Sorry it's been so long since an update. No internet access in Pemba.
Mombasa was very cool. One of the nights part of the group went out dancing. I (and some other people) met up with them later. They said they were at Club Rio and as we walked up it was really loud, looked like a cool place. When we got upstairs and rounded the corner to see the club, it was just a bunch of wazungu dancing together in a circle. It looked so ridiculous I came close to peeing my pants. But eventually I got ahold of myself and joined them looking ridiculous. It was a lovely night of revelry and dancing and boys protecting us from African creepers.
Bus ride to Tanzania then a flight to Pemba. The plane was tiny (13 passengers, I think) and someone got to sit up with the pilot. But honestly, I have had much worse flights in small planes in America. It was really cool and only about 20 minutes, and then we were on an island in the Indian Ocean.
Our hotel, where we stayed one night, was amazing. Great view of the water, quite a big place, good food (real ketchup and GREAT juice). The next day some of us headed to Pemba. Miles and Sam stayed at the hotel, suddenly too sick to do much of anything. I was really worried about Miles, who was the worst, and once we were in Pemba we had no way to get information about the sick people. Two other people ended up leaving the homestay because they were sick.
The homestays were awful, terrible, no good, very bad days. My biggest problem was people laughing at me, no matter what I did, but some of the girls got legitimately harrassed by the men. And we all got proposed to at least four times. There was a lot of sexual harrassment, some physical harrassment and a shit ton (sorry, language) of emotional harrassment. But it was only two days, and we all made it and then had a very long discussion about the problems that had arisen. D Sperling was incredibly apologetic, said this did not happen last time and they were going to fix it. Also, all the sick people are better now. Nobody had to go to the hospital or anything.
We're in Zanzibar now, which is the most touristy place ever. At the moment I am next to some *stupid* British tourists. But at least here we can wear more American clothes and not buibuis and/or khangas. As long as we cover our shoulders and almost our knees, we're good. It's much more comfortable. I also took my hair out of the braids (Thank GOD!) and am happier with that as well.
Five(ish) days in Zanzibar and then back to the Tanzanian mainland for what sounds like an AMAZING time at the coast, snorkeling all day for a week. Hooray biology! Also, after Zanzibar the people who take care of us are some people called the Petersons. I am going to convince them we are related, so Mom and Dad, I need some info on that part of the family. I'm planning to show them we're related and then get a job with them for the rest of my life. Sounds like a very good plan.
We're doing pizza for lunch today!!!!!!!!!
22.9.09
It's f-ing hot here, but at least there's a large body of water
The end of our homestay in Riruta was quite nice. I gave my family gifts and they gave me girfts too, including recipes, which was nice. Saturday all the families came together for lunch. I played with some young adorable cousins, threatened to steal one.
Then it was back to the Methodist Guest House, where I wrote an essay and attempted to buy tickets for my trip to Europe. Only successful part of planning: booking a hostel in Dublin. So I may not be able to get there, but if I do, I've got a place to stay.
Stayed up late Saturday since we had a long (8ish hours) bus ride on Sunday. We saw zebras, giraffes, gazelles and elephants! In real life! Other than that, it was a fairly uneventful bus ride. The road was only bumpy for a little while, so most of the time I was able to read, write, or sleep.
Mombasa is nice. The first night we went to a festival for the breaking of the fast at the end of Ramadhan. It was more a sketchy carnival than a religious experience, but it was very fun. Claire and I rode a swing ride (only got seats because the manager saved some for us--when Claire tried to get her own, a 20-something Muslim woman literally beat her out of the way!)
Also, Mombasa means WATER! So obviously I love it.
Yesterday began with shopping--I don't knwo the word for male Muslim clothing, but the guys bought that. Most of the girls bought buibuis (the Swahili version of a burkah). They are ground length black robes with scarves for your hair. The change in reception was amazing: walking around in American clothes, whatever, students, okay. Walking around in Muslim clothes, so many people told us we looked beautiful and welcome to Mombasa. Some of the girls think needing to wear them is dumb; but if you can so easily make so many people so happy, why wouldn't you? They're not as hot as you would think--or, more correctly, it's so hot here you think you might die regardless of what you wear. I haven't perfected the tying of the scarf yet, but I found a safety pin, so it stays for about an hour before I've moved to much and have to redo it.
Afterward we went to a press conference like event outside the Mayor's office. It was in Swahili so we didn't understand much, but they mentioned us! They recognized Professor Akmed Shake's (obviously not how you spell it, but it's how you pronounce it so whatever) students from America nad the girls got our picture for the newspaper! Well, they claimed it was for the newspaper anyway, and took down where we were from and what we were doing and all. We haven't found it in a paper but it might be in one published weekly, not daily. We'll see. A guy's already been selling calendars with the picture on it. Ridiculous.
