No matter how bad, there is always the potential to make it better

So, with the week coming to an end, I thought I would give an update. Some of these are posts I wrote earlier but never posted.
Monday - I have been in bit of a funk today. Ok, let’s just say this was not a great way to start off the week. I thought I was in a good mood this morning. I got a new shirt I was going to wear from home and I was on time for assembly. I wish I was late. “Spare the rod, spoil the child” that’s my school’s motto. And this morning they lived up to it. Students here are supposed to wear close toed, leather shoes. However, these shoes are worn out and can cause blisters on their feet. So to give themselves a break, they wear foam flip flops. Well, this is not tolerated in the school. So all the students who are wearing sandals are pulled out of assembly and made to stand in front of the other students. Then the teacher on duty goes through the line asking where their shoes are. If the student can prove he has a sore on his foot, then he is allowed back in line. But if there is no reason for not wearing the appropriate shoes, the teacher on duty grabs the child clothing, lifts it up so the thigh is showing and starts hitting them. Sometimes this is done with a stick, a rubber hose, the wooden part of a paint brush, or anything a teacher finds. They get pretty creative. After beating the children who were not wearing shoes, the teacher on duty sees a child turned around and not paying attention. So what does he do? Spare the rob, spoil the child, he walks over and beats the young child. Let’s just say it was not something I particularly wanted to see first thing in the morning.
Tuesday. Today, my culture finally clashed with Kenya culture and it has left me feeling depressed, defeated and ready to close my eyes and be done with today. Most schools here are started by churches so they have a religious background. I know, perfect place for an atheists. So sex education is not discussed. They only promote abstinence and tell the children condoms are for prostitutes and have holes in them. Well, we had an incident last weekend that called for a “ guidance and counseling” meeting to be with the entire school. So to prepare ourselves, the teachers met first to discuss who was going to talk and what was going to be said. The deputy went around the room asking who was going to talk. No one said anything. For 10 minutes it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Every teacher had an excuse. “ Im sick” , “ Im too new”, “I just want to watch this time“( like they know this wont work and are expecting it to happen again)Then the deputy turns to me and asks me to do it. I said fine since this is what I was trained for. However, just a few hours before, he and I were discussing sex education. He believes that kids can learn about condoms once they graduate. I said that’s fine for the hearing kids but what about the deaf kids? Who out there knows sign language and who will be comfortable enough to show them how to use a condom? He wasn’t seeing my point. So the whole school is expecting me to talk about sex ed since they don’t want to and yet they criticize me about how and what I am teaching. I didn’t see the logic behind it. But no matter how frustrated I was with the administration, I knew I was the only person who was going to talk to these kids. He wanted all of the teachers to walk in together. As he got to the door, NO ONE stood up to follow. Everyone was still seated. I was so frustrated, I got up and followed. If I was going to make any impact with these kids, I had to show a united front with the school.

So the meeting started with the deputy( the head master was not there) telling the kids they were going on the wrong path. They kept saying bad behavior, wrong path and nothing about the real situation that lead us all here. SEX! ( by the way out of 18 teachers total 3 including myself showed up at the meeting). He then started reading the school rules. Not just the one pertaining to this specific situation but ALL 12 including keeping your rooms and clothes nice, cleaning up after yourselves, cleaning the school, and it went on and on. He asked different people to read it which took a bit of time for people to stand up. After the rules were recited, another teacher recited the commandments. I noticed when he was describing one of the commandments he was talking about the body. How if one part is sick then the whole body is sick. He started from the head and worked his way down. Eyes, mouth, neck, stomach,….legs….u notice which he was missing? The teachers here have a hard time saying penis and breasts even though they are also an important part of the body. So after the commandments were finished we had been in this meeting for a good hour and a half. I could see the information going in one ear and out the other. Well it was my turn. This was my first chance talking to them about this and they were all dozing off. So with my loud personality you all know and love, I made the kids stand up and stretch COCONUT. It seemed to work. I continued on with my talk and they seemed to respond. Will my talk prevent them from having sex? Hell no but it was a step in the right direction.

Wednesday - Today was the preliminaries for sports. The whole school went to litein high school where there is a massive field and competed against each other to see who would continue on for the finals. It was a great day to be outside enjoying the sun and playing with the kids. I got so sunburned, now all the kids have something new to laugh at. Usually they laugh at me whenever Im walking to school with sasa following me. It was a long day but a lot of fun.

