It has been 4 weeks at school, 2 weeks at the house and life is beginning to settle in. We do not have much of a social life outside the Army community, but the Army has been very warm and welcoming....tomorrow we will be guests of honor at a welcome tea! We still have the feeling that we are known around town. I was stopped the other day by someone who said he had met me and my daughter (Shanon is 29) and wanted to show me something. Since I was not near our house and I wasn't sure what was of interest, I simply passed. But I become more aware of just how different, unique we are here. People see me carrying groceries and think I should get a boda-boda to carry me home. There is a definite correlation between being white and having money. Children ask for money; the girl I hired (after a hard sell) to do my laundry and clean the house is already into me for Kenya Shillings, but she has done lots of work. I maintain a slight edge on services rendered!
Jobs here are scarce, so I feel fine about trying to spread the wealth. The girls here also seem to have small children, live at home, and are finished with their schooling. Many of the young people we meet through the Army are waiting for additional opportunities to go to school (college level) but are overwhelmed by "fees". The prospect of paying fees is daunting to kids who have not made any money in their lives and have slim prospects before leaving home of making any college money. Kakamega has no industry and the Box Store Nakumatt which is already built has not opened. It will certainly be a Big Deal here and provide jobs, but no one knows when.....it was first supposed to open just before Christmas. Shanon and I laugh that it will open next Christmas....
So when I refer in emails to Kenya time, you get the idea. This is not a rush-rush place...or even a hustle place. Boda-bodas stay patiently on the corner until someone comes along and asks for a ride. At the end of the day, the 'take' may be about 100 shillings...for us, that is $1.30, but things here are cheap and they can get by on that.
With your help, gang, I too get along! Love your notes and news and help keeping me in supplies for school and books to read. If you want to send something (c/o Salvation Army, Mumia Highway Road, P O Box 660, Kakamega Kenya 50100), colorful pictures from magazines are great and easy to send--there is very little paper here (magazines, etc) and the newspaper is tough to read: all Africa news mostly featuring corruption, massive cost overruns, or embezzlement. No, I have not read a word about the Olympics, though not too surprised.....
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Home Sweet Kakamega
We moved last Friday! We bid fond farewell to all our pals at the Guest House Siaya--manager, restaurant staff, reception girls. We vowed to stay in touch and return for a visit and dinner when we get settled.
Our house....and it is a house....is on the Army property, close enough to walk to school. It is a gated property with a 3-story headquarters (large and impressive building about 6 months old), the church, a small building for church activities, another home for local church leaders, and our digs. It is a 20 year old house with a large living room/dining area where we enjoy a new couch and a nice big table for eating. On the property there are lots of activities so we have had lots of people drop by. The Kenyans are ultra-hospitable and even ask when they can come by and visit. So we try to be warm and welcoming. It is also custom to drink lots of tea with milk, so we are stocked. Personally it is not my favorite but we have served it! There are 2 bedrooms each with an over-sized bed and the bath is split: one room for shower and one room for toilet. The kitchen is also good-sized, though no hot water. We must boil all water to drink, so every few days we boil and put water into plastic bottles. We use the boiled water to wash dishes as well....or sometimes we just use bottled water. We have started to outfit our pantry and it is coming along. It is not too far from town (less than a mile?) and if carrying lots of provisions, I hop a boda-boda (the bicycle 'taxi':sit on the back with provisions). Yesterday as I hopped the boda-boda, I heard someone yell: Grandma on a boda-boda! We attract attention as there are almost no other white people. But people are welcoming and I kinda forget we look different. But kids do stare....
So it is nice to be in our own great place. I feel very safe and love to see the cows trek past each evening as they meander home....lots of cows, goats, chickens in the neighborhood, even though we live on the Mumia Highway Road. I know it is time to get up in the morning when I hear the rooster crow and the birds sing.
Life is complex here, as you may have inferred already. But the people are so gracious and with a bit of thought, we figure it out. We are still not online at the house but have access at Army headquarters, so we stay connected...stay tuned!
Our house....and it is a house....is on the Army property, close enough to walk to school. It is a gated property with a 3-story headquarters (large and impressive building about 6 months old), the church, a small building for church activities, another home for local church leaders, and our digs. It is a 20 year old house with a large living room/dining area where we enjoy a new couch and a nice big table for eating. On the property there are lots of activities so we have had lots of people drop by. The Kenyans are ultra-hospitable and even ask when they can come by and visit. So we try to be warm and welcoming. It is also custom to drink lots of tea with milk, so we are stocked. Personally it is not my favorite but we have served it! There are 2 bedrooms each with an over-sized bed and the bath is split: one room for shower and one room for toilet. The kitchen is also good-sized, though no hot water. We must boil all water to drink, so every few days we boil and put water into plastic bottles. We use the boiled water to wash dishes as well....or sometimes we just use bottled water. We have started to outfit our pantry and it is coming along. It is not too far from town (less than a mile?) and if carrying lots of provisions, I hop a boda-boda (the bicycle 'taxi':sit on the back with provisions). Yesterday as I hopped the boda-boda, I heard someone yell: Grandma on a boda-boda! We attract attention as there are almost no other white people. But people are welcoming and I kinda forget we look different. But kids do stare....
So it is nice to be in our own great place. I feel very safe and love to see the cows trek past each evening as they meander home....lots of cows, goats, chickens in the neighborhood, even though we live on the Mumia Highway Road. I know it is time to get up in the morning when I hear the rooster crow and the birds sing.
Life is complex here, as you may have inferred already. But the people are so gracious and with a bit of thought, we figure it out. We are still not online at the house but have access at Army headquarters, so we stay connected...stay tuned!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Kakamega Township Primary School
Primary here is kindergarten through 8th grade, so that accounts for the 900 kids that are on campus. It is a full school house and it has the basics: rooms and shared desks. The staff is short by about a third so the 40 kids per class is really closer to 50+. So yes, a few more hands are in order! There are no books in the hands of students; lesson is written on the board. Paper is supplied by the school in small exercise books. There is a real strictness which keeps the whole place from running amok. There was a certain fascination with my white-ness in the first days....Bery in my class kept trying to rub the color from one of us! I took the Special Ed unit which is only a few students and now that we are at the end of the second week, we are starting to like each other.....I was definitely the substitute teacher at first, but took the room in hand and now I am catching on....but please keep in mind, that the kids in my room have some challenges, not the least of which is an English-speaking teacher! I am getting good at pictures and repetition. The kids wear uniforms, but don't confuse that with they look alike. The uniforms are in various states of disrepair, dirty, fit, buttons/not...feet may be bare or not! Interestingly all girls have short hair and so the best way to tell the girls from the boys is the dress/trousers!
Many have asked what to send and that is a tougher question than you might imagine. In my room, I bought some pencils to have on hand and a big eraser....all gone in moments. There is a search and destroy element that makes it hard to keep anything on hand.My Paul will eat anything, including the wooden alphabet letters......you get the idea. Please keep the thought as I may catch on to perks, but that is a work in progress.
The word on the street is that tomorrow, Friday February 5, is moving day...our house is very nice and spacious so will share details when we arrive!
Many have asked what to send and that is a tougher question than you might imagine. In my room, I bought some pencils to have on hand and a big eraser....all gone in moments. There is a search and destroy element that makes it hard to keep anything on hand.My Paul will eat anything, including the wooden alphabet letters......you get the idea. Please keep the thought as I may catch on to perks, but that is a work in progress.
The word on the street is that tomorrow, Friday February 5, is moving day...our house is very nice and spacious so will share details when we arrive!
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