While some days have felt an eternity, overall, I am left wondering where has the time gone as the students took their final exams this past week. How have I already been here a term? I got to see the video of the 12 year celebration that we had one of the first weeks I was here, and it was so fun to watch the video because now I know the kids; their names, their personalities, who pals with who, and all that... When we had the celebration, I was still pretty lost. It really is beginning to feel like home here, if a very different feeling of home than I might have on the island, in Seattle, or Spokane... Home nonetheless though.
The exams went well, with the primary school finishing yesterday and the secondary are writing their last exams as I type this. At least my fourth and sixth grade English students all passed. I still need to get a hold of the grade five scores. I monitored the fourth grade exams, and they are a fun class. There are two boys who kept trying, and succeeding, at making me laugh when we all were supposed to be quiet... While they were writing their kiswahili exam, I took it myself(the other teachers had told me I should) and I was happy to hear that I had 33/50 correct, or 66%, which is passing. Anything above 50% is passing...
The kids are pretty excited for the holidays, and I think they will be good. One lovely perk is that morning bell will be like the weekends which means more than an hour later each morning. As I only rolled out of bed when I heard the bell this morning which is still early for the secondary finishing, I am excited for this fact. Apparently all that happens, according to the kids, is kucheza(or to play...). They will of course have some chores too, but they were ready to play as everyone was out yesterday afternoon just having fun... I know the secondary will be happy to be finished today as well.
Personally, I won't be here for all the holidays. I have an MCC East Africa retreat in three weeks, and the week before am taking as one of my vacation weeks and going to the coast with some friends working in Uganda. I am looking forward to both my time here(although I am sure transitioning into the new schedule will take me a few days) and my time away.
Meanwhile, my biggest challenge will be fitting into the new schedule, but I am very good at just hanging out and watching kids play, which at least the younger grades appreciate. Also, the weather is finally consistently nicer. While I doubted it was possible, it does not rain every afternoon/ all afternoon anymore, and I have started having to apply sunscreen on a regular basis.
Finally, I love comments on my blogs and emails... just saying:)
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
A lovely weekend in Nairobi and then being sick...
So not this weekend that just finished but the one before I got to get away to Nairobi for a lovely weekend break...
But first the sick for any alarmists out there... While no fun, all I have is a cold, and this past Saturday I was able to get some antibiotics and cough medicine and am feeling much better. The medicine was all over the counter, and cost 750 shillings, which is a little less than 10 dollars. No big deal. For me, at least, I can part with ten dollars pretty easily, and I feel way better. I was thinking though, what about all the people who ten dollars would be a big deal to? I heard that the builders who come and work on the school make around three dollars a day, which goes farther here than back home perhaps, but still... And the antibiotic is to be taken twice daily after a meal. What about all the people who really only have one meal if that a day? While here at Hope, we are more fortunate than that, many people in the surrounding community are not. So as I take my nasty cough medicine, I can't help but feel very privileged and distressed for how something that should be so basic and simple, health, is neither basic or simple. There are so many disparities around the world, and what for me is no big deal and now I am feeling a lot better, for so many people would be prohibitively expensive... For many people, they wait until things get bad before they seek medical attention, here certainly but also this is true for the uninsured in the States, and so when they finally go in, it is a race against time for the doctors, especially places where the medical facility may be underequipped or understaffed... Some things to ponder the next time you go and get medicine for something as small as a cold... please do not take it for granted...
Nairobi, meanwhile, was lovely even if our time was short. The other volunteer and myself were very much excited to have a little break away, and I was able to restock up on reading material which adds greatly to my daily level of sanity. We got a mtatu from here to Naivasha, the nearest bigger town hub, and then from Naivasha to Nairobi arriving in a slightly drizzly Nairobi around 11. While I had been looking forward to a break from the rain, the overcast was better than the general Nairobi heat this time of year. Especially for our plans, which were pretty minimal but involved a lot of just walking around downtown for the sake of walking around. While I always roughly knew where I was, it was fun to wander and explore. Nairobi is a busy place even on a Saturday afternoon. For lunch we met up with my old Swahili teacher which was fun. We always laugh a lot when we are together. And for lunch, we had fries and milkshakes... being here is making me acquire a taste for junk food.