Thursday - Today was the last day of teaching as well as my site check. My site supervisor comes out to observe My teaching ability as well as to talk with me and my headmaster about how I am doing, if there are any problems etc. And I passed with flying colors. LOL. After he left, I had to finish my classes. It was such a beautiful day and I was so happy my site visit went well, I decided to mix things up. So for the last day of teaching before exams, I chose to move my class outside for a change of scenery. I got the moveable blackboard out and we all sat in the shade while I taught my lesson. Then for the last 4 minutes we played Frisbee. It was a good way to end the school term.

Friday - Start of exams. Luckily I had one exam to give today. My English class 4. I prepared the exam on what I have been teaching them. However, I knew there might be some problems since almost 5 out of 13 have mental disabilities as well as deaf. But I hoped for the best and gave it out. The results of the exam looked something like this…66, 60, 42, 34, 19, 18, 12, 3, 0. This exam was out of 100. I have a lot of work ahead of me next term. After exams were finished, I was on my way home when one of the kids asked about my Frisbee. I decided why not end the day with some fun. So I took off my shoes( the kids always find this funny. Like a muzungu is too fragile to walk around barefoot) and started throwing the Frisbee around. As we were playing kids started trickling out to join the fun. Soon almost the whole school including vocational were outside throwing the Frisbee around. We continued playing till it started to rain. I can’t get over how much fun I have with the kids. I know if the teachers are frustrating me, if I am having a bad day, or if the teachers are just speaking Swahili without including me, I just go find the kids and I know my mood will improve. Have a good weekend everybody!

Do You Pick Your Nose? Move To Kenya!

Some cultural norms I have notice so far…




Picking your nose in public: Remember how much fun it was to pick ur nose when you were a kid? But every time someone got made and reprimanded you? We call it a phase in America, but here in Kenya is normal thing to do even when your 30, 40, 90. This isn’t a inappropriate thing to do here like it is in America. You can actually dig away and after your done? Flick it. They also don’t believe in tissue to blow their nose, instead they just block one nostril and blow. I think after 2 yrs, I might succumb just once…. Not to the blowing your nose without a tissue but picking my nose in public and then flicking it. Now that I think about it, I wonder how often people might have flicked and it has landed on someone else?…..



Picking your teeth after a meal while still at the dinner table. I’m actually starting to like this cultural norm. Instead of waiting till you get home to pluck the annoying piece of food stuck in your tooth, you can just pick up a tooth pick that is already on the table and pick away. It’s almost what is expected after a meal. If you are with guests, you offer them a tooth pick and have a tooth pick party.



Visiting neighbors while they are sick: Ok this is something I might have a hard time dealing with. I just think the person who is sick might want some privacy. I mean I would. Instead, people come knocking almost very 3 hours. What if you have a headache? Would you really want someone knocking very loudly on your door? Maybe it’s just them making sure the person hasn’t died. I remember one time, I was feeling under the weather and I stayed in my house. The next day, I got so many questions about my where abouts. When I told them I wasn’t feeling up to par, I got reprimanded because I hadn’t texted anyone.


And the last one I have noticed and there actually might be a good reason behind this one- The villagers at my site, including the teachers seem adverse to change. I think it is partly due to I am the one promoting change, them feeling like it’s a waste of time due to a corrupt government, and also having traditions that have been the same for centuries. However, I feel like the younger generation is also trying to change this. Once children reach adulthood, a lot of them move to the bigger cities where they attend universities or get a job. It’s the larger cities that have more open ideas and are fighting for change.

Something’s I hope to change within the 2 yrs Im here...

1. Discipline practices. Although canning has been outlawed, the teachers are slow to change their ways. They are adamant it is the ONLY way to discipline the children. If they don’t, the children will run wild. E children are Kenyans, they expect it, so of course we would hate to disappoint them. Granted, I have noticed some of the teachers who don’t practice it, instead they pinch the children, making the children afraid to be touched. In our school we have prefects or head students who take the place of the teacher when the teacher is gone. I notice they carry very large sticks, imitating the teachers. A couple of these students are in my class 8. I have tried to start with them. I have told them I don’t like beating and America doesn’t beat. Im hoping their fascination with America might help.

2. Staff meetings- Since I have already explained how a staff meeting usually plays out, I won’t repeat it now. I have asked one of teachers if the other teachers would be willing to let me try offer a few suggestions to help the staff meetings run more smoothly. I didn’t get a definite answer. I might start with the head master or the deputy had master. Maybe if it came from them and not the new muzungu, it might be received better.

I know some of things might not change and 2 yrs seem so short, but I’m willing to try. I’ll let you know how it goes.

