* Urban Homestay in Nairobi *

Some pictures from my urban homestay in Nairobi. I lived with a family for 3 weeks while I took classes at the United Kenya Club in the city with the rest of the students. Some people lived in pairs with families, but I was alone, which was nice, I got to know my family really well. Every weekday morning my mom would drive me into the city for my first class, Swahili, and then she would go to her job at the International Committee of the Red Cross. My 2 younger brothers, 7 & 8 would be driven to school by their dad, who works at a big insurance company in the city as well. We would all eat breakfast together and then leave the house by 7am to try and beat the morning traffic. Traffic is a big problem in Nairobi - no one follows traffic laws and cars are everywhere on the road. During the day in the city I would take classes and in between I would go into the city for lunch or shopping, swim laps at the YMCA pool near where I took classes, or do work in the library at the UKC. Mom picked me up each day at the UKC around 5:30pm, and we would drive home or stop on the way to do errands. We all ate dinner around 7:30pm and then I would play with the boys or do homework. I had my own room in the house and the boys loved to come in and play with all my things or watch me do homework. The first few nights I was attacked my mosquitoes and woke up with huge welts on my face and arms, so the 3rd night I asked for a net over my bed, which made the rest of the stay a lot better. I lived with the Ouma's for 2 weekends. One Saturday we went swimming at a beautiful hotel pool in the city and I helped the boys with their front crawl. Each Sunday we went to Church and then spent time with my mom's sisters who live around the city. We went to her sister's for tea one Sunday and another day we went shopping with 2 of her sisters for clothes. One Saturday night I took a taxi by myself from the house to meet up with the rest of the students at a popular club called Galileo in the city. It was so much fun and we danced to a live band who played songs we all knew by Paul Simon. It was a little scary at first to take my first taxi alone into the city, but once I was there I was fine. As long as you are aware of your surroundings in the city and be smart about what you do at night, you can keep yourself very safe. Another Saturday I went to the Maasai Market with my mom to buy small gifts and souvenirs and I bartered for everything I bought. The sellers are so pushy and grab white people who they assume are tourists with lots of money. I used some of the Swahili I have learned and bartered their prices way down. Sellers would start with ridiculous prices, like 5,000 shillings, and I would get them down to 100. Mom said she was very impressed with my bartering and said that she usually gives up with sellers and gets too impatient to barter. Later that day I went with my mom to the wedding of a woman she works with. It was amazing to see how Kenyans organize weddings and the different traditions that take place. Everyone was dressed in bright clothing and there was a lot of dancing and singing - I felt very lucky to be able to see a Kenyan wedding. I was the only mzungu (white person) there. One Wednesday I didn't have classes because the government of Kenya issued a national holiday (October 1) to celebrate the end of Ramadan for the Muslim community. The whole month of September is spent fasting, and October 1st is usually announced as a holiday for Muslims to get together to feast and spend time together. That day my family took me to the Nairobi National Park to go on the nature walk. I was surprised when we saw all kinds of animals - rhinos, zebras, leopards, and lions! Each Friday all of us students only had Swahili class in the morning and then we did "urban activities". One Friday we went to Kibera, the biggest slum in Africa, which I right outside the city. There we split into groups and got to visit community development projects that are taking place there. I visited a business called Smolfish which is run by a young man from Kibera. Smolfish produces kikoy cloth products and weaves all the cloth by hand and sells everything to shops in Nairobi. The business helps Kibera by employing people from the slum and giving money back to the community. There are 2 pictures from Smolfish - one of me using the pedal machine to wind yarn, and another with all the workers and my group with our finished products that we got to take home that day. Another Friday we went to the UN delegation in Nairobi and we visited with people from a section of the UN called UN Habitat, which is working with the youth of Nairobi (especially the ones from the slums) to improve employment and education rates and provide them with options for their futures. It was interesting to see the connections between the trip to Kibera and to the UN - both trips worked to show us how change is taking place in the city for the less fortunate.

During the 3 weeks I ate great food - every night was something different. I was given a cooking lesson one night . I learned how to make chapati and ndengu, and I was surprised when she let me do most of the work. I can't wait to cook the meal at home - delicious!

