Snapshots

Every time I start to write a blog entry, there are hundreds of things that come to my mind to write about. There isn't much about my life in Africa that reminds me of my life in America, so there are so many stories to share. But the stories aren't necessarily related to one another, so I've decided that this post will consist of a couple of unrelated aspects of my past month-or-so in Kenya that I hope you'll find interesting, informative, and maybe even comical.

One inevitable consequence of traveling to a foreign place and immersing yourself in a whole new way of life is the roller coaster ride that follows. Since coming to Kenya, there have been some pretty high highs, and pretty low lows, and it's usually something inconsequential (or would be inconsequential in America) that can shift the scale from one extreme to the other. So, all of us trainees have developed a system of storing up things that can shift bad days into good ones, in case we find ourselves feeling bummed out. Following is a list of things that can cause a bad day:

1. Surprise rain storms that turn the dusty roads into ankle-deep red mud.
2. Getting the "mzungu price" whenever you try to buy something at the market. To calculate the mzungu price, simply take the price that an average Kenyan pays, and double it. (Also, FYI, mzungu is the Kiswahili word for white person).
3. Chewing sukuma wiki (kale) and almost breaking your tooth on a stone that SOMEhow got in the food.
4. Terrifying dreams/hallucinations from the malaria medication.
5. Realizing that a diet that consists of roughly 90% refined sugar and other carbohydrates is not ideal for dental health, and thus, cavities are forming.
6. Accidentally making a "friend" who is drunk and loves to follow you around town while mumbling in Kiswhili.

And now, a list of things that can make a bad day better:
1. A lollipop from the man at the small duka (roadside stand) sitting under an umbrella who always smiles and says "Habari!" (this may also have something to do with #5 above).
2. Mail. Any mail. Some of us hide letters in our room so we have something to open when we really need it.
3. A movie that we've gotten from another volunteer. I know "O Brother Where Art Thou" is on my laptop, just waiting for a tough day.
4. Successfully purchasing and loading minutes onto our phones.
5. Communicating successfully in Kenyan Sign Language.
6. Skipping church with our families so we can go to someone's house to "study," and instead spending the whole morning venting, doing yoga and laughing with fellow trainees.

As trainees, we've gotten pretty skilled at sharing the good things we come across, and mitigating the negatives. We have each others' backs, and have also gotten good at laughing off the ridiculous situations we encounter. I can't imagine being in Kenya without everyone else.

Now, an anecdote. One of my favorite moments so far in my homestay house happened about three weeks ago, when I was still pretty new to this whole experience. It was a Saturday morning, and a woman had come to our house to help my Mama with washing clothes, because everything has to be washed by hand, and there's no way my Mama can wash a week's worth of clothes for her and her two kids in one day without some help. (In related news, I have nothing but the highest reverence and respect for single mothers in Africa). After the woman had gotten there, my host brother and I kept hearing a chicken coming from SOMEwhere nearby. This was puzzling, because we don't own a chicken, and neither do our neighbors. And it was LOUD. We looked around the perimeter of the house - outside the front door, back door, and out the side windows - but couldn't see anything. We gave up after a while, and I eventually went to take my morning bath (from a bucket, as usual). When I returned to my bedroom after the bath, I was getting dressed when I noticed a basket in the corner of my room that wasn't there when I had woken up, and didn't belong to me. I figured it was nothing, and continued to get dressed. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the basket move. I looked closer and realized that the chicken we had been hearing was in that basket, in my room, with its feet tied together, looking straight at me. I was definitely startled at first, but once I realized the comedy in the situation I hurried to finish getting dressed, and went out to tell my Mama that "I think I found the chicken." When I explained the situation, we both had a good laugh - apparently, the woman who had come to help my Mama had brought the chicken in hopes that we'd want to buy it. Turns out we did... and guess what we had for dinner? It was a first for me - I don't think I'd ever had an animal for dinner that had, earlier in the day, watched me get dressed.

That's all I have time for now, so I'll give a quick update on what's happening currently. Today we had our Language Proficiency Interviews (LPIs), and whoever passed will be able to start Kiswahili lessons next week, so keep your fingers crossed! I think I did alright, but we'll be getting our results tomorrow and then we'll know for sure. There are only three weeks of training left, so I'll be saying goodbye to Machakos soon and heading to the Laikipia district in the Rift Valley. We'll be swearing in as a group (Deaf Ed. along with Math and Science Ed.) on December 15th in Nairobi, and then traveling to our respective sites with our supervisors. We're all very excited.

