My weekend in Uganda was easily one of my craziest and most fulfilling weekends in Africa.
I left Thursday afternoon with 7 of my fellow MSIDers for a Ugandan adventure. Our first obstacle was the bus. It was supposed to leave at 4pm, but we finally started moving a little before 5—only to go to the other side of town to have a side mirror welded on for an hour. After a quick stop back at the bus station, we finally made our way to Uganda about 6pm.
The next obstacle started at the border of Kisumu and Uganda, about 2 hours into the ride. We had to check out of Kenya and cross into Uganda at the border, which was easy if you possessed a valid visa to be staying in the country. However, since one of the students on the trip was the victim of a matatu hijacking almost 2 months ago, her passport was stolen. Thankfully she had a new passport by now, but unfortunately the US Embassy effed up and never gave her another copy of the visa for which she had already paid. When it was her turn to go to the window, the man behind the counter said, very matter-of-factly, “You are in this country illegally. I am going to have to arrest you.” Somehow she talked her way out of being arrested and the man let her buy the visa to Uganda, but this took a lot of persuading and tears. Once we finished with that line and crossed into Uganda, we had to go through one more immigration check. By this time, the bus conductor was getting very angry that we had not gone quickly through the first check, so he made us bud about 20 Kenyans to get into the line. It was white privilege at its best, and none of us fully wanted to skip everyone, but the conductor was angry, so we followed his orders. From the border, it was about a 3 hour drive to Kampala, and since we left so late, we got into the Akamba station around 11pm or so.
From here, our first decision in Uganda was to find some food. STAT. We ended up at a Cuban restaurant, after going to Nakumatt Oasis downtown, finding an ATM, and asking lots of people for directions. We ate some delicious foods, drank some beers, and surveyed the city, making plans for our bar-hopping day on Friday. By the time we finished, it was almost 3am and we still hadn’t found a place for the night (or remainder of it…). We found some piki pikis who could drive us to the hostel-Red Chili-and we got the hell out of dodge. Half way through the ride, it started raining hardcore (and I left my jacket on the bus), so by the time we got to the hostel, we were totally soaked. After talking to the grounds keeper, we found out that there were only 6 beds available, so Kyle and Tony decided they would adventure outside the hostel and find a hotel in town somewhere (don’t worry-Kyle is ROTC and Tony has a healthy, verging on obsessive, respect for knives). We woke up to Kyle calling Ben at 9am, relaying that he and Tony were in jail and we needed to bail them out—of course this WAS A JOKE, but nevertheless, the recipient did not think it was that funny. Friday morning, we showered (with a HOT shower!), ate some delicious breakfast, and got ready to meet up with the boys in town.
We went back to the Cuban restaurant for some drinks-Pina Colada Cuban style in Uganda was my first choice—and continued to hop around the city until lunch. We settled on a Japanese place that served Hibachi-some of the best food I have had since coming to Africa (and consequently some of the most expensive, it was about $8 to split with Teresa). The legacy of the Japanese place does not stop with the delicious food—Ben (who recently turned 20) discovered Blow Job shots for the first time in his life. He couldn’t even order it without giggling like a little girl—but we certainly enjoyed taking those all afternoon with our fantastic food. After Hibachi, we went back to the town center to hit up a casino for the afternoon. This was Ben’s first time in a casino, and he won $75US on the black jack table! Meanwhile, Kate and Jamie tried to get the band to let them sing on stage; one of the security guards got really annoyed by them and sent us upstairs to sing and the karaoke bar…which we did, even when it wasn’t our turn, all night. The whole MSID fam got up for “Sweet Caroline”, and this song will forever hold a special place in my heart
Most of us made our way back to the hostel shortly after to find that the valuables we left in the office (passport, computers…and entire bags) were locked up and not retrievable until “sometime after 7:30 the next morning”. So I slept in my clothes and didn’t take my malaria meds until the next morning. Shoot.
In the middle of the night, 3 Indian guys came into the room (it was a hostel, so it was a huge open room) and drunkenly spoke to each other (not in English) for about 20 minutes until they decided to get into their beds. Again, at about 6:15 their alarms started to go off and they began to get up and wrestle around, making tons of noise. There was not reason for me to get up before 7:15, since that’s about when breakfast starts and there was no way for me to get my stuff out of the office. However, as time (and noise) continued, I got up, gave them an angry look, and went off to the main building to see what I could find. I went on fb, ate some delicious breakfast, and hung around until the rafting company came to pick us up…the office still wasn’t open. Thankfully, someone with keys finally showed up-we grabbed out stuff, put on our suits, and jumped into the shuttle for the hour and a half ride to Jinja.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
My thoughts today...
Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes, and leap!
It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!
I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down
So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes, and leap!
It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!
I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down
So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
family reunion
I just witnessed a family reunion at the local shopping complex. An older mzungu, possibly from the UK somewhere, and his Kenyan girl friend coming home for the fist time in 5 years. They have a beautiful baby girl who keeps running around and she’s cute as hell. They proceeded to pray, take photos, and talk about their lives. This small display of affection really lifted my spirits today. Lately I’ve really wanted to come home. I dream about being home with my friends and family and I wake up and am upset that I’m still here. Being called out for being an mzungu is really starting to get to me. I feel alone a lot here. Like I’m the only one doing what I’m doing and experience what I am. Some times I just wish I were invisible. Other times, I wish I were at home driving my car through the countryside, with the music blaring. I miss my favorite foods, my bed, my bathroom, my mommy, my friends….I just want to be at home. And then I see something as wonderful as a family reunion, and I realize my feelings, while not insignificant, are not the end of the world. I’m truly learning and experiencing here. Though I’ll be glad to go home when the time comes, I refuse to let myself wallow in pity. Buck up and take it. This is life and it’s staring you right in the face.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Hello from Kisumu!
