Travel in Kenya

I am no stranger to travel, before coming to Kenya I had my fair share of crazy transportation such as the time I accidently took the nightbus in Morocco and used their shared taxis or being on buses in Peru that had people and livestock hanging onto the side for dear life* That said I was totally unprepared for traveling in Kenya* For starters you have to negotiate prices* While the prices are insanely cheap when converted to US Dollars they can be steep for PCVs and it's also a matter of principle* Unfortunantly when I arrived in Kakamega my supervisor did not tell me the correct price for the matatu (picture an extremely overcrowded VW van or minibus) trip from Kakamega to Kisumu* During the day the price should be 150ksh ($1.90) but I was told the night price (200ksh or $2.40)* I learned from this costly error and now make sure that I have the correct price so that I don't get ripped off* Touts generally aren't thrilled that I know how much trips cost which can lead to some interesting discussions but it always seems to work out* Basically they decide that they still want my money and because there's always room for one more I am welcomed onboard* In theory matatus should only have 14 passengers (that's what's painted on the sides of all of them) in practice this almost never happens and when it does it's because about 10 people decide to exit simultaneously* Matatus allow for no personal space which I'm kind of ok with, most likely because I'm tiny and fit into crammed spaces well* I don't usually have a problem sharing a row with 5 other people, holding some one's kid (or in one instance Magan) on my lap although it gets challenging when you're not actually on a seat (once again Magan)* I believe that the most crowded matatu I was on had a little over 26 people on it (I couldn't see everyone from where I was sitting--back corner holding onto my bag that was half way out of the window)* Sometimes, especially in more rural areas, people hang off the back and ride on the roof (I almost fell out of one because they couldn't keep the back shut and I was trying to keep a mama's chickens from attacking me)* Buses tend to be a bit better than matatus, they certainly cost more* A bus to Nairobi costs at a minimum 1000ksh from Kakamega, a matatu would probably be around 700 but negotiable* That said I've had some issues with buses* Sometimes bus touts decide that they want to buy food at the market so the bus stops for a few minutes, or people are dropped off and need to get their luggage from under the bus, these things are annoying but common enough that I've pretty much gotten over it* When things faze me at this point it means something's legitimately messed up, like when the bus Magan and I were on hit a petrol truck not one but twice* The bus had some dents but it was still running so we kept going* Don't worry no one was hurt* Arguably the most frusterating experiance was when I was trying to get to Nairobi for a doctor's appointment* There had been a bad bus accident the previous evening so they decided to inspect buses, fair enough* Unfortunantly this meant that my bus was pulled over between Kakamega and Kisumu and we were escorted to the local police station to wait for the inspector* Three hours later the inspector arrived* An hour later my bus failed the inspection* Everyone who had been on the bus was livid, including the nun I had been siting next to* She had some choice words for the driver* We all crammed onto a bus from the same company that had passed inspection (all of the seats were already occupied) to drive a bit down the highway (past the inspection checkpoint) to meet a replacement bus* At this point the medical staff had decided I should get off the bus in Kisumu because it was going to be around 9pm by the time the bus would be arriving in Nairobi and we're not allowed to travel after dark* The bus driver told me we would be bypassing Kisumu to save a bit of time so I had to convince him to give me matatu fair* I arrived in Kisumu 6 hours after I left Kakamega, a trip that should take an hour and a half (It's about 30 miles, roads in Kenya tend to be in bad shape)* I made it to Nairobi the next day* Other transportation options include piki pikis (motorcycles) which I refuse to ride because I've seen one too many accidents and drivers in Kakamega tend to be aggressive and often drunk, the same goes for boda bodas (bicycles)* Kenyans will be the first to tell you that piki pikis and boda bodas aren't safe and then proceed to use them anyway because they're cheap and available* Time isn't a priority, neither is space when the majority of the population is unemployed and living with 5+ children in tiny homes* Hence the embracing of matatus* I wouldn't say that I look forward to journeys in Kenya but sometimes you meet nice people and you can be assured that they're never boring*

