no electricity or indoor plumbing, and I don’t yet have reliable access to phone or internet.
TRAVEL:
The journey has been amazing so far. I arrived in Nairobi after spending almost a day traveling. We stayed the night in a place outside of the city called Lukenya Getaway, which had flush toilets and somewhat warm showers. Then we loaded into buses and drove eight hours to the training village, where I am now. For the first two days we all stayed at the training hub while we received some preliminary medical and safety training. Then, on a Sunday afternoon, our new Kenyan families (called our home stay) came to the hub to pick us up.
WILDLIFE:
The wildlife here is absolutely stunning. I’ve already seen three of the “big five” (lion, elephant, water buffalo) as we drove through Amboseli National Park to reach our village (yes, now I can honestly say that I’ve been on safari)! Here, there are no fences or cages between us and the animals. In Amboseli, we had some close encounters with many animals, including giraffes, gazelle, wild ostriches, zebras, baboons, marabou storks, secretary birds, wildebeest, and flamingo, just to name a few. In my village, there is also a wide range of wildlife roaming around me. A huge horn bill scared the bejezzus out of me as I was brushing my teeth in the yard the other day. At the training hub, colobus monkeys swing in the Jacaranda trees above us (I try to stay away from them, as they have weak bladders)! And although I live in the neighborhood called “Mountain,” I hear that in “Kwa Maji” (meaning “By Water”), elephants commonly roam and it’s not safe to walk around at night.
HOME STAY:
I am in Loitokitok, a small village on the Tanzanian border at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. On a clear day, the view of the mountain from my house is amazing. I can only liken it to the awesomeness of the Grand Canyon; it is so large and picturesque that I feel as though I can almost reach out and touch it. The training hub is about a mile from my house, straight uphill. The town, where I do most of my technical training, is about a mile downhill. My house is very modest. I said goodbye to flush toilets and showers two weeks ago. Now, I use an outdoor pit latrine and I take bucket baths in a small wooden room adjacent to my bedroom. There is a single water tap outside which provides running water on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On those days, my home stay family fills up a large water catchment tank in their yard. However, we have not received any water since I’ve arrived. I hear that the pump at the water authority is broken, so the water can’t be sent up the hill to my neighborhood. I think my family has enough water for now, but I pray that it gets fixed soon… or else I’ll be accompanying them to the nearest river to collect water in jerry cans!
In spite of the lack of modern amenities, I am adjusting well. The medical team taught me how to purify my own water for drinking. Last weekend, I washed my clothes by hand. I learned how to make maandazi (a fried dough, similar to doughnuts) in the jikoni (kitchen), which is a little wooden hut apart from the main house where we cook over a wood fire. I can now clean and light my kerosene lantern in the dark. I still have a lot of learning to do, but I hope that by the end of training I will have the skills to live on my own in Kenya.
CULTURE:
To say that Kenyan culture is different from American culture is a bit of an understatement. Here, the men rule. The women do all of the housework, including the cooking, cleaning, shopping, tending to the shamba (farm), child-rearing, and more. The boys tend to the cattle and goats. The men may work in town, or they may just hang out all day. At the end of the day, the men come home and sit down, while the women serve them. It’s a bit strange - certainly not my values - but it is a big part of the Kenyan culture and so I watch in curiosity.
In spite of the seemingly male-dominated society, women do have some rights here. They can own businesses, and education is very, very important here. I am a bit surprised at how well-educated the youth are here. Most of them speak very good English (better than their parents), and many go to boarding school. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate is extremely high, so graduating from secondary school or university does not necessarily ensure entry into the job market.
Kenyans are very clean and well-dressed. I live in a very rural area where the roads are unpaved; in the dry season, the town is a dust bowl, and in the rainy season, it’s a mud hole. Yet, women wear skirts below the knee with nice shoes and a blouse, and men wear pressed collared shirts and trousers. It is very wet here now, and I am amazed at how clean the villagers can remain after trekking several kilometers in the mud. I haven’t learned their skills yet, and most days, I come home muddy from the knees down.
Speaking of hygiene…I don’t think my feet will ever be truly clean again. Ever.
Church is of utmost importance here. In Kenya, people don’t ask me *if* I go to church, but *where*. Most people in my village are Christians, however there are some Muslims as well. I rather like hearing the horn signaling the early morning call to prayer, which usually wakes me up just before 5 a.m. My home stay family goes to a Lutheran church, so I, of course, went with them last Sunday. The service was spoken entirely in Kiswahili, however I found many similarities between the sermons here and those at Christian churches in America. The one stand-out difference is the music. Kenyans are known to break out into song and dance almost randomly throughout the service, and the psalms are generally repeated over and over for a period of about 10 minutes. The church service I attended lasted more than three hours as a result.
Another interesting note about the church service was the offerings. Everyone is expected to contribute something. In this area, there are many poor families without money to give - so they give a part of their crops instead. At the end of the service, everyone goes outside and those foods are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Beans and maize are the most common crops here. I also saw several stocks of sugar cane auction off for 50 shillings (about 70 cents). In America, that same amount of sugar cane would sell in the supermarket for almost $40.