4 hour Staff Meeting

So I am starting to hate Kenyan staff meetings. First of all, they never start on time. We were supposed to have a meeting at 9:30am but it didn’t actually start till 10:30. When the meeting finally starts we open, we say a prayer and then we go over the minutes from last meeting…word for word. When the minutes are finished( this usually takes a good 45 minutes to an hour) we go over announcements. I swear sometimes, it’s just to hear themselves talk. Most of the time, it doesn’t pertain to the teachers. When this is finished, the agenda for the current meeting is read. Not until that is finished do we actually start the meeting. The meeting will usually last 3-4 hours and sometimes longer. Why does it last so long? Because nothing is organized. and chaos ensues. All teachers talk at once and continue interrupting each other so it takes a long time to actually finish a meeting. Also most meetings…ok all meetings happen during class time so classes are put on hold till the meeting is over. I have started to hate going to meetings and have found myself day dreaming to pass the time. I think one of my goals for my school will be to start the meetings on time, initiate a time limit, and try to keep the meeting organized so we don’t have people talking over one another. I have a lot of work to look forward to.

Raining Sweat

I know it’s been awhile. Sorry guys. So update. This past weekend I went into Kisumu for a much needed vacation. Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya. It’s located near Lake Victoria and has the humidity to prove it. I was literally raining sweat the whole 2 days there. Lets just say, even with it’s freezing cold temps, I think I prefer Litein. But it was fun to get away. I left Liten around 7am and took 2 matatus to get to Kisumu but I finally made it around 9:30. After arriving at the matatu station, I was put onto a borda borda. I might be spelling it wrong, But it’s a bicycle with a large cushioned seat on the back of the bicycle. The passenger sits on the cushioned seat and has to try really hard not to fall. Every time the driver would go around a curve, my butt checks would clench from fear. When I got to the hotel, I met up with 5 other volunteers from the surrounding area. We took a tuk tuk ( a covered, three wheeled motorbike sort of thing.) and went to the large super market. Now why did we go to a super market? Because inside this very special super market is a taste of America. They have American peanut butter, American cereals and American candy, among other things. And behind this very special super market is a restaurant that has Pizza, chicken nuggets, milk shakes and real ice cubes. It was a Peace Corp Volunteers heaven. And for my chosen meal in heaven…I ate pizza and it was SO good.…although they didn’t have just plain pepperoni. LOL. I know, pizza in Kenya? True! The bigger cities are pretty westernized in that they have a large selection of food. We never went but I heard they had Chinese.



But don’t worry we didn’t spend our whole time at the super market, we loaded up into a tuk tuk again and went to see a small masaai market where they sell all of the touristy souvenirs. Of course I bought some things but I had to bargain my butt off. They would bring you over to their stall and tell you, since you are their first customer, they will give you a good price….most of the time this is a lie. So you have to be firm and set your own price which should be WAY under. Then you both start to bargain. It’s exhausting but in end, if you were successful, very rewarding. After the market, we took another tuk tuk to the movie theater. It felt so weird sitting in a movie theater in Kenya, but oh so nice. It was like being back home. I even ought popcorn to go along with my movie. The movie was 350 shillings….which is $4. I think it’s impossible to go to a movie for $4 in America. After the movie, we went to a really cute little restaurant called the laughing Buddha and had fresh made pita bread with hummus and afterwards a sizzling brownie. Imagine a brownie on a HOT plate, with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Then to finish it off, the waiter pours a large amount of chocolate sauce all over it. As the chocolate hit’s the plate, it starts to sizzle. I was so eager to eat it, I forgot that it was hot and scorched the roof of my mouth. But it was so worth it. LOL The next morning, we decided to just walk around since we didn’t have time to go out onto the lake to look for hippos( we are saving that for another time)We went to the market and then to the park where we played card games until the street kids go to be too much. Im not sure about the smaller communities but in the larger cities the street kids are known for sniffing glue. It helps suppress their hunger. But they love to harass the muzungus, or anybody who looks like they have money. We finally got rid of them and continued exploring. Mid afternoon, we met up with two other volunteers for lunch. The one thing weird about eating lunch are all th musings. U live out in a community for 2 months where you are the only muzungu around and all of a sudden, you are surrounded by them. I caught myself staring a couple of time. Once lunch was finished…yes it was pizza again with a REAL smoothie, we said our goodbyes.

My trip to Kisumu from Litein was nothing compared to my trip going home. Close your eyes and imagine a 14 seat bus with 19 people cramped inside. Every body part is touching someone else and you have NO personal space what so ever. Now add to it the humidity from the lake. Everyone is sweating, literally dripping sweat. Now you have what my trip back home was like for 3 hours. I finally arrive at 7pm and not having the energy to eat, went to bed. This was my first time traveling around Kenya alone. Even with the cramped matatus, Im excited for my next adventure.

