I thought they served beef last night till I recognized the Swahili word for "goat"

I find my relationship with Kenya mirroring any other relationship. I believe I am still in the honeymoon phase. I am partially blinded by the newness and still find novelty in that which eventually I will tire of. I am continually awestruck and probably still see more of what it wants me to see rather than what really is. I hope, as time goes on, that I become more comfortable looking deeper and possibly losing some of the glimmer but trading it for more substance. I am starting to be closer and more comfortable opening up to and with staff, interpreters, drivers, strangers, headmasters, etc. Many of them sugar coat all that they are feeling but the more I genuinely listen, the more that is revealed. I await with anxious anticipation finding the real Kenya, and what part in it and it's future I play. I am falling in love.

I am currently in Kisumu which, despite what I thought, is very much South of Bungoma. It is the third largest city in the country and with that comes the novelty of seeing other white people (though still only a few). It is almost funny how accustomed the handful of volunteers have become to being the only ones. Also with tourism comes Western food. It was the first time I've had cheese in weeks! We indulged heavily for lunch, haggled our way through the market and came out with many wonderful things, and will head over soon for what will probably be an equally indulgent dinner. Two of the newest volunteers came with and all of a sudden I found myself playing the role that many of those who left played for me, and with a great ease. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we can adapt. Tomorrow morning we'll take a boat onto Lake Victoria (hopefully seeing hippos along the way!), some freshly caught tilapia, perhaps some more shopping, and back the 3 hours home.

I start my Empower week on Monday and both of the co-teachers have left so it will be exciting to be able to run it by myself. I'm sure by next weekend I'll be ready to have a long sleep but it is hard to pass up opportunities to explore. I'm considering taking my last week or so here to safari and also do either Mt. Kilimanjaro or possibly Zanzibar. So far the last of the volunteers leave the week of the 14th so it may be good timing for me to venture off. But alas, that is very far away and anything could happen.

Oh, and the local tribe's circumcision ceremony is in a few weeks. Every night this week they've done some sort of ritual where they run through the villages screaming and drumming... I'm not sure exactly the point but what I am sure of is I plan on attending. Yeah. You heard me.

Time for more milk based products.
All my love.

We pushed the van/got out and walked more than we drove.

It's quite the bittersweet night. A few of the volunteers are celebrating their last night. So there will be drinking, eating, and heaps of laughing I can be sure. Luckily many of them are going to school in Philadelphia so they won't be far away.

I've been teaching at primary schools all this week... many of whom have never seen a white person so it's always a swarm of hundrds of children. Like little African paparazzi. They have been far from the farm, though, and with the van breaking down more frequently there's been a lot of sitting and waiting. My one yesterday didn't start till 3:30 so I hung around at the mobile clinic all day then ten minutes in to teaching it started pouring and I just had to call it quits. A 9 hour day with nothng accomplished. It has been storming at night the past few days so the temp drops a lot for sleeping. Still perfect days though.

Life on the farm has been full of gin rummy tournaments. I had to start taking my Cipro, which for those of you who have travelled know the misery that lead up to that. One night, I'm in the bathroom stall around 1am, I heard one of the dogs in a fight with something outside and refused to leave until I knew it was over. Probably just another stray dog but you'd be surprised what can go through your head when it's pitch black and you hear growling and fighting and you remember you're in Africa. I also found a black widow spider that night. Not as threatening a feeling as growling in the dark.

I'm going up to Kisumu this weekend to see Lake Victoria then I start another weeklong session on Monday. I'd love to write more but there's quite a line for this computer and my hutmate has a cold Tusker waiting for me at the bar down the street.

It's as common to hear "Obama!!" as it is to hear hello.

The last two mornings I've woken up with a kitten sleeping with me. She must wiggle her way under my mosquito net in the middle of the night. It's a nice little ammenity!

My class "graduated" on Friday and I was so happy to see just how proud they were of themselves. They all wanted pictures with their certificates and we even had a woman in Bungoma make us a cake :) I think next week I just have a few one day awareness sessions scheduled, but I have another week long session after that. Time is flying!

On Saturday a few of us went South to the Kakamega rainforest. We hired a guide who navigated us through and was much keener to spot the monkeys high in the canopy. Not a whole lot of wildlife besides the monkeys but some magnificent trees and just a great experience to be there. We had difficulty catching a matatu back into town because it was getting dark so a guy offered to drive us there. That's what I'm finding all over this country. People are so kind, so willing to help. Four peope got out of a matatu yesterday and caught another one just so my friends and I could stay together. Not once have I ever felt in danger or really discriminated against. People stare, they call out "mzungu", but it's all really innocent. I get approached daily by strangers wanting to just shake my hand, and even if they dont know English to just smile. Even during police checkpoints (at least once a day) they smile with their AK47s and chirp "hello madam how are you!" when they peer in (although I did have my driver get arrested the other day but they were just looking for money from him).