This morning we visited the Swahili Institute, where they teach young boys and girls traditional Swahili crafts. Akmed taught us about Swahili poetry, and according to D Sperling, Akmed is currently the best Swahili poet in the world, so that was cool. Later we walked around Fort Jesus and no we have the rest of the day free!
Pemba tomorrow, Zanzibar Sundayish, then 8 days on the mainland coast, then safari! It's amazing how fast everything goes!
Then it was back to the Methodist Guest House, where I wrote an essay and attempted to buy tickets for my trip to Europe. Only successful part of planning: booking a hostel in Dublin. So I may not be able to get there, but if I do, I've got a place to stay.
Stayed up late Saturday since we had a long (8ish hours) bus ride on Sunday. We saw zebras, giraffes, gazelles and elephants! In real life! Other than that, it was a fairly uneventful bus ride. The road was only bumpy for a little while, so most of the time I was able to read, write, or sleep.
Mombasa is nice. The first night we went to a festival for the breaking of the fast at the end of Ramadhan. It was more a sketchy carnival than a religious experience, but it was very fun. Claire and I rode a swing ride (only got seats because the manager saved some for us--when Claire tried to get her own, a 20-something Muslim woman literally beat her out of the way!)
Also, Mombasa means WATER! So obviously I love it.
Yesterday began with shopping--I don't knwo the word for male Muslim clothing, but the guys bought that. Most of the girls bought buibuis (the Swahili version of a burkah). They are ground length black robes with scarves for your hair. The change in reception was amazing: walking around in American clothes, whatever, students, okay. Walking around in Muslim clothes, so many people told us we looked beautiful and welcome to Mombasa. Some of the girls think needing to wear them is dumb; but if you can so easily make so many people so happy, why wouldn't you? They're not as hot as you would think--or, more correctly, it's so hot here you think you might die regardless of what you wear. I haven't perfected the tying of the scarf yet, but I found a safety pin, so it stays for about an hour before I've moved to much and have to redo it.
Afterward we went to a press conference like event outside the Mayor's office. It was in Swahili so we didn't understand much, but they mentioned us! They recognized Professor Akmed Shake's (obviously not how you spell it, but it's how you pronounce it so whatever) students from America nad the girls got our picture for the newspaper! Well, they claimed it was for the newspaper anyway, and took down where we were from and what we were doing and all. We haven't found it in a paper but it might be in one published weekly, not daily. We'll see. A guy's already been selling calendars with the picture on it. Ridiculous.
This morning we visited the Swahili Institute, where they teach young boys and girls traditional Swahili crafts. Akmed taught us about Swahili poetry, and according to D Sperling, Akmed is currently the best Swahili poet in the world, so that was cool. Later we walked around Fort Jesus and no we have the rest of the day free!
Pemba tomorrow, Zanzibar Sundayish, then 8 days on the mainland coast, then safari! It's amazing how fast everything goes!
16.9.09
Observe the Wazungu in their natural habitat
Took a shower (and I use that term loosely) last night. I meant to take one yesterday morning, but was unsure how to ask Yambura (the house help who does not speak well) slash didn't want to make her do more work when she already had to get Steph ready for school. Usually I just use one bucket with water in it and sort of bathe over it, dunking my head in to wash my hair (there's a vision you didn't need, huh?). But this time I had one bucket of water, stood in another bucket, and used a smaller one to pour the water over me. It worked pretty well but took a long time 'cause I didn't want to spill everywhere. I also scrubbed the hell out of my feet (as in, they stung afterward). Wearing sandals every day, especially with feet prone to sweating, in a place this dusty makes my feet get REAL dirty REAL fast. They are mostly clean now though, and I'm already getting quite the tan line. The pedicure I got with my mom the day I left the States held up pretty well for a while, but now is a bit chipped, and all the paint on two toenails just mysteriously disappeared. It looks kinda silly, but I figure I can hardly stand out anymore than I already do as mzungu, so who cares? As such, I may also be getting my hair braided--hopefully not with extensions like two of the girls in my group have already done. One of them pulls it off well, the other, not so much. If I get my hair done and pull it off, I'll try to get pictures up. If I don't pull it off, y'all will never know.
Friday night a relatively large group of us went into Nairobi and had a wonderful time. It took us a while to find the restaurant, so we walked around like complete tourists--worst feeling in the world. Even though anywhere we go peoploe know we're not from there, generally knowing some of the language and where we are going is enough to not feel horribly out of place. There's a difference between tourists and vistors or travelers (though no different words in Swahili, which bothers me). I hate being a tourist.
