I have arrived in Kenya and been here a little over two weeks now. Though there is nothing pressing to write about yet, I thought I would update and describe a bit what life is like here. The couple posts are not the most insightful or provocative writing but I thought some background info might be good since I will be here for a while.
One thing striking about Africa that I need to remember is that many of the countries here are either still in political, social and economic turmoil, or have gotten out of it recently. It is crazy to think that I meet people that have survived coups and genocide. While I was worrying about my first school dance in middle school, people my age in some places were worrying about genocide and mass rape. Even to this day, the lives that some people lead are incomprehensible to me. It is hard to think about all the strife that is going on in Africa and how many of the political systems just don’t function. I just feel so fortunate, but I digress. Now, Kenya is looking good. Conditions here are much better than most third-world countries I have been too.
I am fortunate enough to be living with a family that I am sure is one of the wealthier families in the area. We are in Meru, Kenya. It is a busy town in the foothills of Mount Kenya. We are right on the equator, but because the elevation is so high it doesn’t feel tropical. It rains at night which is cozy for me under my mosquito net to listen to. I look out the window and see the colorful roofs of shacks in the valley below rushing to meet the purple and blue mountains in the distance. Papayas and bananas grow in my front yard along with tropical feeling trees. Birds that you see in pet stores and colorful books zip around the yard as well.
We are sandwiched between the mosque and the prison. We hear the call for prayer and the prisoners singing. The place is nice. I have a little closet for a room that the bugs seem to like. My room doubles as a storage closet for everyone else so if it were in a catalogue it might be described as rustic and cozy. It is a scary walk up an outdoor flight of stairs to the bathroom. Really though, the conditions are much better than I ever imagined. There is a flushing toilet (minus the seat), a shower with mostly hot water, real floors and windows and ceilings, real running water and electricity (most of the time). My only complaint is how unsound-proof my room is and the rooster that is outside my window that seems to start crowing at 2am until whenever I get up, every night.
One other girl about my age and I are the only white people in the entire area. It makes it hard to blend in and uncomfortable to walk on my own more than necessary because everyone is constantly staring. Some people are slightly derogatory, but most are excited to see me and want to practice their English.
Meru is a busy colorful town full of noise, people, trash and traffic. It has everything I could need and is a little overwhelming. Roads are dirt and the air is full of pollution. It will be interesting to see how the roads hold up through the rainy season that is just beginning. It is hard because I do feel a little trapped. I am trapped by the language barrier, trapped by standing out so much and trapped because it is not safe to go out at night.
So, what am I doing here? I am here helping with the political campaign for Dr Karumbu Ringera. More about that in the future. I am also helping with her NGO- International Peace Initiatives. Both are proving to be incredible learning experiences for me, especially the NGO, seeing how things are done and in that arena I think I have been able to help. The campaign is more difficult with the language barrier.
There are two stories that stand out to me so far that wouldn’t fit into any other category:
I was visiting a school for this education incentives program we are developing. I was talking to the superintendent afterwards when we were walking back to the car. (This school actually is the one named after Elsa, the lion from the movie “Out of Africa,” the lion lived there. It was an amazing place, lots of baboons, animals nearby but I didn’t see any, just very “Africa”.) Anyways, he has never been out of Kenya so I asked him if he could go anywhere in the world, where would it be. He told me Oeeo. I was really confused but he was adamant, Oeeo in the U.S. I’m running through all the states you normally hear- CA, NY, FL, TX, etc. even trying to think of theme parks or mountain ranges. He keeps saying he hears that Oheeo is the most wonderful place he could imagine. I am so confused and he tells me that it is where Obama is from. Suddenly I get it, Ohio (close enough, one of those vowel states in the middle). The man, if he could go anywhere in the entire world picks Ohio.
It’s interesting to see what a role model Obama is for everyone here. People constantly ask me if I am going to vote for him and oh by the way, do I know he’s Kenyan?
Another funny thing happened earlier this week. This tiny, frail old man, all dressed up in a suit complete with a bowler hat tips his hat at me as I walk by. I can tell he wants to practice his English. He says, “Hello Madame.” I say hello back and this little old man says, “Wuz up?” It was all I could do not to laugh. What movie did he learn that from I wonder? Scream? Oh what do they think of us crazy Americans!?
No comments:
Post a Comment