So school has started. Almost all of the students are here. Besides the 22 lessons per week, Im teaching KSL at two of the local VCT’s as well as helping out with a mobile VCT on Thursdays. VCT is like planned parenthood but for HIV/Aids. It stands for voluntary counseling and testing. Since some people live way out in the interior, the VCT goes to them. Last Thursday, I had a pretty powerful day. First we had to do a follow up with a family whose children were malnourished. When we get there, they start running away from us. They thought we were the police and we had come to bust them for illegal brewing. Once we got people calmed down, we went out to meet them. I had lost count of the number of children I saw. When I thought I had seen them all, more would just pop out of the wood work..literally. I asked one of the counselors what the story was with this family. He told me because their homes site on an “island” of sorts( surrounded by a swamp and a river), It’s difficult for them to get out into town. They don’t practice birth control r family planning, and with the customers purchasing not only their local brew but a romp in the hay as well, the children are having children. I was shocked when he told me the children were getting no lunch today and he didn’t know if they had eaten in the morning either. The focus for the family is their brewing since that is what brings in the money and not on farming. I saw 2 little girls. One who looked to be about 1yr old, couldn’t walk and was crawling around on the ground. One of the nutritionists who came with us, told me she was 5. Her sister was 7. She had the body of a 4 or 3 yr old. I was speechless. I asked if there was any improvement. The team said no. More children were being born and not enough food was produced. We drove away disappointed.
Our next stop was a tea weighing station to provide testing. Most of the time im usually holding my breath when people test, not wanting them to test positive. We had been out there for a few hours already and everyone so far that day tested negative. As the time continued on, more and more people were coming to get their money from the tea weighers. I saw a man with a basket on his back bringing tea. He got money and started to head home. He was about to round the corner out of sight when he stopped, looked at us and turned around. He walked over to our station and asked to be tested. I went on with what I was doing, untill one of the counselors asked me to get the second HIV test( the one used to determine if the person truly has HIV if the first test shows positive). I handed it to the counselor standing with the man. They had moved to a more private location. He had this look of panic on his face. The test was finished and the counselor left to continue working. The man stood there, hands on his hips, hidden behind the building, away from sight. I watched the emotions spread across his face. Panic, confusion, fright. He continued standing there for a good 10 minutes and then he picked up his basket and headed home. I cant imagine what his walk home was like, the things going on in his mind. I know America has HIV/AIDS but no one I know has it, not even an acquaintance of a friend. We don’t see it that much and so we tend to feel safe. I don’t even know of any couple who gets tested before they have sex. But living in Kenya has become an eye opener. HIV is so prevalent almost every single person knows at least 2 people who have HIV, has died from HIV or has had an acquaintance who has dealt with HIV. This man came to work today, excited to get his money and he left knowing he had HIV. I have never seen the face of someone who has tested positive. I think the way his face looked will be forever ingrained in my memory.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Mount Elgon and Sunflowers
Like I had stated in the pervious post, most of my holiday is spent taking care of Peace Corps business. But I did have a week or two to myself. So, another volunteer and I wanted to travel to parts unknown this holiday and we decided to go camping at Mount Elgon. One of Kenyas National parks, it lies in the north part of western province in between Kenya and Uganda, and is one of Kenyas hidden gems. Now when I say parts unknown, I mean unknown by fellow volunteers. We were the trailblazers this trip and we were going to find our way with the use of guide books since neither one of us had a clue where we were going. Sometimes I find traveling in Kenya an adventure by itself. The epic landscapes you pass by, the people you meet and the simplicity of it makes traveling on an overcrowded matatu, fighting for the local price with the conductor, squeezed between a lecherous 80 yr old man and a mama with a baby who looks dangerously close to barfing all over you worth it. On our way to Mount Elgon, we drove through endless sunflower fields, we assumed for the production of sunflower seed oil since I have never seen a Kenyans garden filled with flowers just for the beauty of them. Enormous, smooth, red boulders rose out of the ground. I wanted to stop the car so badly and climb to the top, just to see what the view would be like.
When we finally reached Kitale, the “base camp” for Mount Elgon, we went in search of a mama who could help us find our way up to the mountain. When I say Mount Elgon is a hidden gem, I mean hidden. It is not very commercialized which is a good thing, leaving the mountain and surrounding communities natural and free of tourists but the downside is transportation to the mountain is difficult to find. The gate to the mountain is some distance away from Kitale which leaves you little choice in transportation methods. Piki Piki(motorcycle) which is a big NO NO in Peace Corps, private car, which can cost you an arm and a leg, or your own 2 feet which should be in good shape to carry you the 2 hour walk to the gate. We chose the 2nd option.