On my last night we got take-out Indian food - my mom said I couldn't leave without having it - Nairobi has amazing Indian!! I gave the family the gifts I had brought for them and also a chocolate cake. When I left after my 3 weeks I promised the boys I would write to them and we would be pen pals - they were so sad to see me leave - very cute. I look forward to keeping in touch with the family.

I have included some pictures from my 3 weeks - enjoy!

Today is Sunday October12 - I got back to the compound on Friday and we all spent the weekend catching up and relaxing - and also writing a big paper that is a culmination of our 2 homestays - rural and urban. Tomorrow, Monday, we leave early for Amboseli, where we will stay for 9 days learning from the Maasai people, who are pastoralists, and going on a few different game drives (safaris!) to see all the animals of Amboseli. Amboseli is known for awesome game viewing and is a beautiful location at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. When we return to the compound next Wednesday - we pack again - and then Thursday we leave (just the students by ourselves) to fly to Mombasa for 4 days to stay on the beach and relax for our midsemester break. Talk to you in a few weeks!!

Week with the Hadza in Tanzania!

Sorry it has been awhile... I just got back late Friday night from a week in Tanzania. It was amazing!! We left at 6am on Friday and drove all day towards a town called Arusha in Tanzania. We crossed the border around lunch time and our driver, Njao, simply told us to take our passports and get off the bus and cross the border. He said he would see us on the other side. We went through immigration and customs - walking from building to building - very different from the US / Canadian border. Every time we came out of a building we were surrounded by hawkers (people trying to sell things / beg for $) and as soon as they see Americans they run to you. After walking across the border as a group we found the bus and Njao and continued on our trip. We stopped for lunch on the side of the road - completely in the middle of nowhere - it looked like the desert. We arrived in Arusha around 2 pm at the Dorobo Safaris base and as soon as we got off the bus we were told to get into the Safari trucks with our bags. Our group had 2 big trucks, German trucks from WW2, and we waved goodbye to Njao and took off with our new guides. The Dorobo Safaris is run by the Peterson Brothers (3 of them). They were born in Tanzania after their parents came from the US in the 1950s as missionaries. They all started the tour company about 20 years ago because they needed to find a job in order to stay in Tanzania. Even though they were born in the country, they still have US passports and can not get a Tanzania passport unless they give up their US ones - and they don't want to do that because then it would be very hard to travel outside the country. The brothers went to college in the US, but loved Tanzania, and now they work together doing many different kinds of Safaris all over the country. Thad, one of the brothers, was our main guide and told us all about the business and their many adventures in Tanzania as we drove from Arusha towards the Yaeda Valley. We stayed the first night in a gorgeous campsite at the base of the mountains that we would cross the next day. Our camp was at the bottom of a waterfall where we saw baboons playing on the rocks at dusk and in the morning. We set up our tents under a huge tree - Thad said you couldn't get closer to the "Cradle of Human Life". Every meal was delicious and the Dorobo team with us was so good to us. The first night we had rice, veggies, a great sauce, salad, and mango crumble. We sat around the fire for awhile after dinner and Thad told us about the rest of our week. We would spend the next day climbing the mountain range in the trucks and then go down into the valley where we would find the Hadza people in their many camps around the area.

Some information on the Hadza: The Hadza or Hadzabe, are an ethnic group in central Tanzania. They live around Lake Eyasi in the central Rift Valley. They now number under 1000. 300-400 of them live in the area we visited. They live as hunter-gatherers and have lived like that for tens of thousands of years. They are the last functioning hunter-gatherers in Africa. They are not closely related to any other people and their language, with many click sounds, does not resemble any other African language.

