Kenyan Freckle

World Map

2011-07-05T12:51:00.001-04:00

Many months of work have finally paid off. I had wanted to leave behind something tangible for the kids to look at for years to come while they are here. The world map project is something that PCVs from around the world engage incorporate their community in; I wanted the same thing for my school.

Peace Corps provided us with a manual for the entire project; from drawing the borders, grids, drawing the countries, painting and labeling.

I had numerous kids help, which was a blessing. I want to mention this before I go any further the KIDS did all of the work except painting the ocean blue background. I did not intentionally go around the school and ask kids to help. I started working on the map and once they saw what I was doing they wanted to chip in. For several weeks I tweaked and tweaked the borders of the map. Without it being square the whole map will be off. I think pictures will better tell the story.

Grids were drawn.

Countries were drawn using the grid sheet.

I examine the next move.

Andrew, class 5, was the boss when either I was there or not. He had significant role in

every aspect of the map project.

All of the kids that assisted with any aspect of the map got the honor of painting their

name above the map.

Shimoni-South Coast

2011-07-05T12:15:00.001-04:00

The month of June went by pretty fast. This is in part because I went to help a fellow PCV at her site with behavior issues at the school. She had told me on numerous occasions how things were getting worse and no sign of improvement. I mentioned I had a PCV come to my site in early February to help me with my special needs class. Because Mary did such a wonderful job teaching and training me; there was immediate results happening in the class room. I felt confident in what I was doing on a regular basis at my school that I could help her out.

Her site is located on the south coast, near Mombasa. It took me two full days to get there. Upon arriving in Mombasa from Nairobi I took a tuk tuk to catch the ferry. I don’t remember ever getting on a ferry before. I stood in line with everyone else. The gates were opened then cars, tuk tuks buses, and people boarded what I thought was the platform for the ferry. While waiting on the ferry to come (it was on the other side of the inlet) we started to move. I was really confused. It finally hit me, what we were all on was the ferry.

I boarded the matatu and headed for Shimoni, 2 hour ride. I was greeted by Vicki at the final stop in Shimoni. It was really nice to see her. Walking to her place was a breath of fresh air; no more rushing to get some place.

Over the next few days I would go with her to her school to observe a normal day’s activities. Later in the evening, she and I would discuss things that I saw and the possible suggestions for making things run more smoothly. These things included: time out chair, reward system, positive reinforcement and effective communication between teacher and pupil. It was really nice to see for both her and I the positive changes taking place among the pupils. Their is the added benefit of her counterpart at school who is on the same page as her.

We also tried to enjoy the village of Shimoni a little bit. One afternoon we visited the boardwalk at the pier. We both anticipated crashing waves from the indian ocean beneath as we walk on the boardwalk. When we arrive we look at each other with confused looks. I was thinking, are we at the right boardwalk. There was no water to found anywhere. As we are walking along Vicki is welcomed to the boardwalk by the droppings of a bird. She said it is 3rd different continent that has happened. We find a bench to sit for a moment. We notice out in the distance a couple of goats grazing and then a man walking near by. In a area that is covered with water normally, goats are residing. This was quite funny.

The week at her site and school went by really fast and a lot of things getting accomplished. We both left Friday for Mombasa. I was to leave Saturday morning to head to Nairobi. While in Mombasa we both indulged in great food (pizza shawarma (pita bread stuffed with meat, ice cream and masala chips) and a little bit of second hand shopping.

"Easter Egg Hunt"

2011-05-12T08:29:00.000-04:00

Some of my lessons are spontaneous which makes for a fun class on occasions. I have noticed the school ground not as clean as it should be. I took the opportunity to teach the kids the importance of cleanliness. I had the conversation with a friend who takes her kids outside of class on a consistent basis in the morning to pick up rubbish with the lesson of keeping your school clean is the right thing to do, I agree. As was the case with her class and mine as well, funny looks and questions do ensue. Why are you picking up trash, why now, you (me, the teacher) are picking up trash too.

The topic for the lesson was CRE, Christian Religious Education, At the beginning of the lesson I said God made the trees, sun, animals and people. God wants us to care for the land that He gave us. When He sees rubbish He is sad. He wants us to keep it clean. I then split the kids into pairs and we went around the school picking up rubbish. I would point out some trash and they would run to pick it and throw it in their paper (yes I know what you thinking; that is plastic and not paper. I have never heard the plastic being used). I had no idea the kids would have so much fun picking up trash. I am planning on doing this on a consistent basis, if not daily most assuredly every week.

Keeping Current

2011-05-12T03:45:00.000-04:00

You have probably noticed by the recent entries in my blog the activities themselves do not correspond with the dates that they are posted. I have done a poor job of being consistent with updating my blog. I have ever intention of at the least every two weeks to fill you in what is going on here. There has been a lot that happened, but sometimes sitting down and writing is the hardest part. I will start with what just happened then gradually fill in some missing holes along the way.

Self Help Group

2011-04-28T09:56:00.001-04:00

Several weeks ago, Saturday, Mach 19, I went to my monthly Parents of Deaf Self Help Group. It has been customary since the beginning of the year that every other month we would have a meeting at a member’s home. On this occasion we went to Madam Mary’s house. I was told by my counterpart, of all the homes to visit this one is a must.

It was raining and cloudy the day of meeting so the departure time was pushed back. I was also wondering if I would be going because some places would be very hard to pass due to the mud. The rain subsided a bit and I headed to the meeting point, Kakamega.

I met two of the members in Kakamega while the others went ahead because I was caught up in the rain back at site. We took a matatu from town for 30 minutes then alighted. We were met by a man who looked like he was just from the shamba (garden). A conversation ensued and the man led us into the village. After 20 minutes of walking we were handed off to another man to take us the remaining way to Madam Mary’s house.

We were all welcomed in their house and took a seat. Every house I visited the sitting room has couches and chairs covered with fabric (mostly white with a little designs). We were treated with mandazi and chai. Each person virtually had a plate full of mandazi for themselves. We chatted for about 2 hours then we were given lunch. Yes I was completely full, but it is extremely rude to refuse lunch. There was rice, fried and boiled meat, ugali, and skuma, There was so much food. It was really easy to get full from just looking at all of the food.

After we had relaxed a bit from gorging ourselves the meeting started. I was asked to give a short KSL lesson. I have taught for many months at the self help group and because the members pick up the signs really fast being creative with new teaching material is a struggle at times. This time I taught things inside the house. I pointed to various items in Mary’s house ie: window, chair, table, clock, calendar, sufria etc.

I was really appreciative for Madam Mary to welcome us all into their home.

Madam Mary's home

Madam Mary

We are being served our mandazi and chai

Support Group with Madam Mary's Family and Friends

Learning to Spell

2011-03-11T03:56:00.001-05:00

This past week I had my kids do a simple exercise. Apparently it is engrained in Kenyans to love cameras; therefore I put the idea the to good use. I wrote out on pieces of paper the letters that make up their name. For each letter of their name they would sign and I would take a picture. Of course they enjoyed this. Below is pictures of a few of the kids.

Ruth

Daniel

Jacob

Change from the Inside Out

2011-03-07T06:36:00.000-05:00

I was asked recently how Kenya has CHANGED me. Sixteen months in kenya and counting and my mind never seems to stop thinking about what appears to me everything under the sun.

Being in country this long so many things passed by that does not affect me like it did when I first arrived. I wonder if those things would alter how I have changed.

I have a great respect for the mama that sells fruit and vegetables in a wooden make shift shack. She does not have electricity or anything fancy; she is just selling what she has to make enough money so her family can eat that evening.

I appreciate that people go to great lengths to make sure things are clean. Children and adults wash their clothes after one use. They have control over how clean they can be and they take pride in that. Or what about the duka (shop) owners who sweep away the trash from in front of their place. They make sure that the dirt is clean with no rubbish anywhere.

I have learned about self confidence. It was fairly certain that my belief in myself before coming to Kenya was very shallow. Living in a foreign land for months standing up for onself and believing in yourself comes with the territory. I am very grateful for where I have come from and where I am now. Self confidence was something I greatly desired as part of my journey here.

I am learning what I am competent and good at doing, teaching. I knew very little about teaching before coming. After receiving training for two months I was thrown to the wolves. I can assuredly say that I am a good teacher. I do not have years of experience as my counterparts, but I believe in what I am doing. I have realized along the way that if I am passionate about the subject and care for the kids it will translate over to the kids wanting to learn themselves.

Leaving a world of abundant resources at my fingertips to coming to a place where people are resourceful for what they have. Children make their own toys. Empty juice cartons, bottle caps, wire, and sticks are assembled together to make a car. If one car is not enough they will string together several together to make a train of sorts.

Kids love playing football (soccer) and since buying a ball is virtually out of the question for all of the kids they make their own. The pupils gather paper (plastic, plastic bags are called paper bags) bags and tie them together with some string for their homemade ball. I have yet to learn how they make the ball, but before I leave I am going to learn.

I can take a bath with 3 liters of water. I turn on my lights only when necessarily, at night. It is no inconvenience for the power to go out and for me to use a candle or a lantern.

Washing my clothes in a basin and hanging them to dry outside shows me that having a washing machine and dryer are not a must. I agree, it will be nice to use on a regular basis. On the same note, I would not be afraid to clean my own clothes and then hang them dry.

Community and Friendships in Kenya are very much a part of the culture. Visitors are always welcome and invitations are not needed for someone to drop by. If you are visiting someone who is just leaving their house it is rude to not welcome them in the house and have a cup of tea. If you are sick it is expected that people will stop by all the time to see if you are ok and what they can do for you. This of course is different than the west. We want our privacy. Thoughtfulness of others is always welcome, but we want to be left alone while we get better.

Where ever you are going, greeting people along the way is necessary.

I appreciate the community model that happens here. The focus is not about self, but caring about your neighbor. I think in the west we have missed that a lot of the times.

Rewarding Moments

2011-03-06T04:56:00.002-05:00

Teaching has those very rewarding moments that reminds you that what you are doing is having an effect. There are several other PCVs that are teaching class one, two and three and a few teaching remedial. I will occasionally call or read their blogs to find out what they are doing so I can steal/borrow their ideas. They have a vast knowledge of different activities that I can definitely use with my kids.

This past week I was re-teaching counting 1 to 5, Ok I have taught counting for the whole year. I wanted to do something different than writing on the black board. I took the kids on the walkway outside the class. Who wants to sit inside a class all day.

I wrote their names and numbers 1 to 5 with chalk. I have a good friend in town that I had asked her to keep all of the bottle caps of the sodas she sells. We used those bottle caps for the kids to put the caps on top of the chalk numbers that I wrote. They kids were enjoying themselves.

Daniel

Ruth

Witney

W Ouma

David

Meshack

Benjamin

Linda

Jacob

Follow up to possible South Africa trip. Senior Peace Corps staff discussed the issue at length and decided that only two PCV will be given clearance to go. I am not one of the two that are going. This of course is not the news I wanted to hear.

Map project.

It is hard to believe after nearly 4 to 5 weeks the map is drawn on the wall. There were several kids that helped in drawing. I envy their drawing ability, they are really efficient and good. I hope in the next few days to start painting the individuals.

Remedial Help

2011-03-06T04:37:00.000-05:00

The phrase, you will be teaching remedial/special needs class this term (maybe year), had brought about a lot of stress and anxiety. I was clueless how to teach such a class. I wondered how I was going to survive. I requested from Peace Corps for a fellow PCV to come to my site for one week, 14 February to 18 to do what felt like a miracle. Mary left her site on a Saturday morning and arrived in Mumias Sunday afternoon. Traveling from the coast to western is a two day journey.

A synopsis

Monday. Mary sat in the class and just observed my co-teacher and myself to get a feel for how we teach and the behaviors of the kids. At the end of the day she ran across me what she observed and things i could possibly do.

Tuesday to Friday.

I implemented a lot of things she noted. There were a lot of things she said that i took to heart and it made a difference. I will list those here.

-Being attentive to every child--they are all different

-caning is not the answer

-continue using the time out chair for discipline. The chair faces the corner of the wall and the pupil must sit there for a few minutes before returning to his/her seat.

-coming to class prepared is vital. There are kids that need the artwork drawn for them. need to do that before and not when i am through teaching.

-after i finish teaching and give out the exercise books i go around the class giving high fives and encouragement to the kids. Without being prepared i can not do that.

-the more visuals for the kids to see the better. One day i brought in a live kuku (chicken). Yes, their attention was held.

-when a kid or two are misbehaving i need to go around to the other kids that are working well and give HIGH 5's to say they are doing good. The 2 misbehaving kids will notice.

-when multiple kids are being disruptive i must chose the appropriate battle to fight. I can not address all of the needs at one. I should chose the situation that is most important and more than likely if that one stops the others will simmer down as well.

-implementing a behavior chart-this is inclusive of class rules (no fighting, do your work, and stay in class). If the pupil can do these i will give them a reward after two periods. I must start on a small scale. The better behaved the kids become the longer between rewards. The behavior chart is taped to the wall so the kids can see whether they are following the rules.

If you would have seen my class Monday then came again on Friday, it was night and day. I told Mary there were a few instances during the week where i was speechless. "I am confused, it is quite and they are all working. That has never happened. “

With out a doubt her visit has done wonders for my self confidence, behavior of the kids, and allowing myself to teach and not try to manage behavior the entire period.

Impromptu English Grammar Lesson

2011-02-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

I made a recent trip to Kisumu to visit some friends this past weekend to get away from school for a short time. I was meeting a friend at the sports grounds in Kisumu so I found a place to sit in the shade till I got a call from her. At one entrance, the one where I was sitting, there is roughly 10 express passport photo stands just seconds walk from one another. While waiting I began to read and noticed something peculiar about the signs advertising for passport photo printing. Most of the signs had the same message, but their were three that caught my attention. Express Passport Size Digital In 10 Minutes,” “Express Passport Size and Photos After 10 minutes”, , and finally “Passport Size Express Digital For 10 minutes.”