So I know it’s been a real long time since I’ve posted…I have limited access to the internet here, unlike I did in Nairobi. Unless I get on at my internship, I have to pay for it
Anyway, here’s the scoop of Kisumu:
1. It’s soooo much better than Nairobi.
a. The city is smaller and cleaner. My buggers are not as black as they were in Nairobi. Gross.
b. The people on the matatus and busses do not try to steal your stuff at any chance.
c. There is almost always a matatu ready to take you where you want to go, with an open seat.
d. The food my family makes rocks. They are mostly vegetarian, so we eat more meat substitutes (except chicken, they like chicken-and know how to cook it!). They make their own peanut butter and honey, so we always have both on hand-without preservatives! They also make brown ugali, so I feel as if I’m eating something other than ground corn.
e. My family is pretty well off
i. I have a flush toilet and a running (COLD) shower.
ii. We have 2 bathrooms
iii. 2 televisions and DVD players and Nat Geo
iv. We have an oven—I CAN BAKE!
v. We have an electric water boiler. My water tastes like water, not smoke!
vi. We eat lots of different varieties of fruits
vii. We have this delicious cabbage, tomato, onion mixture at dinner almost every night (it’s loaded in cooking fat, but tastes good!)
f. It is only a short bus ride to Lake Victoria.
g. It’s so much safer here-I can walk after dark and not feel as if I’m going to be killed/robbed/raped at any given moment.
h. The food is way cheaper-like half the cost or less than Nairobi
i. I don’t have classes
j. My family is teaching me Kija Luo (that’s the tribe Obama is from, in case you didn’t know, but everyone in Kisumu will tell you. They also think that Obama is Kenyan (not American or the result of an exciting trip…)
k. Taxis and transportation is MUCH cheaper-and there are pikipikis (small motor cycles/large mopeds) everywhere (a 20 minute ride is about $1)
l. The sweet lady who runs the Kiosk keeps track of me every day and is very nice to me. She has even invited me into her home and made me eat and drink soda
m. The markets are cheaper than Nairobi’s. I’m going next weekend, if there’s anything you want-let me know now!
n. I know what things cost, so if someone tries to rip me off, I know right away and can tell them. Most of the time I’m escorted to a hotel or taxi, etc. so they can’t rip me off.
o. My fam has a baby-she’s the eldest son’s daughter. She’s 6 months old and beautiful. I get to hold her every day and sometimes she sleeps on me
p. The man who sells pudding (cut up fruit) comes to the office every day for me because I told him to. It's 30/= (about 45 cents) for a bowl of fruit (watermelon, pineapple, avacado, and bananas). Delicious!
2. Things that are not so great about Kisumu
a. I get constant attention from each and every man (except the white ones). This is becoming very frustrating and exhausting-I just want to feel invisible most days, and it’s making me long to be home much stronger than when I was in Nairobi.
b. It’s freaking HOT. All the time.
c. There are a ton more mosquitoes…and malaria
d. I have to finish all of my papers by the end of the month. I haven’t finished even one yet.
e. Internet access is limited-mostly just cyber cafes. Also, if there’s a place with wireless, it’s slow and I have to pay for it.
f. My family is super religious-they are Seventh Day Adventists (which is a sect of Christianity, but they are biblical literalists-if it’s not blatantly spelled out in the bible, it didn’t happen. Consequently, they do not celebrate Easter or Chirstmas because they are explicitly dated in the Bible. This means no Easter eggs or Christmas presents. )
g. I miss my family in Nairobi, they were always so excited to see me and let move around more freely.
h. My family has 3 very angry guard dogs that they put outside between the gate and the house that will attack any intruder (including me). This means that if I want to come home late, I have to call someone to save me from the dogs at night. The last weekend I went out with my friends, I just paid for a hotel room downtown to avoid this. My family does not believe in drinking or going out to have fun.
i. There are no chocolate banana milk shakes from Java or Heinz ketchup
j. I don’t have a good place to get exercise, like when I was in Nairobi-walking to and from school every day. I live too far away here. On that same topic-I have to pay to take a matatu each way to my internship here (40/= per day, which is about 50 cents). This is the place where I get asked for my phone number most often.
k. Everyone speaks Kija Luo—NOT Kiswahili, so I feel as if I’m trying to learn another language as fast as possible, without using my skills in Swahili)
l. There is no good dark chocolate in this entire city.
m. People don't eat lunch until 1-2pm. And we don't take a 10am or 4pm tea break. I have to bring snacks every day and then I have to share with everyone.