We reached our 2nd campsite late Saturday afternoon. The ride was amazing though - we crossed the valley and saw beautiful views the entire ride. We also saw many small isolated villages along the road ways. Trucks seldom travel on the roads we were on, so people ran from their homes and fields to wave to us in the trucks. We reached the campsite, nothing special, just an open space in the middle of nowhere where the Dorobo team and our group got to work to make it a site. We set up tents, a big food tent, traveling bathrooms (basically a hole in the ground covered by a little square tent for privacy), and also made fires to cook food on and sit around. Some Hadza were already there to greet us and had set up their own small camp. Dorobo tours have many guidelines that they follow to be respectful of the tribes when they travel. One of them is to not stay too close to the Hadza camp and also to give them space we only visit their camps for a short period of time during the day. Dorobo, before trips, sits down with the Hadza and picks a few representatives from the tribe to stay with us and teach us during our stay. The few Hadza who stayed with us were quiet at first and kept to themselves in their camp, but eventually warmed to us and taught us a lot - even though we couldn't communicate with words, they would act out things to us or have Thad or someone else translate for us. We did so much all week - I can't begin to explain - but I will point out some highlights - we stayed in our first Hadza camp for 2 nights and then traveled for another day to a further site for another 2 nights before traveling 10 hours back to Arusha in the trucks.
Some things we did:
* We went hunting in groups of 5 with 2 Hadza men, we didn't catch anything, but one of our guys, Salami, came back a few times with bloody arrows - he explained by acting it out that he almost got a bird and a wart hog but the arrows only grazed them. Our group came back after 6 hours to camp with Baobab fruit and some other berries, but another group got a few small animals that they cooked over the fire and we ate. I think one was a sort of giant rat - delicious!
* We visited one of the Hadza camps at our first site and they showed us how to make porridge with the fruit from the big Baobab trees and also how to make millet from simple berries found while gathering. At the site I played with one of the little babies and had her walk to me - so cute! The men showed us how to make fire with sticks and they gave us porcupine quills to use in our hair.
* We saw many Baobab trees - the Hadza use them for many things. They eat the fruits that grow on them and they are supposedly very rich in nutrients and very good for you. They also get honey from the trees in the natural bee hives they find. They climb the trees using wooden pegs that they hammer into the trunk. They can get water from the top of the tree - it collects in the basin at the top and they can use the tree as a look-out to look across the valley. They taught us how to climb - it was a little scary. I didn't go to the top because of my ankle, but watching everyone go was fun.
* The Hadza men taught us how to make arrows and then helped with the finishing touches. They put the arrows in the fire to make them easy to bend with their teeth - they need them to be very straight to be able to shoot game. We each made our own arrows and later got to practice shooting - I wasn't very good, but it was fun to watch the young Hadza men hit the targets they set up.
* At our 2nd camp there was an amazing small mountain of rocks you could climb to look out over the valley. We went up there as a group a few times to have lectures and watch the sunrise and sunset. Looking out over the valley one night we saw a huge fire in the distance - Thad explained that the valley has been taken over (somewhat) by another tribe, the Tatoga, because the Hadza never stay in one place - so a lot of their land seems unoccupied - the Hadza don't mind at the moment, but they are trying to make it clear to the Tatoga that the land is still theirs. The Tatoga were burning the dry land to make it better for farming. If you are more interested - look up more information on the Hadza - the Tanzania government is trying to make them become civilized and many investors want to take over the valley for economic gain - the Hadza are trying to fight to keep their land, but it is hard when they are not fairly represented in government. Dorobo is trying to fight for them and helps the Hadza voice their opinions and concerns to the outside world. Dorobo is the only tour company allowed in the valley at this time because they are respected by the Hadza and practice responsible tourism - many other tour groups do not.
* One of the last nights we saw a young goat tied up near the site and we were told it would be killed for dinner. We all watched the goat get slaughtered - the hardest part was hearing it scream as it's neck was sliced open and blood gushed out. The Hadza men were quick with their work and minutes after the goat was killed, we were all handed a cup of the fresh blood to drink - I still can't believe I did it. The Hadza do not eat goat that often, it is expensive, so when they do, the whole goat is consumed, nothing is wasted. After drinking the blood, most of the group left, but myself and 3 other girls stayed to watch the rest of the dissection. We were offered small pieces of the liver to eat - fresh from the body. I tried to swallow it but ended up spitting it up - too bad. I think it was too hard because I was standing there trying to eat the piece while I looked at the rest of the body. Definitely an experience...
* The last night at the Hadza camp, after sitting around the fire for a long time listening to tradition music and dance - Jane, Amelia, and I (tent-mates) decided to take our sleeping bags up to the rock to sleep. We had to walk a bit to get up there - but we assumed we would be safe. People had talked about it that day, and we thought it was a good idea. The stars were amazing and it was nice and cool up there. We had been lying on the rock for awhile and then 2 people from our group ran up and were yelling at us to get off. They said the Hadza men around the fire heard we were up there and said to get off immediately because leopards were known to hang out on that rock at night. Thanks to the Hadza men for saving us that night - we had no idea!
* The week was amazing and I have many pictures, here are a few for now - it takes forever to load them here.