Buyt once we found the restaurant, the night was great. I had a ham and cheese and pinapple panini and a salad (I never thought I'd miss salad, but boy, do I) & stole some fries from other kids (with REAL ketchup!, not the strangely sweet tomato sauce they usually serve). Plus a Redd's, which is basically carbonated apple juice that is apparently alcoholic, but I'm not sure I believe them. It tastes like a children's drink.
Dinner was good, and afterward Natalie--who has already had a Kenyan proclaim love to her on her way to school--literally got a plate of meat sent to her. After seeing other people taste it and react, I refused to. Alex and I were a little afraid it was sent as a joke to see what the wazungu would do, but it was amusing anyway.
Afterward we went to a bar called Tacos and all swuished into one corner table. It blasted American music, mostly old hiphop songs, which was rather fun. After about half an hour, Lila and Alex saw two men make out and realized there was a conspicuous lack of women around. We were certain it was a gay bar. When Alex asked someone in the bathroom she got a rather offended, "No!", but there sure were a lot of men around. Later we danced--more between tables than on a dance floor--and probably looked completely ridiculous, but had a great time.
To get home, we all piled into one cab, SEVEN in the back and two in the front, but there was too much weight for the tires, so we climbed out. We tried another one, only five in the back this time, with two in the hatchback trunk, but the driver apparently was not licensed to pick up passengers in that area, so we had to get out again. We ended up taking two cabs and etting a bit lost, but the drivers were kind, and the fare had been decided on before getting in the car, so it wasn't a problem.
I enjoyed the night so much because I missed just hanging out with friends. The group is getting close and class is fun, doing homework together is nice, but it was great just to get to ahng out for a night.
I then spent most of the weekend sleeping and doing homework. Went to church, which is interesting and sometimes beautiful, even if I don't understand.
Yesterday we had a field trip! Nairobi Museum of Natural History and then the University of Nairobi. The museum was interesting but small and we had too much time, ended up sitting around. It was awesome to see exhibits on animals that we're going to see in REAL LIFE, though. They also had a scale that you could stand on and it would tell you how much you weighed in terms of which animal shared your weight. No matter how many people we piled on the scale, we never made it to hippo, just to zebra (whihc weighs more than a lion!). While walking around Rachel Y and Alex and I described our Museum of Natural Wazungu that we should make. There would need to be a whole wing on Chacos and sunscreen, of course.
At the University of Nairobi, we met about six students, talked a bit, and then they each took a small group on a tour. It wasn't too interesting, but was nice to talk to the students, who were fun. Our group got ice cream after our tour too, which was of course wonderful.
At the university, med students get a cadaver (six students per cadaver) in the THIRD WEEK! Pretty amazing. I might have to go into medicine after all, since to me, that was by far the coolest part of the school.
We took matatus to and from the field trip; they're privately owned buses, but are more like VW buses with 12 seats in the back. Kenyans tend to pack about 30 people in each, often with doors open and people stanidng on the outside. We fit the normal amount of peple and thus took two. The vans are decked out with stickers and graffiti, mostly about reggae, Bob Marley, and weed. But on ours there was also one that said, "Easy Skanking". Classy.
The matatus also generally blare American music, sometimes with videos. We were dancing and singing most of the time. ON the way back, our matatu stoppped and someone opened the hatchback and put something in. It was a littler nervewracking: the back of the van open and none of us knowing what was happening. Plus somet guys were hassling a few girls in the van. But soon enough they were gotten rid of, the back was closed, and we were on again. Turns out we literally stopped to get a subwoofer put under the backseat. The rest of the ride we freakin' jammed.
Though let me tell you, being a bunch of wazungu in a matatu blasting music while stuck in traffic--it gives you a new appreciation for animals in zoos.
Only a few more days with homestay families, then onto the coast! I am quite excited. Today after school a bunch of us are going to Nakumatt, the grocery store, to buy gifts for our families. Baba and Steph will just get T-shirts or the book of sand dunes that I brought, but I will buy Yambura nail polish or a Swahili-English dictionary, and mama will get a set of pots or something similarly useful.
Maybe one more update from Nairobi/Riruta before TRAVELLING! (I will spell it the British way if I damn well please.)
Friday night a relatively large group of us went into Nairobi and had a wonderful time. It took us a while to find the restaurant, so we walked around like complete tourists--worst feeling in the world. Even though anywhere we go peoploe know we're not from there, generally knowing some of the language and where we are going is enough to not feel horribly out of place. There's a difference between tourists and vistors or travelers (though no different words in Swahili, which bothers me). I hate being a tourist.
Buyt once we found the restaurant, the night was great. I had a ham and cheese and pinapple panini and a salad (I never thought I'd miss salad, but boy, do I) & stole some fries from other kids (with REAL ketchup!, not the strangely sweet tomato sauce they usually serve). Plus a Redd's, which is basically carbonated apple juice that is apparently alcoholic, but I'm not sure I believe them. It tastes like a children's drink.