Showering this morning was pretty trecherous. Usually there is a kettle of water over a fire and a few scoops of that into a bucket, then filling the rest of the way with water from the well makes a lukewarm way to get "clean" but weekends don't hold the joy of the hot water. And well water... it's freaking cold. I also did my laundry today which is a three bucket system of wash, rinse, rinse. But although it all smells a million times better I'm unsure of just how clean it really is! Handwashing is a skill apaprently.

I'm developing what can only be described as a mild tan (read: freckles). Pretty wild. I'm looking forward to hanging around the farm for the rest of the day and doing a lot of nothing. Maybe a walk if the weather cools down a bit. Today was the hottest it's been in a while.. somewhere in the high 80s I'd say. Nights are mid 70s although last night was about 66 and that felt chilly. I think on the way back I'll catch a motor boda. A boda boda is a bicylce with a seat above the wheel for passengers, and a motor boda is like a motorcylcle only not as fancy. I took one in Uganda and although initially a little scary, it's a fun ride on nice days.

Ha. I'm in Africa. That's crazy.

Who needs an alarm clock when you have roosters?

I got to talk to my parents last night, albeit briefly, but it was so nice to have a little slice of home. I have a phone here now and although it's a little touch and go it's at least a little life line. Calling the States costs about 50 shillings (almost $1) per minute but I can receive calls for free and international texts are only like 10 US cents for me to send. So if anyone misses me enough to get an international phone card I would love a quick hello (0735005012) but you'd have to look up the country code because I can't remember it of the top of my head. I have lots of numbers on me so I'll send out some texts later on. The generator gives us electricity in the "big hut" from about 7:30/8:00 till midnight so I charge everything then, and to my surprise there's even tv so we keep up with the news and watch music videos that are usually about 5 years old.

I'm getting the hang of what is known as "African time". If someone says they will pick you up at 7am it means anywhere from about 7:30 to 9:30. No one is really in a rush anywhere. If a mtatu takes 3 hours longer than you expected and breaks down or stops so the toller can buy oranges no one really seems to mind. (Mtatus deserve at least a whole entry. They're fascinating. It's really only them in great numbers on the roads but roads don't really have lanes and as mentioned before are half washed away usually. So they just speed along and weave through the countless bicycles, pedestrians, and craters, honking at whatever is in their way. They don't like to move unless they're completely full so whenever someone gets off you have to find someone to get on, hence why it can take hours longer. But I digress) It's just a laid back environment to a ridiculous degree.

The class this week is about an hour away from Kabula (my town) and it's going better than I could have hoped. Day 1 is an introduction to the disease and basic awareness, 2 is the immune system and what happens to it, and today was preventing mother to child transmission as well as condom usage. Sex is quite taboo here, and a lack of communication plays a large roll in the rapid spread, so there were a lot of of very shy giggles, but everyone was very receptive to it and continue to have really good questions and dialogue. I'm sure there will be weeks where the class isn't as open but so far so good. Tomorrow is a session on society and reacting to the disease and day 5 focuses on counseling, testing, and being supportive/supported. Two other girls and I caught a mtatu back to Bungoma (a two hour hot sticky smelly bumpy stop every few meters ride) and indulged in some chicken curry lunch. Meat is a luxury we don't often get. Breakfast is tea and bread with either jam or peanut butter or whatever you want to buy for yourself. Lunch is usually rice and cabbage or kale, and dinner is just an elaborated lunch usually with either lentils or potatoes. Chapati, a flatbread of sorts, is to be looked forward to and rumor has it tonight is the night! A few of the volunteers bought some chickens at market the other night and made a wonderful pineapple chicken concoction. I am constantly eating mangoes... they are completely amazing here.

I reflected on my frustration with the medical conditions and was able to be a bit more level headed the next day. It is difficult, and diagnosis with such little information is a very challenging , and a limited access to medication must be hard but it the people that I'm meeting are so committed to doing everything they can with what they have that it's truly inspiring. I'm trying to soak up as much as I can from them, drowning them in questions. It really is forcing me to think outside of the box, think of anything to do to improve quality of life. There is a group here working on a water purification system, a previous volunteer is here buying land to start a farming project, one med student upon leaving here is going to a clinic on the Thai/Burma border who is in desperate need of doctors. I am surrounded with people who are absolutely committed to change and it is contagious. I find myself ignorant on so much more than I could have imaged and there is no shame in it; it is humbling and it is such a great opportunity if I embrace it to grow beyond my wildest dreams.

