Around Town

Just to keep you in the loop of Kakamega and my life here, I want to share with you some of my most and least profound observations about life and the people here. I hope that you will get more of an insight into how things are....

OSHA does not live anywhere near here! As I rode my first picky-picky ( a motorcycle ), I thought I should invest in a helmet for future rides. Then I jumped off the picky-picky and saw that there was a helmet on the gas tank! Guess it is just for looks or possibly a law requiring it, but very few sport them on top of their heads. Also the sidewalks in town are a piece of work; you cannot walk far without the sidewalk simply dropping off. If you do not pay attention, you could take a flying header! But alas in front of the Provisional Government Offices, there is a flat sidewalk with a curb...it runs about 1 block. I have not yet seen a ramp, except at the Salvation Army headquarters which is 6 months old.

There is a certain redundancy to my way of thinking to putting in lots of speed bumps in the main highway that is so full of potholes.

Business-wise, there is no future for an orthodontist in Kakamega. The people have the most beautiful teeth you have ever seen. There are a few gap-toothed people, but teeth seem to be big, straight, and look whiter than white. Possibly the teeth enhance their eye color, which the kids refer to as Black and White. But the biggest business in town is the hair salon, the kinyozi. There is one about every 50 feet and they do a brisk business. The ladies spend lots of time and energy having fake hair woven in, braided in, or simply plopped on top of one's head. There is no fooling anyone that the hair is fake, but they love to update their coif often. It is in stark contrast to the girls who attend primary school, who come to school with perfectly plain shaved heads. After calling too many girls, boys, I now make no distinction anymore...I am learning to be sure to look for a dress or trousers.

If you want to get into a growth business, you might try shock absorbers. I rode my first couple of matatus (vans of various sizes jammed with people, with one guy who hangs out the sliding door drumming up business) and felt every pothole that stretches between town and home, about 1 mile. The vans are in various states of disrepair; Shanon ripped her pants on a jagged seat edge as she got out of the back seat. The only problem with the shock absorber business is that no one has any money, thus the problem in the first place.....

My most profoundly stupid observation regards recycling. It pains me to throw away the plastic water bottles, though we use many of them over and over for our boiled rain water. But the garbage heap is littered with the bottles and there are no recycle bins. Having observed this, Shanon just looked at me and noted that we have yet to see a dustbin (wastebasket) at a school of 900 kids. Yes trash is not an issue here, and each day I bring home whatever trash turns up in the classroom; it is the least I can do.

Have seen my third person smoking a cigarette.

You will be certainly interested to know that I was in town and observed a rumble at City Hall last week. A night fire in the Kakamega Municipal Market did lots of damage to the very basic market where almost anything is sold. The people hold the city responsible for some bad wiring that may/may not have caused the fire. I briefly thought I better look for a UN truck to evacuate me, but alas the market was open and seems to be still on its feet.

Keeping Up in Kakamega

It had all the trappings of a political event: band, free food, speeches, local dancers, tents, native music, and of course crass commercialism. The coming of the Prime Minister was, in truth, a big kickoff for a local bank. Though the news led me to believe the Prime Minister wanted to work his voter base, he sent a deputy! So a bunch of people marched through Kakamega, more than once, and entered the stadium where everyone was served lunch (it is a modest stadium). There was plenty of cheap talk but it was really a low blow when our fair city filled all the potholes. You might jump to the conclusion that filling potholes was a public works improvement, but it you fill a pothole with dirt, tremendous amounts of dust rise in our now warm and dry metropolis.....so as time passes, the dust just keeps rising, and the rhetoric has long since blown away.