After reading the signs I knew I had to take a picture of each. When I got to the last one “...for 10 minutes” the gentlemen manning the station asked what I was doing. I informed him of the different signs and the different meaning of each. I then broke his heart and told him his sign is just wrong. It is very bad English and makes no sense. You could say, express photos for shilingi hamsini (50 kenyan shillings). I then showed him the other two signs and explained the difference. Not to long after that, every man that has a express photo booth was standing around listening to my explanation for what is proper English grammar. One gentlemen spoke up and said, “which of the other two are best?” I then replied by explaining what each of them means before giving an opinion. “In 10 minutes” means that the photos will be finished between 1 and 10 minutes. Your window for doing this work is very short. The other sign that said “After 10 minutes” means that the pictures will be finished AFTER 10 minutes. This could mean 11 minutes, 12 minutes, 20 minutes, 2 hours or Christmas. This phrase does not give a parameter when it will be finished.

After explaining each in detail they wanted to know which of the two was the best. I told them “In 10 minutes” and “after 10 minutes” are correct. The gentlemen insisted on knowing which is best so the customers would pick that one. I said using “In 10 minutes” tells the customer it will get finished fast, under 10 minutes.

While I am writing this recap of the event I am noticing that as a whole, all three signs have bad English aside from the “in, after and for.”

This was definitely a fun experience. I wonder when I go back if any of the signs will be changed.

Remedial/Special Needs

2011-02-01T04:42:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Another teaching year at Mumias Deaf Primary is underway and there are a few changes to my teaching schedule. This year I have the challenge of teaching remedial/special needs in class 0. I did not put in a request to teach this class, but somewhere along the way I was selected to co-teach with a fellow teacher.

During a staff meeting last year it was a consensus at the time that the panel heads of each department (ie, math, science etc) would choose teachers to teach the subjects. The selection was based on merit and discretion of the panel heads. On the day of selection I was looking forward to teaching math to class 5 because I taught them in class 4. I waited to here my named called, but it was not in the cards for any subject not just math. As you can probably guess I was confused, agitated, a little irate amongst other feelings. I expressed my feelings to the staff and administration. The response as I stated before, selection was based on merit. This was not sufficient for me. I swallowed my pride and in hopes things might change in the coming days. Well, nothing changed. I was placed in remedial/special needs class 0. I know with out a doubt I can sleep peacefully because I gave 100% last year and the kids improved. Maybe I will not understand the reasoning, but I know what I did and will stand by that.

Teaching remedial class is nothing but a challenge. As the name implies there are kids that need special attention. I was used to that last year, but somehow this seems like running up a wet grassy hill with traction less shoes. I made up my mind to put my heart into it and see what happens. In light of my lack of experience in this arena I have asked a fellow volunteer, Mary, to come visit for a week 14 February to 18th to assist in anyway possible. I am so looking forward to her visit.

Suggestions for teaching Remedial/Special Needs????

In other news I am starting to draw/paint world map project. Numerous other PCVs have completed this at their school so I thought it would be good to be done at my school as well. The project as name implies is a large painting of the world with all of the countries. It will be painted on the outside of one of the classrooms. After a very slow start to the project, I am getting underway today. The map final size will be 308 cm by 616 cm, this is huge and thus a ladder is required. I really don’t like ladders at all. I will fake it for the duration of the project so the kids will have something very nice at their school to learn from. I will update with pictures along the way.

Finally today I have some tentative exciting news. I heard from a fellow volunteer about the World Congress World Federation of the Deaf Conference in South Africa, July 2011. This conference happens once every 4 years all over the world. For the first time ever it is being held in Africa. People from around the world deaf and hearing will meet in Durban, South Africa for one week to learn about deaf culture with one focus being on developing countries, ie. Kenya—in my case. Among the many topics covered from different presenters there are 4 main focus areas: deaf education, sign languages and studies, developing countries, and human rights.

I am mentioning this information because I am very much interested in going. I can not think of a better way to establish friendships and contacts from other deaf people and organizations from around the world than by attending this conference basically in my backyard. I have for sometime now contemplated other avenues of work and/or direction with the deaf community, but have not gotten very far besides Special Olympics (which I assisted with while in South Carolina) and being a deaf education teacher (I am doing that right now). A deaf teacher colleague at my school has expressed interest as well. For now, I am waiting on feedback from Peace Corps whether I can go. I am confident in a yes. When I hear something I will post.

Frog Giggin

2011-01-18T22:26:00.002-05:00

There are days when you wish you had not promised someone something, well that day was today (15 January). Several months ago and virtually all of last year the kids would always ask me if I have eaten anything from a crocodiles to snakes. They have a fascination about asking if I have eaten snakes, There is a persistence in saying that mzungus eat snakes. I don’t know one person that has. I am not taking into account Andrew Zimmerman (from the Travel Channel). I am really not sure where this fetish comes from.

Somewhere along the way they asked if I have eaten a frog. I honestly don’t remember eating one, but maybe once or so way back when. My mom said she had, so I knew it was within the family. In a way to excite and see their disgusted looking faces, I said yes. I told them for some reason if they catch a big one I will cook it for them. Well that day was today. They found a descent size toad and brought it over. Chui (my cat) enjoyed his time playing with the toad with no intention of killing or eating, just playing. There were 3 kids that really wanted to try. I knew one kid would; he ate a live grasshopper in class last year (caught that one on video). I boiled then fried the toad. I gave the arms and legs to the 4 kids (Andrew did not want to try before, but when I finished cooking he wanted to taste). Maybe next time they will get a bigger toad.

Cultural exchange of some sort.

New Bed

2011-01-15T12:38:00.000-05:00

A year has passed and I have a new bed. The bed that I used for the better part of last year was requested from the school to be used for visitors. I decided that I would rather have a wooden nicely built bed over continuing to use a kid’s bed the school offered me after I gave my original bed back.

My first opportunity to have a personalized bed was exciting and I got exactly what I wanted; something simple with a book rack on the head board. After two weeks my bed was finished. I went to go pick it up this afternoon and had it taken to the house via a boda boda (bicycle) tied to the back. I am continuously amazed on how and what boda boda’s can carry. I have seen so many things tied to the back: a goat, 7 straw chairs, 4 people, bed and so many others.

Due to the fact the bed was so big the man riding the boda had to push his bike to the school. Upon arriving at my house several kids were there anxious to ask me who’s bed this was. I informed them that it was mine then they were eager to help me carry out the old kids bed and bring in an adult bed.

There were six kids that had a great interest in helping put the bed together. They went right to work. Bickering and complaining among some of the kids blossomed into lackluster performance and corporation. I told them, “work together.” They got the message and worked on a section at a time making good progress. They came upon a speed bump, the side boards were not sliding into the head and foot board very well. I remember seeing the carpenter put corresponding markings on the boards to indicate which board attaches to what. I explained the importance to the kids of planning ahead so when the time to put something together it can run with less hiccups. We removed what we had done and switched around the side boards and they slid right in.

These were the six kids that put the bed together.

Christmas in Egypt

2011-01-01T08:07:00.001-05:00

Cairo

December 19

I took a bus from Mumias to Nairobi where I spent the night at Milimani Backpackers. A ten hour bus ride is seldom any fun, but I knew the final destination would be worth it.

December 20

I met my two other traveling companions in Nairobi for our 17:30 flight to Cairo with a stop over in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia. Jon, Amanda, and myself dined for a sub sandwhich at Serit Center. We then took a city hoppa bus from downtown to the airport. Taking the city hoppa was only 50 kshs/ea compared to 1000 kshs for a taxi.

It was a strange feeling being back at JKIA (Joma Kenyatta International Airport) roughly one year ago I got off a plane where I left everything behind to undergo a journey of a lifetime. The journey is till continuing.

Our flight consisted of 3 meals. The flight to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia was 1 ½ hours but they game us a meal. Then the flight from their to Cairo we had two more meals. I was stuffed after the first one. I did not let the food go to waste.

December 21

We all arrived in Cairo around 03:30 and were taken to our hostel via a cab provided by the hostel. Going to bed once we got there was not a hard thing to do. Several hours later we got up for a late breakfast. Our first day to walk around the city a bit was nice to stretch the legs and see some new things.

Our first destination was Islamic Cairo. Walking through back alley ways and gazing at the various shops was interesting. The walk path was just big enough for a small car to slowly drive. How would I know that; a few cars made their way down the alley ways. I was amazed they were able to maneuver it without knocking over anything. There were a lot of shops selling carpet/rugs and fabric.

December 22

Egyptian museum.

One thing that was interesting was the lights on the road that gave an additional reminder of a traffic light. This really did catch my attention. In Kenya there are roundabouts where you force yourself into the flow of traffic with no traffic lights, except for Nairobi.

This day was specifically set aside for visiting the Egyptian Museum. When we arrived there was already an extremely long line. We all agreed to talk a walk across the Nile River and come back after having lunch. On the way we saw the opera house.

I am yet to understand the number of Tourist Police around all of the major attractions. When we visited the Pyramids our tour guide told us that there were about 50 tourist officers per monument/site. Some sites it felt like there were more police than tourist. I did see regular cops; they were usually were directing traffic. Also a vast majority of them had a bullet proof shield with them to protect from who knows what.

Lunch before heading to the Museum we backtracked a bit to look for some authenic Egyptian food at Abu Tarek. Once arriving I remember watching an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel eating at this establishment. It looked the same from tv. Since I am a fan of the show it was nice to go there and try their food. Their main dish and seemingly only dish was Kosery. This consisted of noodles, lentils, fried onions with chili sauce. It was really good and a very simple dish. As you will see from the picture the men working the stations are going nonstop. There is high demand for good Koshery cooks. Also you will notice the customers are holding reciepts from orders waiting for it to be taken. It is as chaotic as it looks, but there was some structure to the chaos.

We were not allowed to take in cameras into the Museum so images are regulated to my memory for now. There are a few things that stick out to me. First, on the ground floor is two huge statues. These were several meters high; therefore the museum was built around it. Secondly was the the gold mask of King Tut (Tutankhamun) which weighed 23 lbs of solid gold. We wondered what the difference visually from a king and a pharaoh. We heard that is was whether they had a straight beard or one that curled up at the end. I recently was doing some research on the web and there seems to be a wide range of distinguishes from one to another based on the time/dynasty and the sculpture.

After finishing the museum we headed in a general direction of our hostel but of course we had taken the back streets. I really liked this method of seeing the city. We were able to see beyond the normal touristy trinkets and crowds and better
got a better idea of normal city life. On our way we saw this and just had to take a picture.

I am a big fan of street food and this was yet another example of taking a commodity and tweaking it abit and make it into an income generating activity. Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

During our walk we went down a street that was selling everything from clothes to food to motorcycles. I am used to looking through a big heap of clothes to find my size then bargaining for a good prize. This was different. The clothes were in shops on hangers with marked prices. It was a culture shock.

At dusk and with the hostel meters away it was time for the Muslims call to prayer. I was used to the call and people praying in the mosque. This picture is of men on the sidewalk bowing to prayer in the middle of town. There are speakers throughout the city so missing the call to prayer seemingly could only granted if you are deaf and blind.

December 23

We took a visit to Coptic Cairo. I remember reading that there were coptic christians in Cairo, though just few compared to Muslims. The history of the area was interesting. It is traditionally held that the holy family hid in this area taking refuge from King Herod.

Though the travel guide and Wikipedia hyped this area we all were disappointed. It was a tourist trap. We could not see the residental quarters. It was all around a let down. There was one bright spot though the Convent of Saint George. Depictions of St. George slaying a dragon are engraved in the outside of the church and the inside, paintings and more paintings. Reading the story of this is interesting.

December 24

Pyramids

I think there are somethings in life where words don’t adequately paint a perfect picture, the pyramids are one of those times. Enjoy the pics.

December 25

Christmas in Alexandria

We took the train from Cairo at 8:30 and after a 2 hour ride we arrived in Alexandria. I was looking forward to looking at the scenery along the way but the smog, I mean fog was thick and consistent for most of the trip. The station in Cairo was under construction, the smell and feel also showed the same thing.

Kenya on the other hand has few bakeries, but their variety is very limited. The Arabs do it right. Of the many selections included date filled, hard and soft breads, rolls bread sticks and many others.

At the station in Alexandria we meet two people who joined us on our walk around for a brief period. The lady was a lawyer from China but doing a one year stint in London and the gentlemen was a teacher in Japan apart of the DoDDs (Department of Defense) teaching at a military base to children of soldiers.

We walked for a good hour then went in and saw Ramsess II pillar at Amud El-Sawari. The site was in the middle of town with buildings surrounding it. After that we walked up a hill for a bit to some catacombs. I remember the catacombs in Rome and these also did not disappoint. Majority of the burial slots were a few feet by 6 or so feet. So though were quite deep.

After our visit 3 floors below the earth’s surface that was discovered because a donkey fell in hall in the early 1900s we walked back to the train. We had plans to visit the Mediterranean Sea and have fish for lunch. In brief we walked for 2 hours and ended up were we started. At this point we were tired and wanted to go to the train. Though we did not see the sea we did get to see some residential life.

Upon arriving back in Cairo we stopped several times for some food: gelato ice cream --WOW, fruit juice mix with slices of bananas, pomegranates and oranges, shwarma (hoaggie roll with onions and slices of meat, falafal (smashed green gramms with flour fried as a patty and served in a pita bread with veggies. I ate so much, but so worth every bite.

December 26

My last day in Cairo and Jon and I visited A sultan mosque a good 6 km away from the hostel. Along the way I saw this lady displaying her pita bread to be sold. You are correct that is the on the step. A few feet later another person had put theirs on atop of a roof of a car.

The Sultan Mosque was huge and is still in use today by Muslims. These men are washing themselves before going to pray.

Our last destination was the Citadel that overlooked the city. It was a spectacular view.

