Culture: I am seriously one of the ten token white people who live in the town of Thika. People always stare at me and say "How are you?" A lot of people want to touch my hair and skin. I swear they think that it is magic or something. You know how a lot of black people in the states use the saying, "it is because I am black." Well, a lot of things happen to me because I am white. Everyone thinks that I am super rich. Everyone thinks I know all about politics. (uhhh no) The kids are beat in class with wood sticks for silly dumb things. Water comes and goes. Man is a lot more important then woman. They burn their garbage, there is no waste system. Everything is slower... no one comes on time. Two highway lanes become 7. There are no speed limits. No one really has cars. Everyone uses public transport.
Free time: I write in my journal. I like to help in the kitchen with dishes, cutting veggies and making ugali. We have to hand wash all our clothes and so that is done in the free time too. A lot of it is just playing with the kids when they are out of class. When they are in class we play card games with Clinton and Stephen in the kitchen. We also take cold showers when we have free time. Make plans for world domination. Just the reg. haha.
What does everyone want to know about me: What the heck is on my teeth. Everyone thinks I have health problems or that they are falling out. haha. Then they found out it is a beautification thing and they are so surprised that someone would speed money on these things. They want to know about what I am studying. Then when I say recreation everyone is so confused. Everyone wants to know about Obama and if I live next to a famous person. We get asked a lot about what is our main food in America. (The main food is masa in Kenya) I have no idea the answer to that question. I just tell them we eat everything and lots of it.
As for Missionary Experiences: I don't really just go out and preach the good word. Haha. I talk a lot about with the other volunteers here in Kenya. They all know I am Mormon and most of them have not met any Mormons in their lives. They just have a lot of questions. As for the Kenyans, I don't think any of them know I am Mormon. I have been to church twice. The second time I went they called me up to bare my testimony. I was the only white person there except the missionary from Utah.
Keep the questions coming. I love you girly.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Don't Read This If You Can't Handle Having Your Heart Broken
For a few weeks now we have been having educator meetings. Since we all teach at least one class a day we get the honor of going to this annoying long meeting.
Once a month we have a workshop for the kids on random topics.
All the teachers said basically in unison:
Sexuality
What the crap?
I just thought that maybe the boys were curious with each other and maybe just played with each other's ding-a-lings and that was that. I mean how bad could this really be?
A week passes and we are informed that they are going to have a retouch workshop on sexuality in March or something. We haven't even had the first and they are planning a second.
What is going on?
The workshop goes on. Allynne and I do not attend because right after the workshop we have to teach first aid. No joke... me teaching first aid. There was a lot of preparing for that.
The first aid goes great. Everything seems peachy until Rhianna tells us about her experience in the sexuality workshop.
Breaks my heart.
Basically, the teachers in the kindest and least awkward way possible had to address the issue of some of the middle age and older boys going into the little boy's bed at night and molesting them.
Wow.
I just kissed those boys goodnight last night and then they went out and molested another child.
That is so nasty.
I would have never guessed. Now I thinking that they need to have a workshop on this everyday, every week, and every month. The teachers really taught the kids well and addressed the problem with good tactics.
It is just kind of one of those things were my mind has been blown. I would have never thought or guessed but now that I know, all the dots are connecting.
I still love it here and I am so thankful I am here.
Friday was just a huge eye opener.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Stories for a Lifetime
I told you I would blog again sometime soon.
Here I am. (but no pictures... sorry)
I am going to write a bunch of stories of my experiences so far. Haha. Brace yourself.
1. We will call this story: Holey. So Allynne and I are getting breakfast ready. I am a little quicker then her. I have my bread all buttered and ready to rock. As much as I dislike eggs I also have them on my plate ready to go. I am about 1/2 through my bread when I notice an ant on my plate. I ask Allynne if she has any ants over there. She looks down and says, "Uh.... yeah!" It took us like negative one second to realize the ants came out of our bread. haha. I did the mature thing and started to dry heave over the squater. Breakfast was over after that. We flushed the rest of it.