Dinner was good, and afterward Natalie--who has already had a Kenyan proclaim love to her on her way to school--literally got a plate of meat sent to her. After seeing other people taste it and react, I refused to. Alex and I were a little afraid it was sent as a joke to see what the wazungu would do, but it was amusing anyway.
Afterward we went to a bar called Tacos and all swuished into one corner table. It blasted American music, mostly old hiphop songs, which was rather fun. After about half an hour, Lila and Alex saw two men make out and realized there was a conspicuous lack of women around. We were certain it was a gay bar. When Alex asked someone in the bathroom she got a rather offended, "No!", but there sure were a lot of men around. Later we danced--more between tables than on a dance floor--and probably looked completely ridiculous, but had a great time.
To get home, we all piled into one cab, SEVEN in the back and two in the front, but there was too much weight for the tires, so we climbed out. We tried another one, only five in the back this time, with two in the hatchback trunk, but the driver apparently was not licensed to pick up passengers in that area, so we had to get out again. We ended up taking two cabs and etting a bit lost, but the drivers were kind, and the fare had been decided on before getting in the car, so it wasn't a problem.
I enjoyed the night so much because I missed just hanging out with friends. The group is getting close and class is fun, doing homework together is nice, but it was great just to get to ahng out for a night.
I then spent most of the weekend sleeping and doing homework. Went to church, which is interesting and sometimes beautiful, even if I don't understand.
Yesterday we had a field trip! Nairobi Museum of Natural History and then the University of Nairobi. The museum was interesting but small and we had too much time, ended up sitting around. It was awesome to see exhibits on animals that we're going to see in REAL LIFE, though. They also had a scale that you could stand on and it would tell you how much you weighed in terms of which animal shared your weight. No matter how many people we piled on the scale, we never made it to hippo, just to zebra (whihc weighs more than a lion!). While walking around Rachel Y and Alex and I described our Museum of Natural Wazungu that we should make. There would need to be a whole wing on Chacos and sunscreen, of course.
At the University of Nairobi, we met about six students, talked a bit, and then they each took a small group on a tour. It wasn't too interesting, but was nice to talk to the students, who were fun. Our group got ice cream after our tour too, which was of course wonderful.
At the university, med students get a cadaver (six students per cadaver) in the THIRD WEEK! Pretty amazing. I might have to go into medicine after all, since to me, that was by far the coolest part of the school.
We took matatus to and from the field trip; they're privately owned buses, but are more like VW buses with 12 seats in the back. Kenyans tend to pack about 30 people in each, often with doors open and people stanidng on the outside. We fit the normal amount of peple and thus took two. The vans are decked out with stickers and graffiti, mostly about reggae, Bob Marley, and weed. But on ours there was also one that said, "Easy Skanking". Classy.
The matatus also generally blare American music, sometimes with videos. We were dancing and singing most of the time. ON the way back, our matatu stoppped and someone opened the hatchback and put something in. It was a littler nervewracking: the back of the van open and none of us knowing what was happening. Plus somet guys were hassling a few girls in the van. But soon enough they were gotten rid of, the back was closed, and we were on again. Turns out we literally stopped to get a subwoofer put under the backseat. The rest of the ride we freakin' jammed.
Though let me tell you, being a bunch of wazungu in a matatu blasting music while stuck in traffic--it gives you a new appreciation for animals in zoos.
Only a few more days with homestay families, then onto the coast! I am quite excited. Today after school a bunch of us are going to Nakumatt, the grocery store, to buy gifts for our families. Baba and Steph will just get T-shirts or the book of sand dunes that I brought, but I will buy Yambura nail polish or a Swahili-English dictionary, and mama will get a set of pots or something similarly useful.
Maybe one more update from Nairobi/Riruta before TRAVELLING! (I will spell it the British way if I damn well please.)
11.9.09
Sweaty and dusty and dirty, oh my
Just took my first test in Kiswahili. It went really really well and I don't think I got any wrong, but of course I probably did. I knew how to write everything though, and I fixed some mistakes when I checked my answers, so if I get some wrong it'll just be from working too quickly.
Today is good so far. I called to Eli this morning because I won't have the phone over the weekend & it had been a week since we talked. It was good even though I was sleepy. It's weird to wake up Friday and talk to someone on their Thursday night.
I keep forgetting to write about the animals here. Yesterday walking home from school there was a herd of cows walking down the road. Crazy. There are also goats everywhere, which I love, and stray dongs and cats, which is sad. On the road to school there are a couple of families of ducks and goats with kids and a puppy. Why are baby animals of all kinds so adorable? We go to school at a Kenyan's house, and he has a dog and a couple of cats, but the cats are skittish and might have fleas, so I don't get to cuddle. I just sit by Miles during class for that and he gives me massages. There's pictures of the whole group here: http://legacy.lclark.edu/~clifton/EA09/. I think our professor will continue to update those pages as we go. Perhaps when we are somewhere I can get consistent internet I will try to post some pictures as well.