Anyway, here’s the scoop of Kisumu:
1. It’s soooo much better than Nairobi.
a. The city is smaller and cleaner. My buggers are not as black as they were in Nairobi. Gross.
b. The people on the matatus and busses do not try to steal your stuff at any chance.
c. There is almost always a matatu ready to take you where you want to go, with an open seat.
d. The food my family makes rocks. They are mostly vegetarian, so we eat more meat substitutes (except chicken, they like chicken-and know how to cook it!). They make their own peanut butter and honey, so we always have both on hand-without preservatives! They also make brown ugali, so I feel as if I’m eating something other than ground corn.
e. My family is pretty well off
i. I have a flush toilet and a running (COLD) shower.
ii. We have 2 bathrooms
iii. 2 televisions and DVD players and Nat Geo
iv. We have an oven—I CAN BAKE!
v. We have an electric water boiler. My water tastes like water, not smoke!
vi. We eat lots of different varieties of fruits
vii. We have this delicious cabbage, tomato, onion mixture at dinner almost every night (it’s loaded in cooking fat, but tastes good!)
f. It is only a short bus ride to Lake Victoria.
g. It’s so much safer here-I can walk after dark and not feel as if I’m going to be killed/robbed/raped at any given moment.
h. The food is way cheaper-like half the cost or less than Nairobi
i. I don’t have classes
j. My family is teaching me Kija Luo (that’s the tribe Obama is from, in case you didn’t know, but everyone in Kisumu will tell you. They also think that Obama is Kenyan (not American or the result of an exciting trip…)
k. Taxis and transportation is MUCH cheaper-and there are pikipikis (small motor cycles/large mopeds) everywhere (a 20 minute ride is about $1)
l. The sweet lady who runs the Kiosk keeps track of me every day and is very nice to me. She has even invited me into her home and made me eat and drink soda
m. The markets are cheaper than Nairobi’s. I’m going next weekend, if there’s anything you want-let me know now!
n. I know what things cost, so if someone tries to rip me off, I know right away and can tell them. Most of the time I’m escorted to a hotel or taxi, etc. so they can’t rip me off.
o. My fam has a baby-she’s the eldest son’s daughter. She’s 6 months old and beautiful. I get to hold her every day and sometimes she sleeps on me
p. The man who sells pudding (cut up fruit) comes to the office every day for me because I told him to. It's 30/= (about 45 cents) for a bowl of fruit (watermelon, pineapple, avacado, and bananas). Delicious!
2. Things that are not so great about Kisumu
a. I get constant attention from each and every man (except the white ones). This is becoming very frustrating and exhausting-I just want to feel invisible most days, and it’s making me long to be home much stronger than when I was in Nairobi.
b. It’s freaking HOT. All the time.
c. There are a ton more mosquitoes…and malaria
d. I have to finish all of my papers by the end of the month. I haven’t finished even one yet.
e. Internet access is limited-mostly just cyber cafes. Also, if there’s a place with wireless, it’s slow and I have to pay for it.
f. My family is super religious-they are Seventh Day Adventists (which is a sect of Christianity, but they are biblical literalists-if it’s not blatantly spelled out in the bible, it didn’t happen. Consequently, they do not celebrate Easter or Chirstmas because they are explicitly dated in the Bible. This means no Easter eggs or Christmas presents. )
g. I miss my family in Nairobi, they were always so excited to see me and let move around more freely.
h. My family has 3 very angry guard dogs that they put outside between the gate and the house that will attack any intruder (including me). This means that if I want to come home late, I have to call someone to save me from the dogs at night. The last weekend I went out with my friends, I just paid for a hotel room downtown to avoid this. My family does not believe in drinking or going out to have fun.
i. There are no chocolate banana milk shakes from Java or Heinz ketchup
j. I don’t have a good place to get exercise, like when I was in Nairobi-walking to and from school every day. I live too far away here. On that same topic-I have to pay to take a matatu each way to my internship here (40/= per day, which is about 50 cents). This is the place where I get asked for my phone number most often.
k. Everyone speaks Kija Luo—NOT Kiswahili, so I feel as if I’m trying to learn another language as fast as possible, without using my skills in Swahili)
l. There is no good dark chocolate in this entire city.
m. People don't eat lunch until 1-2pm. And we don't take a 10am or 4pm tea break. I have to bring snacks every day and then I have to share with everyone.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
last week in Nairobi
I'm heading to Kisumu on this coming Sunday super early in the morning. I'm going to a new city with a new family and I'll be starting my internship! My family here continues to tell me how sad they are to see me go. I've really grown to love them and to be comfortable in their house, and now I'm going to have to do it all over again with a new family. It should be another great experience :)
Yesterday we (the students and myself) attended a forum put on at the University of Nairobi. The panel consisted of the Prime Minister Odinga, the Director of the IMF and then some other political figures in Kenya- Wangari Mathai, the Minister of Finiance, Kenyatta's son, Bob Galdorf, and the Head of Transparancy International.
The forum was to talk about the state of Kenya, but they pretty much didn't do or say anything. They acknowledged the fact that the corruption in the government is Kenya's problem and the people must stop being corrupt in order to save itself. They continued to emphasize that the Kenyan people can change this by themselves. HOWEVER, they didn't propose any solutions or plans, or even acknowledge the fact that the government or the IMF are at the heart of the problem and the only ones with enough power to do anything. It was literally disgusting to listen to these total hypocrites tell students that this is their problem and they must come together to solve it, while the political figures are the ones that Kenya elected to figure out the problem.
It's this kind of bullshit that is keeping Kenya from developing itself and also what is forcing foreign countries to intervene and impede Kenya from being the one to solve its own problems. Without the legitimate help of the government to empower the people and solve its problems, the people are going to have a really difficult time fixing the country.
On another note, I'm having my swahili final on Thursday. I still have 3 papers to finish before the end of April and one 5 page review of my internship. Then, it's vacation time--I'm going to the coast and then to Egypt! Time has sure flown by. I can't believe my time here is half over already. I love it here, but I'm also looking forward to coming home.
Yesterday we (the students and myself) attended a forum put on at the University of Nairobi. The panel consisted of the Prime Minister Odinga, the Director of the IMF and then some other political figures in Kenya- Wangari Mathai, the Minister of Finiance, Kenyatta's son, Bob Galdorf, and the Head of Transparancy International.