Skittles the Streetfighting Kitten

Hi everyone, this post is a tribute to my cat Skittles who had a rather rough day on Sunday October 17th* Skittles typically enjoyed going outside to sun herself and chase the neighbors' chickens (she could probably run off with a chick but after seeing a hen go after her I'm pretty sure that she's still too small to do any damage to the full grown birds)* She never wandered off very far but tended to not want to come in when called so we would either leave the door open if it was still light out or make sure that the flap by our door handle was up sothat she could jump through it* It's really an excellent cat door for a skinny cat* On the night of the 17th we called Skittles in but of course she didn't come* We cooked dinner and kept calling her every few minutes and checked outside but weren't able to see her* All of a sudden we heard the crazy dogs who live in the next compound but like to make trouble in ours* At this point we heard Skittles, she was trying to get in the backdoor which our supervisor had locked (we don't have a key to that door) when the dogs began to attack her* Magan ran to get flashlights while I began making as much noise as possible because there was a real possibility that the dogs might attack us* We ran around the house and scared the pack off, which left us staring at Skittles who was wet from rain, all of her hair was standing on end and she was making a sound I had never heard before, Magan claims it was a hiss* I picked her up, holding her at arms length in case she was going to lash out and then handed her to Magan who carried her inside* She didn't move and was bleeding from several bites* Her stomach was swollen, one eye wouldn't open and when she tried to stand she fell over and didn't move* We were completely freaking out and were convinced that Skittles only had about a 10% chance of survival* With this in mind we set about making her comfortable and tried to determine what we could do to force her to live other than to use peer pressure (we weren't going to leave her alone)* It was at this point that if you had walked in our door you would have seen Magan googling "cat pain management" and heard me screaming into the phone "no, my cat was attacked by a pack of dogs" to a rather confused friend who is a nurse* Skittles spent the night in my room, on top ofa cushion, wrapped in a towel with her food and water dishes next to her* Magan and I carried her the room carefully, Skittles was a bit confused as she had never been in the room before but soon fell asleep* In the morning she was doing better which lifted our spirits, but as she still cannot walk properly and lives in mortal fear of the great outdoors and dogs we have determined that Skittles will be applying for her kitty passport and joining Magan in Canada where she will have more street cred than any of those other cats*

Tales from In Service Training

Hi everyone, I returned from In Service Training (IST) on Saturday* Training went pretty well, the second week was a lot better than the first* During the second week we learned a bunch of things that I am excited about sharing with people in my community* I would love to start composting and utilizing drip irrigation at the farm where we grow food for the girls in our program* I also hope to be able to travel to Tharaka and introduce the concepts to the partners of Women's Global because the region has been so heavily affected by drought* Water is a precious commodity in much of Kenya, I am lucky to be in an area in which there is sufficient rainfall* It's funny that I am learning so much about agriculture and advising people about their crops and soil management seeing as I come from a background where the only time I spent on farms was when I had to drive through corn fields to get to another part of the country or the fateful spring break I spent helping out on the sheep farm outside of Duffftown, Scotland* I have become passionate about conservation of resources including water, trees, electricity and other things that tend to be in short supply here* A friend of mine introduced some of the volunteers to the idea of making charcoal of of corn, something that should be fairly easy to do in Western Province as so much corn is grown here* The process would allow for fewer trees to be used for charcoal, save money for those making it as well as serve as an income generating activity for community groups interested in making and selling it* I stayed in Nairobi an extra day to learn about Fair Trade* Setting up a Fair Trade organization seems like a long process, but it is doable* Our group spent a day visiting agricultural sites to learn about different small scale income generating activities as well as good agricultural practices* We'll see what I end up being able to help put into practice* On a different note, we had an IST prom and I was crowned prom queen due to my awesome 1970s sea foam green prom dress* A few of us spent a day running around Nairobi, we went to see baby elephants, various animals at a park where I pet a cheetah, and giraffes (I fed and kissed one of them)* All and all I consider week two a success*

Football Kenyan Style

Hi everyone--Things at Grassroots are going well* The girls are still on break from school so we are doing activities during the afternoon* After trying to teach the girls how to play frisbee, I decided to buy a football (soccer ball) so that we could have more options* The girls really enjoy playing football and even though they have never had any formal training they are amazing players, one girl especially seems like if she lived in America she could get a football scholarship if she keeps playing (right now the girls are freshmen in high school)* For the past couple of days we have been playing frisbee, then having a lesson or discussion followed by football* Our football games are much different from the ones I used to play in back when I was on a team* We have no uniforms, no shin guards, no proper field, no goals* We play in a grassy bit of the compound and use our flip flops to mark the goals which means we're all playing barefoot and in skirts* It's a lot of fun and a great way to bond with the girls who are starting to become a bit more vocal and gaining confidence* I hope that their confidence continues to grow and can be seen in their school work this coming term* The girls are starting to develop ambitions, something they never had before and so now we are helping them to plan short and log term goals so that they can become the doctors, lawyers, community activists, nurses, directors, teachers etc that they want to be*

Looks like I'll be here for two more years

Hi everyone, things are looking pretty good today in Kakamega* I passed my last language exam in Luhya yesterday which means I will be able to stay here for the next two years, I am very excited because I love the work that I am doing, I need to start learning Swahili though because that is what people speak where I am living and working* I was planning on impoving my Swahili regardless because it will be useful when I am in other parts of Kenya, but now I have some real motivation and the support of my coworkers which is encouraging* I have been busy over the past week, partly from cramming for my exam* I puchased a bike so that I can go and visit other volunteers and get a bit of exercise* On Friday I rode my bike to my friend Rebecca's house which is about 10 miles away on a bumpy dirt road* I enjoyed the ride, it was difficult and I was drenched in sweat but it was nice to get out of town and see a bit more of Western Province* I went to Rebecca's to study because no one in my community speaks the dialect we were taught, but a woman she works with does* It was incredibly helpful to be able to practice* The volunteers who were testing spent the night before our test in town* It was great seeing all of them again and hearing what their sites were like* I also had the chance to see some volunteers who have already been serving for awhile, some of them live nearby so hopefully we'll be seeing more of each other* I have discovered that the pictures that I take with my phone are decent, so I'm going to post some of my cat Skittles today (we had to get a cat because there were mice running all around the office when I moved in) and I will try to post some more of the town etc so that you can get a feel for where I live* The girls in our program are currently out of school so the girl I work with and I have been conducting various activities for them* We have had workshops about goals, relationships etc and several sports days (they were a little confused by my frisbee but ended up enjoying a rather dysfunctional game of ultimate) and a song and poem day* I was playing my guitar during the song day, which went pretty well, but I need to learn songs that the girls know, the requests I received were for church songs and Michael Jackson* I'll try to update with some more photos soon, khulolane (we will see each other--Tsotso, a dialect of Luhya)