All the homestays have electricity, but not many have running water. They may have at some point, but there is a huge drought in Kenya so they don't at the moment. My family does have a toilet though, as opposed to many who just have a hole in the ground outside. That was the case at church too, where there was also no TP. I felt appropriately sacriligous using the church bulletin but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
I will probably go into Nairobi with some kids tonight, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow there is sure to be dancing in town, but tonight should be more laid back, which is what I'm looking for. And we will not be opposed to dancing, if the situation should arise. Tomorrow I may also get my hair braided, which will probably take about four hours. I haven't decided yet. I'm pretty sure I'll look ridiculous, but also, when else would I have the chance? And I look pretty ridiculous as a mzungu here anyway--it's not like I could stand out any more than I already do.
One more week of homestay then Saturday we'll head back to the hotel for a night--where I can videochat, Mom. Sunday it is on to Mombasa and the coast. Yay!
Oh and I forgot to say, STEPH KNOWS MY NAME! Well, she calls me "Mare-OHN!", which is close enough. We play all the time. I'm not sure she's actually ticklish but she pretends to be. We play keep away with basically anything. And she loves sitting in my lap while I bounce my legs like she's riding a horse. Every time we finish she yells, "TENA!"--"Again!"
It is very dusty and hot lately. Apparently as we head to the coast and into Tanzania the sun is only supposed to get hotter. But I haven't gotten sunburned yet, which is nice. Hilarious story about my skin turning red though: I was leaning on my hand doing homework, and when I sat up my dad asked what happened to my face. I told him I was just resting my cheek on my hand. He just looks at me and says, "And it turns red?" and freaking cracks up when I nod. So strange that he would have never known that otherwise.
TGIF so I don't have to sit through history any more this week. But obviously a sad day. It's weird not to be in America for September 11.
Today is good so far. I called to Eli this morning because I won't have the phone over the weekend & it had been a week since we talked. It was good even though I was sleepy. It's weird to wake up Friday and talk to someone on their Thursday night.
I keep forgetting to write about the animals here. Yesterday walking home from school there was a herd of cows walking down the road. Crazy. There are also goats everywhere, which I love, and stray dongs and cats, which is sad. On the road to school there are a couple of families of ducks and goats with kids and a puppy. Why are baby animals of all kinds so adorable? We go to school at a Kenyan's house, and he has a dog and a couple of cats, but the cats are skittish and might have fleas, so I don't get to cuddle. I just sit by Miles during class for that and he gives me massages. There's pictures of the whole group here: http://legacy.lclark.edu/~clifton/EA09/. I think our professor will continue to update those pages as we go. Perhaps when we are somewhere I can get consistent internet I will try to post some pictures as well.
All the homestays have electricity, but not many have running water. They may have at some point, but there is a huge drought in Kenya so they don't at the moment. My family does have a toilet though, as opposed to many who just have a hole in the ground outside. That was the case at church too, where there was also no TP. I felt appropriately sacriligous using the church bulletin but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
I will probably go into Nairobi with some kids tonight, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow there is sure to be dancing in town, but tonight should be more laid back, which is what I'm looking for. And we will not be opposed to dancing, if the situation should arise. Tomorrow I may also get my hair braided, which will probably take about four hours. I haven't decided yet. I'm pretty sure I'll look ridiculous, but also, when else would I have the chance? And I look pretty ridiculous as a mzungu here anyway--it's not like I could stand out any more than I already do.
One more week of homestay then Saturday we'll head back to the hotel for a night--where I can videochat, Mom. Sunday it is on to Mombasa and the coast. Yay!
Oh and I forgot to say, STEPH KNOWS MY NAME! Well, she calls me "Mare-OHN!", which is close enough. We play all the time. I'm not sure she's actually ticklish but she pretends to be. We play keep away with basically anything. And she loves sitting in my lap while I bounce my legs like she's riding a horse. Every time we finish she yells, "TENA!"--"Again!"
It is very dusty and hot lately. Apparently as we head to the coast and into Tanzania the sun is only supposed to get hotter. But I haven't gotten sunburned yet, which is nice. Hilarious story about my skin turning red though: I was leaning on my hand doing homework, and when I sat up my dad asked what happened to my face. I told him I was just resting my cheek on my hand. He just looks at me and says, "And it turns red?" and freaking cracks up when I nod. So strange that he would have never known that otherwise.