The forum was to talk about the state of Kenya, but they pretty much didn't do or say anything. They acknowledged the fact that the corruption in the government is Kenya's problem and the people must stop being corrupt in order to save itself. They continued to emphasize that the Kenyan people can change this by themselves. HOWEVER, they didn't propose any solutions or plans, or even acknowledge the fact that the government or the IMF are at the heart of the problem and the only ones with enough power to do anything. It was literally disgusting to listen to these total hypocrites tell students that this is their problem and they must come together to solve it, while the political figures are the ones that Kenya elected to figure out the problem.
It's this kind of bullshit that is keeping Kenya from developing itself and also what is forcing foreign countries to intervene and impede Kenya from being the one to solve its own problems. Without the legitimate help of the government to empower the people and solve its problems, the people are going to have a really difficult time fixing the country.
On another note, I'm having my swahili final on Thursday. I still have 3 papers to finish before the end of April and one 5 page review of my internship. Then, it's vacation time--I'm going to the coast and then to Egypt! Time has sure flown by. I can't believe my time here is half over already. I love it here, but I'm also looking forward to coming home.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Mimi ni mgongwa...tena (I'm sick...again)
So now I have a cold...and so does the rest of my family. My little host sister, Tracy, has been sick since I've arrived here over a month ago. My immune system has held up until this past Monday. I just have your average cold with a runny nose, stuffy head, headache, and sore throat. When I told my family Monday morning they were sorry to hear about it, but the next morning, both Eddah (my 20 year old host cousin) and Mama Tracy said they were feeling sick as well! So now all of us except Baba Tracy (who is almost never home these days) are sick. I bought some cold medicine yesterday to help with the symptoms so I could sleep last night, but Mama Tracy informed me that she hasn't given Tracy any medicine because she thinks it's just allergies. I'm pretty sure this isn't right since she's been sick for over a month and the weather has changed in the past week, so wouldn't her allergies have changed with it?
Anyway, I'm sleeping a lot and drinking lots of fluids in the hopes of getting better before the weekend--I'm hoping to go to Aberdare Forest and see some elephants!
Anyway, I'm sleeping a lot and drinking lots of fluids in the hopes of getting better before the weekend--I'm hoping to go to Aberdare Forest and see some elephants!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
another Saturday
Hey Hey :)
I'm still alive here in Kenya. I'm really starting to get a handle of life here.
Yesterday I went with a group of students: Ben, Kyle, Jaime, and Anya to Mount Longanot near Naivasha (about an hour and a half out of Nairobi). We had a bit of an adventure trying to find the place. First we fought the morning traffic jam to get downtown (it took me about an hour on a bus that would normally have taken about 15 minutes in non-rush hour). Anya forgot her passport, so we had to wait for her to go back and get it. Then, we took a matatu (I've explained this in an earlier post, but it's a 14 passenger van that drives like a bat out of hell) that was going to Nakuru (which was our first problem, we should have gotten on one to Naivasha; Nakuru is just out of Naivasha and it's a beautiful National Park where we had our orientation the first few days). The matatu dropped us off on the side of a mountain, and about 20 miles or so from Mount Longanot. After talking with some locals (and one wanted to drive us there for 2,000 /- (about $30US). We said no way and we would find another way. So we took a matatu to the next town over (and it ended up going back the way we had come). So after some deliberation, we decided to take on the adventure head-on and continue our journey instead of heading all the way back to Nairobi on that matatu. So we waited for another matatu that finally took us about 2 miles away from the mountain (and after some bargaining we took it for only 100 /- instead of 150 /- ($1.50 instead of $2--Kiswahili class is really paying off!). So we got off that matatu and started our journey to the mountain.
On the way we stopped and asked a person at what looked like a farm for directions. We found out that she was a teacher and about 20 wanafunzi (students), whose ages ranged from 3-6 probably, rushed out of the tiny shack they were using for a classroom. Ben gave them some cookies and we talked with them for a few minutes and saw their school. The teacher then walked with us for a ways until we saw where we were supposed to go. This was like something out of a movie-the students were so excited to see us and shake our hands and they were so greatful for the cookies. We've decided to go back and bring them school supplies and a copy of the picture we took of them all.
After we made it to the mountain, we had some lunch and started the adventure up it. It took us just under an hour to climb up. Along the way we saw a bunch of people, mostly Kenyans. Some of the women were wearing really nice clothes and dress shoes-heels even- to climb the mountain. I asked one of them habari za miguu (how are your feet) and she laughed responding, tired and dirty. Once we made it to the top of the crater, we took a bunch of pictures, ate and drank lots of water. Ben, Kyle, and I decided we could leave without hiking around the crater to the highest point. (We were set on hiking around the whole thing, but because of our detour, we were on a time constraint) I made it to the top, even though I'm scared to death of heights; I think this helped me get over it a little. On the top, we met a father and son (the father had to be in his late 50s, early 60s, and the son probably in his mid 30s). They were from Denmark, but the son started an NGO in Nairobi, so he's been here for the past 6 months working with Somalis. It took us about an hour to go to the peak and come back and then we headed down the crater at a run (because that was the easiest way to do it because it's so steep).
We finished just right about 5pm after starting my journey at 7am from my house in Nairobi. We hopped on the back of some piki pikis (small motorcycles), who drove us back to the main road for 100/- (about $1.40).
We caught a matatu heading to Naivasha (about 30 minutes in the wrong direction) in order to get a matatu going to Nairobi. We made it home just before 9pm.