Term 3

2010-12-04T12:22:00.001-05:00

It is hard to believe that my third term as a teacher in my first year is now complete. Of course teaching is a new experience for me. There were definitely moments when I was not sure if I would survive. What about the 7 weeks of teaching social studies where I dreaded going into class. When maps was the only thing I covered; I knew the kids were tired of it and I was too. Finally I found something that worked, what a break through. I would summarize the material I was to cover and right it on the board. As a class we would sign and resign the text. Two students would then come up to sign up as well. Once I thought the kids had an “idea” of what was written on the board I would give them questions to answers. After nearly 3 months did their cob webs of reading comprehension skills begin to be improve and gradually relevant answers would be given; unfortunately only from 2-3 kids. This was a great feeling. When the culture and the normality of the situation is to copy from the board; to make them think and reason for themselves, even though very minimally, it is gratifying.

Or what about the first time I was asked to give a speech because I was the welcomed visitor at my school in the staff room. Public speaking is not something I relish, but I try to force myself to act strong. As I muddled through a very brief self introduction I was thinking about just getting through. Because it is culturally accepted for visitors to say a few words I knew that I would have to get used to this practice. Since then I have talked at a Boy/Girl Scout meeting outside my school, deputies church, another church I have attended, Peace Corps meetings, closing day ceremonies at school, and the vast number of other occasions. My comfort level has grown. Or what about teaching hiv/aids to class 8. Not only was the material something I was not keen on or the fact that I was teaching class 8. Transitioning from little kids to the big kids on the block. Their signing and comprehension were so advanced than from those I taught befdore.

The second and third term I taught Kenyan Sign Language. I felt somewhat comfortable but not nearly at ease. It is one thing to teach a subject that is new to both the kids and the teacher ie math, social studies, pe etc. It is entirely different if the subject is the mother tongue of the student. Teaching KSL was a definite struggle, but I am glad I endured. I do think I learned more than I taught.

Nairobi Marathon

2010-11-02T14:13:00.003-04:00

I continually find myself doing something that i have said on numerous occasions that I don't enjoy doing, running. Yet again this time I find myself running in a 10km race in Nairobi. What I do enjoy, which i guess cancels out the running part, are a few things. For one, I like competition. Second, I like to visit different places. Third, I like the experience of the swarms of people all running/walking in one direction.

I had registered to run a month ago, which is the same time I started training for the race. Outside the gate of the school is a football pitch that every morning I would will myself out of bed to run several laps. Initially I was training with a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, who teaches at a nearby school, and a fellow teacher at the deaf school. As the weeks passed they slowly became infrequent for the morning runs and thus my motivation for longer distances became harder to convince myself to do.

Halloween eve/Reformation day eve 15,000 people have gathered in downtown Nairobi for the marathon. There were full and half marathon runners, 10km and a family run. My initial plan was doing the half marathon, but later changed to a 10km. Something new to me was the timing chip, it was no longer to be clipped onto the shoe, but it was taped behind the race number that you wear. I am not sure which way is better. The results will be published soon, so we will see. Unfortunately when i registered i neglected to look at my race number to see if I had a timing chip, so my name will not be published on the web/newspaper.

Normally when running in a race like this people dress up in costumes to be seen. This day was know different. A group of people were carrying an inflatable water raft while running and would sing. 1-2-3-4- 1-2-3-4 "We will not quit." It was amazing that they ran nearly the whole 10km caring this raft.

The race started just outside of Nyayo stadium in Nairobi. The 10km runners finished outside while the 1/2 marathon and full marathon finished inside the stadium. I got a glimpse of the marathon runners before I set off, WOW. They are fast.

Two Worlds Collide

2010-09-24T13:39:00.012-04:00

It has been a month and more since my last entry. 31st July to 7th August was a mandated travel ban put on my Peace Corps due to the possible unrest that may have occured during the voting of the referendum on August 4th. We were informed that we could spend the time at another volunteer’s site. Along with 5 others I stayed in Lamu. We stayed at a school of a fellow volunteer. For a short time we visited Lamu Island. There was a lot of relaxing and reading books.

From Lamu I took a motor boat to another island for a flight to Nairobi to meet Mark who arrived that morning. The airstrip felt like an open pasture with paved runway. We spent the night at Milimani Backpackers in Nairobi. It was a hostel, right near town. We took a matatu from town to Kisumu 8 hours away. Then we transfered to another one to my site in Mumias. I could tell Mark was not thrilled about the long matatu ride. Sitting in a cramped seat for a long time does not feel good.

We spent 2 days and 3 nights in Mumias. We took a walk around town and met some of my friends at the local dukas (shops). On the evening of the 9th, the vocational girls at the school assisted mark and I by slaughtering a kuku (hen) for dinner. The girls did all of the work, we just watched as they cut off the head, drain the blood, plucked the feathers, cut it into pieces and fried it in a fry pan over a jiko. Tasted wonderful.

The next day we traveled to Kakamega, (45 minutes away) to watch the National competition for cultural and dance for secondary schools. Their were schools that dressed up in cultural/village attire for dance and song. It was a good experience, though we did not stay there very long.

We spent our last night at my house before taking a comfortable bus ride to Nairobi the next morning. We arrived in the afternoon and went straight to the hostel. The next morning we were picked up by Jocky Tours to take us to Amboseli National Reserve. On our way we stopped by Kenyan Wildlife Service to pickup our entry pass into the park. We arrived a little before lunch at the lodge. We had lunch then headed out for the afternoon safari ride. We saw: elephant, giraffe, cheetah, lion, hippopotamus, wildebeest, gazelles, zebra, and buffalo. Every year between July and September is the Wildebeest migration from Tanzania and western Kenya to the southern part of Kenya. The zebras also accompany the wildebeest on their migration. We left early in the morning on Friday for a game ride before heading to Loitokitok. Mark and I felt as we were being driven around to go look for animals the second day, the excitement had gone. We had seen so many animals the first day, it was old news. The primary focus this day was getting good pictures of giraffes. When we were heading to the exit, there was a heard right in front of us. They are incredible creatures. All in all it was a good time looking for the animals. I recommend it. I think next August I want to see the wildebeest migration in August.

Elephant

Zebra

Giraffe

This sign was at our lodge at Amboseli National Reserve

Mark and I standing ontop of a lookout point at Amboseli National Reserve

Wildebeest

Dhow on Lamu island

Feeding the girafe, while being kissed at the girafe center in Nairobi.

Mark and I relaxing from our dhow trip while we wait on our food being prepared.

For several days we were staying with my host family that I lived with during my pre service training nov-dec 2009. It was rally good to see the family. On Sunday we were asked to join in their massive feast along with 50 other guest. Yes, we were having mbuzi (goat). Mark got the pleasure of seeing the slaughter and skinning.

We then took a bus ride to Mombassa to spend the night before heading to Lamu. Ramadan was occurring therefore for about 30 days most shops are closed all day and only opened at night. We stayed at a lodge directly across from a mosque where the calls to prayer were very loud all night and thus hard to sleep.

We took a 7 hour bus ride to Lamu. The last 3.5 hours were on dirt, uneven roads. This section of the bus ride felt like 7 hours. There were frequent check points by the police. Normally they are looking at the registration of the bus via a sticker on the window and various other things. By the bus driver giving the officer a newspaper, there was no inspection. I remember looking over one time and noticing that the officer already had a paper when he accepted another from our bus driver.

Lamu is an island so we had to take a jetty from the mainland to the island. Wow, there were so many people on this boat. I am thinking around 30 plus cargo and goats. We arrived without sinking. Upon arrival there were a sworm of natives wanting us to follow them to a place to stay that they had selected. There was also the other bunch of people that were trying to haggle/harass you into going on their dhow trip. I am used to the behavior of Kenyans, but it was apparent Mark was perturbed. Koreans don’t mess with you, they just leave you alone. For 2 nights and 3 days we wandered around the island doing whatever suited our fancy. We took a walking tour of the island based on the information from The Lonely Planet travel book. When we were walking around with the book in hand, a kenyan stopped us and said to look at so and so page, my business is in there. They are used to their tourist and know their tour books.

Dhow trip. A dhow is a wooden boat with a canvas mast. There is a captain and a helper. The weather was very windy and thus the waves made the boat ride an adventure. They had to constantly change the direction of the mast to keep us going. We were leaning way left, then way right. It definitely was not a relaxing float in the ocean. I was glad when we stopped to fish. Mark was the lone recipient of a fish. The captain caught a few, but I was having no luck. Once on shore the two men fixed us lunch. They grilled the fish we caught plus the “just incase we did not catch any fish ” (fish he bought in town before sailing off), stew, fruit and rice. It was very satisfying.

We flew back to Nairobi from Lamu in what looked and felt like a paper airplane. There were 12 seats crammed close together. Small airplanes I suppose are not designed for comfort, this was no different. Taking off from the runway felt the same as climbing the first part of a roller coaster. In no way did it give you the feeling that this was going to be smooth ride. There was no separation from the passengers and the pilot. We landed safe and sound. Our next day we visited the Giraffe center. It is known for giving visitors the opportunity to be kissed by the giraffe. He had a long, slimy tongue. I wanted to experience the slobber, but Mark was content taking pictures.

Saying goodbye was tough, but it was nice seeing him for a short while. Hopefully we can do it again sometime in the future.

Rafting the Nile

2010-07-29T20:58:00.002-04:00

End of Term 2 Year One

2010-07-29T19:45:00.016-04:00

It has been a few weeks and some things are consistent. For one, on two occasions I was assigned to go invigilate exams at neighboring schools with a few fellow teachers. My school I would consider to be “more modern” and near the city. When I mention that my school is more modern I am making reference to the fact we have running water from taps, though sometimes it runs dry, electricity most of the time and a big school campus. These past two schools that I went to invigilate were in the village. It is hard to describe; pictures will do a better job.

The image on the left is the first school i invigilated with 2 other teachers. When i first arrived i thought that the students had on dance outfits and were going to perform, but later realized that is their normal attire. We sat outside under a tree and marked papers. We were there for 2 days. The school on the right was much larger than the previous one. There were 6 teachers that went to invigilate. Each teacher was assigned a classroom and thus we were responsible for marking those students. We had desks that were outside the classroom that we sat at to mark and wait while the students took their test. We were here for 3 days.

The KCPE is very important in life of the class 8 student. This is the final exam that the class 8 students take in hopes in getting good enough marks to be accepted to secondary schools. Most if not all schools have mock exams through out the in preparation for the final in November. As you probably guessed when there is exams teaching new material is not taking place. I really don't see how they keep up the pace and the kids retain the information.

Invigilation is an all day affair; arrive at 8:30 till 4 p.m.. The hosting school provides tea and lunch. Tea consists of tea and bread with blue band butter. Lunch is the Kenya staple: Ugali, skuma wiki (kale) and beef. I realize again and again that there is Mazungu (white person) affect. All of a sudden not only myself but the entire crew of invigilators are treated like kings because I showed up. Tea and bread turns to tea,bread, eggs, and ground nuts. Lunch becomes stew potatoes, rice, skuma wiki, roasted and boiled meat. As a departing “thanks” they would give us soda and biscuits (crackers). When we all return to the school all of the teachers ask if we got the fine treatment. Apparently a big reason for the special treatment is somewhere in their brain, they equate the white man as a “walking ATM.” My teachers realize this, but they are not going to turn down good food.

I mentioned in my previous entry about my struggle with sanity and the whole nine yards about being here in Kenya. I can say that I am doing a lot better. I had a welcoming and grateful call from my parents and a lot of down time from the end of term. Although I have only been at site for almost 7 months; I am grasping why it is that Peace Corps is the hardest things you will ever love. On those occurrences that make me appreciate why I am here. For one, my class four students have wanted me to come to their class every evening and practice math with them. When students want you there it is a wonderful feeling. It also helps substantially that my brother is visiting in just a few days. Oh what a wonderful two weeks that will be! I gather from what I have learned from other PCVs that this is a hard job being a volunteer.

This past Friday I went to a overnight funeral for a fellow teachers father who passed away. I was curious what this would entail so I joined about 10 others to the deceased residence. We left the school at 9pm in two vehicles. Upon arriving from the 30 minute bumpy car ride I noticed there were rows of chairs neatly arranged in front of the head table; this head table was for the “DJ.” He had a tv on top which was playing kenya music videos, most of which were spirituals. Before going I was informed that there would be lots of dancing and drinking. When I was looking around I noticed no one was dancing and all were just sitting down watching the music video. There were few people sitting around a camp fire. It was nippy. We were in the village. No power or running water. The electricity was pumped through a generator that was rented for this occasion.

We were first taken to see the recently deceased Mzee (older gentlemen). He was in his casket inside his house. All the while there were numerous spiritual songs being sung as we paid our last respects. We finished and returned back to watching the music videos.

Off to the side a few men were busy digging the grave for the Mzee in front of the house. (The head of the house is buried infront of the house while the wife is buried on one side of the house. If an adult dies without marrying they are buried behind the house). The grave was 6 feet deep with brick and mortar lining the wall of the grave.

While sitting watching the video I was enquiring about the masons who were busy digging from my fellow teachers. After they finish preparing the grave all of the workers are given a kuku (hen) with some strong drink. My first question, was only one kuku shared among the workers? The answer was yes. I did not feel like the workers would get that much to eat. I have shared 2 hens among 3 people and I was hungry afterwards. I jokingly told a teacher that the head mason should regulate the number of helpers to get the maximum amount of chicken possible per person.

Soon thereafter we were invited to a neighbor's house for tea and bread. We had our fill and returned to the music videos. Roughly 2 hours later, 12am we were invited to partake in dinner. We had the kenya staple: ugali, skuma and meat.

After returning my teachers and I started dancing to the music being played. I love how there is not judging in regards to dancing. It was getting pretty nippy and thus the campfire helped a great deal.

The whole funeral service last about a week. The pre burial service is less rowdy with few dancing and drinking. Once the person has been placed in the ground then the real party starts. We left at 5am. I only got in one hour of sleep that night.

