A Dollar A Day

I know it has been months since my last post but I'm aiming to make up for the lack of activity today. Let's just say I've been having technical difficulties. My time in Kenya is coming to an end. We had our Close of Service Conference a few weeks ago and ever since I've found myself reflecting on my time here when I'm not freaking out about what remains to be done. I have been taking pictures, something I had long been avoiding due to the riot caused by a camera in my village, which I hope to post once I am in an area with decent internet (realistically that may not happen until I get back to America in the first week of September). I had considered myself integrated into my community and thought that I was doing a better job of living like a local than the majority of Peace Corps Volunteers. I was however living off a larger budget than most of my community. To try and better understand the lives of people in my village I have been living off a dollar a day for a week and will continue to do so until I live my village in July. In the past week I have already made changes to my lifestyle, trips to town have been reduced, phone use has become virtually nonexistent, store-bought food has been reduced to a bare minimum of staples. I am primarily eating fruit, vegetables, corn flour and beans like most of my neighbors. Because I don't eat a lot I am able to purchase a wider variety of produce, provided it's available. I have not been having huge problems with keeping to my daily budget so far, 85ksh is plenty for me to eat, buy soap etc. but I am having to plan for my next trip to town. The cost for the journey is 100ksh round trip, so more than my daily allotment and as a result I have to save up for a week in advance, just like my neighbors who also have to save up for school fees, clothing, fuel etc. Many of them have small farms where they can grow some corn and beans, which helps, but recently there has been a sharp rise in school dropouts in my area because it has been months since the last harvest. Until we harvest again the food prices will remain high, some items will be unavailable, and many people will deplete their food stocks to dangerously low levels. Here's an example of what I spent/used yesterday: Oatmeal (5ksh), coffee (10ksh), sugar (2.5ksh), bananas (6ksh), beans (10ksh), kale (5ksh), onion (2.5ksh), garlic (2ksh), tomatoes (10ksh), soap (5ksh), oil (5ksh), other toiletries (5ksh), phone use (10ksh) money saved for next trip to town: 2ksh. Clearly I need to do a better job today. It adds up quickly. I doubt I'll buy another soda in my village, at 25ksh they're pretty steep! The fact that I can't buy a soda only helps me to understand the frustration of women in my community who can't send their children to school, or even feed them, because their husbands spend too much money on alcohol (a beer costs around 100ksh, local brews are cheaper but extremely dangerous). I'll keep you updated on how well I do keeping to the budget.