This was an awesome and trying day, but we persevered and made it through. Today I'm sore as hell, but I know that I hiked to the top of a semi-dormant volcano yesterday :)
This morning I made french toast for my family and I'm not totally sure if they like it. Eddah (my 20 year old host cousin) I think just likes it when she doesn't have to do all of the cooking or dishes by herself, so she enjoyed it. However, Mama Tracy only had 2 pieces and told me after the first bite that this was strange. She's made french toast before but only with egg and bread, so it wasn't sweet. I think that caught her off guard. I loved it though, so my tummy was happy this morning :) My next meal will be egg fried rice with vegetables, and I'm probably going to make it tonight. I found soy sauce and broccoli here!
I'm probably going to go out tonight with some of the other students after working on my papers today.
The rest of my week was good...Thursday we went on a field trip with Dr. Jama and he brought us to the Central Business District (CBD) and then to the informal sector--where locals work metal into gikos (Small grill-like things that my family uses to cook on with charcoal), school boxes, small farming equipment, cooking pots, etc. It was really difficult to see this because of the conditions the people work under, but because they're informal, they are working for themselves and not a big company, but they are very unsafe and unsanitary conditions for the most part. The workers had no protective equipment--safety glasses or ear plugs, welding helmets or jackets, etc. It made me really sad but at the same time happy to know that these people were doing something meaningful and earning their living. After this, we went to the rich part of town. Mostly colonialists and those wazungos (white people) who have been here from before independence own these houses. As well as political officials who earned their money in very corrupt manners. That was a very difficult day...
Thursday evening, I went back to my house to find the friend of the student who lived with my family last semester there with her friend. They are both academic year students from UW-Madison. They told me all about Kisumu (where I'll be going for my internship in 3 weeks), as well as some stories from their own group. We had kuku (chicken) on Thursday, which was a special treat because we have not had chicken yet since I've come here (and you all know how I love my poultry! btw, turkey is pretty much unheard of except in the touristy areas).
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful...just class and homework and hanging with the rest of the students.
I'm starting to really like it here, but I really miss you all back at home.
Kwaherini!
I'm still alive here in Kenya. I'm really starting to get a handle of life here.
Yesterday I went with a group of students: Ben, Kyle, Jaime, and Anya to Mount Longanot near Naivasha (about an hour and a half out of Nairobi). We had a bit of an adventure trying to find the place. First we fought the morning traffic jam to get downtown (it took me about an hour on a bus that would normally have taken about 15 minutes in non-rush hour). Anya forgot her passport, so we had to wait for her to go back and get it. Then, we took a matatu (I've explained this in an earlier post, but it's a 14 passenger van that drives like a bat out of hell) that was going to Nakuru (which was our first problem, we should have gotten on one to Naivasha; Nakuru is just out of Naivasha and it's a beautiful National Park where we had our orientation the first few days). The matatu dropped us off on the side of a mountain, and about 20 miles or so from Mount Longanot. After talking with some locals (and one wanted to drive us there for 2,000 /- (about $30US). We said no way and we would find another way. So we took a matatu to the next town over (and it ended up going back the way we had come). So after some deliberation, we decided to take on the adventure head-on and continue our journey instead of heading all the way back to Nairobi on that matatu. So we waited for another matatu that finally took us about 2 miles away from the mountain (and after some bargaining we took it for only 100 /- instead of 150 /- ($1.50 instead of $2--Kiswahili class is really paying off!). So we got off that matatu and started our journey to the mountain.
On the way we stopped and asked a person at what looked like a farm for directions. We found out that she was a teacher and about 20 wanafunzi (students), whose ages ranged from 3-6 probably, rushed out of the tiny shack they were using for a classroom. Ben gave them some cookies and we talked with them for a few minutes and saw their school. The teacher then walked with us for a ways until we saw where we were supposed to go. This was like something out of a movie-the students were so excited to see us and shake our hands and they were so greatful for the cookies. We've decided to go back and bring them school supplies and a copy of the picture we took of them all.
After we made it to the mountain, we had some lunch and started the adventure up it. It took us just under an hour to climb up. Along the way we saw a bunch of people, mostly Kenyans. Some of the women were wearing really nice clothes and dress shoes-heels even- to climb the mountain. I asked one of them habari za miguu (how are your feet) and she laughed responding, tired and dirty. Once we made it to the top of the crater, we took a bunch of pictures, ate and drank lots of water. Ben, Kyle, and I decided we could leave without hiking around the crater to the highest point. (We were set on hiking around the whole thing, but because of our detour, we were on a time constraint) I made it to the top, even though I'm scared to death of heights; I think this helped me get over it a little. On the top, we met a father and son (the father had to be in his late 50s, early 60s, and the son probably in his mid 30s). They were from Denmark, but the son started an NGO in Nairobi, so he's been here for the past 6 months working with Somalis. It took us about an hour to go to the peak and come back and then we headed down the crater at a run (because that was the easiest way to do it because it's so steep).
We finished just right about 5pm after starting my journey at 7am from my house in Nairobi. We hopped on the back of some piki pikis (small motorcycles), who drove us back to the main road for 100/- (about $1.40).
We caught a matatu heading to Naivasha (about 30 minutes in the wrong direction) in order to get a matatu going to Nairobi. We made it home just before 9pm.
This was an awesome and trying day, but we persevered and made it through. Today I'm sore as hell, but I know that I hiked to the top of a semi-dormant volcano yesterday :)
This morning I made french toast for my family and I'm not totally sure if they like it. Eddah (my 20 year old host cousin) I think just likes it when she doesn't have to do all of the cooking or dishes by herself, so she enjoyed it. However, Mama Tracy only had 2 pieces and told me after the first bite that this was strange. She's made french toast before but only with egg and bread, so it wasn't sweet. I think that caught her off guard. I loved it though, so my tummy was happy this morning :) My next meal will be egg fried rice with vegetables, and I'm probably going to make it tonight. I found soy sauce and broccoli here!