2. This past weekend we went to the Giraffe Centre. It was epic. It was just like the section of the petting zoo with the larger animals you can feed but not go into their cages. We feed the giraffes. That is basically all you do there. If you put a pelt in between your lips then they go in for a kiss. Lets just say that the giraffe didn't kiss me at all. He just tongued me. It was an experience. haha.
3. I am in love with these boys. I think that is obvious. So, lately we have decided to go into the dorms when they are headed to bed. We tuck them ALL in and kiss them on the forehead. It is the cutest thing. They LOVE it. I just want to squeeze them all. We wish them good night in Swahili after reading them a book or two. Tonight we asked the older teenage boys if they also wanted kisses. They totally looked away and said "....Yes." Haha. We leave without kissing them but then return like 20 minutes later for a sneak attack. They loved it. I love these kids. I love them all. Every single one of them. I just want to embrace them at night and tell them that it is okay. They are so full of love.
4. Allynne and I teach a class everyday. It is only for like 45 minutes but it is their favorite 45 minutes of the week. The first week we broke out the parachutes and they went crazy. They LOVED it. I swear, it was one of the best things that has ever happened to their lives. Last week we played the game where you have to guess who you are. Everyone has a label. We wrote out common animals all the kids would know. We wrote the animal names in Swahili. Once that game was over we took them outside for a game of missionary tag. I have never seen kids so excited about it. This week we are doing musical chairs and red light/green light. The kids are taking to those games like flies on poop.
5. The staff here are so friendly. We love all 25 of them and they love us. One day one of the younger staff named David was talking to Allynne and I. He is one of those guys who can speak for hours. So we thought the conversation was over but it was just the beginning of an adventure. He asked us if we wanted to go to a broken water pipe. Allynne and I gave each other the look of "heck no" but he really wanted to go. Both of us thought it was just going to be a simple 5 minute walk. 5 minutes came and left. Soon we were off the Rescue Centre property and in sugar cane and banana plantations. We trudged through those for a while and reached a river. Of course at the river they make illegal beer. Basically, David took us to this river so he could give us a tour of the place where they make illegal beer. I have never smelt something so bad in my life. He showed us all the steps and everything. It was so nasty. I would like you to know that I had to pee when we left. I seriously cut the tour of the beer short. haha. The walk home took 10 years. I swear. David had to stop every ten minutes and tell us some random fact about something or show us something. I needed to pee. I wasn't very open to listening to him. Once I knew where I was, I took the front of the line and power walked. Allynne was so thankful. After our fake walk to the water pipe, the outfit I was wearing was covered in black jacks. They are these really annoying plant things that stick to everything. David was insistent on helping me take all 500 out of my dress but somehow I escaped him. Thank heavens. I made it to the bathroom and then realized I need to start avoiding David like the KKK.
6. I went clubbing here in Kenya. The rumors are true. I honestly hated it. I don't think I ever want to do that again. I cannot handle people who are totally wasted. I just get really frustrated and a lot of respect for them are lost. I am glad I had the experience. I know now.
7. The boys here love soap operas. Who would have ever guessed? Haha. So every night they would watch "In the Name of Love." It is a Mexican soap that is translated in English. I try to get into it because everyone here loves it so much. I am not even kidding. (some of the staff have the theme song as their ring tone) I honestly hate it but I love that all the boys are so into it. They stopped watching it because they want the boys to get more sleep at night. Maybe one day they will start watching it again. I know that they are missing it.
8. Allynne and I fell in love with this set of 14 older boys. To our dismay 12 of them left for school on the same day. Allynne and I seriously went into depression for a few days. I do not know how we pulled this off but we got to take them to school. We crammed the 12 boys, 2 staff, 3 volunteers and one extra boy all into one van with all the 12 boy's stuff. It was epic and then made the 20 minute drive down the road to Copeland. Once we were there we moved the boys in and got a tour. It is a vocational school and they will be learning computer, woodworking, and metal skills. This is their last year there. After that they are just on their own. So, these 12 older boys are my best friends here. It is time for us to say goodbye. The boys are just standing there and Allynne and I are just standing there trying not to cry and we just separate. No hugs. No nothing. It was so depressing. Luckily, the manger was in a good mood and took us on an adventure to 14 falls. It is this wicked place that the waterfall is broken up 14 times and so there are 14 falls instead of just one. It is so pretty. You would have never guessed that was in Africa.