Before I joined the Peace Corps I was working as a stone mason. This not only included putting designed and colored stone on houses but also laying brick. Since my time here in Kenya I have taken special notice of the brick making and laying process.

There is no brick factory it is all manual labor. The process has several steps and takes several weeks. First, a plot of land is chosen to dig the mud. This only works well if the ground is damp so digging and placing the mud in the brick forms would be effective and efficient. The brick makers only have two tools: hoe and a brick form that the mud goes in. The brick form can only form two at a time. There is a lot of walking back and forth between the digging pit and where the bricks are laid. Second, once all of the digging is done, rotating the bricks takes place. The bricks are placed on the ground and can lose their shape if they stay in one position for a long time. Every day the brick is rotated. All the while there is plastic on top of all of the bricks to prevent moisture/rain from damaging the bricks. Depending on how many bricks one is going to make, the amount of time may vary. Once all of the bricks have been rotated sufficiently, they are then ready to be burned. The bricks are stacked up in a mountain shape with a cavity at the base for putting logs for the burning. Later in the process the cavities are closed and the burning continues for 2-3 days. Once the time is done, slowly the bricks are removed. If any of the bricks need to be burned some more, those bricks are set aside and burned later.

A couple weeks ago I went to a nearby high school to watch provincial soccer competion. For the finals, there were approx 4,000 people lined the perimeter of the football pitch 2-3 deep. It was a really neat site. Before the main event, boys final, the girls played. At the beginning of the game there was a gentlemen standing behind a group of people giving a play by play of the game. He was doing it in his mother tongue. The men then asked him to move in front so they could hear better. As the crowd grew so did this man's popularity. He was then asked to be in the center of roughly 100 people. He found his soap box. What made it even more interesting was he was able to do it in several languages: mother tongue, Swahili, English, SuperSport (a sports tv station). The men around him was trying to get the announcer's attention, but to no avail. He was quite entertaining.

Would you like an escort?

2010-06-30T15:08:00.002-04:00

I have not done a good job of keeping my blog updated. There has been a lot that has happened. Well I guess not that much, just watching a lot of world cup soccer. The longer there is between the harder it is to include what I missed.

The sequence of things might be a little out of order since I am aiming for summation. I got a cat about 3 weeks ago. My fellow volunteer that teaches at the secondary school next door told me that a teacher at the school has a contact that wants to give away 2 cats. I was interested in a cat for several reasons.

For one, it would be nice company.

Second, several weeks back I had a visitor in my kitchen. I heard a rustling in the kitchen. Below the sink I keep a plastic bag (Kenyan’s call it a paper bag--don’t know why) for my trash. I noticed that my trash bag was moving, but I did not want to open it up and see what was inside. I had a strong suspicion it was a rat. I grabbed the bag forcefully at the top and went to my room to get my flashlight then headed to the trashpin to through out the “trash.” When the bag landed, I saw the rat scurrying along with the help of my flashlight.

Third, it would help kill/chase away rats.

Last week the house father of one of the boys dorms and the head prefect (pupil boss for the kids) came to my house at night to tell me that there was a rat problem in their dorm. They then preceded to tell me that they wanted to use my cat. I am not sure how this works but I thought the cat should be bigger than the rat. My cat (chui--sounds like chewey--means leopard in Swahili) is only 7 weeks old and 7 inches long. I let them use them use Chui overnight. Early in the morning they bring Chui back with the news that the rat was caught. I did not see the rat, but I still find it hard to believe.

Would you like an escort? My prompt response while at a restaurant having only chai was a resounding NO!! I looked at my friend who was sitting next to me with a strange look, wondering why the waitress was wanting to get me an escort. I had mixed feelings. She then asked again, I replied no thank you. I was not sure what I should have said or should have acted. My friend and I were wondering why she wanted to give us a prostitute. Several days had passed and I was talking with some fellow teachers about various topics. I mentioned about my recent trip to the local hotely for lunch. I then preceded to tell them what the waitress told me and how I was really perturbed. Both of the gentlemen laughed and then I knew something was up. They said that if you just order chai with nothing else the waitress will ask if you want something else to go with your chai. This is referred to as an escort. Only then did it all make sense.

On the teaching front; I love teaching math; ksl is getting better; social studies is quite a struggle; life skills, teaching body change to class 4 and 5 is still a challenge; Physical fitness test in P.E. is enjoyable. I am open for suggestions on teaching puberty to grade 4 and 5. They like looking at pictures, but teaching the material is hard. I am not sure which material to teach. I have a manual from Peace Corps that I am following, but so far class participation is low.

For Maths I have made a “Math :) Chart.” This is a poster I put in the back of the class with all of the kids names. Everytime a pupil does very well on their homework I will draw a smiley face on their paper. Subsequently I will give them a sticker that I have also drawn a smiley face on for them to place on the chart. Also on the chart is multiplication smiley talley for their weekly test. This Friday is x5. For the next two weeks we will be reviewing x2 and x3 then x4 and x5.

Recently I went through a spell (to some degree I am still there) where life here is very hard and wrestling with various things.

I struggle with being alone even though I am surrounded by so many people.

I get frustrated with the religion conversation in the staff room and around town. My comfort of the Bible belt is no longer present. The testing of what I truly believe is challenged every day. The banter is constant; but I feel like I have nothing to say. Is what I know really right?

Where do I fit in?

My mango and banana cobbler is outstanding!

There is only 2 weeks left of class then a week of exams. The school is closing early because we as a school are boarding some schools for the national dance festival which is happening at a nearby high school.

I have been thinking about starting two clubs: bible club and health club. A good friend gave me a bible chronological story cloth that I could easily use to teach and act out bible stories. CRE (Christian Religious Education) is an examinable subject. I feel like the students would benefit greatly by reviewing and acting.

The other idea is a health club. This would be very beneficial in discussing hiv/aids. Sex among primary school kids happens more than I think it does. Not only in my part of the country but throughout Kenya. Even though it is a good idea, explaining this to the deaf kids is such a struggle. I will try and get another teacher on board which might make it easier.

This past weekend a few volunteers including myself went to Kisumu to celebrate the 40th birthday of a fellow volunteer. Our time including taking a boat trip on Lake Victoria to see hippos, eating fresh perch from the lake and relaxing. We ate lakeside. What was interesting about the fish is that you get to pick from the fish they have displayed that you want them to cook.

Term Two and Chickens

2010-05-24T11:38:00.000-04:00

School has started. I am excited to be back at school with my students pushing them to think beyond what they are used to. This term two teachers and the head teacher (principal) are teaching at the secondary school next door. This only means one thing, the other teachers get a heavier load. I maintained my same classes from last term: match (class 4), social studies and p.e. (class 5), life skills (class 4 and 5). In addition to those I added one more, Kenyan Sign Language (class 6). I really wanted to teach KSL for several reasons. Mainly it would help my personal signing and thus improve communicating in my other classes more effectively. So far I am enjoyed KSL, but it is similar to teaching english. One small problem, I am not good at English. The syllabus for KSL is basically the same thing for English wit a few minor changes. Teaching the material for two weeks has gone ok; I have a long way to go.

This term I wanted my P.E. Class to take part in a physical fitness test. I remember in middle school taking part in this. My memories were mixed. I liked competition, but I rarely performed very well. I am pushing my kids to perform in: push ups, sit ups, sit and reach and running sprints/shuttle runs (there is another name that could be used).

My goal for math class is by the end of the term I want them to know the multiplication tables 2 - 9. I mulling over ideas of how to best to after this. Initial thoughts were to make a multiplication chart for the wall, and flash cards. If you have other ideas please share.

Recently I hit a wall about my life here in Kenya. It finally felt like the “honeymoon” period is over. The question for me is how I will push forward and be involved and connected with the community here in Mumias. A good portion of the struggle stems from the abundance of down time. I am used to being continually entertained either by t.v., playing sports, spending time with friends or various other things while in the U.S. The kenyan mindset is so different I am reminded time and time again. There is no such thing as “time.” Sitting with friends and sharing life and stories is common and part of the fabric of life here in Kenya. Still this is so hard to get used to, but hopefully as time passes it will become more ingrained in me and not the occasional nuisance.

Well I decided to find out if raising chickens is hereditary. My grandfather and grandmother raised chickens when my mother and uncle were children. This past weekend I went to market and bought myself a hen. I found the one I wanted, I payed and went on my walk toward the house. While I was carrying the hen I realized something was wrong. I was carrying it wrong. Apparently, carrying it like a baby is not right, but rather a football is the proper way. I really don’t know what to expect or do with the hen. (oh I have named her, Midnight). It is a good thing that the kids know and are eager to teach me. For the first three days Midnight should be tied on a tether just outside my house so she knows where to go in the evenings, yep, inside my house. After the three days, I can let her run free throughout the compound. There is a one Rooster that roams around impregnating the females at a rampant pace. I hope he finds Midnight, I want some eggs and baby chickens.

Rain Forest, Rafting the Nile, and Genocide Museum

2010-05-01T07:21:00.008-04:00

The heading is just a brief summary of what I did for a few days in April. There is so much that I could write and will fill in the gaps later. For now know that I had a wonderful time experiencing the cultures of Uganda and Rwanda. Rafting down the Nile was exhilarating. Observing the genocide museum and the church outside of town stirred up in me so many emotions. Sadness. That a people group could kill close to 1 million people. Anger. Various countries, including the US did not send aid. Heartbreak. Hearing stories of family members die in front of their eyes. Disbelief. Reading that children were mercilessly killed.

Below are pictures of rafting down the Nile in Jinja, Uganda.

The boat crew. We are hitting the rapids head on.

Our raft being flipped by the class 5 rapids (left). Our guide has his foot caught in the raft. Allen (raft mate) came to his rescue and pulled him aboard. (right)

Provincial and National Games

2010-04-24T12:43:00.007-04:00

March seemed like an extremely long month. The last three weeks of the month went really slow. The week of the 14th was review for the exams that followed the next week. The week of the 28th was provincial games in Webuye. What was really good was the meeting with the parents of Deaf parents on the 20th. For one, there were more parents that came and we were able to cover more material. My colleague has been a great help. I am very appreciative of him letting me lead the lessons. I will miss the meeting in April because I will be at the national games in Thika, but will continue in May. The objective in the future is to teach them stories and grammar. Thus in the process they will learn vocabulary.

Provincial Games in Webuye was an exciting time. It was really good to see other hard of hearing/deaf schools come together and compete in games. The games were: athletics, handball, netball, volleyball, and soccer. The games started on the 31st with a parade. There was a 10 person horn and drum band that lead the students from the school to the field where the activities would be held. We walked through the middle of Webuye town for 20 minutes. Webuye is 3 hours north of Mumias. Mumias did outstanding. It feels good to win.

Walking through town reminded me of running the Cooper River Bridge Run. After exiting the bridge the residents of Charleston are standing on their porch or their front lawn cheering on the runners as they pass. Though the people of Webuye did not cheer as we processed through the streets; they did line the streets gazing at the masses of primary school kids walking.

Marching band that lead procession to signify start of the games (far left) Obstacle Course for the young kids (middle) 800 meters race for girls (far right)

National Games was a whole nother animal. The games were originally set for Nyeri, but a few days before the games started it was moved to Thika. My impression was that the fields would be “top notch.” After attending the provincial games where the athletes competed on grass and dirt fields I was hoping things would be different. I was mistaken. Though there was no paved area for handball or netball, I suppose the dirt was sufficient for the kids. I am obviously an outsider, because the kids are so used to playing on dirt and some grass that it was no big deal. I have mentioned before that shoes is a luxury and not a requirement. I am still baffled by how well the kids move on the dirt and rough ground. And did I mention kicking a soccer ball with their bare feet. Ouch!! I can barely walk barefoot on the same terrain, much less kick a hard round ball.

Their are 8 teams for each discipline. The 8 teams comprise the 8 provinces in Kenya. The best players from the provincial teams are assembled to form one team. For example, Mumias primary did very well at the provincials therefore most of the players on the Western team were from Mumias.

I attended the opening ceremony with the masses of others from the provinces. We flooded the city of Thika with buses and hoards of people. All of the buses arrived at the Ministries of Thika government offices. Just as was the case at the provincials we walked around the town centre holding banners displaying our provincial pride. The walk was long and walk in a circle with in the town. We finished at the City stadium. I was so impressed. The field had thick and healthy grass with a nice track. I was really disappointed to later learn that none of our activities would be held there. We all arrived and we walked around the field displaying our pride. It felt like the opening olympic ceremony. I got a few goose bumps.

I stayed and supported Western until Thursday afternoon. Another volunteer came to Thika to visit her students briefly before heading back to Nairobi. I joined her on her trip back to Nairobi. I was joining her and 2 others for our journey through Uganda and Rwanda. I watched as Western was winning event after event. It is good to see your school and province perform well.

Opening Ceremony (far left) Western boy playing soccer-in blue (middle) Western girls playing netball in yellow (far right)

Basketball, Drama and Funeral

2010-03-25T14:44:00.006-04:00

Basketball, Drama, Pupil dying, Muslim funeral, teaching/coaching basketball next term, pupils exams and getting a haircut; a very busy week. I really don’t know where or how I am going to start.