I'm probably going to go out tonight with some of the other students after working on my papers today.
The rest of my week was good...Thursday we went on a field trip with Dr. Jama and he brought us to the Central Business District (CBD) and then to the informal sector--where locals work metal into gikos (Small grill-like things that my family uses to cook on with charcoal), school boxes, small farming equipment, cooking pots, etc. It was really difficult to see this because of the conditions the people work under, but because they're informal, they are working for themselves and not a big company, but they are very unsafe and unsanitary conditions for the most part. The workers had no protective equipment--safety glasses or ear plugs, welding helmets or jackets, etc. It made me really sad but at the same time happy to know that these people were doing something meaningful and earning their living. After this, we went to the rich part of town. Mostly colonialists and those wazungos (white people) who have been here from before independence own these houses. As well as political officials who earned their money in very corrupt manners. That was a very difficult day...
Thursday evening, I went back to my house to find the friend of the student who lived with my family last semester there with her friend. They are both academic year students from UW-Madison. They told me all about Kisumu (where I'll be going for my internship in 3 weeks), as well as some stories from their own group. We had kuku (chicken) on Thursday, which was a special treat because we have not had chicken yet since I've come here (and you all know how I love my poultry! btw, turkey is pretty much unheard of except in the touristy areas).
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful...just class and homework and hanging with the rest of the students.
I'm starting to really like it here, but I really miss you all back at home.
Kwaherini!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Shakin' my booty
I'm writing again from the tourist coffee house in Nairobi--1 of 2 places that has heinz ketchup in the whole of Kenya (also where they call their fries "chips" like the British d-bags who colonized them).
I have had a pretty uneventful week...until yesterday. Monday (Jumatatu) night I went to a movie-Sherlock Holms, and it was 550 /- (about $6) for a movie, popcorn, drink, and hotdog or snickers (I chose the snickers of course). Tuesday (Jumanne) I did laundry by hand for about 1.5 hours. If you have never washed an entire week's clothing by hand, you should give it a try sometime, it's a freaking reality check to those of us with washers and dryers. Wednesday (Jumatano), I made dinner for my family, spaghetti with sauce and vegetables and homemade garlic bread. Delish! Thursday (Alhamisi), I worked on some homework and hung out with the students.
Friday (Ijumaa), some of the students and I went to Giraffe Center-in Karen (a primarily mzungo-white-neighborhood). On the way, on one of the matatus (taxi-like vans) I was NOT on, a student was robbed. She is fine, but lost her purse and camera.
Anyway, most of us still went to giraffe center and hung out with, pet, and fed (with our hands and mouth) giraffes. It was AMAZING!
And then, Friday night, I went out for mexican food (in 1 of the 2 restaurants that we have heard of) in Westlands. It was definitely pricey by Kenyan standards, but less than what we would pay in the US. I split a chicken quesadilla and chicken fajitas with Teresa (a student from IL), and it was DELICIOUS!!! They had real guacamole and tortilla chips! To top it off, we went out dancing afterward and had an awesome time!
The only unfortunate part of this weekend so far was being woken up this morning at about 6am after coming home just before 1am. After doing laundry again today, I got a pedicure with Rebecca for 300 /- each ($4). We left them a tip of 50/- each (about 80 cents) and they were ecstatic :) My toes are dark red with gold, white, and black decals. I need to start to take advantage of the services here...maybe a massage will be next.
I'm working on (or rather will be) one of my three term papers due at the end of the program. They are each about 15 pages long and deal with development as a whole, development analysis in a chronological perspective, and gender's influence on health. Obviously, I'm the most excited about the last topic. I have to work hard though because tonight I'm heading to a local Kenyan bar with some friends.
Off to work!
PS I have a born-again addiction to fries (chips) and ketchup. shoot.
I have had a pretty uneventful week...until yesterday. Monday (Jumatatu) night I went to a movie-Sherlock Holms, and it was 550 /- (about $6) for a movie, popcorn, drink, and hotdog or snickers (I chose the snickers of course). Tuesday (Jumanne) I did laundry by hand for about 1.5 hours. If you have never washed an entire week's clothing by hand, you should give it a try sometime, it's a freaking reality check to those of us with washers and dryers. Wednesday (Jumatano), I made dinner for my family, spaghetti with sauce and vegetables and homemade garlic bread. Delish! Thursday (Alhamisi), I worked on some homework and hung out with the students.
Friday (Ijumaa), some of the students and I went to Giraffe Center-in Karen (a primarily mzungo-white-neighborhood). On the way, on one of the matatus (taxi-like vans) I was NOT on, a student was robbed. She is fine, but lost her purse and camera.
Anyway, most of us still went to giraffe center and hung out with, pet, and fed (with our hands and mouth) giraffes. It was AMAZING!
And then, Friday night, I went out for mexican food (in 1 of the 2 restaurants that we have heard of) in Westlands. It was definitely pricey by Kenyan standards, but less than what we would pay in the US. I split a chicken quesadilla and chicken fajitas with Teresa (a student from IL), and it was DELICIOUS!!! They had real guacamole and tortilla chips! To top it off, we went out dancing afterward and had an awesome time!