That afternoon Lynne wanted to do some souveneir shopping, and rather by chance we stumbled across Nairobi's City Market, which is one of the places where those are sold. It reminded me honestly very much of souveneir and craft markets I have visited in South Africa or Ghana. Many of the same things are sold, everyone claims to have made all their wares themselves which is not completely true, and it is all about haggling. Some people try and sweet talk you into their shops while others try the no hassle approach which is a little more enjoyable. Not that the haggling and sweet talking doesn't work either. I ended up buying a scarf from a woman partly because I liked the scarf and partly because I had enjoyed chatting with her. I also had a very funny exchange with one man. I was wearing my brown blazer and several of the vendors commented on it, one wanting to trade one of his wares for it, anther just telling me it looked 'very smart'. A third man, however, told me he liked it and that it looked like something Michelle would wear. 'Obama?' I asked. He agreed, to which I added, "if it looks like anything she might wear, I must look classy.' To which he replied, 'if you want to stay in Kenya, we could make another Obama...' To which I replied, "No thank you, but thank you...' It was quite funny... Another man asked if I lived in Kenya, to which I said yes, to which he said he had thought so, I looked like I did... I am not sure exactly what that means, but I took it as a compliment... At the very least, I don't look lost, and over the years I have learned my way around African market places...
Then, after picking up some bread, cheese, mangoes and an avacodo for our dinner, we headed to the Mennonite Guest House where I stayed when I first arrived and where we had booked rooms. First of all, after living mostly off some form of beans and maize for two months, we had an amazing picnic dinner! Also, at the guest house we ran into some of the other MCC workers, so it was fun to reconnect with them. They were in town because the Guest House has a hymn sing the first Sunday of every month that they make a point of attending, and which I attended the next morning as well as several of the other service workers who were around Nairobi... It was lovely to reconnect with all of them and to get to be part of that larger community. Between the social reconnecting with my teacher and the service workers, a good amount of exploring and getting lost, and restocking up on books, the weekend was exactly what I had needed.
Then, getting back before I was too sick was good too, and while only a cold, I spent most of last week sleeping. Fortunately for me, because the grade eights were taking the KCPE, their national examination to enter high school, the rest of the school was closed, so while I had a creaky door frog voice, I did not have to teach, or miss, any classes. Now, this week is going to be full of review with the primary exams starting on Thursday, or Friday or Monday... starting soon(and if I know the day before it comes I honestly will be pretty impressed...) I hope my students will do well in English, and in all their subjects... and now I ought to be writing lessons, not blog posts...
But first the sick for any alarmists out there... While no fun, all I have is a cold, and this past Saturday I was able to get some antibiotics and cough medicine and am feeling much better. The medicine was all over the counter, and cost 750 shillings, which is a little less than 10 dollars. No big deal. For me, at least, I can part with ten dollars pretty easily, and I feel way better. I was thinking though, what about all the people who ten dollars would be a big deal to? I heard that the builders who come and work on the school make around three dollars a day, which goes farther here than back home perhaps, but still... And the antibiotic is to be taken twice daily after a meal. What about all the people who really only have one meal if that a day? While here at Hope, we are more fortunate than that, many people in the surrounding community are not. So as I take my nasty cough medicine, I can't help but feel very privileged and distressed for how something that should be so basic and simple, health, is neither basic or simple. There are so many disparities around the world, and what for me is no big deal and now I am feeling a lot better, for so many people would be prohibitively expensive... For many people, they wait until things get bad before they seek medical attention, here certainly but also this is true for the uninsured in the States, and so when they finally go in, it is a race against time for the doctors, especially places where the medical facility may be underequipped or understaffed... Some things to ponder the next time you go and get medicine for something as small as a cold... please do not take it for granted...
Nairobi, meanwhile, was lovely even if our time was short. The other volunteer and myself were very much excited to have a little break away, and I was able to restock up on reading material which adds greatly to my daily level of sanity. We got a mtatu from here to Naivasha, the nearest bigger town hub, and then from Naivasha to Nairobi arriving in a slightly drizzly Nairobi around 11. While I had been looking forward to a break from the rain, the overcast was better than the general Nairobi heat this time of year. Especially for our plans, which were pretty minimal but involved a lot of just walking around downtown for the sake of walking around. While I always roughly knew where I was, it was fun to wander and explore. Nairobi is a busy place even on a Saturday afternoon. For lunch we met up with my old Swahili teacher which was fun. We always laugh a lot when we are together. And for lunch, we had fries and milkshakes... being here is making me acquire a taste for junk food.