9. Allynne and I are water fight masters. It is always so random how it happens. The first time we kicked the kid's trash. We won hands down. To end the fight we came into our room and said it was over but secretly filled up buckets. The kids were waiting for us to come out of the room outside our door. What do we do? We take the full buckets, open the door quickly and drown them all in water. The next water fight one of the special case kids got a bucket and soaked Allynne and I. The kids killed us that time. Allynne and I are ready for the next round. (water guns and squirt bottles) It is going to be beyond epic.
10. One night the PE teacher, Tomo, broke out all this new football (soccer) equipment. The kids got sponsored by Sony or something. They set up this soccer field in the savanna in the back. All the kids are decked out in football jerseys and they are playing a game in this make swift field. The sun is setting. There is red dirt getting kicked up everywhere. I swear I am on a movie set. It was so amazing. I just felt like a giraffe or zebra was going to pop up in the background. I know I use this word all the time but they only way to describe it is EPIC. There is no words to describe how incredible it was. It was one of those moments when it did not feel like real life.
11. To end this blog, I am going to tell you something funny. Somehow I just scream American. I live with 2 other white people but from Canada. I don't know how everyone here in Kenya knows that I am American and they are not. Anyways... Everyone hear LOVES Obama. (obsessed with him to say the least) Here I am. I don't pay attention to politics at all. Everyone asks me all sorts of questions about him. I know nothing. My favorite is the beggers on the street. "Obama is my cousin! Please, money." I say no, of course. Then in my head I think, if Obama is your cousin why don't you call him and ask him to help a brother out. You know?! Hahaha.
I love Kenya. Everyday is the new best day of my life. I am so glad I am here.
Here I am. (but no pictures... sorry)
I am going to write a bunch of stories of my experiences so far. Haha. Brace yourself.
1. We will call this story: Holey. So Allynne and I are getting breakfast ready. I am a little quicker then her. I have my bread all buttered and ready to rock. As much as I dislike eggs I also have them on my plate ready to go. I am about 1/2 through my bread when I notice an ant on my plate. I ask Allynne if she has any ants over there. She looks down and says, "Uh.... yeah!" It took us like negative one second to realize the ants came out of our bread. haha. I did the mature thing and started to dry heave over the squater. Breakfast was over after that. We flushed the rest of it.
2. This past weekend we went to the Giraffe Centre. It was epic. It was just like the section of the petting zoo with the larger animals you can feed but not go into their cages. We feed the giraffes. That is basically all you do there. If you put a pelt in between your lips then they go in for a kiss. Lets just say that the giraffe didn't kiss me at all. He just tongued me. It was an experience. haha.
3. I am in love with these boys. I think that is obvious. So, lately we have decided to go into the dorms when they are headed to bed. We tuck them ALL in and kiss them on the forehead. It is the cutest thing. They LOVE it. I just want to squeeze them all. We wish them good night in Swahili after reading them a book or two. Tonight we asked the older teenage boys if they also wanted kisses. They totally looked away and said "....Yes." Haha. We leave without kissing them but then return like 20 minutes later for a sneak attack. They loved it. I love these kids. I love them all. Every single one of them. I just want to embrace them at night and tell them that it is okay. They are so full of love.
4. Allynne and I teach a class everyday. It is only for like 45 minutes but it is their favorite 45 minutes of the week. The first week we broke out the parachutes and they went crazy. They LOVED it. I swear, it was one of the best things that has ever happened to their lives. Last week we played the game where you have to guess who you are. Everyone has a label. We wrote out common animals all the kids would know. We wrote the animal names in Swahili. Once that game was over we took them outside for a game of missionary tag. I have never seen kids so excited about it. This week we are doing musical chairs and red light/green light. The kids are taking to those games like flies on poop.