The only unfortunate part of this weekend so far was being woken up this morning at about 6am after coming home just before 1am. After doing laundry again today, I got a pedicure with Rebecca for 300 /- each ($4). We left them a tip of 50/- each (about 80 cents) and they were ecstatic :) My toes are dark red with gold, white, and black decals. I need to start to take advantage of the services here...maybe a massage will be next.
I'm working on (or rather will be) one of my three term papers due at the end of the program. They are each about 15 pages long and deal with development as a whole, development analysis in a chronological perspective, and gender's influence on health. Obviously, I'm the most excited about the last topic. I have to work hard though because tonight I'm heading to a local Kenyan bar with some friends.
Off to work!
PS I have a born-again addiction to fries (chips) and ketchup. shoot.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
my addressssss
Hey everyone...
If anyone wants to send me something in the mail, my address here is
MSID Office
PO Box 66731-00800
Nairobi, Kenya
please try to send things that fit into an envelope-anything larger than about a manilla sized envelope I have to go downtown to the post office and barter with the post office about duty (which can be more than the contents are worth sometimes). If it's in an envelope, it will go right to our office and to me. Post cards would be much appreciated-it takes about a week to get from one continent to the other.
I'm missing home and contact with familiar people...and good guacamole.
If anyone wants to send me something in the mail, my address here is
MSID Office
PO Box 66731-00800
Nairobi, Kenya
please try to send things that fit into an envelope-anything larger than about a manilla sized envelope I have to go downtown to the post office and barter with the post office about duty (which can be more than the contents are worth sometimes). If it's in an envelope, it will go right to our office and to me. Post cards would be much appreciated-it takes about a week to get from one continent to the other.
I'm missing home and contact with familiar people...and good guacamole.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Hell's Gate
Habari za leo?
This past weekend I traveled to Hell’s
Instead, we decided to camp at a site down the road and walk to the gate on Saturday morning with all of our gear. So, Friday night we went to Fisherman’s camp, set up the tents and sat around the fire for a while. We awoke in the morning pretty early (after very little sleep) and ate breakfast with the monkeysàthey surrounded us looking for food, and our guide, Sirus, started feeding them, so they wouldn’t leave us alone all morning. After this, we packed up camp and started on our 5 km walk back to the gate with all of our gear. (By this time, I was wishing I had bought one of those hiking packs.) After we reached the gate, we met up with 3 other students who had spent the night in
After the ride, we ate, rested for a few minutes, set up some of our camp, and started our journey to find Pride Rock and walk through the gorge. We walked about 2 hours to the gorge and through it and then all around streams and up the side of a mountain, it was beautiful! It was definitely worth the walk. Hell’s gate was breathtaking. I’m pretty sure that we found Pride Rock about 5 times and saw lots of other beautiful natural structures and camped within it.Waking up this morning to see the beautiful trees and everything was awesome!
Kwaherini!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thank God for Pepto...
I've been feeling pretty sick for the past few days, with a really bad stomach ache, headache, and I'm dizzy. I'm pretty sure that it's just my body acclimating to the new climate and foods (I think my culture shock so far has been the food, it's just so much different from what I'm used to). I have also started to drink a bunch more water than I have been. I hope that helps. I went out to dinner with some friends last night to my host mom's restaurant-she manages Smart Village, an Ethopian restaurant. It was delicious and I'm really starting to like the other students on the trip the more time I spend with them :)
School has been going very well so far. Dr. Jama ( the director for the program) teaches development, which focuses on Kenya. Fred Jonyo (who has his name embroidered) on all of his shirts is teaching us Country Analysis (of Kenya). I'm also taking 3rd semester Swahili with Julius and the public health "track". It's all pretty good so far. We have short papers (handwritten!) due each week and term papers and a few quizzes and such, but so far, I think it will be a pretty easy semester academically.
I'm getting more excited for my internship every day. Kisumu (right by Lake Victoria) is supposed to be even hotter than Nairobi and eat mostly fish (I'm going to have to learn to like those...).
My family is really nice. Eddah took me shopping today in Toi Market (a super cheap market with a ton of second hand stuff-shirts, jeans, shoes, books, sunglasses, kangas, dresses, skirts,e tc.) I bought a pair of jeans for 350 KSH--about $4.50 and a button down short sleeve shirt for 250 KSH--about $3. I also bought Eddah a pair of super hott Beyonce-esque shoes for 1000 KSH- about $13 (she's very, very excited!) So, I definitely packed WAY too much. I'm probably going to leave a lot of my stuff here because Eddah and I are about the same size and she continually comments on how she likes my shirts (even though they are very plain and were really cheap).
I'm going to go to Hell's Gate next weekend with some of the students to bike around the rift valley and see the sights. It will be my first traveling trip out of the city! I'm really excited to start exploring what Kenya has to offer :)
Kwaherini!
School has been going very well so far. Dr. Jama ( the director for the program) teaches development, which focuses on Kenya. Fred Jonyo (who has his name embroidered) on all of his shirts is teaching us Country Analysis (of Kenya). I'm also taking 3rd semester Swahili with Julius and the public health "track". It's all pretty good so far. We have short papers (handwritten!) due each week and term papers and a few quizzes and such, but so far, I think it will be a pretty easy semester academically.
I'm getting more excited for my internship every day. Kisumu (right by Lake Victoria) is supposed to be even hotter than Nairobi and eat mostly fish (I'm going to have to learn to like those...).
