I gave one of the Epico Jahns students my camera, and he took this picture.
At the ICODEI farm, toward to sugarcane.
Bungoma Town!
Last weekend, nothing really happened. I wasn't quite feeling completely well, but it was probably the guava I got when I traded half an ear of roasted maize...
Monday, I taught math to standard 4 and standard 6 in the morning and painted the ceiling of the clinic with Tom in the afternoon. He told me the story of the Protestant reformation and we talked about women's rights in Kenya.
Tuesday, I went to a Kalenjin/Nandi village near Eldoret--which was more than an hour away from ICODEI headquarters. Okumu ran a mobile clinic. We were invited to someones home for lunch, and I ate far too much ugali trying to be polite. I had an hour long conversation with a runn who had trained in south America...in Spanish, because he couldn't really speak English that well.
Wednesday, I taught two HIV/AIDS Awareness programs at a schools near Kitale. I have no idea where we were. We got off the paved road onto a decent dirt road, which we got off of and went on a really terrible dirt road, and then took a road that looked like no car had ever passed hat way. The first school was held in a 1930's plantation built by a Brit and abandoned in the 1960's. There were two albino students--there is a much higher rate of albinism in Western Kenya, at least that I've observed, than anywhere else I've ever been. The second school was incredibly charming; the students had such warmth and curious energy. Many hadn't seen a mzungu/white foreigner before. I snapped the large picture at the top when I was showing them my camera. The expressions on their faces tell the story of their thoughts quite pricelessly.
Let me just expand on this 'mzungu'-ness for a minute, because it's a ridiculous experience. Imagine being the only representative to another world, because that's sort of what it feels like. Here we are, looking over the verdant hills together at hand-hewn land of maize and bananas, where no cars growl or internet streams; where cell phones are the only phones. Where school is in a language that you've never met anyone who is a native speaker of. And then there we are, with this funny accent and goofy grins. They circle around, numbering even in the hundreds, and look. Are they real? Let's touch it! So the hands shoot forth and they all want to say hello. But they won't shake always, too scared, and other times you shake their hand and they shriek and run away laughing/weirded-out. Sometimes I'm just really embarrassed--well, most of the time. I don't know what to do, so I try to make conversation. Which is hard with hundreds of people. And you know that some of them are making fun of you, others strangely in awe. Well, I try to be gracious and understanding about it; but sometimes I feel pointless--just a curiosity. I guess the problems are redeemed when I know that this feeling they have about me at least makes them pay rather close attention to the HIV/AIDS awareness presentation that I gave with Mary, the translator.
I tasted black currant Fanta for the first time. It was essentially grape soda, but was good.
Today I can to town early and have been doing e-mails for almost two hours. I'm trying to complete and send in my medical school application, and it's slow going and stressful looking over all of this information. I may have to take a break and come back.
We're leaving tomorrow to go to Jinja,Uganda/rafting on the Nile. I hope I'll be able to post a few good pictures of that!
Monday, I taught math to standard 4 and standard 6 in the morning and painted the ceiling of the clinic with Tom in the afternoon. He told me the story of the Protestant reformation and we talked about women's rights in Kenya.
Tuesday, I went to a Kalenjin/Nandi village near Eldoret--which was more than an hour away from ICODEI headquarters. Okumu ran a mobile clinic. We were invited to someones home for lunch, and I ate far too much ugali trying to be polite. I had an hour long conversation with a runn who had trained in south America...in Spanish, because he couldn't really speak English that well.
Wednesday, I taught two HIV/AIDS Awareness programs at a schools near Kitale. I have no idea where we were. We got off the paved road onto a decent dirt road, which we got off of and went on a really terrible dirt road, and then took a road that looked like no car had ever passed hat way. The first school was held in a 1930's plantation built by a Brit and abandoned in the 1960's. There were two albino students--there is a much higher rate of albinism in Western Kenya, at least that I've observed, than anywhere else I've ever been. The second school was incredibly charming; the students had such warmth and curious energy. Many hadn't seen a mzungu/white foreigner before. I snapped the large picture at the top when I was showing them my camera. The expressions on their faces tell the story of their thoughts quite pricelessly.
Let me just expand on this 'mzungu'-ness for a minute, because it's a ridiculous experience. Imagine being the only representative to another world, because that's sort of what it feels like. Here we are, looking over the verdant hills together at hand-hewn land of maize and bananas, where no cars growl or internet streams; where cell phones are the only phones. Where school is in a language that you've never met anyone who is a native speaker of. And then there we are, with this funny accent and goofy grins. They circle around, numbering even in the hundreds, and look. Are they real? Let's touch it! So the hands shoot forth and they all want to say hello. But they won't shake always, too scared, and other times you shake their hand and they shriek and run away laughing/weirded-out. Sometimes I'm just really embarrassed--well, most of the time. I don't know what to do, so I try to make conversation. Which is hard with hundreds of people. And you know that some of them are making fun of you, others strangely in awe. Well, I try to be gracious and understanding about it; but sometimes I feel pointless--just a curiosity. I guess the problems are redeemed when I know that this feeling they have about me at least makes them pay rather close attention to the HIV/AIDS awareness presentation that I gave with Mary, the translator.
I tasted black currant Fanta for the first time. It was essentially grape soda, but was good.
Today I can to town early and have been doing e-mails for almost two hours. I'm trying to complete and send in my medical school application, and it's slow going and stressful looking over all of this information. I may have to take a break and come back.
We're leaving tomorrow to go to Jinja,Uganda/rafting on the Nile. I hope I'll be able to post a few good pictures of that!
6 comments:
Jeff, how can I get a hold of you?
YAY YOUR PICTURES!
Hi Jeff;
I'm at your house right now where are you?
Keep up the great work!
Burt Saidel
Hello darling! I visited your blog briefly when your aunt and cousins were here, and we all read your thoughts on them leaving and we all got teary-eyed...
I must admit this is the first time I have returned and I read it all! Your time there so far sounds so beautiful and interesting - I can't wait to read and see more!
I miss you and hope you're doing well, and I know you are.
Lots of love,
Stephanie
Jeff, what a worthwhile, enriching experience. I'm awed. Wish I were with you. You win the most exciting trip award! LY, Debby T
Krishna, I posted my phone number. Also, e-mail me!
Joe, I'll put as many pictures online as possible!
Dr. Saidel! I'm in Kenya! It's been amazing s far, and I hope we can have lunch in Cleveland and talk about it one day.
Stephanie, you should pop over for a visit. We'll have to get together when I'm home, and I can show you ALL of the pictures...
Debby--most exciting trip award? I don't know, you have a few that I'm waiting to hear about that seemed quite amazing!! I look forward to telling you all about it...words can only barely capture a tiny bit of what has been going on here.
Thanks for all the comments--I'll try to respond as I can!
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