We got to the Mountain, paid our fees and went in search of our camp site. It was a hike even to our camp sites. By the time we got there, we were huffing and puffing. As we rounded the corner and took full view of our site, we were surprised to see a herd of bush buck, large deer like animals. My friend thought they were cows. We were happy to discover that besides the bush bucks, we were completely alone. We set up our tent and went exploring. Our camp site was a large meadow surrounded by thick forests. Luckily we had running water, flush choos, and a fire pit. Exhausted from traveling, we decided to eat dinner ( PB &J and mangos) and go to bed. I remember later that night waking up freezing, moonlight streaming in through the tent and looking up through the tent at a night sky filled with stars. I had never seen that many stars. It was like someone poked holes in the black canvas but didn’t know when to stop.
The nexr day, we went hiking. Now, if you don’t have the money for a guide to take you to the top, there is a route you can take that takes you to 4 different caves. The first cave is where the elephants used to come and lick the walls. I still don’t understand how the elephants got into the cave with the trail being so narrow and rocky. The second cave was by far my favorite although we had to hike straight uphill to get to it. It was one of those moments I wished I had starbursts. But once we arrived at the top, we were stunned with the beauty to behold. The caves mouth was bigger then the first cave and a huge waterfall flowed over the mouth of the cave. My friend and I couldn’t resist and climb over the rocks to get under it. It was refreshing after such a long hike. After taking a bath in the waterfall, it was time to explore the cave. So, we got out bandanas ( for the smell and the bat poop) and our headlamps and went exploring. The second cave was wide and deep, bat poop littered the ground making it slippery, squishy. I eventually got scared and came out. I know 25 and still afraid of the dark. Haha. When we got back to our site, I wanted to cut off my feet. Instead, we pulled our mats out of the tent and took a 2 hour nap. We woke up for a bit, decided to make a campfire and then we went back to sleep. We were whipped. The next morning, we packed up our stuff and headed home. I can’t wait for the next adventure!
When we finally reached Kitale, the “base camp” for Mount Elgon, we went in search of a mama who could help us find our way up to the mountain. When I say Mount Elgon is a hidden gem, I mean hidden. It is not very commercialized which is a good thing, leaving the mountain and surrounding communities natural and free of tourists but the downside is transportation to the mountain is difficult to find. The gate to the mountain is some distance away from Kitale which leaves you little choice in transportation methods. Piki Piki(motorcycle) which is a big NO NO in Peace Corps, private car, which can cost you an arm and a leg, or your own 2 feet which should be in good shape to carry you the 2 hour walk to the gate. We chose the 2nd option.
We got to the Mountain, paid our fees and went in search of our camp site. It was a hike even to our camp sites. By the time we got there, we were huffing and puffing. As we rounded the corner and took full view of our site, we were surprised to see a herd of bush buck, large deer like animals. My friend thought they were cows. We were happy to discover that besides the bush bucks, we were completely alone. We set up our tent and went exploring. Our camp site was a large meadow surrounded by thick forests. Luckily we had running water, flush choos, and a fire pit. Exhausted from traveling, we decided to eat dinner ( PB &J and mangos) and go to bed. I remember later that night waking up freezing, moonlight streaming in through the tent and looking up through the tent at a night sky filled with stars. I had never seen that many stars. It was like someone poked holes in the black canvas but didn’t know when to stop.
The nexr day, we went hiking. Now, if you don’t have the money for a guide to take you to the top, there is a route you can take that takes you to 4 different caves. The first cave is where the elephants used to come and lick the walls. I still don’t understand how the elephants got into the cave with the trail being so narrow and rocky. The second cave was by far my favorite although we had to hike straight uphill to get to it. It was one of those moments I wished I had starbursts. But once we arrived at the top, we were stunned with the beauty to behold. The caves mouth was bigger then the first cave and a huge waterfall flowed over the mouth of the cave. My friend and I couldn’t resist and climb over the rocks to get under it. It was refreshing after such a long hike. After taking a bath in the waterfall, it was time to explore the cave. So, we got out bandanas ( for the smell and the bat poop) and our headlamps and went exploring. The second cave was wide and deep, bat poop littered the ground making it slippery, squishy. I eventually got scared and came out. I know 25 and still afraid of the dark. Haha. When we got back to our site, I wanted to cut off my feet. Instead, we pulled our mats out of the tent and took a 2 hour nap. We woke up for a bit, decided to make a campfire and then we went back to sleep. We were whipped. The next morning, we packed up our stuff and headed home. I can’t wait for the next adventure!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Im Walking on Sunshine!