Thank you to everyone who has sent letters!! As I mentioned, mail is one of the best mood elevators, and I love staying updated on everyone's lives and experiences. Keep them coming, and I promise I'll write you back :)

Still Alive

Greetings from Machakos, Kenya!!

I know it has been a long time since I've been able to update my blog, but internet in Kenya is certainly less accessible than internet back in the US. The good news is that I waste far less time on Facebook while on this continent, but the obvious downside is that online communication is sparse. But I've found a little bit of time in the midst of training to post a quick update.

Since my last post in Nairobi, only a few weeks have passed, but it's been the longest few weeks of my life. That probably sounds negative, but I really just mean that there has been so much to learn, so many new adjustments to make, and countless experiences that have added up, to the point where I can hardly believe that I've only been in Kenya for less than one month.

As for the basics, I live with a host family here in Machakos. I have a host mama who is AMAZING, and one host sister (age 13) and one host brother (age 12). My mama is divorced, which is pretty uncommon in Kenya, but since she went to University in Nairobi she has a less traditional outlook on cultural norms than many people in the country (or even in Machakos, which is a relatively progressive town due to it's larger size). That's actually been one of my favorite aspects of my homestay experience - my mama understands my Western mindset, and she's patient with my frustrations. In fact, she oftentimes has the same frustrations that I have. My siblings are great kids. My host sister is about to sit for her class 8 exams (more on the education system at some later time), and my host brother is pretty much like every other 12-year-old boy I've ever met. Super hilarious. The kids in Kenya are SO much quieter than the kids at home, though, so when I first met them, I thought they were scared of me or something. But I've decided they're just more reserved.

Our home in Machakos is really quite nice. I've become very comfortable there, although it did take a few days to adjust. We have electricity, but outages are common. We only have running water on Saturdays, so we fill up all the 100 L water storage bins (and any miscellaneous buckets we have) on Saturday and use that water for the rest of the week. We have a gas stove, but we don't use it all the time because gas can be expensive, so we oftentimes use a charcoal stove or a "jiko" to cook.

On most days, we have language training in the morning (for us, it's Kenyan Sign Language or KSL) at one of the homestay houses, and then we go into town for lunch. After lunch we have cultural sessions (or other pertinent sessions that will help us as primary school teachers) at a school in town. After that, we all walk home. We have to be home before dark (which is at 6:30 every day), so that's been an adjustment. Also, female volunteers are advised to almost never walk alone. That loss of independence has been one of the biggest adjustments I've had to make, but it's just part of the culture.

Unfortunately, I have so many more updates, but very limited time - so for now, I'll sign off, but I'll attempt to post again soon. In the meantime, feel free to send mail! :)

Alive

I've officially arrived in Kenya! After over 24 hours of traveling, we landed last night around 7:30 PM Kenya time (and I was right - it felt completely amazing), got all of our luggage by 9, got to the "hostel" (feels more like a hotel - we all have our own rooms with running water and electricity) in Nairobi at around 10:30, had some dinner (rice and beans! I already love Kenyan food), and crashed by 11:30 or 12. We have limited internet access and connectivity, but this is probably the only time we'll have wireless during our service here, so I had to take advantage and post a quick update.

Today has been full of paperwork and an extensive introduction to our new lives in Kenya. We can already tell it will be quite an adjustment, especially for us Americans (even more especially for us women) to dress and act as conservatively as is expected, since most of us trainees find our identities in independence and self-expression. But we can't really complain, we know it's all part of the cross-cultural experience.

I'm excited to rest a bit tonight (under my mosquito net, of course) since we were bombarded with so much information today, we didn't sleep much at all last night, and we have an early morning tomorrow. Our deaf education group (9 people) leaves in the morning for Machakos for our training, while the rest of the trainees (29 people) head to Loitokitok for their training. We'll be meeting our host families on Sunday, and starting our language training on Monday. As you can probably tell, t's all happening rather fast.