As is custom that the third Saturday of every month a colleague and I go to Kakamega to teach KSL to parents of deaf pupils. I went to Kakamega on Friday to visit another volunteer who lives near town. I crashed there Friday and Saturday night. At the meeting this time there were more parents that attended, that was a good thing to see. For roughly 30 minutes I taught all of the parents vocabulary. We covered food and things in a house. I am thoroughly impressed that they pick up the material so fast. I feel very comfortable teaching, especially signing. The pressure and anxiety of speaking is not an issue; therefore focusing on signing and interacting with the people become the priority. In May I am going to teach them sentences and stories. They will learn vocab and stories at the same time. On Sunday Margaret and I went to go look for the drama competition at the near by high school. The day before my colleague told me about this competition. While we were walking down the tarmac (paved road) I noticed to the left some people playing basketball. Of course my eyes were instantly attracted to the round ball. I wanted to cross the street and get in on a pick up game. I did not know how much I miss playing, but I do miss playing. Upon arriving at the high school we notice that there is field hockey and rugby going on. I stood there for several minutes taking it all in. I enjoy competition whether playing or watching. I asked a gentlemen who was near what was going on, he said that this was the semi finals qualifications for nationals for high school sports. He also said that the basketball that we saw on the walk toward the school was a part of the qualifications. Of course at the moment my mind started to think about whether the deaf primary have basketball teams. I enquired with a few people and they said only the hearing and more specifically the private schools have basketball teams. My next thought was that I was going to start teaching the kids at school next term. That is my goal. Before I come back to site in May I am going to buy a basketball to bring with me. A nearby high school to Mumias has a nice court of which I plan on playing on often.

Field Hockey.

The main reason we were at the school in the first place was the drama competition. We walked to the auditorium and realized that it had started and people were waiting outside for their opportunity to get a seat inside. Margaret and I made a friend outside while we were waiting for the first act to end so we could see if we could get a seat. Not only did the gentlemen help us get in the building, but the hostess escorted us to the front row. He made two gentlemen get up that were seated. We were given water, bread, and soda. Again it is evident, visitors are treated like royalty. Kenyans are very hospitable. I still think that a big reason for the above and beyond treatment was that we are wazungus (white people). Part of me wants to be treated like everybody else, but at the same time it does feel nice to be given the fatted calf. The dramas, chorals, soloist, and dances were outstanding.

On Saturday I received a text message that a pupil at school had just died that morning. Certainly not what I wanted to read and experience while I am here. I arrived back at the school and learned all the details, malaria. On Monday, a large portion of the teachers and some of the students traveled by bus to the funeral service at the boys home. The next day was the burial. That was my first muslim funeral that I have attended. Interesting tid bits about a muslim funeral: only men are allowed to dig the grave, men bury the person, women are not allowed to be see the burial process, the body is placed in a white cloth and not in a casket, body is laid on its right side-facing meca-holy city for Muslims, while body is moved from carrying stretcher a white cloth with the muslim symbols on top is waved on top of the grave so people can not see the body being placed underground, sticks are placed horizontal along length of body with leaves/branches on top of that, dirt is then placed back on grave.

Muslim Prayer before burial

Exam week has gone by pretty well, but the days seem long. There is a lot of sitting around.

April plans.

Provincial games with school will be in Wbeye 30-2. If the pupils do well we will go to national’s in nyeri (hour north of nairobi). I will be there the 4-9. On the 9th I will be meeting my friends in nairobi for our vacation. We are going to the kakamega forest, white water raft down the nile in Uganda, then to Kigali, Rwanda to see the Genocide Museum. My plane leaves Kigali at 4 pm on the 18th for Nairobi. From the 19-28 I will be in Nairobi for In service training for Peace Corps. It will definitely be nice to see my other PC friends.

Oh yeah--I got a hair cut. It is short and my beard has grown in.

Time standing still

2010-03-14T14:53:00.001-04:00

The past week while I was teaching P.E. outside with my class 5 kids I heard an airplane. I did not think to much about it, oh how was I mistaken. Once the kids saw the plane it was chaotic. They were jumping up and down pointing and signing as if they had seen an UFOs. Not only did my class stop but every other class at the school. Once the other kids notice my kids making a big deal about the plane that the other kids ran outside to see the huge airplane. For 10 minutes I answered questions and watched their reenactments of the plane flying over head. Such questions that were posed, Did you fly on that plane, where is that going, where is it from, and is it making a lot of noise. I found that the present opportunity was worth conversing with the kids about airplanes and flight. Although my class was basically kaput, it was well worth the interaction with the class.

On the weekend I went to Kisumu with several other volunteers for a short road trip and to get away from our sites. Kisumu is the 3rd largest city in Kenya. It definitely has amenities of a big city, but at the same time the charm and the uniqueness of Kenya's. We (6) all stayed at lodge in the heart of town. A warm shower--a commodity-was nice for a little bit. We spent our time walking the streets and shopping. It was the consensus was we wanted to eat well and have some comfort foods: mexican, pizza, brownie’s with ice cream and milk shakes. The meals were more expensive than Mumias but it was worth a change of scenery and food.

On Sunday we woke up and went upstairs for breakfast. Upon completion we ran into some other mazungu’s. We conversed about our travels and what we were doing in Kenya. We shared stories with people from Chicago (working in Bungoma-not far from Mumias), Scotland, and Netherlands. They proceeded to tell us of the roof top view. Upon reaching the roof, the view was spectacular. We had a 360 view of Kisumu, with a good view of Lake Victoria.

Mango Pie

With the assistance of another volunteer, we made a mango pie. It was so good. WOW. That was Friday.

I woke up on Saturday and wanted to walk over to the field just beyond our school to take a gander at the scout troops. (in case you are wondering it is the same as the boy scouts). This is the 100th year of scouting in Kenya. There is going to be a big hoopla this June and July. I went with my camera to take a few pictures and introduce myself to the leaders. What I did not know was that would turn into being offered tea, bread and mandazi (fried pastry). And then being the guest of honor for their opening ceremony. The troop leader asked if I would give a few words to the kids. The kids were from various schools in the region. It was a competition of sorts. I felt like a VIP while being introduced to the area commissioner (A.C.) and assistant area commissioner (A.A.C) for scouts. During my brief talk to the kids I told them that when I was your age (feels weird saying that) that I was a scout and it is something to take pride in because it will benefit you later in life.

Again and again I find the people of Kenya to be very hospitable and friendly. I am continually am asked by kenyans, how do you find this place. I always say the same thing. Kenya is a very beautiful place with friendly and hospitable people.

The A.C. asked if I would invite the kids from the school over for the bonfire later that evening. After juggling a few things we were able to get some teachers to assist me with just a few number of kids. There was a lot of dancing, singing, dramas and of course laughter. The A.C. Wants to have a scout group started a deaf school. He gave me a brochure on the logistics on being a leader for the scouts. I relayed the information to few of the other teachers and they seem very excited about starting a scout group at school. It wasn’t to long ago that I was not a fan of scouting, but how things can change. I am looking forward to helping start a scout group here at the school.

De ja vu. Would you like to give the sermon next Sunday. That was the question posed by the pastor this morning. It seems recent that I was asked a similar question by my deputy head teacher. Although before it was for Sunday school, and this was the actual sermon. I have wondered if this is normal, for people to ask guests to have a big part in the ceremony/service. A fellow teacher told me today, yep it can be normal. I was shoked by the question from the pastor-that was during the service by the way. I told him maybe in a few weeks.

Everyday is an adventure.

This upcoming week is review week before exams the following week. I can’t believe I have made it through my first term. My month break is coming in April. I have tentative plans. I hope to nail down some things later. Rafting down the Nile is an option, but weighing the expenses. I might have to bite the bullet and splurge.

Public Speaking...Fear no more

2010-03-02T20:15:00.006-05:00

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Yesterday I took another trip to Kakamega to teach parents of deaf children sign language. This time we had a meeting and we got some things accomplished. Though no parents arrived on time, an hour late, we had a successful meeting. When we finally got to a room to start teaching. We learned early on that one of the parents had not attended the meeting last and did not know the alphabet. My colleague, Shikuku, took the lone gentlemen outside and taught him the alphabet while I was in the room with the remaining 5 women. I did not have anything planned to teach. I first taught them signs for cities in Kenya. I would give the sign and they would then guess the correct city and then finger spell the correct answer. These ladies were very smart. I moved on the animal signs and family. I felt a little embarrassed that I was ill prepared. One thing I don’t like is going to into teaching and not being prepared. All in all the meeting worked out just fine.

During this past week I was asked by my deputy to teach Sunday school at his church. That was something I wanted to do and did not give really a second thought about doing so. I planned a short lesson about judgement day and the sheep and the goats. The kids seemed to like the lesson and also the song I taught them, “This little light of mine.” I have learned that most of the songs sung by kenyans are very simple with very short verses. This song was also short which I chose on purpose. After Sunday school was finished a few of the kids were singing the song.

The deputy then asked if I would go into the service and introduce myself, I obliged. After nearly 20 minutes, the assistant pastor/deputy asked if I would say a few words. I stood up and said, “God is good, All the Time and All the time God is good.” I went on on say that I am teaching at mumias primary deaf school. I will be teaching there for 2 years. I have found the kenya people beautiful, caring and kind. (Before I arrived in kenya/started teaching, I would have been terrified about speaking infront of a congregation. But I was not scared at all. Thankful for that.

I think since I am an american and it is assumed that all americans have money that they will contribute to any cause. I was asked and then basically informed that I was going to bring my church family from america to do a mission work at this church. And that I was going to bring a camera and video next week so that I will show my church back home so they will be more inclined to come. Isn’t it nice, when things are just imposed.

Last week I found a church I really liked. When I arrived there were only 4 people there, including the pastor. I arrived thinking the service was over, but I was mistaken, it had just began. For the next hour or we had church. Wow. It was refreshing to hear the word preached. There was no musical instruments or sound systems only: building, benches-4, and a podium. I can’t wait to go back there. During the service I was asked to lead in a song, I thought…and came up with Holy, Holy, Holy. I sang and the 4 other men joined in. They were appreciative and want me to teach them more american songs.

Most of my evenings are very similar, I cook a large meal that usually has lots of left overs and then spend roughly 2 hours spending time with my students. Since I live on the school compound access and interaction with students is always available. Every evening from 7-9 pm all the students are required to go and sit in their class rooms and read their books and do home work. Their homework is done during the day and returned to the teachers office for grading. And reading consists of looking at pictures. The latter I find very interesting. When I am spending time with them they will turn page after page and sign, “eaten finished.” Some things I have eaten, but for example, snakes, parrots, and rats just to name a few are not ones I have partaken. I spend my time in 2 classes, math and social studies. In light of the fact I really like teaching math I incorporate it into those two hours. A few days ago I made multiplication flash cards for numbers 1-9. The kids really enjoy guessing the correct. What they don’t know is that the more we practice the better they will get. It is good to see when they are able to come up with an answer with out looking at their multiplication chart.

I have noticed there are several things that I could get my hands in for secondary projects. The school needs to use the 3 computers that they have. I know for sure that one of them works, I plugged it in myself. I was told before hand that it had died. Really all it needed was multiple outlet surge protector. Time will tell with this project. The computers are currently being moved out of the library into another room at the school. I am not sure how or what this will look like.

Another possibility is fixing the water tanks. There is no consistent “tap” therefore the water runs out frequently. Keeping your own stash of water on hand at your house is very important. On the school grounds there are 3 large water storage containers, 1000 Liters each. A volunteer before established and had a system working but now it needs to be reassessed. For roughly March through August there is constant rain. It is a shame for the water to not be used. There are “gutters” that catch the rain and funnel it to the large storage tanks. The issue comes in when the connection between gutters and the tank is disconnected or broke. This project seems like a very “simple” one to address. The tanks are in good condition but need to be cleaned out and closed up. I am asking around to find out more about the steps that need to be taken to get it down.

One day last week I was low on water so I made a trip with my two 10 liter buckets to the river. When I arrived there were 10 pupils there washing their clothes and one boy was taking a bath. He was embarrassed and did not know what to do when he saw two mama’s walking by, it was somewhat humorous.

I look forward to teaching P.E. And the kids also look forward to the class. I refuse to copy the other teachers when it comes to p.e. Since it is something I enjoy, I try and do things a little different. Right now I am teaching them how to play volleyball. You may think that they my class 5 kids know how to play since they play everyday after school, normally only the class 7 and 8 kids. There are so many things I want to teach them but my time is so limited. The instruction for skills is at the beginning. I know really all they want to do is play a game. Once we go over a few fundamentals, I let them have fun by playing. I join in also.

Next term I want to start a physical fitness test with my pe class. I remember growing up and having various activities that tested your abilities. For example: sit ups, push ups, sit and reach, running, jumping etc. I am going to have a poster in their class with their names and the activity with the results. At this point I don’t know how often I will do this, 1, 2 or 3 times a week. It should be something that continues throughout the year.

Kenya Time

2010-02-20T17:12:00.002-05:00

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Another instance of Africa time and American time.

Today it was planned that I was to meet a teacher from my school here in Kakamega at 10 am. We were meeting to teach parents of deaf children at our school sign language so that they can better communicate with their children. It is really good to see that their are teachers here at Mumias Primary School for the Deaf that are teaching parents. As well that their are parents who are wanting to learn sign language.

I left this morning at 7:30 and arrived at 8:30. I wanted to get their in plenty of time so I could do some errands I really needed to do before the meeting. One thing I needed was unlock mpesa account on my phone so I could add money and thus use my phone. I accomplished that with little trouble. Well maybe not little. Finding it...yah yah yah. There is nothing like asking 5 people and they give you different directions but all are in the same general directions. Finally, after I had walked for an hour and came full circle to where I started I asked a couple that I was passing. I was looking for some help. Isn’t it nice when you are looking for help and you ask another tourist. But it worked out good because he was able to speak Kiswahili to another gentlemen that was walking by. The tourist couple, who was from Nairobi, translated the man’s answer so I could find the Safaricom Care Center. Once I arrived at the building, I looked around and noticed that I had walked down that street not to long ago.

Also, during my time in the safaricom care center I also was looking at getting another phone. It has been suggested to purchase a backup cheap phone. Why you may ask, incase the primary one gets stolen or stops working it is good to have one. I did not buy the phone, but was comparing prices.

After my trip to the safaricom store, I took a walk through the market. Wow. It was pretty much 4 times larger than mumias. People, fruit, vegetables, clothes and everything else was laid out to be seen. Among the foods that are not normally in Mumias were corn on the stock and pumpkin. It is still amazing that virtually every seller sells the same thing.