TGIF so I don't have to sit through history any more this week. But obviously a sad day. It's weird not to be in America for September 11.
8.9.09
Let's type this entire thing for the second time...
HOMESTAY!!! Mama wangu (my mom) is very sweet but I haven't seen her much because she works a lot. Baba wangu (my dad) is also incredibly sweet. He mailed a letter for me and then refused to tell me how much it cost because he didn't want me to pay.
They let me speak Swahili (and mess up sometimes) without laughing at me. Baba wangu said that this group is learning Swahili much better than last group; given that he's only talked to me and Lila, I felt pretty good about this.
Dada wangu (my sister) is Steph, a five or six year-old ADORABLE girl. She can't pronounce/remember my name, but she calls me "Sistah!" and we are best friends. She fell asleep on me in the car the first night and held my hand on the way back frmo church the second day and bought me gum. We sing the numbers song together and play keep away and I tickle her and she follows me everywhere. I adore my family (and my American family. My mom who was so excited about me getting her text message and calling her back even though I was in Africa! :) )
Saturday was spent hanging out with my homestay family and all their friends at a carnival of sorts. Lila is my cousin (her dad and my dad are brothers and we live all of 20 feet from each other) so our families were together all weekend. She and I rode a Kenyan ferris wheel and we rode the boat ride with my little sister. It was a very good time.
Sunday was church but I didn't feel too well so I went outside. All the kids play in the churchyard during the service, so I watched them and made some friends. I still have the problem of wanting to steal all the African children. My sister came out and sat by me a while later. When another girl came up I told her Steph was my sister and she turns to her and goes, "Dada wako ni mzungu!" or "Your sister's a white person!!" It was hilarious.
After church we had basically more church. A group from the congregation came over and did a more personal service in the parking lot-courtyard-space between the complex I live in and Lila's house. It was long, hot, and about the only thing I understood was "Yesu." But it was still interesting.
School has been pretty good. I still love Swahili and can say SO MUCH. I'm not so hot on history though. I don't really like the way David Sperling teaches, een though he's brilliant and knows basically everyone in Kenya (the current prime minister, one of the first provincial commissioners, the Kenyatta family). It's better now that I know we are not having any tests except our "reflections" on our time here, but it actually made me homesick yesterday. "I don't like this class" became "I don't want to be in this class" became "I don't want to be here--I miss my friends and family--I want to go HOME!" It only lasted about forty minutes though, because afterward a big group went to play soccer at a field near the school. I went and watched and did homework and wrote. It was very fun. We played with some adorable Kenyan kids--cheerleading for basketball and chasing them around. Alex (the student leader, who's hilarious) carried one of them around and then pretended they had to carry her. One of them, a LITTLE girl actually gave her a piggy back ride and I got some fantastic pictures. Some kids are actually at the field now, and I'm headed over after I post.
What I was mostly homesick about was the feeling of being with friends. The weekend was reallyfun, but I got neither time alone nor that much time with friends. I need one or the other, it turns out. All of us wazungu are getting along though, which is nice. And, I mean, you can't not have fun with Kenyan kids. A group caught us outside our school and they all yelled, over and over again, "How are YOU?!" and shook all our hands. I would answer in Swahili, which threw them off.
Anyway--this keyboard is atrocious and my computer turned off earlier without saving, so I've spent much too much time writing this. Mom & Eli--turns out if you research phone cards online, there are some especially for US to Africa and it will be way cheaper. Maisha--My family hosted Liz last year, if you know them.
<3 <3 <3
They let me speak Swahili (and mess up sometimes) without laughing at me. Baba wangu said that this group is learning Swahili much better than last group; given that he's only talked to me and Lila, I felt pretty good about this.
Dada wangu (my sister) is Steph, a five or six year-old ADORABLE girl. She can't pronounce/remember my name, but she calls me "Sistah!" and we are best friends. She fell asleep on me in the car the first night and held my hand on the way back frmo church the second day and bought me gum. We sing the numbers song together and play keep away and I tickle her and she follows me everywhere. I adore my family (and my American family. My mom who was so excited about me getting her text message and calling her back even though I was in Africa! :) )
Saturday was spent hanging out with my homestay family and all their friends at a carnival of sorts. Lila is my cousin (her dad and my dad are brothers and we live all of 20 feet from each other) so our families were together all weekend. She and I rode a Kenyan ferris wheel and we rode the boat ride with my little sister. It was a very good time.
Sunday was church but I didn't feel too well so I went outside. All the kids play in the churchyard during the service, so I watched them and made some friends. I still have the problem of wanting to steal all the African children. My sister came out and sat by me a while later. When another girl came up I told her Steph was my sister and she turns to her and goes, "Dada wako ni mzungu!" or "Your sister's a white person!!" It was hilarious.