Just FYI, the PO Box that we're using is different from the one I initially put up on the right side of the blog, but now it's correct. Also, for the first 90 days, all incoming packages are customs-free (no charge) for me :) If you do decide to send something, you'll probably have to fill out a customs form. No matter what's inside the package, don't check "food" as being in the package, or the customs agents will open it and go through it. Just say "books" or something similar.

And as I expected, Kenya is absolutely beautiful. It's in the 70s and sunny - it reminds me of San Diego! I am so excited to make this my home away from home. No giraffes or zebras yet, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

Also, friends, please send me your address if you'd like to receive mail from me. You can shoot me an e-mail, and hopefully I'll get a chance to check it within the next couple weeks. After today, internet access is a complete unknown.

This update is scattered and not totally comprehensive, but the bottom line is I'm here, alive and quite happy... and ready to start learning

Let's Go!

Whew.

These last twelve days have been an absolute whirlwind. New York was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Spending time with Ian and Kelsey was comfortable and easy but still QUITE eventful. Since there aren't words enough to fully describe the trip, I'll summarize our activities in no particular order: we stayed in a hostel in Harlem, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Frick Collection, took a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, went on a boat tour with views of Manhattan and Lady Liberty, participated in an actor-guided city tour/adventure, went to the top of the Empire State Building, cheered and booed at Amateur Night at the Apollo theatre, watched (and even danced at) the Broadway show FELA, lounged at Central Park, rocked out at a Ratatat concert, and ate at some of the best restaurants I've ever been to (Italian, French, Chinese, Cuban... and Bubby's!), and visited the sights of the city (Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's, St. Paul's, WTC site, the UN, Chrysler Building, etc.) And we walked. For miles. And took the subway. A LOT.

Needless to say, after that kind of itinerary I slept for probably 20 out of the first 24 hours in Philadelphia. After my near-coma, I worked on getting my bags reorganized. Yesterday I finally ventured out of Morgan's apartment on my own (bless Morgan for her hospitality) and saw the sights of Old City Philadelphia. It was actually very calming to see all of the historic places where the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and Constitution were drafted and signed, and where people like Franklin and Washington lived. The old buildings seemed like old friends, and it felt like I was getting a nod of approval from my home country. I don't consider myself zealously patriotic, but I have respect for the philosophies of liberty and equality that informed the inception of our country. However, I do recognize that these noble values aren't always what our country's policies reflect, and my reverence doesn't take into account the collateral damage associated with the birth of our nation. But my optimistic side is hopeful that most people strive to reflect the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood that guided the founding of Philadelphia (and eventually the United States) despite our human shortcomings. I think it's a good model to reflect upon as I start this chapter of my life. I'm attempting to participate in something designed to promote understanding and peace, despite my own shortcomings and inadequacies. I won't do things right the first time (or, in all likelihood, the first few times), but I'm not going to let my mistakes define my experience. I'll just keep trying to do my job correctly, rooted in love.

This morning, after a lovely evening out on the town in South Philly with Morgan and her friends from Temple, I re-packed (once again) and took a cab this morning to... STAGING!! I have been anticipating this day ever since I began applying for the Peace Corps. I finally got to meet all of the other Kenya volunteers, which was very exciting. Everyone is so warm and approachable, and we're all enthusiastic about getting to know one another. I guess that's a good approach, since we'll be each others support system for the next 27 months or so. Staging itself was a 6-hour basic orientation to the Peace Corps, complete with information on what's expected of the volunteers and what we can expect from the experience. I think we'll go into more detail on all of those points during Pre-Service Training (PST), but for now I'm more than content with the information we have. My head is still spinning after all the final phone calls to family and friends (and my credit card company), so I'm ready to just get on the plane. We'll take a bus in the morning to JFK, fly to Amsterdam in the afternoon where we'll spend about four hours, and then fly on to Nairobi. Each flight is about eight hours, which is relatively manageable. I do anticipate that landing in Nairobi will be one of the best feelings ever, though.

I'm officially done with phone communication for a while now, so if you feel like getting in touch, feel free to send something to the address on the right side of this blog. I have no idea when I'll have internet again, but I'll post again when I do. And so this is goodbye for now... I'll see you in December 2012, America!

Packed

It's the first day of October, and my last day in Anchorage. I definitely need to get one last coffee from Kaladi Brothers before I leave tonight... I doubt there's a Kaladi's in Kenya. There will be plenty of goats, but no red goats!