Kakamega market

President Kibaki and President Barack Obama
(most if not all business have portraits of President Kibaki but this rare one had Obama as well).

Normally their are hens, goats or cows eating food scraps left in the street. This was the first pig i have seen in Kenya.

I then notice that it is time to meet my teacher for the meeting. I text my colleague to say that I was going to be a few minutes late, Pole (I am sorry). I go to where we are supposed to meet and ask around where we are supposed to meet. I asked what seemed like 10 different people and none of them knew. I was told to just wait as they go and look. I waited and waited. No one find out anything useful besides telling me I don’t know.

I met a lady who is also at the school and she suggested that I could wait with her. She was attending a seminar/lecture for teachers with HIV. I sat and listened to the various lectures who basically said, that your status as being infected with HIV will not change so you should live your life. You have a huge responsibility as a teacher, and thus should be your focus. I never really knew before I arrived here how big hiv/aids among every walk of life really is. Sex is normal and rampant. The act is not the problem, but the lack of protection, limited partners and abstinence. Those are the three main messages that are preached among Africans. Even though people know this information they don’t take the necessary steps.

As I mentioned, I arrived at the meeting place a little late. I waited another 2 hours before the other teacher arrived. If I knew he was going to be late I could have spent more time at the market or doing various other things. Even though I know about africa time, I forgot today for some reason. Maybe next time, i should ask if the meeting is on America time or Kenya time.

After we had a brief meeting with the parents because there was only 5 parents, there are normally 20-30. There might be a meeting next Saturday; I will wait and see.

Once the short meeting was over I visited a RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) who now lives in Kakamega. He did his service in Tanzania and COS (Completion of Service) November of 2009. He was first assigned to Kenya, but because of the violence of the election in 2007 he was moved to tanzania where he stayed for 2 years. It was nice hearing his stories of his travels and his experience as a peace corps volunteer. There is definitely a bond amongst PCVs.

On my way back to the matatu station I wanted to stop by the supermarket to see if they had a rocking chair. Of course they don’t. I was disappointed. I picked up a few things while I was there such as more spices and a food grater. One of these days I am going to get a rocking chair. Also I would really like a hammock, either bought or made.

Teaching breakthrough

2010-02-20T14:50:00.008-05:00

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentines Day in Kenya. There was chatter amongst the staff at school about the importance and the big thing that is valentines day. Well the day came and went and it definitely did not live up to the hype. Of course there were plenty of comments on the local radio stations. On one station the host was taking calls about relationship troubles and what should be done. I could only think of Delilah. The more love stories that are shared; sometimes I wonder if the caller actually listens to what they are saying. Sometimes it is humorous.

My sitting room

I mentioned earlier that I was going to interpret for a catholic mass on Wednesday morning. Baptism by fire. I guess it is nice to be humbled. For starters I arrived 15 minutes ahead of when I was told to be there, but the service was a good 10 minutes underway. After a few minutes I go up on stage and start to interpret. I notice very quickly that the Father is speaking much faster than he did for the other interpreter that interpreted before I came up. It was very hard. On a personal note, I wrestled with interpreting for information that I don’t believe is true. Interpreting for a church service is very difficult. A lot of the words must be explained either before or after the service for the information to be fully grasped.

These past two weeks have been hard. Teaching is hard profession and I have total respect and admiration for those who teach. My main struggle is teaching social studies. Unlike many of the other subjects, this one requires knowledge of a lot of signs. I have some, but near not enough. The other teachers continually say that bringing visual aids is very helpful for this subject. I totally agree. It is hard when I go to teach, the students look tired and in no way interested. The class is right after lunch or right before. I can somewhat understand. When I walk into the class and the pupils ask is it P.E. time, I am not sure what to think. I guess it Is nice that they enjoy P.E. but that does not give me any confidence for teaching social studies.

Well Monday arrived and it felt like it was going to be just another day, but how in just moments everything changed. While I am sitting in the staff room planning my lessons for the day, I see teachers running out of the room; screaming and pointing. I then noticed pupils running also. My first thought was that their was a fight. I ran outside to see what was going on. Fire! Rooms behind the kitchen had caught fire and it was spreading quickly. The fire department was called, 20 minutes away. All of the staff and teachers pitched in by dousing water on the fire from buckets and large sufrias (cooking pots). While people were doing that, others (including myself) were removing furniture and everything that was important in the adjacent rooms out. It may have looked like a chaotic situation, but things seemed to flow nicely. We are are able to put the fire out and then we see the fire truck arrive. They begin to unload, then they notice the fire is out. They pack up and leave. St. Angelias Secondary School (over the fence) came to assist in putting out the fire. It was remarkable to see so many people working together.

What makes this even worse is the rooms that were affected was a man’s living quarters. In addition to that, he is planning on getting married 28, February 2010. All of the money for the dowry, clothes and food that he was planning on using for the wedding was destroyed. I can’t imagine what is going through his head right now.

The teachers put together some funds and brought whatever clothes or household goods that we thought would be helpful for the man and the family from our own homes.

Needless to say, there was little teaching that happened that day.

Seven weeks. I am mentioning the time frame for one reason. It has taken me this long to have one good class of Social Studies. I have tried several methods of teaching the material, but nothings seemed to work. Everyday the pupils look bored. I am not sure whether they are bored or whether they are not understanding the information. I dread teaching this class. I have no idea what to do. Some days I want to just skip the class and do something else. The majority of the time I draw maps on the black board and have the pupils to copy and label the appropriate places. I have done the provinces, climate regions and cities for roughly 4-5 weeks straight. I have tried on several occasions to try and teach with out the maps, but with little success. Today I tried something new. I wrote a paragraph on the board from the text and then signed it to them. After I finished; I asked a pupil to come up and sign it as well. The rest of the class was paying attention and seemed to understand the material. They copied the paragraph while I wrote the questions on the other side. I did the same thing with the questions. I signed it first, then had a pupil come up also and sign it. It definitely made my day.

I have mentioned before that I m teaching life skills. Currently I am teaching them how to write a letter. I have some elementary school teachers back in the states who are having their class also write letters to my 3 life skills classes. I am looking forward to receiving the letters and have the pupils read it. Every child should get a letter, which will make their day.

Of course having favorites is highly discouraged, but I have some. So sue me. I have one class I thoroughly enjoy teaching. The pupils greet me with a big smile and deaf applause. Last week the class started standing up when I walked into the room. They would then sign: welcome, how are you? we are fine. What an honor.

Buying a rocking chair in Kakamega on Saturday.

Teaching

2010-02-01T13:54:00.004-05:00

Monday, January 18, 2010
Today I visited the police station with the assistance of a fellow
teacher. I wanted to introduce myself to the local authorities here in
Mumias. Not only is it a requirement for me to meet the important
people in town it also is good for those people to be aware of my
presence. I introduced my self to the Officer Commanding Station (OCS)
and the Deputy OCS. This would be the equivalent of the police chief
and the assistant police chief of the town. They were very hospitable
and appreciative that I stopped by and introduced myself.
This evening I went to help a few of the students in my math class who
were struggling. It is a wonderful feeling when the light bulb goes
off in their heads. Of course the struggle will continue to be that
some kids are very smart and appear to be bored with the work being
given.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Teaching. It is still hard to believe I am doing it in Kenya. There
are definite struggles. One large one is teaching. My teaching
experience before I came to the peace corps was minimal at best. For
some reason I don't feel intimidated with teaching which is a good
thing. I want to do the best that I can but struggle with how to
present the information so that the pupils understand. Teaching deaf
students is a lot different than hearing.
I feel comfortable with teaching math. I understand and like math so
teaching it is a joy. My greatest struggle now is teaching social
studies. There is so much material that needs to be covered and
explaining that to deaf students is very hard. The greatest obstacle
is the signing vocabulary. During Pre-Service Training we were not
given the vocab for teaching subjects. The emphasis was on
conversation. On that matter I feel very comfortable, but teaching is
very hard. Currently I am teaching and explaining maps to the pupils.
I am going over the mountain ranges, rivers, climate regions,
provinces, agriculture and so forth. It is important for the students
to understand where these things are located.
I have started teaching life skills. My first topic i have introduced
is how to address a letter to be mailed. Hopefully soon, I can have
them write a letter to some teacher friends back home. I am taking it
a day at time. Since i am only teaching one class a week to three
different classes; it might take a while, but am willing to wait.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My birthday. I received a phone call from mom. It was nice to hear her
voice.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Where to begin. This past Monday I helped with the athletics training
at the school. In March a group of students will be selected to attend
regional competitions. Athletics consist of running short and long
distances. The school also has a futbol, netball for girls
(basketball) and dancing. Behind the school is a soccer field where we
met for practice. As I arrive numerous of the kids are already
running. I then noticed that either the kids are running barefoot or
in flip flops. Yes flip flops. I can hardly walk in them much less run
in them. They ran for 30 minutes. I was tired just watching them.
Every grade and every class has a prefect (lead student). During the
running they would carry sticks to hit the pupils that were not
running. As much as I am not used to seeing kids being hit with sticks
this method seem to work. After the 30 minutes the boys and girls were
separated and were led by a prefect in stretching. The coach then
selected out every age group to race. For the younger age it was 2
laps and for the upper age (class 8-8th grade) ran 5 laps. I was so
amazed at how well the kids ran. I did notice during the race they
took off their flip flops and ran barefoot.
Math class. Ohhh ya ya. This was harder than I thought. It is hard to
teach adding 3 digit numbers if they have a hard time adding 1 digit
numbers. Yesterday I made up a game that they seemed to enjoy. I put
19 addition problems on the board. These all involved carrying a
digit. Ex. 9+4. I had two teams and made them do it as fast as
possible. They do like competition. It is encouraging to see when the
kids know the right answer and are trying to help the other pupils. On
the other hand it is hard because they usually help the same students.
I gave my first test as a teacher, it was math class 4 (4th grade; 8
out of 19 got 80% or higher. I suppose that is really good. And
basically the rest need a lot of improvement. I told them the day
before there would be a test and we went over problems that would be
on the test. The day of the test for the first 10 minutes I went over
again problems that would be on the test. When the review was done, I
erased the answers and told them to do the work themselves. The goal
is for the kids to succeed. To easy, I have no idea. With such
disparity in the class it is hard.
I also gave my first test in Social Studies. I had the students fill
in the blanks of physical regions in kenya and label them on the map.
We had gone over this map for 3 class periods. As was the case in the
math class some kids got it, but most were way off. They do want to
succeed really bad, but something is not clicking. Social studies for
me is the hardest to teach. The material is so wordy in the text book.
When I try to explain it to the pupils I don't do a good job, because
the material is wordy, it requires a lot of signs of which I don't
know. I definitely can learn some, but this is the greatest challenge
I have right now.
It is good to be connected and included in the activities at the
school. It is nice that the teachers are very welcoming and willing to
teach me things about the kenya way of life. I have been invitied over
for lunch at a deaf teachers house and helped make a cake at another
colleagues house.Last Sunday when I was having Sunday lunch with a
deaf teacher another teacher came in and said that there was a group of people that was
going to being making a cake that evening. Of course I chimed in and
asked if I could join. They asked if I would buy some milk and bring
it over that evening. I later found out that the group of 4 people had
just started a cooking group. They would all pitch in a few shillings
for the ingredients and together they would make a big meal. It is
great to involved in a cooking group. I am eager to learn some new
things to cook and methods of cooking. I sounds like we are going to
get together once a week. If they slack off, i will persuade for at
least once a week.
Sunday evening we made a cake. I had not seen a jiko oven in action
but was eager to see how it worked. A jiko oven is basically a
charcoal basin with charcoal in the cavity. A pot is placed ontop of
the coals with sand/gravel in the pot. Another pot with whatever you
are cooking goes inside the sand/gravel pot. A lid is then placed
ontop and hot/burning charcoal is placed on top of the lid. With in 45
minutes our cake was done. It tasted wonderful. I look forward to
trying various cakes and desserts in the coming days and weeks.
On Saturday I am attending mumias youth deaf group. The essence of the
group is to equip the deaf youth in and around mumias about hiv/aids.
There are a great number of youth that are in hiding because not only
they are deaf, but also they have infected with hiv/aids. The group is
looking into finding different ways to reach the youth in areas that
they understand and is beneficial to them. The secretary of the group
is a deaf teacher at my school.
Of course those were my plans, but I found out Friday morning that
there was a funeral for a relative of one of the teachers at the
school and I joined all of the other teachers in attending. Half of
the teachers left Friday night and the other half left that morning. I
had heard that funerals are a celebration with lots of dancing and
eating. I was looking forward to both. I thought there would be
dancing and eating both days, but just Friday night. I left Saturday
morning and arrived well into the program. The event was outside under
numerous tents. The ceremony on saturday lasted several hours and had
numerous speakers. what was interested was the first born son of the
diseased gave a detailed explanation of how the person died. A "play
by play" certainly not normal for america, but nice to be apart of
something different here in kenya.
January 31, 2010
i went to bugoma, it is a small town about 1 hour away via a matatu on
a uneven dirt road. I am looking for a blender. The lady that I had
lunch with a few days ago served avocado juice. She informed me the
only ingredients were avocado, sugar and water mixed in a blender. I
can't wait to make my own.
On my way back from bugoma with K ann we ran into some kids that
looked like they were on the wrong continent. They were wearing
basketball shoes, jordan shorts, and college basketball jerseys. When
I saw a N.C. State jersey I said wait a minute. I might have to break
out the orange and white. I could not pass up the opportunity to ask
where they play and when. Next Saturday and Sunday I am heading to the
hardwood to play some ball. I am curious to see how different or
similar it is to playing on the playground back home.
Also on Friday I was asked if I would be the sign language interpreter
for mass on Wednesday morning for the deaf at the school at the local
catholic church. I had one stipulation, the priest must speak english.
I would be of no use if it was in Kiswahili. We will see how this
goes. I am not nervous, but maybe that will change when I get up on
stage at 6:30 am.

blog post

2010-01-16T13:39:00.001-05:00

Monday, January 11, 2010
Briefly about my first day of class. We had an assembly outside near
the flag pole. All of the pupils were gathered around the flag pole.
Five girls began the ceremony by unfolding the Kenyan flag from atop
the flag pole. It was planned to start at 7:30 but did not start till
close to 7:50. One of the staff members gave announcements then the
deputy head teacher (assistant principal) said a few words then he
introduced me. I went and signed a few words. Hello, Good morning. I
am excited to be here and look forward to teaching here for 2 years.
The Deputy tells the students to go to their class. For 40 minutes
they wait in the classroom while the teachers meet in the staff room
and plan the day. That is normal for the students to go to the class
and wait for the teachers. Kenya school system and how they do
things is so different than the U.S. A lot of the teachers did not
have text books or anything so we just sat around all day. And yes i
mean all day. It is a good thing my house is on the school grounds.
Deputy said we would get the books tomorrow and can thus making scheme
of works and lesson plans. Maybe will can start teaching on Wednesday.
One reason for the slow start is that my school has 400 students and
roughly right now just 200 are here, thus the quandary.