After church we had basically more church. A group from the congregation came over and did a more personal service in the parking lot-courtyard-space between the complex I live in and Lila's house. It was long, hot, and about the only thing I understood was "Yesu." But it was still interesting.
School has been pretty good. I still love Swahili and can say SO MUCH. I'm not so hot on history though. I don't really like the way David Sperling teaches, een though he's brilliant and knows basically everyone in Kenya (the current prime minister, one of the first provincial commissioners, the Kenyatta family). It's better now that I know we are not having any tests except our "reflections" on our time here, but it actually made me homesick yesterday. "I don't like this class" became "I don't want to be in this class" became "I don't want to be here--I miss my friends and family--I want to go HOME!" It only lasted about forty minutes though, because afterward a big group went to play soccer at a field near the school. I went and watched and did homework and wrote. It was very fun. We played with some adorable Kenyan kids--cheerleading for basketball and chasing them around. Alex (the student leader, who's hilarious) carried one of them around and then pretended they had to carry her. One of them, a LITTLE girl actually gave her a piggy back ride and I got some fantastic pictures. Some kids are actually at the field now, and I'm headed over after I post.
What I was mostly homesick about was the feeling of being with friends. The weekend was reallyfun, but I got neither time alone nor that much time with friends. I need one or the other, it turns out. All of us wazungu are getting along though, which is nice. And, I mean, you can't not have fun with Kenyan kids. A group caught us outside our school and they all yelled, over and over again, "How are YOU?!" and shook all our hands. I would answer in Swahili, which threw them off.
Anyway--this keyboard is atrocious and my computer turned off earlier without saving, so I've spent much too much time writing this. Mom & Eli--turns out if you research phone cards online, there are some especially for US to Africa and it will be way cheaper. Maisha--My family hosted Liz last year, if you know them.
<3 <3 <3
4.9.09
headed to the homestay
I’m almost completely packed for the homestay. We head there around noon. It’s somewhat frustrating because we don’t know much about them—Ken (the professor from LC) said they would have indoor plumbing, while Alex (the student leader) said we wouldn’t have running water. We’ve been told two people might be housed with the same family, and if that happened it would probably be a boy and a girl; however, Alex said that, so we’re not sure if it will happen or if it’s just what happened with her homestay.
It’s not much of a problem—we’ll figure it all out by the end of the day. It’s just nerve-wracking to go into a homestay with so little knowledge.
Thursday Alex, Rachel Y. and I went to a little “kiosk” for lunch. It was really more of a shack—about 8’X10’ with a metal roof and 10-12 people crammed inside into tiny makeshift booths. The food was amazing: beans with cabbage, rice, and chipatti, which is kind of like a tortilla except way better. It was less than a dollar each, and we didn’t even finish all the food.
We went back there yesterday with a big group and basically overran the place. Everyone there was really nice though, helping us with words and getting the cook to bring us dishes to taste. We ordered beans and rice and chipatti again, plus lentils. Absolutely delicious and again, less than a dollar each.
Have I mentioned aerobics? All the girls got up early on Thursday and took an aerobics class at the hotel. We pretty much made fools of ourselves, but it was a lot of fun.
Class has been pretty good—Swahili’s still great, but I’m not so big on the Kenyan history/politics/etc class. The guy who teaches it is absolutely brilliant and has been in Kenya for at least 45 years and knows everyone. It’s kind of insane; he tells stories beginning with, “Well I’m quite close with the current prime minister” and “I had the fortune to be very good friends with one of the first Kenyan provincial commissioners” and “I was told this by a member of the Kenyatta (the first president of Kenya) family.” So he is very interesting and very smart, but he goes off on so many tangents that we don’t really have a basic level of information yet. We don’t have a starting place from which to understand his tangents, which sometimes makes it hard to pay attention.
I still adore Swahili though. It’s amazing how much we’ve learned just in this first week. We’re separated into four groups of only about six people, and then there are four teachers who rotate through the groups. MJ is my favorite—a hilarious and adorable Kenyan man who uses a pointer in class at the most unnecessary moments. But all four of the teachers are very good, helpful, and kind. The thing about Swahili that we’ve learned so far that is the most confusing: they don’t use commas.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that it’s cold here! I’ve worn my fleece every day. But it kind of reminds me of Michigan weather, because even though I needed my fleece yesterday morning, when I got back to the hotel for dinner I was sweating bullets.
I don’t know when I can update next—a few of us went in on internet from the hotel, which I’m using now, but I don’t know what will happen when we go to our homestays. Eventually we’ll find an internet café and I’ll keep you updated.
Ninatamani kukuona! (I miss you!)
It’s not much of a problem—we’ll figure it all out by the end of the day. It’s just nerve-wracking to go into a homestay with so little knowledge.