12-29-2010
* sorry these are out of order
You know on the show Glee, how the kids react when Mrs. Schuester gives the “ vitamin” to the them before they go and do their mash ups? Thats how I feel right now. I can’t stop screaming, jumping off the walls and hugging people. For the last 2 days, I have been feeling down, not looking forward to school, trying to delay it as much as possible. But now it seems, I can’t stop smiling. Today, I got the biggest, most wonderful gift ever! On the KCPE(the national exam all class 8 students must take to decide if they go on to secondary school), for the subject of KSL( Kenyan Sign Language), my students scored a mean of 42, with the highest individual score being a 63. You want to know what the other subject scores were? 23, 28, 21.... That’s right, KSL was # 1!!!!! You want to hear even more good news? Out of 15 students 5 got accepted to Secondary school, 2 of them being girls! I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of my students. This news has just made all the hell I went through with the other teachers this year worth it. I am a teacher and according to the KCPE, a damn good one.
* sorry these are out of order
You know on the show Glee, how the kids react when Mrs. Schuester gives the “ vitamin” to the them before they go and do their mash ups? Thats how I feel right now. I can’t stop screaming, jumping off the walls and hugging people. For the last 2 days, I have been feeling down, not looking forward to school, trying to delay it as much as possible. But now it seems, I can’t stop smiling. Today, I got the biggest, most wonderful gift ever! On the KCPE(the national exam all class 8 students must take to decide if they go on to secondary school), for the subject of KSL( Kenyan Sign Language), my students scored a mean of 42, with the highest individual score being a 63. You want to know what the other subject scores were? 23, 28, 21.... That’s right, KSL was # 1!!!!! You want to hear even more good news? Out of 15 students 5 got accepted to Secondary school, 2 of them being girls! I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of my students. This news has just made all the hell I went through with the other teachers this year worth it. I am a teacher and according to the KCPE, a damn good one.
Happy Birthday Baby Daniella!
1-07-2011
Today, as I walked out of my house, I made a list of everything I could do to keep myself busy during the staff meeting that was going to happen today. Not a fan of them, I made sure I had my phone and a notebook for doodling in my bag. Around 10:30am, I got a call from my friend who works at the hospital. A friend of hers had a sister in law in the maternity ward and she was going into labor. My friend remembered my wish to see a birth and invited me to come watch. I rushed out of the school, I had no problem missing the meeting, and raced to the hospital. Upon arriving, my friend and I went to the labor unit where we found the mama in a room with 2 other mamas all in labor. We learned she was not dilated completely, so we went to my friends office to wait. Every hour, we would go up to check on her and see how she was doing but always the response would be bado ( not yet) so we would go back to my friends office and wait some more. Around 12, my friend had a patient she had to see and so I went to wander around outside. When I was finally allowed back in, my friend told me to go up to check on the mama. As I was rounding the corner to the delivery room, I heard a baby start to cry. As I walked in, they had just delivered the baby, a girl, and had her on the table cleaning her off. I was disappointed I missed the actual birth but glad I was there to be the first one the baby opened her eyes to. I was so surprised when after maybe 10 minutes, the mama got up and walked out into another room, this time the recovery room, where 4 other mamas were resting after giving birth. I congratulated the mama and took my leave, letting her get some rest. Later that day, my friend called me and told me the mama thanked me for my support and that the family decided to name the baby after me, Daniella, the Kenyan way of saying my name since Danielle sounds too similar to Daniel. So now I have a namesake in Kenya. Oh and don’t worry, I still plan on seeing a full birth. Not sure if it will be the best form of birth control, putting me off kids for good or will make me want to have one that much more. We shall see.
Today, as I walked out of my house, I made a list of everything I could do to keep myself busy during the staff meeting that was going to happen today. Not a fan of them, I made sure I had my phone and a notebook for doodling in my bag. Around 10:30am, I got a call from my friend who works at the hospital. A friend of hers had a sister in law in the maternity ward and she was going into labor. My friend remembered my wish to see a birth and invited me to come watch. I rushed out of the school, I had no problem missing the meeting, and raced to the hospital. Upon arriving, my friend and I went to the labor unit where we found the mama in a room with 2 other mamas all in labor. We learned she was not dilated completely, so we went to my friends office to wait. Every hour, we would go up to check on her and see how she was doing but always the response would be bado ( not yet) so we would go back to my friends office and wait some more. Around 12, my friend had a patient she had to see and so I went to wander around outside. When I was finally allowed back in, my friend told me to go up to check on the mama. As I was rounding the corner to the delivery room, I heard a baby start to cry. As I walked in, they had just delivered the baby, a girl, and had her on the table cleaning her off. I was disappointed I missed the actual birth but glad I was there to be the first one the baby opened her eyes to. I was so surprised when after maybe 10 minutes, the mama got up and walked out into another room, this time the recovery room, where 4 other mamas were resting after giving birth. I congratulated the mama and took my leave, letting her get some rest. Later that day, my friend called me and told me the mama thanked me for my support and that the family decided to name the baby after me, Daniella, the Kenyan way of saying my name since Danielle sounds too similar to Daniel. So now I have a namesake in Kenya. Oh and don’t worry, I still plan on seeing a full birth. Not sure if it will be the best form of birth control, putting me off kids for good or will make me want to have one that much more. We shall see.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Where I've been and where Im going.....