I have met some great teachers. I am really grateful that some of the
teachers are deaf. The school provides free lunch on Monday; Tuesday
through Friday is very inexpensive, but alot of the same food.

This afternoon I went into town to buy some more supplies. I am
excited about my radio that I bought. It can pick up african, british
(BBC world service) and german stations.

I went to the bank to exchange american dollars for shillings and
waited in line. Yes it is normal for you to wait in line for a long
time. Even though there were plenty of windows for some reason it
takes a long time. Because I have slowly adjusted to the way of life I
am ok with that. Several times the power went out. Nobody panicked; it
was life as normal. This power outage was due to the heavy
thunderstorm that was passing through. While I waited on the storm to
pass I sat next to the arm guards. We had small talk which included
the english premier league. I found another fan of Chelsea. Also the
poor performance from the Kenya national soccer team. They attributed
it to politics. It seems no matter where you go politics finds a way
into every facet of life.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Once again I spent the majority of my day in the staff room. I did
plan a little for my first day teaching tomorrow. My plan is to cover
the rules of the classroom. I will make it into a full class period. I
intend on doing that with each of my classes. Today I also found out
my teaching schedule for my first term. There is a possible 40 half
hour teaching blocks per week and I am teaching 18. I think that is a
good number to start with. I will probably increase the number next
term or maybe just change around my subjects. That was my first
thought, but after asking fellow teachers this is not possible. I
teach the same classes all year. I do want to co-teach with some of
the teachers so to get expereince teaching different subjects and
watching how other teachers plan and teach.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Well me first day teaching what can I say, not as bad as I thought.
Well really I did not think it would be that difficult. My plan was
very simple to give my rules for my class. Arrive on time, respect
others, focus on the teacher and have materials ready. With any rules
there has to be consequences and or rewards for following. I provided
them with the negative. If you break one rule your name goes on the
board as a warning. If you break two rules you get a check mark beside
your name and 15 minute detention during play time at end of day. If
you get two check marks you receive 30 minute detention. The second
time I gave the information I had the pupils come up to the front of
the room and act out good and bad behavior. I think it went over well.

The next thing is writing my scheme of work and lesson plans for all
of my classes. As I began to ask and watch my fellow teachers writing
the scheme of work and lessons plans it is realy a formality. It is
done so that the head teacher can give his literal stamp of approval.
What separates the good teachers from the rest is how you teach. It is
not how neat or well done the SW or LP is compiled. The SW and LP help
a great deal in forming thoughts and ways of presenting material so
that the students understand.

Tomorrow I will start teaching my subjects. I like math a lot and so
teaching it will be fun.

I am also teaching life skills and PE, both of which I have no book or
syllabus. I am not sure what I am supposed to do.

After class today I visited and introduced myself to the area chief,
George B (with the assistance of a fellow teacher). He offered us
ground nuts and a soda. He was very welcoming. My colleague told me
that when ever there is a dispute with in the community people come to
him to solve the issue. I think that is so interesting how that works.
We chatted for a few minutes before we departed. It was definitely
difficult to communicate b/c of my lack of conversation Kiswahili
skills.

Thursday, January 14, 2010
We had a staff meeting which was scheduled during our tea break which
last 15 minutes. I personally did not know about the staff meeting
until I came back from my class and noticed all of my colleagues were
there. The purpose of the meeting was to assign extracurricular
activitiy leaders from among the techers. These ranged from sports/
games, guiding and counseling, cleaning, boarding, dancing, etc. There
was an interpretor who started before I got there. After nearly 10-15
minutes the interpretor asked if I would like to come up and relieve
her when she gets done. I said ok, I don't mind. Soon thereafter she
was done and it was my turn to interpret. Bear in mind that this was
my first expereince infront of a large group of people. I have done it
briefly for a few minutes for another deaf friend, but nothing like
this. I begin and for the next 1 ½ hours I was interpreting. It
certainly does get tiring, both my hands and my face because of the
constant changing facial expressions. I felt like I did an adequate
job, but had a great struggle with the sign names of the other
teachers. I would fall behind very quickly because of the that. Of
course there were signs I did not know and also the occasional
speaking in Kiswahili did not help either. When the speaker would
speak in kiswahili; I would sign, "speaking in kiswahili." I noticed
later on that there was another lady that was interpreting for two
deaf teachers sitting near her. This is not the same lady that started
the meeting interpreting. I on the other hand was sitted at the front
of the room in a chair. So roughtly 1 hour into signing the gentlemen
that was watching me was getting confused on what was going on and
turned to watch the other interpreter.

All in all I I feel like I will have many more opportunities to
improve in interpreting. A lot of the teachers use SEE (signed exact
english). This means they sign every single word. This method is very
inefficient and not the intention of sign language. The goal is to
sign concepts and not word for word.

This weekend I am taking a personal day to go to Kisumu to get some
needed supplies for my house.

blog post

2010-01-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 7, 2010

I arrived on Thursday evening with my supervisor as well with
Kristiann Fry and her supervisor. The easy coach bus ride took nearly
10 hours. I had dinner with my head teacher and the deputy head
teacher at HT office. We had pilau, ugali, cabbage, and meat. We sat
and talked for roughly and hour. We discussed what my vision was for
teaching and it seemed to go over just fine. I settled in for the
night after the meeting.
I was told that I would recieve breakfast at 7:30am.

Friday, January 8, 2010
The breakfast that was to arrive at &7:30 did not arrive till 9 am.
There was also a teachers conference to plan what was to be taught for
that term at 10. I thought I was told that I would be informed of when
and where that would take place but that did not happen. At 10 I
walked out of my house toward the office buildings. The kids were
telling me that the Deputy was in the building over there. I proceeded
to walk toward it and saw a lot of teachers sitting facing the
blackboard. I was welcomed in and noticed that all of the teachers
names and the classes they were going to be teaching was on the
blackboard. Every teacher had the right to chose which class they
wanted to teach. For most of the time the Deputy was changing and
rearranging the board. In the midst of what seemingly was chaos there
was order. There are 4 deaf teachers (2 male and 2 female) and a few
staff that are deaf.

Saturday, January 9, 2010
This morning I met Kristiann to go to the market with the assistance
of Florence, a lady that works at Kristiann school. Our schools are
only separated by a fence. It takes 5 minutes to get to her house. It
takes 20 minutes to get into town. After Florence shows us where the
posta is, we tell her we can handle the rest of the day on our own.
There is always something to buy, and how I love bargaining. The first
price they give is the mazungu price (white person or tourist price).

I was heading to town again in the afternoon but began conversing with
the watchman and he informed me that the students are going to church
right now. There is not another service tomorrow for the deaf at that
church. While I am conversing with Wilson and Patrick at the gate of
the school, what seems like the entire school is leaving for the
church. Then I decide that I will put off my market excursion till
later and go to the church. The catholic church was full. It had to
have 500 people and they were all pupils. Half of the pupils were
hearing and the other half were deaf. I walk in with Wilson and he
leads me to the front because maybe I was supposed to interpret. Oh
how was he mistaken. At the beginning of the service I found out that
the bishop is asking me if I am going to interpret. I tell Wilson and
the pupils around me that that is not going to happen. I will maybe do
it next year. I could do a so so job if the bishop spoke english. He
of course was speaking Kiswahili of which I know very little. I am
learning every day but definitely not enough to interpret. For roughly
1 ½ hours the deaf signed among themselves and where bored. For a
short time a lady came on stage and interpreted for a little bit. It
would be nice later down the road to interpret. Next Sunday I will try
and different deaf church.

After the service was finished I go to some dukas (shops) that are
closer than the main part of town and look around. I needed a desk to
do my work on and I asked a mama where I can find a carpenter. Upon
finding the carpenter and discussing the dimensions, I will have a
desk personal made and ready next Saturday with a clear coat of
sealant. I am excited. Depending on how things turn out I might buy
some more furniture. Also a bicycle also might be on the agenda pretty
soon.

2010-01-05T14:39:00.002-05:00

This is my host mother and house brother at host family appreciation. My mama gave me the shirt and the trousers. My mama and I both look smart.

A two month post

2010-01-04T21:58:00.002-05:00

Saturday, November 7, 2009

I arrived in Nairobi Wednesday evening with 27 other volunteers. We were greeted by current volunteers at the airport. We all loaded a bus and were taken to our hostel for our initial training, overall rules and expectations for PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers. Living and spending time with this many people 24 seven, you get close really fast. I was surprised and still am of how well we all get along. We are from all over the US. I guess it could consist of how we al want to help and serve the common man.

Our group consist of teachers: deaf education, math and science. Starting today Sunday, we will begin our official Pre-service training. This will consist of our language, culture and everything we need to know to be successful in our service. We are going on a 7 hour bus ride to the site which is roughly 150 miles (of which I have been told). I guess that only means the roads are not that great.

Yesterday I had my interview regarding where and what I wanted to teach at my school. I said I wanted to teach PE, math and Religion. I chose to be in a Christian community rather than Muslim or other. There is a curriculum that we go by, because the standardized test are based off of what is in the curriculum. From what I understand we can interject our opinion and thoughts and subjects. Of course the placement solely depends on PC. There were also choices for Isolated, rural, peri urban and urban. I chose peri urban and urban, with the hopes I get urban. Most if not all deaf schools are in either of those two areas. We also got to chose the climate. Hot/humid, cool/cold, wet/dry. I chose cool/cold and wet/dry.

All of the deaf ed volunteers will be will do their training together. We have up to 9 weeks to take and complete the sign language proficiency test. We can take the test in the 6th week. If we pass it then, then we can learn our local dialect and or Kiswalli. My goal is to pass the test as early as possible.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Another day.

I am slowing getting the future in my mind when I am in training. Training is very helpful with increasing my knowledge of KSL. I realize that training is very important and I can definitely see the benefits of my language classes and the various lectures that we attend. I am very much looking forward to going to my site in the western provence.

Several volunteers have visited us and have given several bits of advice. I like how they have all said, trials will come, but you have to fight through them and continue with the journey. I know it is a tough road being able to bounce off my frustrations and continue to move forward. I can’t sulk and pout over any minor issues that might arise.

Living and conversing with the host family Anthony, Charles, and Eva is really good. It is always a good laugh. I like how there is a laughter.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

My conversations with my host family are very interesting. I like that my two brothers speak english and thus we can carry on conversations. Yesterday we had a very interesting conversation. We saw on the news that Obama wants to send more troops into Afghanistan. One brother mentioned that it was not a wise thing to invade Iraq. If there is no evidence of WMD, why invade. Oil was brought up as a possible motive for invasion. Also that you can’t force democracy upon any group of people. It is a decision that they must decide on their own and not be forced.

My mama is terrific. Even though her english is barely to the point of conversing there is always a smile on her face. I like that we can laugh. A recurring joke when I am helping cook is my tendency to cry when I am cutting the onions. Even more than that, If I am in the kitchen and I can smell the onion, I am going to shed a few tears.

We also discussed the proper customs of etiquette of the bathroom, dinning, the restroom and privacy. It is so not like the US. For example the men are served their food first. We sit in the den in front of the television. The mama serves us while the house boy and house girl and mama usually eat in separate rooms than the men. Recently mama has dinned with the men of the family.

I am responsible for cleaning my own clothes. I pour liquid detergent in a water basin with my clothes then get some cleaning soap and start scrubbing. Once complete the first stage of cleaning I then move it to the basin where I rinse and continue to clean. The third basin is used for a final rinse, then they are hung on the clothes line in the back yard. Cleaning day is reserved for the weekend. There is no time during the week to clean.

One thing that has taken some time to get used to is the choo. It is an outside toilet, or rather a hole in the ground. Squatting is required. One lesson I learned is that there is no need to shine the light down the hole. Why you ask, on my one experience I was greeted by a bat that decided to show itself to the rim of the choo hole.

One thing I learned recently is that kids do not like using the choo. Therefore they feel free to relieve themselves anywhere in the yard. Good for them! When they get older and realize that they are not going to fall in, they start using the choo.

Some friends and I have thrown together some phrases for the choo. It is choo time. Choo it up. What is your choo of choice? It is choo luck (when more than on person are using the choos that are close to each other).