fyi: Click on the photos to make them bigger - enjoy!

Pictures from Rural Home-stay!

Hi - I am back from my rural home-stay and relaxing on the compound today and then we start the rest of our classes tomorrow.

So... We left Nairobi last Thursday for the Rift Valley. Our drive to Kericho was a little more than 5 hours. The roads were bumpy and as we traveled further away from the city I could tell we were traveling away from Kenya's tourist areas. The towns along the side of the road were always busy with people and small shops - and people were surprised to see our bus. Kenyans waved and smiled at us. Children were so excited they waved and would chase the bus as we passed. I have never experienced anything like it! The area we traveled to is very rural and many people, especially children, have never seen white people before - it was a fact that I had to keep reminding myself of.

We stayed at the Kericho Tea Hotel that night in preparation to meet our families the next day. The hotel was a historic estate with huge gardens and a history of British tea families. The massive estates and the fields of tea reminded me of Out of Africa - much evidence of British colonialism. We were briefed on the modern history of the Kipsigis people (our families) and then slept under our mosquito nets for the first time - in Nairobi it had been too cold at night to use them - but in the Rift Valley it was very important to sleep under them because Malaria is prevalent. Friday we woke up early for breakfast at the hotel and then visited a tea plantation where we learned how to pluck (not pick) tea leaves. It is very challenging because you have to pluck only the plants that have 2 leaves and a bud or 3 leaves and a bud. After learning to pluck we drove in our bus to one of the many tea factories where we got a tour and learned about the process of making the final tea product from the original tea leaves. The process is very long - but also simple - a lot of drying, mushing, heating and more drying.

Our program director, Wairmu, came with us for the week, along with her son, Ndurango, and our bus driver, Jnao. Wairmu bought a bunch of tea for us so I will bring some home. I haven't had coffee since I got here a few weeks ago - I have had so much CHAI! We have chai at breakfast and then before dinner at tea time every day. It is good - but we have so so much!

After a great lunch at one of the tea estates we were dropped off like kids on a school bus to our new parents for the week. I could tell everyone was a little nervous - no one knew what to expect. The first person to be dropped off was Laura, and she was met by so many people. Her family was waiting by the side of the road as the bus arrived and they showered her with hugs and small gifts. They were ecstatic and the father jumped on our bus to say hi to the rest of us. I was amazed at how many people were there to greet her. People kept coming down the road that led to the village where she would stay. Most of the drop-offs were similar to this one. It was sad to see everyone go - we all got very close in our first week together.

I was the last to be dropped off because of my ankle. I told Wairmu I could walk with my family from my road drop-off point, but she said she had already arranged for me to be driven in a car to my new home. We met my mother, Betty, in the market place of her village and she came in the car to her home. The roads from the market to her home are not made for cars (no one has them) and it got stuck in the mud right near the house. As we waited in the car to get out of the mud children began to appear along the side of the road. They would not stop staring at me! They climbed up on the fence on the side near the car and sat and giggled and looked at me. At that point I didn't realize that many of them had never seen a white person before - now that I know that I don't blame them for staring. One of my friends said a baby in her host family wouldn't stop crying when he was around her because her skin scared him so much.