That afternoon Lynne wanted to do some souveneir shopping, and rather by chance we stumbled across Nairobi's City Market, which is one of the places where those are sold. It reminded me honestly very much of souveneir and craft markets I have visited in South Africa or Ghana. Many of the same things are sold, everyone claims to have made all their wares themselves which is not completely true, and it is all about haggling. Some people try and sweet talk you into their shops while others try the no hassle approach which is a little more enjoyable. Not that the haggling and sweet talking doesn't work either. I ended up buying a scarf from a woman partly because I liked the scarf and partly because I had enjoyed chatting with her. I also had a very funny exchange with one man. I was wearing my brown blazer and several of the vendors commented on it, one wanting to trade one of his wares for it, anther just telling me it looked 'very smart'. A third man, however, told me he liked it and that it looked like something Michelle would wear. 'Obama?' I asked. He agreed, to which I added, "if it looks like anything she might wear, I must look classy.' To which he replied, 'if you want to stay in Kenya, we could make another Obama...' To which I replied, "No thank you, but thank you...' It was quite funny... Another man asked if I lived in Kenya, to which I said yes, to which he said he had thought so, I looked like I did... I am not sure exactly what that means, but I took it as a compliment... At the very least, I don't look lost, and over the years I have learned my way around African market places...
Then, after picking up some bread, cheese, mangoes and an avacodo for our dinner, we headed to the Mennonite Guest House where I stayed when I first arrived and where we had booked rooms. First of all, after living mostly off some form of beans and maize for two months, we had an amazing picnic dinner! Also, at the guest house we ran into some of the other MCC workers, so it was fun to reconnect with them. They were in town because the Guest House has a hymn sing the first Sunday of every month that they make a point of attending, and which I attended the next morning as well as several of the other service workers who were around Nairobi... It was lovely to reconnect with all of them and to get to be part of that larger community. Between the social reconnecting with my teacher and the service workers, a good amount of exploring and getting lost, and restocking up on books, the weekend was exactly what I had needed.
Then, getting back before I was too sick was good too, and while only a cold, I spent most of last week sleeping. Fortunately for me, because the grade eights were taking the KCPE, their national examination to enter high school, the rest of the school was closed, so while I had a creaky door frog voice, I did not have to teach, or miss, any classes. Now, this week is going to be full of review with the primary exams starting on Thursday, or Friday or Monday... starting soon(and if I know the day before it comes I honestly will be pretty impressed...) I hope my students will do well in English, and in all their subjects... and now I ought to be writing lessons, not blog posts...
Friday, November 5, 2010
Telephones, rats, and other reflections on the week....
Greetings from Kenya,
This week has seemed to go by fast, but it has been good. A definite highlight would be after my slightly homesick blog post of last week discovering that Safaricom(my Kenya cell phone provider) had just lowered their rates for calls to the US to 3ksh a minute, and the exchange rate being something like $1 to 80ksh, that is a good deal. So I was able to call home and talk to my family for the first time since being in Kenya. It was pretty glorious... I had had my share of disappointments between realizing the computer I am borrowing would not let me download skype and that the phone card I was looking for was elusive... So yes, being able to talk to home makes one feel much closer, and so homesickness goodbye...
Another highlight of the week was less heartwarming, and has to do with rats. We, in our visitor quarters, had what one would call a rodent problem... They had been here for sometime, but there visits were becoming much more frequent... So we got the cook who is the nicest man to come and set a trap, and the other night we caught a rat(and here we had been thinking they were mice... ignorance was bliss). And it was a big, mean looking one... Like the rat villains in Disney cartoons... And by the next morning it was clear we had more than one rat, as its friends had come in the night to gnaw on it... THankfully, the cook was willing to take away the dead rat and reset the trap... Which sprung that evening, but did not catch anything although I might have at least got the rat some because this morning I go into the sitting room and there is this rat, just chilling on the floor, watching me. What do you do when there is a rat on the floor? Welll, normally probably it would run away, but if it didn't run away? Personally, as he had escaped our trap but we did not want him anymore, I decided the best course of action would be to pick up a table and throw it at the rat... Not perhaps as tidy as a rat trap, but it did the job, and I am hoping the cook will be able to come and take this carcass away too...