I woke up around 2am last night and after a half hour debate on whether I could hold it and fall back asleep, I went to use the toilets. Nighttime is a dark like I've never seen. It's the kind of dark where you can blink for as long as you please and chances are your eyes still won't adjust. So I ran outside and was hit with the most beautiful night sky. It was a perfectly clear night, around 73 degrees, and every star in the sky was turned on. Then one of the farm cats rubbed against me and scared me so badly that I was lucky I had already used the toilets.

Jambo!

I had a whole blog done a few days ago and then the internet wiped out. Let's try this again.
First day or so was hard. Mostly I think because it was travelling, alone, with a pretty bad language barrier, a not so great understanding of the exchange rate, in a country that will rip off any mzungu (white person) they can. But I successfully navigated the hostel, Nairobi, the bus station, and a wicked bad 9 hour bus ride to Bungoma. The roads here are anything but flat. But whiplash aside it was a good way to see the country. Much greener than expected, especially along the Great Rift Valley. The povery level was astonishing, even though I knew to expect it. Most structures are mud or concrete shacks with aluminum/tin roofing. I did, however, pass a herd of zebra and several baboons.
Safely at the farm I met the other volunteers who immediately took me into town to celebrate the last night of a few of them. Now town, however big, is a unlike anywhere I've ever been. Dirt roads, all markets on the sidewalk, and constant approaches by street children. But it was a good introduction to everyone. I slept like a baby that night.
I was whisked away the next day. Mtatus are shuttles/taxis of a sort. They run constantly and pick up anyone by the side of the road and pile you in. For a vehicle that is probably made to hold 10 or so I've been in a few that have had well over 20 people. But it gets your where you need to go and it's cheap. So we took one to the Ugandan border and crossed over, and took another 3 hour one to the town of Jinja. We spent the weekend exploring and white water rafting down the Nile. That's right. And it's just as amazing as it sounds. Granted, I felt like I was facing my death a few times when our raft would flip mid-rapid and the rest just battered down upon you until some helpful fellow in a kayak met you once it calmed and rescued you. We stayed at a great campsite right on the bank and enjoyed a bar-b-que, Ugandan beer, hot showers, and another great sleep. The trip back was not so enjoyable. A bus that broke down, a mtatu who kicked us out because it's passengers had a problem with mzungus, and hitting the border after dark which meant difficult and ultimately more expensive to find a ride home. But all worked out in the end.
Today I observed at the mobile clinic. It seems like such an uphill battle. Someone would come in, pay their 50 shillings (less than $1 US) and it would cover a consultation and any needed medication. But what do you do when someone comes in and says they have xyz symptoms and all you can do is listen to their lungs and take their blood pressure? Narrow it down to malaria, worms, arthritis, infection. But it's so much speculation especially with vague symptoms and no testing available. You prescribe what you can. It was pretty sobering. For the few hours after that till we came back to town I just played soccer with a bunch of the local kids. Kids in general here are absolutely facinated with white people. Most just congregate around and state blankly. They all shake your hand and just stare until you walk away. Just curiosity, nothing malicious. Most know how to say "Hello" and "How are you" and they repeat it over and over. My swahili is getting better quickly, though. I begin my HIV/AIDS classes tomorrow and am pretty excited to see how that goes. Most of the programs go deep into rural Western Kenya and it's absolutely amazing to explore.
So... all in all, I'm getting used to things. Showering from a bucket. Peeing into a hole in the ground (and we're not talking latrines.. I'm talking a hole in the ground... literally). Haggling for the price of everything. And taking chancse I never would have. I can't believe a week has passed already. I think I am going to continue to get comfortable and it's going to make everything that much better.
Everyone is in my thoughts and though I am having a great time, I miss everyone greatly.

First.

I feel like for years I have been saying I'm going to Africa. Never with any tangible plans, only a desire. Sick of all talk and no action in a growing number of aspects of my life, I forged ahead and here I am. Roughly 2 weeks from takeoff.

To catch some up to speed, I leave on July 1. I will be volunteering for 2 months in Bungoma, a rural village in Western Kenya, teaching HIV/AIDS prevention education. The Community Development organization with whom I'll be working provides room and board courtesy of a sugarcane farm and very kind villagers (that's my hut pictured above). But all that's just the technicalities.

I have prepared myself as best I can, knowing that no amount will truly prepare me. I am ready to make the world a little better. I am ready for the world to make me a little better. I've slowed trying to have answers; rather, I am embracing all that comes with finding questions to ask. I have (somehow, strangely, unexpectedly, but gratefully) shed most self-doubt. I am opening my heart and my eyes and my mind. I have that feeling very similar to pondering existence- when you realize it's probably just too big so you might as well just go through it and soak it all up like a sponge. Don't always try to explain, just learn and grow and your own personal understanding of it all will come in time. I am ready to jump in head first and that's all I can ask of myself.

While things like electricity, running water, and mosquitoes that won't give me malaria will be hard to come by, the nearest town does have internet access or so I'm told. Welcome to my adventures...