5. The staff here are so friendly. We love all 25 of them and they love us. One day one of the younger staff named David was talking to Allynne and I. He is one of those guys who can speak for hours. So we thought the conversation was over but it was just the beginning of an adventure. He asked us if we wanted to go to a broken water pipe. Allynne and I gave each other the look of "heck no" but he really wanted to go. Both of us thought it was just going to be a simple 5 minute walk. 5 minutes came and left. Soon we were off the Rescue Centre property and in sugar cane and banana plantations. We trudged through those for a while and reached a river. Of course at the river they make illegal beer. Basically, David took us to this river so he could give us a tour of the place where they make illegal beer. I have never smelt something so bad in my life. He showed us all the steps and everything. It was so nasty. I would like you to know that I had to pee when we left. I seriously cut the tour of the beer short. haha. The walk home took 10 years. I swear. David had to stop every ten minutes and tell us some random fact about something or show us something. I needed to pee. I wasn't very open to listening to him. Once I knew where I was, I took the front of the line and power walked. Allynne was so thankful. After our fake walk to the water pipe, the outfit I was wearing was covered in black jacks. They are these really annoying plant things that stick to everything. David was insistent on helping me take all 500 out of my dress but somehow I escaped him. Thank heavens. I made it to the bathroom and then realized I need to start avoiding David like the KKK.
6. I went clubbing here in Kenya. The rumors are true. I honestly hated it. I don't think I ever want to do that again. I cannot handle people who are totally wasted. I just get really frustrated and a lot of respect for them are lost. I am glad I had the experience. I know now.
7. The boys here love soap operas. Who would have ever guessed? Haha. So every night they would watch "In the Name of Love." It is a Mexican soap that is translated in English. I try to get into it because everyone here loves it so much. I am not even kidding. (some of the staff have the theme song as their ring tone) I honestly hate it but I love that all the boys are so into it. They stopped watching it because they want the boys to get more sleep at night. Maybe one day they will start watching it again. I know that they are missing it.
8. Allynne and I fell in love with this set of 14 older boys. To our dismay 12 of them left for school on the same day. Allynne and I seriously went into depression for a few days. I do not know how we pulled this off but we got to take them to school. We crammed the 12 boys, 2 staff, 3 volunteers and one extra boy all into one van with all the 12 boy's stuff. It was epic and then made the 20 minute drive down the road to Copeland. Once we were there we moved the boys in and got a tour. It is a vocational school and they will be learning computer, woodworking, and metal skills. This is their last year there. After that they are just on their own. So, these 12 older boys are my best friends here. It is time for us to say goodbye. The boys are just standing there and Allynne and I are just standing there trying not to cry and we just separate. No hugs. No nothing. It was so depressing. Luckily, the manger was in a good mood and took us on an adventure to 14 falls. It is this wicked place that the waterfall is broken up 14 times and so there are 14 falls instead of just one. It is so pretty. You would have never guessed that was in Africa.
9. Allynne and I are water fight masters. It is always so random how it happens. The first time we kicked the kid's trash. We won hands down. To end the fight we came into our room and said it was over but secretly filled up buckets. The kids were waiting for us to come out of the room outside our door. What do we do? We take the full buckets, open the door quickly and drown them all in water. The next water fight one of the special case kids got a bucket and soaked Allynne and I. The kids killed us that time. Allynne and I are ready for the next round. (water guns and squirt bottles) It is going to be beyond epic.
10. One night the PE teacher, Tomo, broke out all this new football (soccer) equipment. The kids got sponsored by Sony or something. They set up this soccer field in the savanna in the back. All the kids are decked out in football jerseys and they are playing a game in this make swift field. The sun is setting. There is red dirt getting kicked up everywhere. I swear I am on a movie set. It was so amazing. I just felt like a giraffe or zebra was going to pop up in the background. I know I use this word all the time but they only way to describe it is EPIC. There is no words to describe how incredible it was. It was one of those moments when it did not feel like real life.