When I made it into the house it was of course - tea time - and I sat awkwardly with Betty and my new sister, Patricia (20) as I sipped tea. They were both very quiet and I kept trying to ask questions and looked around the small living room. They speak pretty good English - but I had to speak slowly and think about my thoughts before talking out loud to make sure what I said or asked would make sense to them. Children learn Kipsigis (their mother-tongue) and Swahili when they are young - and then also learn English in primary school. So, many children know 3 languages by the age of 11 or so!

The house was very tidy and small and it got dark but no lights were turned on. Then I was left with Patricia to talk to when Betty went to make dinner. It was easy to talk to Patricia because she was almost my age. She said she was going to leave for Moi University on Sunday and that she was very excited and a little nervous. In Kenya students don't go directly to college after high school. After high school they take an exam like the SATS and then the national education system recommends what the student should specialize in at the university level and which schools to consider applying to. The students do not go to university until 2 years after high school though - this is why Patricia is 20 and only starting this fall. Some students are not able to go to university because they do not do well enough on the exam. Patricia was going to Moi to do literary studies. She is one of few student in her community to go to university and one of only 2 or 3 girls to go. She said that many people look down on her for going to school and think it is improper for a girl to go to university. She said she gets grief for her desire to get an education and be independent - and also for the jeans she wears instead of dresses and skirts all the time. We talked a lot about education, her hobbies and friends, daily life in her home, and also about the post-election violence that kept me from visiting the family in January. Patricia and the rest of the family never told me much about it - but I do know that the Rift Valley was one of the hardest places hit by violence and riots. Patricia said they stayed inside during that time and listened to the radio and prayed. The schools did not open like they were supposed to in January and the family just stayed home and waited for the violence to end.

The older boys in the family, Denis (17), Tony (15) and Geoffrey (26) came in a few hours later and sat in the living room with us. Geoffrey is not Betty's son - he is a relative who came to live with the family and help out after Betty's husband died about 6 years ago. The boys were very quiet after I introduced myself - I think they were nervous. One thing that made me laugh was that they all had cell phones!! They sat and played with them, like any kid in the US would, as we waited for dinner. Almost everyone has a cell phone now in Kenya - you can get them everywhere! You buy the phone and then buy phone cards to enter minutes into your phone. I rarely saw them make or receive calls all week - but they loved to hold their phones and play with the ring tones and games. One of boys finally turned a light on - it was very dim - they don't have electricity, but they have a battery that powers a few light bulbs with solar energy around the house.

Betty brought in dinner around 8pm - she brings every meal into the living room from the kitchen in plastic containers that keep the food warm. We had rice with vegetables and beans and chapati - thin yummy bread that is rolled out of dough and cooked over the fire. One thing that was hard for me was the silence - meals are eaten in almost complete silence. At first I thought it was because I was there and the family was uncomfortable - but after a few meals I realized it is their way of eating. Each person is served, we pray before the meal, and then we eat in silence and enjoy our food. That first night I felt very awkward - I asked a few questions - but then I just followed the rest of the kids and stayed quiet. The meal was very good and after dinner we prayed again and then Betty told me goodnight. I had to go the bathroom and she took me outside with a flashlight to the choo. Although I had tried to prepare myself - I still was surprised. The bathroom is a small outhouse with a hole in the ground - that is it. I slept well that night after setting up my mosquito net in the room I shared with Patricia.

I woke to the rooster outside around 7am - and this remained my alarm clock for the week. When I dressed and ventured out to the living room everyone in the family was sitting ready for breakfast. We had Chai, small "sweet bananas" and white bread sandwiches with butter and marmalade. It was Saturday - so Patricia said we would relax for the day. The 2 younger kids, Holida (13) and Collins (11) arrived home from boarding school around 10am. All the kids in the family were home for 1 more week before classes started in September. I was very unaccustomed to the schedule of the day. The kids sat outside in the tiny yard and listened to the radio (their only connection to the world outside their home) for hours. They had no problem just sitting and listening and talking and not having a plan for the day. I laughed when I realized we were listening to a top 40 countdown show that I listen to at home. I heard many songs that I recognized, and the kids knew them as well. I was able to bond with them over their favorite musicians. The guys liked a lot of rappers that I knew, and Patricia liked many pop artists.