Another highlight is yet to come in that tomorrow I will really get to go to Nairobi, and then will come back the next day. In addition to restocking my book supply, I am looking forward to having a little freedom, connecting with a few friends, and being less conspicious(while I will still stand out as a white person, at least I will be the anonymous crazy mzungu, right?)It was a wrangle getting permission, but I think everyone is ok with the plan.
And on the news front, the eighth graders begin their national exams this coming Monday and for the four days they are sitting, we are not allowed to be in the proximity of the dining hall(and so will not have class as the school is adjacent). I will be curious to see how the week enfolds, and think it a little unfortunate as the rest of the students will be taking their exams the week after and probably could have used the prep time. And the holidays are fast approaching, and I will be curious to see how those enfold as well.
Otherwise, this week has been a good business as normal kind of week with classes and my continuing in a more regular schedule with the babies which has been good. It is the moments with the kids that remind me why I am here, and make me so thankful to be. Whether its playing basketball, which I am getting pretty good at, or having the kids sleep on me while we all wait for dinner, or any of so many little things, life here is rich and full and while I may not always be sure where exactly I belong in the mix of it all, that just keeps life interesting.
Anyways, love to everyone back home, and I still love getting emails(and always reply), so if you got this far...
This week has seemed to go by fast, but it has been good. A definite highlight would be after my slightly homesick blog post of last week discovering that Safaricom(my Kenya cell phone provider) had just lowered their rates for calls to the US to 3ksh a minute, and the exchange rate being something like $1 to 80ksh, that is a good deal. So I was able to call home and talk to my family for the first time since being in Kenya. It was pretty glorious... I had had my share of disappointments between realizing the computer I am borrowing would not let me download skype and that the phone card I was looking for was elusive... So yes, being able to talk to home makes one feel much closer, and so homesickness goodbye...
Another highlight of the week was less heartwarming, and has to do with rats. We, in our visitor quarters, had what one would call a rodent problem... They had been here for sometime, but there visits were becoming much more frequent... So we got the cook who is the nicest man to come and set a trap, and the other night we caught a rat(and here we had been thinking they were mice... ignorance was bliss). And it was a big, mean looking one... Like the rat villains in Disney cartoons... And by the next morning it was clear we had more than one rat, as its friends had come in the night to gnaw on it... THankfully, the cook was willing to take away the dead rat and reset the trap... Which sprung that evening, but did not catch anything although I might have at least got the rat some because this morning I go into the sitting room and there is this rat, just chilling on the floor, watching me. What do you do when there is a rat on the floor? Welll, normally probably it would run away, but if it didn't run away? Personally, as he had escaped our trap but we did not want him anymore, I decided the best course of action would be to pick up a table and throw it at the rat... Not perhaps as tidy as a rat trap, but it did the job, and I am hoping the cook will be able to come and take this carcass away too...
Another highlight is yet to come in that tomorrow I will really get to go to Nairobi, and then will come back the next day. In addition to restocking my book supply, I am looking forward to having a little freedom, connecting with a few friends, and being less conspicious(while I will still stand out as a white person, at least I will be the anonymous crazy mzungu, right?)It was a wrangle getting permission, but I think everyone is ok with the plan.
And on the news front, the eighth graders begin their national exams this coming Monday and for the four days they are sitting, we are not allowed to be in the proximity of the dining hall(and so will not have class as the school is adjacent). I will be curious to see how the week enfolds, and think it a little unfortunate as the rest of the students will be taking their exams the week after and probably could have used the prep time. And the holidays are fast approaching, and I will be curious to see how those enfold as well.
Otherwise, this week has been a good business as normal kind of week with classes and my continuing in a more regular schedule with the babies which has been good. It is the moments with the kids that remind me why I am here, and make me so thankful to be. Whether its playing basketball, which I am getting pretty good at, or having the kids sleep on me while we all wait for dinner, or any of so many little things, life here is rich and full and while I may not always be sure where exactly I belong in the mix of it all, that just keeps life interesting.
Anyways, love to everyone back home, and I still love getting emails(and always reply), so if you got this far...
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