Sunday, December 6, 2009

This evening three friends (whitney, mary and jon)came over to my house for dinner. I met them outside on the main road. We then all looked up at the sky and saw a beautiful rainbow. We arrived at the house around 5pm and sat in the den for 2 ½ hours while my mama and house sister and brother prepared dinner. We had ugoli, skuma wiki, beef, cabbage, chicken, and chapati. It was a lot of food. It was the first time we used the nice plate-ware as well as chicken and beef together. I helped prepare and cook the chapati. Chapati makes any meal outstanding. After dinner joseph and baba and I walked the three friends home. It was completely dark (the moon was not visible), but you were able to see the stars. It looked like there were twice as many stars as I have ever seen.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Today in Lecture class in the afternoon we were introduced to an article about Albino Africans. The witchcraft in Tanzania has said that if you bring some body parts of an albino that you will become rich. You could get up to 5 million shillings (approx 67K usd). Because of this many of the albino people go into hiding because they do not want to be caught and then murdered. The latest person mentioned was a 10 year old boy in October that had his leg cut off. The boy’s father tried his best to ward off the attackers but to no avail. He was severely injured in the process.

For the second time in four days there has been a black out at the house. We then have to use your lanterns from around the house. It is a constant occurrence in Kenya. Caribu Kenya. (Welcome to Kenya)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

When it rains here it is obviously a challenge walking along the roads. All of the roads are dirt, but because they have been compacted because of foot traffic and cars the roads are not as bad as they could be.

This week we have had deaf students from a secondary school reverend come. It has been really good to have these students

December 13-15

We took a trip to Makindu as a whole (all pc trainees). Makindu was hot. We visited there to be immersed in AIDS/HIV prevention and treatment. Makindu is on the motor-way right in between Mombassa and Nairobi, 109 Km to either city. Though I have pictures I don’t think it will do it justice. It has dukas (shops) side by side. It is a community where all of their needs are met with in the small city town. Bike shop, supermarket, outside market and lots of little dukas of various sorts. There are houses right next to these dukas, made out of mud and very small. It was so fascinating. I really thought I would be living in those conditions. It looked like 10 feet by 10 feet.

Friday, December 25, 2009

This past Sunday through Tuesday all of the volunteers went to Makindu to learn about HIV/AIDS prevention/counseling/clinics/hospital and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

Christmas

The slaughter of a goat at 6:30 by a massi. I was waken up at just prior to 6:30 am by Joseph with word that the slaughter of the goat was nigh. I go outside to see what was going to happen. The goat is being led to behind the shed. I watch as the massi squeezes the neck of the goat and cuts very quickly to severe the head from the body. I stayed for a little past that to see him remove the skin and cut open the innards. After that I needed to go back to sleep. A few hours later I awoke and went back outside to see what was going on. Joseph was cleaning the innards in the water basin.

Boxing Day

December 26. I asked my brothers what the meaning of boxing day was and they did not know. A national holiday and another day to party is at the fore front of most Kenyans mind. I attended the family’s church this morning, Seventh Day Adventist. Momma and Baba rode in the car and charles, tony and I walked. Oh boy was it a walk, roughly 45 minutes. It is one thing walking with comfortable clothes and shoes, but not Sunday attire. One thing that is unique in a good way here is that neatness and cleanness is a priority and required. Most roads are dirt and thus getting your shoes muddy or dirty seems like it is inevitable but somehow the Kenyans do a great job of keeping their clothes clean.

Back to church. I walk in and notice that most of the women are sitting on the left and the men on the right. The church building is probably 40 feet by 100 feet. The only light is from the sun shinning through the numerous windows. There were a few songs then we were dismissed to “Sunday school” groups. I am not sure of the name that that were given there but essential that is what it what. There was 4 classes: adults, career, and two primary. All of the groups were outside sitting on wooden “benches.” After a 45 minute lesson we proceeded to go inside the church for “preaching.” There was announcements, a children message where the kids come up to the front, singing and then preaching.

Monday, December 28, 2009

These last couple weeks have been slow at PST (pre service training). It feels like that since I have passed my LPI (language proficiency interview) things have definitely slowed down a great deal. Now I am taking a combined KSL and Kiswalhili class. Though we have just met only a very few times it has been some help but not a great deal. Peace Corps did give us Kiswalhili learning workbook with cd’s that are very helpful. I have started learning, but have not got far. I have halted my training because my confusion on whether I should learn kiswalhili or not. I am going to Luhya land where they speak Luhya and kiswalhili and a little bit of english. But kiswalhili is the national language and would be beneficial for travel and thus the quandary. After much thought I am going to stick with Kiswalhili. Peace corps will pay for a tutor for me. I am going to take advantage of that great opportunity.

My host family has mentioned on several occasions that I should come back to visit when I have time off during my school term. It is nice to know that want me to come back and visit. I have had such a great time with them. I spend most of my time with the house brother (just finished form 4 -high school-18 years old) and the mama.

English premier league is really big here. For christmas we are eating our goat and watching WWE. WWE is a close second behind futbol as most watched among kenyans. It is crazy.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

I have had several interesting conversations with my family members. I do spend the majority of my time with the house brother, Joseph. We get along very well and joke around a lot.

It is a constant occurance where I am attempting to cook in the kitchen and I will burn myself or do a poor job of cutting the veggies or meat. Without fail Joseph will make a comment. When you go to your site in Mumias, who is going to cook for you? I would then reply of course, I will. You can’t cook he replies. It is humorous banter.

Today I just got home from going to Catholic Church. Ema (house sister) said I needed to take some yogurt. It has the consistency of peptol--but it is really good). I go and pour a glass and the lid comes off and the yogurt is spilled all over the table and cloth. Joseph then comes in and cleans up after me.

We then begin a conversation about punishment in schools. I learned some valuable information when a student needs punishment there are certain things a student wants to do for punishment. It is common for teachers to tell a student to use a slasher (used to cut grass-hand held sling blade). Kids are asked to cut about 1 acre. But you see, the kids like this activity, it gets them out of the class. They drag it out as long as possible, maybe up to a week.

So I asked Joseph what is a good punishment that the students do not like. Having the student come to the front of the class and kneel for the remainder of the class is a punishment they don’t like. I will definitely keep that in mind.

I have attended church two times while I have been here so far. I have not been to many catholic churches in the past, but this one is similar to the ones I have visited before. At this church, the layout of where the people sit is really interesting. There are two main sections with seats around the outside wall. The left sections is a mix between families, mothers and men. The right section, the women sit there. The outer two sections lining the walls are divided by gender. The right side wall is all women and the left side is all men. The service begins by youth dancing down the center aisle with the priest and brothers following behind. The choir has roughly 20 members. Every song involves some dances. The moves are very orchestrated and simple. There is a ot of standing up and sitting down. The sermon by the priest is 95% Kiswahili with the occasional english phrase thrown in.

One thing I learned is that Swahili is not the language, Kiswalhili is. Swahili is a tribe near the coast that speak Kiswalhili.

I am slowly becoming more comfortable in my own skin and starting to enjoy time alone. This is definitely taken a long time. Being a volunteer requires you to be alone a lot. Reading is very big among volunteers.

Jamahari Day is a Kenyan National Independence Day. December 12 1963. I learned today Kenyan has another independence day in May. There is also national holidays in honor of the first two presidents as well as labor day. Jumahari Day was held in a futbol field in Nairobi and was aired throughout Kenya. The prime minister gave a speech about goals and objectives in the coming days.

I have been really blessed to have a wonderful home stay family. It is great to feel part of the family and to be included in the activities. I really like cooking with mama, Joseph and Ema. So much of the time is spent talking and joking around. They often give me a hard time about my cooking. The house boy will occasionally comment about my lack of cutting ability. He says this food is not even suited for prisoners. We both get a good laugh about it.

I am still amazed how easily the house boy and girl and mama can pick up a hot pot or juko (charcoal grill). I have tryed on several occasions but always found a way to burn my head.

Today is December 20 and all of the trainess have gone to to Makindu. We all met at the petrol station in Loitokitok market center close to 9 am. The trip was planned so that the PC staff would not be there to arranger the matatu. It was really a good experience to get our feet wet. We had to change matatus in Emali to get on our final leg of the journey. In all it took 3 ½ hours. The road from Emali to Makindu is the same you take from Nairobi to Mombassa. Where we got on the matatu in Emali it was 280 km to Mombassa. It is equadistant to Nairobi and Mombassa from Makindu 209 km.

I was staying in homeland hotel. The rooms have a single bed with a mosquito net. I just noticed that they provide you with 12 sheets toilet paper. It guess you must use it wisely.

Well it is obviously been a few days since the last entry. It is now December 30 and the anticipation of leaving Loitokitok and going to Nairobi is growing among the trainess. We have a host family appreciation on Saturday. The deaf ed and math/science are both doing a skit for all of the families. The deaf ed is doing a skit on 4 areas: cooking, washing, looking smart, and bargaining at the market. I will be doing how to look smart. (all of this in sign). I will make sure my clothes are neat, ironed and looking african.

2010-01-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

Please Write

2009-12-12T07:14:00.005-05:00

please write to me
Lee Von Hofe
US Peace Corps
PO box 225 50102
Mumias, Kenya
Africa

Please Write

2009-12-12T07:14:00.003-05:00

please write to me
Lee Von Hofe
Peace Corps Kenya
PO Box 698-00621
Village Market
Nairobi Kenya

First few days

2009-11-06T22:27:00.002-05:00

I arrived in Nairobi Wednesday evening with 27 other volunteers. We were greeted by current volunteers at the airport.We all loaded a bus and were taken to our hostel for our initial training, overall rules and expectations for PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers. Living and spending time with this many people 24 seven, you get close really fast. I was surprised and still am of how well we all get along. We are from all over the US. I guess it could consist of how we al want to help and serve the common man.

Our group consist of teachers: deaf education, math and science. Starting today Sunday, we will begin our official Pre-service training. This will consist of our language, culture and everything we need to know to be successful in our service. We are going on a 7 hour bus ride to the side which is roughly 150 miles (of which I have been told). I guess that only means the roads are not that great.

I will post again on my mailing address if so incline to send something. Letters would be wonderful.

All of the deaf ed volunteers will be will do their training together. We have up to 9 weeks to take and complete the sign language proficiency test. We can take the test as early as after the first two weeks. If that happens then we can learn our local dialect and or Kiswalli. My goal is to pass the test at the first two week mark.

Just a few weeks

2009-09-23T22:16:00.002-04:00

In the next 10-15 days I should receive information from Sato travel. They will send me information about orientation on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3. For now i just wait for those pieces of paper to arrive in the mail.

All Cleared

2009-07-15T19:52:00.003-04:00

All of my forms and papers have been submitted and have been ok'ed for my departure for Kenya. I now wait for additional information from my host country, plane tickets and orientation in the coming weeks. The days are coming near.

Last dental forms sent

2009-07-07T22:23:00.003-04:00

As the months and days fly by toward departure day, my assignments are getting crossed off my list. I mailed in my dental forms yesterday. I had to resubmit them because they were not recent. My last ones were done last spring due to the fact i was planning on leaving last fall. That did not come to fruition.

My next assignment is 6-8 weeks before departure I have to consider and think about getting personal property insurance. My gut feeling is that I will get that.

Application Update

2009-05-30T08:53:00.003-04:00

A few days ago I received noticed that my dental information had expired. I was told that I was going to need an updated dental evaluation. It expired because it had been a year since i last did it. I was planning on leaving last october so my dental information would have been valid. Now that am I leaving 6 months after my dental expired new information is needed. My appointment is July 2.

Kenya bound

2009-05-03T21:11:00.003-04:00

I got a formal written invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. I will be teaching deaf education in Kenya leaving November 3, 2009. There is a lot of paperwork that I must do before then.

Invitation Sent

2009-04-30T06:46:00.004-04:00

I am been invited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. An invitation packet was sent on April 29, 2009. With in 10 days of receiving my packet I have to contact the Peace Corps Office to tell them whether I will accept the invitation.

Formal Invitation

2009-03-06T07:36:00.005-05:00

My placement officer called me Wednesday March 4, 2009 and said that this is formal invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. You have been assigned to Africa, teaching sign language. A written invitation will be sent out early May with the departure date of early October.

It is clear from looking at blogs and websites that the country is Kenya.

In the meantime i am strongly encouraged to learn ASL.

For now I wait for the written paperwork.

Application Timeline

2008-07-18T12:30:00.004-04:00

Application finished February 1st, 2008

Recruitor nominated me for Computer Science in the Pacific Islands leaving approximately September 2008.

Peace Corps mailed me a Medical Kit on March 3, 2008.

Peace Corps received the results of my physical exam on April 15, 2008.

Application Status Update: May 9th Dentally Cleared

Application Status Update: June 11th. Medically Cleared

Email from Peace Corps Placement Office. July 11, 2008. An updated resume was requested and I replied the same day. Once the Placement Office receives it they’ll add it to my file so that the application can undergo a final review.

July 17, 2008. I recieved a call from my Placement Officer. We discussed a few things and then she informed me that she would contact me with in two weeks with definate information.

July 31, 2008 No call made from Placement Officer.

August 1, 2008 I called my Placement Officer to check on the status.

August 4, 2008 She called and said she is still looking at a place for me and would let me know early this week, most likely Wednessday.

August 18, 2008 I called my placement officer and she mentioned that all of the positions are filled for the fall and winter. I was then offered a computer science position in a spanish speaking country. I was then informed that I would have to take a second level advanced spanish course at a local school. I looked into this possibility--there is no feasible way for me to do this.

August 21, 2008 I received an email from my placement officer stating that there is community develpment position leaving around March.

August 25, 2008 I received an email saying that the community develpment position is also a spanish speaking country and would require me to take the spanish classes beforehand. I subsequently notified her and told her that would not work.

September 3, 2008 I called my placement officer and she proceeded to tell me my best option for placement is in the health field. This plan would leave April or May of 2009 for some place in the pacific islands. I will need to get addtional health experience. I do not need technical experience or classes, but rather in the community setting. The jist of the experience needs to be health education. I was told to contact the places I have volunteered and go from there. I am not completely sure what this is going to look like. I am going to see what I could find and then contact my officer to see if this meets the requirement. I need to be signed up and volunteering before November 15, because this is when the invitations are sent out.

Several months later in February I am still looking for places to volunteer to get health education experience. I feel like I am running out of ideas. I have to continue to look.