Well my holidays now belong to Peace Corps. I have been busy helping with PST( training for the new soon to be volunteers) and my mid service medical( check ups, dentist etc). I have to say even though it took 2 weeks out of my holiday, those 2 weeks really helped me remember why I joined the Peace Corps in the first place. It showed me where I’ve been and where Im going. During PST, I got to hang with the new trainees. It brought back memories of my own PST and how excited I was to soon be teaching in Kenya. They helped me remember that I am a teacher and no matter how sadistic my fellow teachers can be, I will still be a teacher, there to inspire, educate and guide my students. When the week ended, I felt rejuvenated and inspired to tackle my 2nd year here.
After PST, I traveled to Nairobi to complete my medical check ups. While we were there, the group of teachers before us were completing their COS( close of service) It was bittersweet to say the least. As their time here got shorter and shorter, they would talk about their future plans. Some were traveling around the world before heading home, others got jobs in Kenya working with refugees, some were going home to complete school, and a few were extending their service for another year. Listening to their plans, got me excited for my own COS. I love my students and will be sad when I have to say goodbye but I was looking forward to the endless possibilities awaiting me. I was excited to discover what I would do next after my service was complete. Where would I go? What was next for me? I can’t wait to find out!
After PST, I traveled to Nairobi to complete my medical check ups. While we were there, the group of teachers before us were completing their COS( close of service) It was bittersweet to say the least. As their time here got shorter and shorter, they would talk about their future plans. Some were traveling around the world before heading home, others got jobs in Kenya working with refugees, some were going home to complete school, and a few were extending their service for another year. Listening to their plans, got me excited for my own COS. I love my students and will be sad when I have to say goodbye but I was looking forward to the endless possibilities awaiting me. I was excited to discover what I would do next after my service was complete. Where would I go? What was next for me? I can’t wait to find out!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
New Years Resolutions 2011
Go for a walk to someplace new everyday.
Travel to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Lamu, Hells gate, Lake Turkana, Mount Kenya, and a game reserve before the year is up
Stay out of the teacher drama, this one is going to be a hard one.
Set up at least one IGA so the athletic club can be self sufficient by the time I leave.
Get 2 people trained to work at the VCT
Go up and hang with the students at night at least 2x a week
Try to think better of peoples intentions
Travel to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Lamu, Hells gate, Lake Turkana, Mount Kenya, and a game reserve before the year is up
Stay out of the teacher drama, this one is going to be a hard one.
Set up at least one IGA so the athletic club can be self sufficient by the time I leave.
Get 2 people trained to work at the VCT
Go up and hang with the students at night at least 2x a week
Try to think better of peoples intentions
What have I become?
Anyone who has served in the Peace Corps can tell you, you go through many changes. You dress far more conservative than your friends, you pronounce the p in corps as well as your t‘s, you feel awkward in jeans or trousers, and your view of people changes as well. This one is probably the most difficult to accept. Before joining the peace corps, I felt like I was a trusting person. I would talk to random strangers on the streets of San Francisco, and I never felt nervous or distrustful of someone. This week I came to realize this particular trait has changed and Im not sure it’s for the better. I find myself more conscious of people, less trusting of their motives and always assuming they want something from me. I am finding no matter how nice people are when I first meet them, they always have something they want from me. Whether it’s money, a trip to America or my favorite skirt that they admire. Now are all Kenyans like this? I hope not. But Im finding it very hard to find someone who wants to be my friend just to be my friend. This part of the culture has changed me into something Im not sure I like. I’ve stopped looking for the good in people and just started to assume they are just like the others. Since New Years is coming up, Im starting to think about my resolutions. I think changing my view about Kenyans would be a good one to have. Although this won’t stop people from asking me for things, but maybe it will help me to remember not to jump to conclusions when I meet someone. I don’t want to remember my time in Kenya and the people I’ve met as leeches who just want something from me. I want to remember the market mamas and their desire to teach my Swahili, the kids yelling “Mzungu, How are you,” the hospital staff willing to learn KSL and the joy I have teaching my students. That is what I want to remember.
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