I'm finally all moved out of my apartment, which is bittersweet since I really loved that little place. After consolidating everything, I somehow sorted through all my worldly possessions and eliminated a LOT. The things that I didn't give away and that I'm not taking with me to Africa are in boxes and stored in my parents' house. Then there's the couple of bags that are coming with me to Kenya - my 60 + 10 L backpack and a small duffel bag. They're cleverly packed (no more than 80 pounds total, neither bag weighing more than 40) and actually pretty manageable. I'm a little anxious about forgetting to bring something, leaving something behind that I thought I had remembered or generally being woefully underprepared. But I've gone over the official packing list (and a few other less official lists I found online from past volunteers) over and over again, so now I think it's just time to trust that I have enough, and that I'll be alright.

So, tonight I'll fly out of Anchorage at about 9:30 PM, and this time tomorrow I'll be exploring the streets of Manhattan with two of my best friends. After spending eight days with them, I'll take an Amtrak train down to Philadelphia where I'll do some exploring and sightseeing on my own and spend a few days with a dear friend from college who is oh-so-graciously letting me crash at her place. Then, at 12:30 PM on October 12th, staging begins at a hotel in Philadelphia... and then off to Kenya on the 13th! While I'm looking forward to the next week and a half of seeing some of our country's most incredible cities with some of my best friends, part of me is ready to be in Kenya right now. But I know that will come soon enough.

I'll post an update sometime during staging. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive, loving and encouraging over these past few weeks of rapid preparation. I'm convinced that the people I have in my life are some of the best people in the entire world :)

But for now... to New York!!

The Beginning

The beginning of a blog requires a bit of an introduction, so here's a MUCH abridged version of how I've gotten to where I am now:

If you've talked to me at all in the past year or so, you know that I've been working on becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. After "knowing" that I wanted to be a doctor the majority of my life (inspired by my particularly brilliant cardiologist grandfather), I realized that I had no idea what it meant to be a doctor around the end of my sophomore year of college. I knew I wouldn't be ready for medical school immediately after my undergraduate education, but I knew I wanted to do something challenging that would help me refine my vision of my future career. I knew I wanted it to incorporate aspects of advancing social justice and I wanted the organization I was with to recognize the value in building community connections (the two most important things I learned in college... yes, even as a biochemistry major). I knew I loved to travel, that I'm not too bad at roughing it, and that I want to learn how to live simply. All the signs seemed to point to some sort of time abroad, but I was not interested in aimlessly wandering or making an unsustainable impact just to make myself feel benevolent.

So, I thought back to some high school teachers, old friends and friends of friends who had gone abroad with the Peace Corps. I looked into it a little, and decided that they offered everything that I was hoping for - sustainable changes in communities that request the presence of volunteers, government support and training, not to mention a pretty solid track record and reputation. So I started applying last summer. After writing essays, interviewing, lots of medical check-ups and tests, and a LOT of waiting, I finally received my invitation to serve as a Deaf Education volunteer in Kenya. Now, if you've talked to me ever, you probably also know that I'm not deaf, I don't know sign language (except for the alphabet and the Alaska Flag Song in ASL - real helpful). I wasn't trained as an educator, and I don't know Swahili. Also, I received my invitation about a month before I'm scheduled to leave. My staging will be held in Philadelphia on October 12th, and I leave for Kenya on the 13th. Needless to say, these days I oscillate between euphoric excitement and overwhelming fear. Hopefully that will even out before I get on the plane.

In the meantime I'm making a packing list, filling out paperwork, tying up loose ends, and saying see you laters (NOT goodbyes). I plan on updating this blog as I'm able, but I have no idea how that will work while I'm abroad. I'll post my address as soon as I know it, and I know at that point I'd LOVE to get mail. And I promise I'll write back.

Here's to the next 28 days in the country! What happens after that? Your guess is as good as mine.

Oh, and the name of this blog, upendo, is the Swahili word for "love". I hope it serves as a personal reminder that the opposite of fear is love, and that if I view my new home through lenses of love instead of fear and uncertainty, I'll gain more than I could otherwise. That's just one of many challenges I'm sure I'll face. But I'm as ready as I'll ever be.