For the week I did and learned so much it is difficult to write it all - it would take forever. But mostly - everyday I would wake to the rooster or the cows, have breakfast, play with the kids (with the soccer ball or other little toys I brought), watch and help Betty in her kitchen (a mud-made fire place where she cooked some amazing meals and spent most of her time), helped pick maize in the shamba (garden) behind the house, went to church on Sunday, met family members who came to visit to help bring Patricia to school, talked to Betty and the kids about lifestyles in the US and Kenya, took baths which consisted of washing myself with soap and a bucket of water, helped peel vegetables and prepare for meals, met some of the children from neighboring homes, practiced my Swahili, rested my ankle, got my cast very muddy, played lots of cards with the kids, and wrote in my journal a lot. I will tell you more with all the pictures I took - in this post I hope to include a few pictures it the Internet cooperates. Betty also has a field of tea plants that she picks to make $, but the week I was there the plants did not need plucking. Betty is a teacher during the school year and she also starts school in September. She teaches at a primary school of 1,000 students and 13 teachers!

I know I haven't even begun to tell you about my week - I am still trying to process a lot of what I learned and experienced. I know this week with stay with me for the rest of my life. My family has very little - they live in a tiny home and get by without many of the luxuries that I take for granted in the US. They are a very loving and happy family and they never seem to be upset or get discouraged. They smiled so much and laughed when I would say things that were awkward or strange to them. The children all get along so well and they look after each other. The kids also are very independent and help out around the home in the many chores (cleaning, washing, cooking) without complaining or even being asked. They are happy with what they have and they were so giving to me throughout the week - they opened their home to me and by the end I felt like a welcomed member of their family. I can't wait to show you all my pictures and tell you more!

Friday each student was brought back to the central meeting point in Kericho where the bus was waiting. Everyone was so excited to see each other! We said goodbye to our families and some of the students had new dresses on that were made by their host families and some girls even had their hair traditionally braided - they looked so different! Betty had given me a kanga (a beautiful patterned cloth that can be worn as a dress or skirt) and a necklace.

We drove from Kericho an hour or so back towards Nairobi. We stopped for lunch at Kambu Campsite, a British farm that has now been turned into a campground for mainly student or volunteer groups passing though the area. We toured the farm after lunch and visited an area of the farm that is now a manufacturing area for wool products. The farm started a company with the women of the community near the farm. The women make wool toys, clothes, blankets, and decorations and then sell them to the farm. The products are distributed world-wide and also are sold in a small store on the farm. We all bought lots of gifts for ourselves and family at home. The profits from the wool products go to the women and help them become independent or contribute to their family income. Many of the women are the wives of the men who work on the farm and in the campground. That night we had dinner and then enjoyed the bar and music that the campground offered. The 2 young boys who live there (their parents own the campground) brought some of us on a night chameleon walk - they found many chameleons in the bushes along the road in the campground. We slept 2 or 3 to a tent and woke up early Saturday morning. Everyone was ready to get back to Nairobi to shower!!!

We drove the rest of the way back to Nairobi and relaxed for the afternoon. After unpacking and showering we went on the bus to a group dinner at a very fancy Italian restaurant rear Nairobi. I could tell it was a very exclusive place because the parking lot was gated and our group had a special reservation. We were the only group there for a long time - and the only other people who came were white. We all get so excited when we see other white people. We all are like "Look look look!" - and then we realize that we look out of place just like them!

After dinner we were dropped off at the Carnivore - Nairobi's hottest restaurant and club! Saturday night is a popular night there and it was a little overwhelming to be out in our group at night for the first time in Nairobi. We had a lot of fun and I was surprised at how safe I felt. It was awkward with my air cast - but I had as much fun as I could. At the end of the night we took taxis back to the compound in groups of 4 or 5. This morning we all slept in late and had our first day of no plans. We all relaxed and got ready for our week of classes starting tomorrow.