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere

Last night, I got woken up by puppies. 4 of them to be exact. It’s 1 in the morning and I wake up to the sound of puppies crying. I think Im dreaming but it continues and sounds like its right outside my house. I go to open my door and who should stroll in but Sasa and 4 of her 10 puppies. I imagine they must have escaped from their kennel last night so not wanting to throw them out into the cold lion infested Kenyan night, I allow them to stay in my living room. Took about 2 hours before they would stop crying and howling but they eventually went back to sleep. I go back to sleep or least try to sleep. The thought of them covered in bugs left me restless. I kept feeling like I had things crawling on me. Well, I wake up again to the sound of puppies crying, only this time to find my living room a mess. Good thing I wanted new cushions for my couch, they were destroyed. So, since I was up and they were up, I loaded them into a box and took them back to their kennel. Now instead of sleeping in, I get to clean the mess they left before class. I just love puppies.

How many cows are you worth?

So, the teachers and I went on a field trip to see the locations where the new vocational and secondary schools for the deaf will be built. As we were walking around the site for the secondary school, an elderly man came up to us. He kept staring at me and asking the teachers questions. He was speaking the local dialect, so of course I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. He went over and greeted my headmaster. They hugged and did some sort of tribal greeting. Then they turned their attention to me. My counter part, the nun, came up behind me to interpret…or at least tried to with all of the laughing. The man kept pointing at me and then pointing to his land, which was right next to the school’s plot. Everything on that side was his, he said. The cows, trees and land. They had me go shake his hand and then the two started talking againi. My headmaster would stop to interpret a few sentences every now and then. He kept asking me where I was from. My counterpart stood behind me telling me what to say in Swahili. Strangely, it was only the word yes…say ndiyo, say ndiyo. After about15 minutes, I finally was able to escape and get back on the bus. I had to let the teachers have their 10 minutes of all out laughter before I could find out what I kept saying yes to.. Apparently he has 2 sons in America and wanted to know how many cows I was worth so he could marry me to one of them….Im disowning my counterpart.
Well, Im off to bed. Im heading into Kisumu tomorrow morning for an early birthday present. Ok, one of my early birthday presents since the puppy is the other, which I will be getting when I come back. : ) Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya. It has movie theaters, pizza, Chinese and is very westernized. I think I will end up going into culture shock, but this time for it being too westernized. I’ll blog all about it when I come home. Have a good weekend everyone.

Counting to 10

Things Im starting to hate

Cleaning my house. It really makes me appreciate the washing machine, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner and carpet. When I lived in San Francisco, yeah I had to clean house, but I shared the house with roommates so we would all do a section. Now I have to wash dishes, sweep and mop my huge house bending down at the waist, wash clothes in a bucket and try to not notice all of the places I missed when cleaning.



Washing clothes. Now when I feel in the mood, I love washing my clothes. But 98.9% of the rest of the time, I hate it. I really miss my washing machine. I miss putting laundry into a machine and going on with the rest of my day. When I wash clothes, it takes up the whole day and then god forbid if it rains cuz then your 1 day of washing clothes is now turned into 2.



Paying a lot of money for a package from home. Mail comes very irregularly here in Kenya. You never know how long something will take to get to your site. But when it does come, you are on top of the moon. I am always surprised how fast I can run from the school to the post office the minute I heae I have a package. Then all of your excitement gets shot down the minute you hear how much you have to pay for the package and they place the package right next to the teller to taunt you, it helps you get your money out faster with limited questions. You want how much for that package? Sh 970?!?!?!?!



People who just want to touch the muzungu. So there are days where I find this funny and I don’t just let them shake my hand but actually go over and have a conversation with them…or at least to depending on their accents. But there are days where Im tired and all I want to do is finish my shopping, go home and chill. I was in the market today and some mama grabbed my hand( I was talking to another mama at the time) and pulled my hand down so the kids could touch it. Didn’t ask permission, didn’t try to get my attention first, didn’t even let me finish my conversation with the other woman.

Makers of starbursts for making the wrappers out of paper. Its called twist wrappers! You can't get paper cuts if it's twist!

Can you tell it's been one of those days? Believe it or not I have had an good week. We made soap, ate somosas and pineapple, got a new water heater and I have been playing with the puppies. It wasn't untill I went to the damn post office that my good week changed.

But you want to know what I love? My kids. Im in love with my students and I am finding myself hanging with them outside of school a lot more. Because although I am not deaf, Im still different from the rest of the community and these kids know what that feels like. So anytime, I find myself having a bad day, I go on a walk with some of my students and by the end of the walk, I don’t feel like strangling anyone.