Welcome to Kakamega

Hi everyone, first off I'd like to apologize for taking so long between posts, hopefully this won't become a pattern, I also think it's impotant to let you know that if I use any punctuation that would end a sentence the program thinks that I've finished qwriting and ends my posts which means this will probably end up looking a bit odd, I'll be using * for periods* The end of training was a lot of fun, difficult, and it's a bit lonely now not seeing all of the friends I made and my host family, but I really like the people I am working with now* One of the last things I did in Nairobi, the day of our swearing in actually, was to buy a guitar* We had to wait an hour for a taxi and then go on a bit o a wild goose chase looking for a shop with decent guitars but we finally found one* Bargaining for it was pretty funny, I ended up getting a pretty good discount because a friend of mine broke a string when trying to tune it and the sales lady was convinced that this meant that the entire guitar was now broken* What she didn't know was that my wonderful family had already sent me three sets of guitar strings and that my plan was to restring the entire guitar* I wasn't able to get a case or the guitar, so I was walking around Nairobi carrying a guitar that was down a string until one of my friends started carrying it and tried to serenade people (I say tried because without one of the strings the guitar was horibly out of tune)* We then crammed the four of us and two guitars into a cab to head back to our hotel, which took awhile due to traffic and getting lost but we called ahead and they made sure there was food left for us when we arrived* I love my guitar, I have a fair amount of free time during which my primary activities are studying Luhya and practicing the guitar so I'm making progress* Kakamega is a big town by Kenyan standards* It has three main roads, several large supermarkets, a large market and many government buildings because it is the regional capital* There is also a hotel with a swimming pool, I hope I get a chance to swim soon (maybe I can even teach water aerobics)* I enjoy the walk to town, it's around 2km and it has helped me get a sense of the community I will be a part of for the next two years* Today I was proud of myself for going to a shop an buying milk and eggs entirely in Luhya* I have another Luhya test in about 10 days so I'm trying to practice whenever possible* I enjoy working with my organization, I also like that I have already been able to become involved* I literally live at my job which has its pros and cons, but on the whole I'd say I like it* I'm going to have to go because my phone battery is about to die, but I will try and write more soon

Life in Kenya

I've been in Kenya for over two weeks now. So far training is going well, I've switched languages (from Swahili to Luhya) but other than that there haven't been too many unexpected changes. Luhya isn't a written language so studying is a bit hard but our language instructor is really good so it seems like learning enough to get by is possible. I plan on learning more Swahili once I get to my site because it should be useful when I travel outside of my region. I am going to be posted in the Western province, working with a group to empower women and girls. I'm excited about the work because of it's similarities to Women's Global. Loitokitok is dusty but very pretty, I see Mount Kilimanjaro every day when I walk to class, there's snow on top at the moment. My host family has been very welcoming, I have become good friends with my Mama. I have also had a lot of fun playing sports with my brother and sister. My baby sister is less scared of me now, I think within a week she will be willing to play games too. I hope to update again soon, sorry this is so short, the internet is a bit slower than I am used to.

23 days and counting...

I've created this blog to keep in touch with everyone back home (home being a loose term meaning pretty much everywhere that isn't Kenya). I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update it once I'm in country, but it should be a decent way to contact me as well as a good way for me to keep all of you up to date on what I'm up to in Kenya.

I've joined the Peace Corps and I am going to Kenya to do public health work which means HIV/AIDS work along with a variety of other health related tasks such as malaria education, water sanitation etc. depending on which region I am assigned to. I will be training in Loitokitok, which is southern Kenya near Mount Killamanjaro, for two months during which time I will be learning Swahili and skills related to my job. I will be staying with a host family during this time. I will try and post pictures when possible, but don't count on weekly photo albums because it's highly unlikely that I will have reliable access to electricity and I am not bringing a laptop.

I am very excited about going to Kenya, I have been thinking about joining the Peace Corps since I was in college. My time interning at Women's Global Education Project furthered my enthusiasm. I'm particularly excited about going to Kenya because Women's Global works to help give girls in Senegal and Kenya access to education. My interest in public health has grown over the past year through my work at The Children's Clinic. I have been running the portable dentistry program, which brings dentists to schools in low-income communities to provide dental exams, cleanings and sealants to students free of charge. I have a feeling that I will be doing some mobile health work, so the experiance should come in handy.

I will be sure to update you with a mailing address and contact information when I receive my post. Thanks for your support--it makes all the difference!