Tomorrow I start 2 of my new classes - Medicine and Healing in Kenya and the Modern History of Kenya. I have these 2 classes 3 times a week each and we also have Swahili every morning Monday through Friday. We will have classes for 2 weeks and then we leave for our week long trip to Tanzania. I can't get over the fact that this semester will fly by so quickly. Every few weeks we are on to something new - and we only have a total of 7 weeks of classroom classes spread out in the semester.

I have an appointment for my ankle on Wednesday - hopefully I will hear good news. I am still wearing the boot - I can tell it is getting better - but slowly.

Talk to you later!

Ok laugh now!

So, yes, as you all may have heard I did fracture my ankle yesterday - and to make it a better story I fell as I was getting off our bus in the parking lot (grass field) of the NAIROBI HOSPITAL where we were having a medical orientation. I fell and got right back up and tried to walk it off, but I could tell something was wrong. I sat through the orientation and watched my ankle start to swell and after I asked the program director, Warimu, if I should see someone at the hospital while I was there. I thought they would bandage it up and give me ice or something and tell me to keep it elevated for awhile - because it really didn't hurt that bad - but the Kenyan doctor sent me to get an X-Ray and then after they found out it was a tiny fracture I had it put in a cast. Today I went to an orthopedic surgeon and they took off the cast, put my ankle and leg into a special sock and then into a boot -which I now have to wear for 2 weeks. It is a pain, but it is better than hopping around on crutches which I had to do yesterday. I will have the boot on for 2 weeks and then I will go back to the surgeon for another examination....

I was going to make up a better story of how I hurt myself - but so many of you already know - my effort is worthless.

So other news - tonight we had a group called Ethnic Entertainment Limited come to the compound to prepare us for the dancing and singing we will do in our rural home-stays. I had to sit and watch most of it, but I got some great pictures. They told stories and did songs and dances from tribes from all over Kenya.

Tomorrow we leave for the Buret District where we will meet our rural home-stay parents and siblings and stay with them for a week. The area we are staying in is known for growing tea and I am told we will know we are there when we begin to smell the tea leaves. We will live with the families and participate in all aspects of their daily lives - chores, picking tea, going to school, going to church, playing with the children, going to market, milking cows, caring for the other animals, and much more - it will be interesting with my ankle, but I am trying to make the best of it. At least I didn't fracture it while I was in the rural home-stay -I can't imagine what they would have done with me!

I will be without technology for the next 10 days or so - talk to you after my trip!

Hi!

Sorry it has taken me a few days to get time to get online. I am here at the compound in the student computer room and there is internet access for a handful of computers but it is very very slow, although it is supposedly one of the best internet connections in Nairobi.

So, the few days of traveling were fun but very exhausting - by the last 4 hours of the last flight I felt very sick with a headache and so so tired but was excited to get to Kenya. My flight from Boston to NYC was long because we spent an extra hour on each end on the ground - so I didn't get into NYC until 1 hour before my international flight to London - I ran like crazy after picking up all my luggage (4bags!) and somehow made it to the Virgin Atlantic terminal and was then told that my flight was closed because I was too late. I begged and explained that I was part of a student group and finally they said if I could run fast I might be able to make it. When I made it to the plane everyone was already on and as I walked down the aisles kids from my group - scattered all over the plane - were like "Wow we thought you weren't coming!" It was a long flight but it was fun to see everyone from the group and others that I met for the first time who were from other schools (though I recognized them from Facebook - always an awkward but funny meeting). The flight was delayed in leaving NYC for 4 hours!!! We were supposed to fly out at 6:30 but didn't leave until 10:30 because of thunder storms. I didn't sleep much on the plane because I think I was too excited. In London we took the train out of the airport into
the city to see the sights during out 10 hr layover . From London we made our final flight to Nairobi and everyone was very tired at that point - no sleep for 2 days!