My family is really nice. Eddah took me shopping today in Toi Market (a super cheap market with a ton of second hand stuff-shirts, jeans, shoes, books, sunglasses, kangas, dresses, skirts,e tc.) I bought a pair of jeans for 350 KSH--about $4.50 and a button down short sleeve shirt for 250 KSH--about $3. I also bought Eddah a pair of super hott Beyonce-esque shoes for 1000 KSH- about $13 (she's very, very excited!) So, I definitely packed WAY too much. I'm probably going to leave a lot of my stuff here because Eddah and I are about the same size and she continually comments on how she likes my shirts (even though they are very plain and were really cheap).
I'm going to go to Hell's Gate next weekend with some of the students to bike around the rift valley and see the sights. It will be my first traveling trip out of the city! I'm really excited to start exploring what Kenya has to offer :)
Kwaherini!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The classes have begun
Hey everyone...I'm spoiling you with two posts in one day, but I finally got this to work.
My family is really sweet here in Nairobi. I have a mother-Mama Tracy or Jennifer who works as a manageress at a Ethopian restaurant, father-Baba Tracy or Teddy who is a tour guide, so he's not home very often, a 7 year old sister named Tracy (that's where Mama and Baba Tracy come from, it's a cultural way of naming their parents), and a cousin who takes care of the house named Eddah-she's 20 and hoping to attend college in a few months. I'm really enjoying my family and they are really sweet to me.
I'm starting to get real used to bucket baths as sometimes the water does not work at all and if it does, it's freezing cold. I share a room at my house with Eddah and Tracy. On Saturday, my first night with the family, I learned to do laundry by hand and to cook chipati ( a traditional African food which is like a heavy (and super greasy) tortilla). I told the family that I would make guacamole for them one day and they were super excited!
Anyway, I'm doing well, other than an upset stomach from all the grease...
Kwaheri!
My family is really sweet here in Nairobi. I have a mother-Mama Tracy or Jennifer who works as a manageress at a Ethopian restaurant, father-Baba Tracy or Teddy who is a tour guide, so he's not home very often, a 7 year old sister named Tracy (that's where Mama and Baba Tracy come from, it's a cultural way of naming their parents), and a cousin who takes care of the house named Eddah-she's 20 and hoping to attend college in a few months. I'm really enjoying my family and they are really sweet to me.
I'm starting to get real used to bucket baths as sometimes the water does not work at all and if it does, it's freezing cold. I share a room at my house with Eddah and Tracy. On Saturday, my first night with the family, I learned to do laundry by hand and to cook chipati ( a traditional African food which is like a heavy (and super greasy) tortilla). I told the family that I would make guacamole for them one day and they were super excited!
Anyway, I'm doing well, other than an upset stomach from all the grease...
Kwaheri!
I made it to Kenya safely....
I made it to Kenya safely; I landed in Nairobi at about 8:30pm local time on Monday night after starting my journey Sunday morning at 4am. The flight from
The first night we stayed in a hostel at the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, the affiliate organization working with MSID (Minnesota Studies in International Development). I showered in freezing cold water Tuesday morning and we traveled to Nakuru national park, where we have spent the first couple days in orientation and taking safaris. The park is absolutely beautiful. There are wild baboons (who like to steal our food and run around the site we are staying at), monkeys (who jump on top of our bus and steal food out of our bags), buffalo, warthogs, giraffes, hyenas, zebras, water bucks, impalas, and numerous types of birds (including flamingos)! (Don’t worry, I will get pictures up soon!)
The weather here is beautiful! It’s about 80 degrees during the day—and even hotter in the sun—and is around 60 in the mornings and evenings. AND, I’m sunburned already. Don’t worry Mom, I brought some glow with it along, so I’m healing nicely.
I found out about my internship yesterday. I’ll be staying in Kisumu town working with an organization called Family Health Option Kenya, which specializes in women’s health. The group does outreach and advocacy work with prostitutes focusing on STIs and HIV/AIDS, gynecology exams, family planning services, and counseling services. I’m so excited because this sounds like exactly what I wanted to do!
Everyone on the trip seems really cool and we’re all getting along really well. There are about 19 girls and 8 boys on the trip. We will all be in Nairobi for the first 7 weeks, starting this Saturday (classes start Monday) and then we will be around Kenya for 6 weeks for the internship phase-mostly in Kisumu (western Kenya by Lake Victoria), Nairobi (south central Kenya), and Mombasa (East coast on the Indian Ocean).
The food here is awesome as well! It’s much different from home-and there’s meat at every meal. Breakfast is almost always hard-boiled eggs with bread and jelly. Yesterday we had Kenyan peanut butter (which is NOT the same). A meal is made up of mostly starches (Ugali (corn meal and water), rice, and potatoes), vegetables and meat. It has all been really different, but really delicious.
So far I haven’t been sick at all. I felt a little icky and jet-legged the first few days, but today I feel great. We get up at about 6 in the morning here and go to sleep around 9 or 10. This morning we got up and went on a sunrise ride to baboon cliff. We left about 5:30am from the camp. At the cliff we saw the sun rise and baboons come up the cliff (they sleep about half way down it to keep safe from the lions). They were really cute and let us take a bunch of pictures of them. The first day on our way to the camp, we were stopped by a lion and a lioness in just hanging out in the middle of the road.
I found out that I will be able to skype if I buy a wireless modem for my computer. That way I can talk online for free or call the
I hope the semester is going well for everyone… I’ll post more in a few days
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
3 days left...
I'm just about packed to go to Africa where I'll be for the next 4 months. I leave Sunday, January 17th at 7:15 am from Green Bay and come back May 18th. I will spend most of my time in Nairobi living with a host family, and then I will have a 6 week internship in public health. I will be taking classes while in Nairobi which focus on global development. I will be taking International Development, MSID Country Analysis, and Community Internship in the Global South.
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