Thursday Alex, Rachel Y. and I went to a little “kiosk” for lunch. It was really more of a shack—about 8’X10’ with a metal roof and 10-12 people crammed inside into tiny makeshift booths. The food was amazing: beans with cabbage, rice, and chipatti, which is kind of like a tortilla except way better. It was less than a dollar each, and we didn’t even finish all the food.
We went back there yesterday with a big group and basically overran the place. Everyone there was really nice though, helping us with words and getting the cook to bring us dishes to taste. We ordered beans and rice and chipatti again, plus lentils. Absolutely delicious and again, less than a dollar each.
Have I mentioned aerobics? All the girls got up early on Thursday and took an aerobics class at the hotel. We pretty much made fools of ourselves, but it was a lot of fun.
Class has been pretty good—Swahili’s still great, but I’m not so big on the Kenyan history/politics/etc class. The guy who teaches it is absolutely brilliant and has been in Kenya for at least 45 years and knows everyone. It’s kind of insane; he tells stories beginning with, “Well I’m quite close with the current prime minister” and “I had the fortune to be very good friends with one of the first Kenyan provincial commissioners” and “I was told this by a member of the Kenyatta (the first president of Kenya) family.” So he is very interesting and very smart, but he goes off on so many tangents that we don’t really have a basic level of information yet. We don’t have a starting place from which to understand his tangents, which sometimes makes it hard to pay attention.
I still adore Swahili though. It’s amazing how much we’ve learned just in this first week. We’re separated into four groups of only about six people, and then there are four teachers who rotate through the groups. MJ is my favorite—a hilarious and adorable Kenyan man who uses a pointer in class at the most unnecessary moments. But all four of the teachers are very good, helpful, and kind. The thing about Swahili that we’ve learned so far that is the most confusing: they don’t use commas.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that it’s cold here! I’ve worn my fleece every day. But it kind of reminds me of Michigan weather, because even though I needed my fleece yesterday morning, when I got back to the hotel for dinner I was sweating bullets.
I don’t know when I can update next—a few of us went in on internet from the hotel, which I’m using now, but I don’t know what will happen when we go to our homestays. Eventually we’ll find an internet café and I’ll keep you updated.
Ninatamani kukuona! (I miss you!)
2.9.09
Ndiyo tunaweza!
It doesn't really feel like I'm in Africa yet. We are staying at a hotel with a TV in every room and a swimming pool. We don't go to our homestays until Saturday.
That said, everything is kind of amazing here. We started Swahili today--six hours of only Swahili class. It's fairly easy though, especially having taken other languages so I understand conjugation and such. We've learned so much already, and I'm really enjoying it. (The subject of this entry is today's "phrase of the day": Yes, we can.)
The food at the hotel is good; I'm eating tons of pineapple with every meal. All of the girls are worried about the purported 10-15 pounds we're supposed to gain, so we're trying to be healthy. We might be going to a step aerobics class tomorrow before Swahili--at 7 in the morning or something ridiculous.
The group meshes well; I'm sure we'll encounter our problems, but for the time being we're all so excited to be in Africa that we don't notice anything bad about each other.
We're at the hotel most of the day, so again it doesn't really feel like we're in Africa. But when we venture out it is strange to feel so out of place, skin-color wise. Knowing a little Swahili makes that better, because we're not so much the annoying tourists as we are the students trying to learn the culture.
Classes other than Swahili start tomorrow, and Saturday around midday we get placed with families. We don't know anything about them as of yet, but from what I hear from past trip participants, they will speak English.
Got to run, just thought I'd check in to let you know I made it.
That said, everything is kind of amazing here. We started Swahili today--six hours of only Swahili class. It's fairly easy though, especially having taken other languages so I understand conjugation and such. We've learned so much already, and I'm really enjoying it. (The subject of this entry is today's "phrase of the day": Yes, we can.)
The food at the hotel is good; I'm eating tons of pineapple with every meal. All of the girls are worried about the purported 10-15 pounds we're supposed to gain, so we're trying to be healthy. We might be going to a step aerobics class tomorrow before Swahili--at 7 in the morning or something ridiculous.
The group meshes well; I'm sure we'll encounter our problems, but for the time being we're all so excited to be in Africa that we don't notice anything bad about each other.
We're at the hotel most of the day, so again it doesn't really feel like we're in Africa. But when we venture out it is strange to feel so out of place, skin-color wise. Knowing a little Swahili makes that better, because we're not so much the annoying tourists as we are the students trying to learn the culture.
Classes other than Swahili start tomorrow, and Saturday around midday we get placed with families. We don't know anything about them as of yet, but from what I hear from past trip participants, they will speak English.
Got to run, just thought I'd check in to let you know I made it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