In Nairobi the KSP (Kenya Semester Program) staff met us after we went through customs and were so excited for our arrival. They brought us and our luggage to the bus and we made our first ride from the airport by Nairobi and into Karen to the compound. When we arrived there was a delicious breakfast waiting of Chai, pineapple, yogurt, bread with peanut butter and honey, and cereal. We were not allowed to sleep because they said it would mess up our sleeping patterns, but we all looked like zombies. We had a tour around the compound - so beautiful - and 5 acres - and then we got rooms and moved in. I am in a room with a girl named Laura and we have our own bathroom and shower attached - a very private room in the back of the house - so much nicer than I imagined. In the evening we played basketball and volleyball with the compound staff and their children. Everyone was so nice and eager to spend time with us and the kids were great - they speak English and Swahili and they helped us learn about the ways in which kids our age live in Kenya. Everyone in our group - 17 of us - get along great, everyone seems laid back and a lot of fun - there are only 3 guys but they seem to be fine with the fact and they get along well together.

Sunday - our first full day in Kenya - we were sent out into Nairobi by OURSELVES! We were given some $$ and a map and told to do a list of things in the city in small groups. My group was definitely intimidated, but we were able to find the stop for the City Hoppa (the "safe" bus) after a 15 minute walk from the compound. Getting on the bus we got some stares, but it wasn't as scary as I thought it could have been. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing and they
acknowledged our presence and then went on with their own travels. Two little children behind me did keep touching my shoulder and then ducking down near their mom when I looked around - so cute! My group got off at the wrong stop - but with our map in hand we just walked (20min) to the correct location - The Java House (like Starbucks) - where we got smoothies. We then took the bus into Nairobi and walked around the city before meeting up with the rest of the group at the college where we will be taking classes starting in a few weeks. After a tour around the United Kenya Club (the college), we got back on our bus and went to the National Kenya Museum for an hour - we were able to go off on our own and look at all the exhibits - it was a lot to take in in 1 hour, but I loved the photography rooms - there were many pictures from the national parks which got me excited about our safaris and other traveling we will do. On the way back to the compound we stopped at the Massai Market where we looked at all there was to sell. Our bus driver (who will drive us all around and on our long trips to the field components) told us to leave all of our $ on the bus and that was a very good idea. Everyone was all over us as soon as we got off the bus - "I give you good price!" and "Come see what I have to sell!" Everyone grabbed my hand and was all over me. As we were trying to leave I was walking out with one of the guys from my group, Drew, and he (I found out later) was about to sell me away. A man asked him about me "how old how old" - Drew said I better watch out next time because he might see how much he can get for a girl in our group. I can't wait to go back to the market to buy great jewelry & crafts.

Every meal is great, our cook Andrew is amazing and we have been so lucky - though he says to eat now because we don't know what we will have on our rural home-stays later this week. The compound is so accommodating to all of us and we already feel at home. The compound staff is there for us but they also leave us on our own in the Student Center (where we live) a lot and go to live in their own homes on the compound - we all feel very independent which is nice. We have a big kitchen and dining room and 8 bedrooms and a living room - very spacious and decorated with African paintings and gifts from past KSP classes.

Monday - today - I woke up early to go for a run with 3 other girls - it was definitely an experience - everyone was walking on the roads and we would yell (Jambo - "hello") as we passed them. From 9-12 we went to our first Swahili class about 10 minutes away. It is a facility where many missionaries and other Americans come to learn Swahili. We were broken up into classes of 4 each and our teachers are great - you have no choice but to participate in a class of 4 - for most of the class the teacher taught only in Swahili and would point to us to repeat words and phrases after we realized what they meant by his expressions, pointing, and hand gestures.

This afternoon we ventured into Karen, the town where the compound is located. There we bought stamps, exchanged money, and looked around. Tonight we had our first class discussion on one of the pre-trip books we had to read and it is very evident that this group is full of smart people - everyone had something to say. We mainly discussed the recent political events and also the contrasts in Kenya and Western influence on the country.

As soon as I post this I am heading to a "dress like an American tourist" party that we all decided to have tonight. I can hear people singing pop songs already up in the barn (one of the bedrooms) where we are having the party.

Tomorrow we will have another Swahili class in the morning and then a briefing about health issues that we might encounter during our semester.

Thursday we leave for our rural home-stay and I will be gone for a week or so. I will hopefully post soon after that trip and if the internet cooperates I will include some pictures!

Talk to you all soon!

Devan