WORK:
I have been in intense Kiswahili language training since I arrived two weeks ago. Although I am still just learning, I can greet people and answer basic questions already. At my home stay, I can listen in on conversations and understand a good deal of it. I can’t believe I’ve come so far in such a short period of time! My language instructors are absolutely fabulous. I guess that total immersion really does work. I don’t know that I’ll be fluent before my two years here are through, but I look forward to learning a language that few wazungus (white people) ever get the chance to experience.
Each day after 4 hours of Kiswahili training, I move to another location for technical training in SED/ICT (Small Enterprise Development / Information Communication Technology). The training is a little disorganized, but I think we are making the best of it. I’ve been assigned to do a needs analysis for a Woman’s Group here in town. I’ve met with them just once, and quickly learned that they speak about as much English as I speak Kiswahili. After an hour-long session of extremely slow talking and a lot of gestures, I discovered that their business model is not working and that they have no money. I think their problem has a simple solution, which I hope to implement before I leave. I have another meeting with them in a week. Next time, I am bringing my language trainer to help translate, so that I have the opportunity to ask more complex questions. Perhaps if I have more time later, I’ll write about my project in more detail.
THANKSGIVING:
I had a non-traditional Thanksgiving. The Peace Corps tried to provide us turkey with all the fixings, but the request was declined because they already have a food contract with the training hub. The trainees did get the day off, however, so we all arrived at the hub early to just hang out and play games all day long. The cooks slaughtered a number of chickens in lieu of turkey (a group of us happened to walk behind the kitchen as they were slashing necks) and we had french fries and Coke to compliment it. In addition, there was some authentic Kenyan food, including chapati (like a thick flour tortilla, one of my faves), a meat stew (I don’t know if it was beef or goat) and boiled cabbage. All in all, it was a great, relaxing day with friends, and I had a really great time.
OTHER UPDATES:
I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank Dad for sending me a Christmas card… I got it already, in only 10 days time! All the letters our group received were “inspected” - the Post Office slit them all on the side (maybe to check for money?) So, if anyone sends me something loose in an envelope, please tape it to the letter inside so it doesn’t fall out. Dad, I got the copy of your Christmas artwork, so not to worry! It’s fabulous, as usual.
In just the last couple of weeks, our training group has already seen some problems. One trainee never showed up for staging in Philadelphia. Another, who quickly became a good friend of mine, just went home on Tuesday after suffering the trifecta - sickness (giardia, I think), difficulty adjusting, and a mugging in Nairobi. My warmest wishes to her. Several other trainees have suffered mild stomach ailments, and one spent a week in Nairobi after a relapse of mononucleosis. I feel very lucky to be healthy (knock on wood). I am being vigilant about my medications, food, and drinking water. If I can make it the full 8 weeks without a medical incident, it will be a miracle.
There are a number of things I am very happy I brought with me so far. My Thermarest pad has been essential, as the mattresses here are horrible, and the wooden planks beneath them are quite uncomfortable. I am also glad I brought my padlock, my headlamp, my pillow, and my rain jacket. I wish I brought more razors, some mechanical pencils, and more candy (there are very few sweets here). I brought one small Moleskine journal (thanks Nina!) but I’ve almost filled it, and hope to receive more soon! I also wish I stashed that big bottle of antibacterial soap in my bag before I left; soap is uncommon here, and after shaking hands with fifty Kenyan children, all I want to do is disinfect!
To my dearest boyfriend - please feel free to start sending me the things I left behind… at my expense of course! I have the room, and I sure could use some of those comforts from home! Life is good here, but my own things would make me so much happier. Thanks much.
Speaking of life… I really am adjusting well. There are days when I have my ups and downs, as I expected. I’ve had moments already where I’ve been so angry or frustrated that I just wanted to throw in the towel and go home. But those days have been few and far between, and the good days are so very good that I can’t possibly imagine doing anything else. I do get quite homesick from time to time, and I miss you all. Please think of me.
I have much more to say than I can possibly include in one blog entry… but my time is short, and this cybercafe is expensive. I’ll do my best to keep in touch, but it may be a few weeks or more before I’m in contact again!
Topics: Pre-Service Training |
December 1st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Hey sis! I’m glad you are adjusting so far. I’m very proud of you! Keep smiling! I miss and love you!
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:13 am
Oh my gosh! You sound great, but it is certainly different than the small town experience we talked about. You’re blog was great.
Be careful!
Love,
Tricia
December 16th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Hi Harmony,
Hard to imagine Swahili language acquisition works so well from full immersion - but that’s great news! I’m sure you’ll start settling in more once you get your site placement and have the ability to carry on more meaningful conversations. Hang in there.
Happy Holidays!
P.S. - My Thanksgiving dinner was couscous et legumes in the Djemaa el-Fna in Marrakech…next to a guy eating a lamb’s head.