But not to be overlooked locally is the opening of Nakumatt, the Box Store. The promise has been fulfilled (or maybe I am spending too much time listening to the evanYELLicals)! But it was what might be considered a "soft" opening. The doors were open on Thursday March 11, but the shelves were not all stocked. So on my shopping Saturday, I decided to "do" Nakumatt. The mornings are truly the best time of the day as there is a fresh cool breeze and the walking is good. So off I went on the Best Road (paved) and arrived to a very quiet Box Store. I walked every aisle: there was some pricing in evidence but many mystery prices. I found a table to use in the kitchen as we have very little counter space. My first order of business was to negotiate a delivery price. At 200 shillings (just about $2.50....eat your heart out, New Yorkers) I loaded up on food and house stuff and found my way home in the Nakumatt truck. I certainly will return when the shelves are stocked as there appears to be lots of good stuff there. I will not forsake my Yako. The man in charge at Yako gave me free delivery in his own truck when we first moved into the house. Rumor has it Yako has dropped its prices, too, in order to compete with The Box. Loyalty is cheap here...my business is up for grabs......

The Prime Minister is Coming The Prime Minister is Coming!

It is hard to believe that I even know about Prime Minister Raila Odinga coming to Kakamega. But it is news around here for lots of reasons, and not because the elections are imminent: they are in 2012. As background there was tremendous violence and upheaval nation-wide after the election of 2007. It destroyed the tourist trade which is still in 2010 fighting its way back. Tourism is key in Kenya and they are desperate for tourism to return. Following the upheaval, there was a power-sharing agreement reached between the 2 men who claimed victory, and they currently serve as President and Prime Minister. The general consensus is they are doing a lousy job, but alas peace has broken out here and that is very important. The Prime Minister has a voter base in western Kenya so he is stopping by. A 2nd grade girl from Kakamega Township Primary will present flowers to the PM...that is quite a WOW for our little school. The really big news: the Kakamega Salvation Army Corps Band will play in the stadium! Since Shanon is in the band, she will be asked to march musically from Family Bank downtown to the stadium at the north end of Kakamega. We have not ventured to an event at the stadium, so no telling just what that entails, but wanted to fill you in on the local news as it breaks. I will follow up with the reviews of the PM's visit, as the locals see it.....

...and it just keeps raining....

If anyone had told me that it could rain this much or be this cool in equatorial Kenya, I would not have believed! But it has been 10 days of rain that happens on and off day and night, and we are not in the rainy season yet. The temperatures have turned cool, like winter in Los Angeles, probably in the 60s. So the obvious pitfalls mount. I have light-weight jackets and sweaters. The 3 skirts I brought for school are fine; hope nobody is tiring of them besides me....Saturday is a wonderful leisure day and last Saturday I found myself at the tailor getting a skirt made! The fabrics are very pretty so I found a fairly subdued cloth for a flared shirt--thinking a wild pattern on the one mzungu (white person/foreigner) in town might be over the top. So for $12, I should be decked out by Nicholas of Kenya in my new fully-lined skirt for next week.

My shoes are another whole issue: between the dust and the mud, they are taking a beating. I have decided to not destroy every shoe that I brought, so my 2 pair of school shoes are about to crash and burn. But now that the rains have come, my gum boots are the answer. They were $8 at Bata, the shoe store on every corner in Kakamega, and I love them....I got a yell the other day asking me why I was wearing gum boots and it wasn't raining......but here there is no telling when it might rain, so I am happy to just wear them all the time!

The slicker and umbrella are part of the daily baggage in my backpack, but even with the erratic rain, I haven't gotten dumped on yet... I obviously need to carry the gear to keep the monsoons at bay.....

The real upside to the rainy season is the drama. The sky is leaden, and it gets incredibly dark as the rain passes over. It pounds the roof and is truly noisy. The claps of thunder and the flashes of lightening make me stop what I am doing, to look and listen. Often the electricity gets knocked out as well. We run for our flashlights and reading light! But I suspect there is also some electricity rationing going on. Many afternoons there simply is no electricity, but by dinnertime , it magically is back on. Our stove has 3 gas burners so we don't miss too many meals. The only trick I anticipate is not running out of gas.......

One Month Overseas

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.....

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!

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!