11. To end this blog, I am going to tell you something funny. Somehow I just scream American. I live with 2 other white people but from Canada. I don't know how everyone here in Kenya knows that I am American and they are not. Anyways... Everyone hear LOVES Obama. (obsessed with him to say the least) Here I am. I don't pay attention to politics at all. Everyone asks me all sorts of questions about him. I know nothing. My favorite is the beggers on the street. "Obama is my cousin! Please, money." I say no, of course. Then in my head I think, if Obama is your cousin why don't you call him and ask him to help a brother out. You know?! Hahaha.
I love Kenya. Everyday is the new best day of my life. I am so glad I am here.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Cause This Is Africa
If it is possible to marry an experience then I would. I would totally have this experience as my husband. I am loving every second of it. I cannot get enough of it. Everyone morning I get to wake up and be in Kenya. It is nuts!
If you didn’t know, ever since I was way little coming to Africa was the number one item on my bucket list. Here I am at 21 crossing things right off the top of that list.
Incredible.
I guess I get to summarize the first almost 4 weeks of being here in this blog. I know I such at blogging here. It is because I should have brought my laptop. I feel bad using Allynne’s laptop all the time.
Okay the flight:
I hated it. It was so long. I swear it takes about half of the time to go to New Zealand. I was so scared and nervous the whole time. I flew from San Fran to London. Once in London I had an 8 hour layover. What the heck do you do for 8 hours by yourself? I wondered around the airport and got some Starbucks. I found myself sitting across from this Indian family. They instantly took me in. All the sudden I had a new Indian mother. She was so protective of me. I love her so much. She also was the kindest person and gave me a pillow for the rest of the journey. After the longest layover of my life, I jumped on the plane to Nairobi. I was zonked out for 95% of this flight.
I arrived at 9:30 on December 31st in the morning in Kenya.
Getting through the airport was easy as pie. It was instantly freaking hot. Haha. I bought my visa, found my bags and got through customs without any problems. I swear my bags were the last ones to be put on the convenor belt. That made me super nervous. I walk out of the customs area expecting to see a person out there holding my name on a little whiteboard or a sign.
To my dismay... there was no one. I had a quick mini heart attack and then asked the nearest person if I could use their cell phone who looked like they worked there. He was super kind. I rang the volunteer organization and sooner then I knew it I was in the back of that man’s car and he was taking me to my stay for the night. Life is crazy.
It was instant love with the volunteer house. There was a super kind woman from Ireland there with her daughter. She was my new volunteer mom. She made me feel so comfortable. She took me on a tour of the house. There were monkeys playing in the backyard.
This was real life.
I was in heaven.
Not a lot happened that first day. I was definitely jet lagged out of my mind. Haha. Two more volunteers arrived right at midnight to celebrate new years with us. They were these 2 really cute girls from Canada. The next day was orientation and then we were shipped to our program sights.
Words cannot explain the feeling I got the first time I drove into the Thika Children’s Rescue Centre.
Home is where your heart is. My heart was here.
The boys were so cute. They would come and shake our hands. I just wanted to squeeze out their guts. I loved them all so much. All 103 of them, ages from 5 to 18.
Now a few weeks have passed. I am still inlove. There are only about 56 boys left here. A bunch of them are sponsored to go to school and left. They will be back in April, right after I leave.
They have won my heart and all my band aids. Boys get hurt so easy. I think the child who bit through his tongue and the other one who seriously ripped open to the front of his leg have won for most nasty battle wounds so far. Allynne and I make a great team because I handle the blood and she gets the supplies for wrapping them up.
Allynne and I teach a class every day except the weekends. It is just a simple recreation class where we teach games and fun actives. It is the highlight of their week. I love it. I look forward to it.
That is basically my life these days. I could write so much more but I am taking a million years already to type this much. More will come later in the week.
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