What a Good Friday

So yesterday was Good Friday; which in turn meant we did not have Swahili--or any class for that matter. A college students dream: classes cancelled for religious holidays. So we couldn't just let the day go to waste--carpe diem. What did we do you may ask?!

Well, Julia and I waited at the "bus stop" (wherever people want to wait for the bus...often changes on the daily) for about 10 minutes. We were told by St. Lawrence to only take the city buses, Citi Hoppas, because the other companies are "sketchy" and "unreliable". Just to spite them we decided to be hard core and take a bus called the Compliant. (Not actually to spite them, more because there were NO Citi Hoppas to be seen) So we hop on and there is a lady standing in the front of the bus, swaying back and forth with the movement of the bumpy roads. She is shouting enthusiastically in Kiswahili and reading out of the bible. Welcome to Good Friday in Kenya. She had the whole bus singing and repeating after her. Rock on. NOTE: from my experience Compliant buses are completely okay to take....

As we arrived at our destination we were sent away with parting words from the preaching lady...something about being eternally blessed on this special day. (That's all I could decipher form her Kiswahili).

Julia and I had a great day on our Good Friday adventure. The Toi Market it a HUGE open air second hand clothing market. It is like Goodwill times a million. How it works is each vendor (there are probably 100+ vendors) buys a "bundle" of clothes. It is a legitimate bundle, weights upwards of 30 lbs. Not knowing what they have purchased (its part of the whole mystery of the business) they open up the bundle and lay their clothes in a big pile for people to search through. The clothes are very cheep and there is A LOT of variety.  I got 4 shirts for 30-100 shillings ($.50-$2.00). I got a sweet pair of "Aladdin pants" that have funky shapes and colors for $4.00. Scored. The bartering is the best part and when you do it in Kiswahili they lower the price even more...!

At the very beginning of this trip I broke my sunglasses and it has been a huge bummer because it is always sunny and my eyes often get sun burnt (yes, it is actually a thing...Kat remember Tampa?). SO I have been in need of sunglasses... Anyhow, at the Toi Market there are vendors who sell "Ray Bands". As I was waiting for Julia to barter for her purchase I wondered over to the Ray Band guys. They were heckling me to try them all on, they were saying comments like "you look smart" (Kenyans word for good looking). They were telling me that the sun glasses were real Ray Bands made in Italy....clearly this was not true...you could see the painted label on the side. Anyhow, I proceeded to begin my bartering they started at 2000 shillings ($24.00). I said no way, my friends came earlier and bought them for a lot cheaper. He lowered the price down to 800 shillings ($9.00). Now mind you, this is all in Kiswahili. I thought I was being a good bargainer and thought I said 200 shillings but instead I said 20,000 shillings...classic. The vendor laughed and told then proceeded to walk around to his other vendor friends and tell him what I had just said...hahah jokes on me. I ended up getting the sun glasses for 200 shillings though!

After a very successful and long day at the market we got aboard the Citi Hoppa to head home. Again, there was someone preaching from the bible. A man this time, he was walking up and down the isles of the bus and shouting versus from the bible. He was going between Kiswahili and English (Swinglish) so it was easier to understand. We stopped to let the preaching man off and on came another man, he was blind and had a walking stick. He stands up in the middle of the bus, says something in Kiswahili about his health and then proceeds to do something I have NEVER seen (or even thought was possible). This man spreads his eye open, grabs his eye ball and holds it out for everyone to see. It was clearly a fake eye, but the grossest part was that you could see into his eye socket. This was probably the most shocking and disturbing thing I have ever seen...ever. He then is waving it around saying something that I cannot understand. I was so thrown off guard and distracted by him waving around his eye that I wasn't understanding what he was saying. Too bad. He then put the eye back into his eye socket and walked up and down the isle asking for money. Culture shock...maybe?

We got back to the compound and had dinner with the new Swahili adjunct who will be teaching at SLU next semester. He had dreadlocks and was very well spoken, sweet and funny. He'll do just great at SLU. His biggest fear was the snow, rightfully so, and was really worried about the cold. Kenyans think 60 degrees is jacket weather...I think he'll have a great time in Canton!

On Sunday (Easter Sunday) we are leaving for Amboselli National Park. I am getting really excited for our game drive and home stay with the Maasai. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. Have a great week--stay tuned. Happy Easter!

The Top 10

This past week we have been taking classes in Nairobi. It has been pretty stress free, low key and relaxing. The sun is (almost) always shining...even though it is approaching the rainy season.

Here are the top ten most interesting occurrence in the past week:

1. We all talk like Kenyans now when we are engaging in conversations with each other which is a series of "ehh" and can be used as a response. A typical conversation would sound like this:

mwanafunzi 1: I like Kenya a lot. 

mwanafunzi 2: ehh (this is a form of agreement or encouragement to keep going)

m1: It is so fun to be here because I am trying so many fun activities and meeting so many cool people

m2: ehh, ehhhhh

...sounds a lot cooler in person

2. I went to lunch with my host family this past weekend. Two other students on my program, Ally and Danny, are my host cousins and so our whole family got together to share a meal. We ate at a place called Caribia. It was really fun and dynamic because they cook the food in front of you--so you get to watch the entire time! 

3. The girls in the house went on a HUGE cookie and brownie binge and made mass amounts of sweets. It has been a mixed blessing although we are all a bit sick of sugars right now...we'll see how long that lasts for.

4. In my gender class, we have been reading and watching a lot of films in preparation for our visit to Amboseli and our visit with the Maasai. I am getting really excited for next week!

5. I have been going on the most inspirational fun and exciting runs. Oddly enough, it is the same loop I have been running the entire time I've been here...maybe it's a subconscious new outlook on life!

6. All of us students have been using "pole" (meaning sorry) so often. Ever since we recently found out that pole frequents Kenyans dialogue we have began to insert it--maybe too often--into our own. Pole!

7. We broke a chair on the compound..... There are these really nice, comfy chairs outside on the deck that I find myself sitting in a lot--they're a great way to soak up the afternoon sun. However, sadly, one of them broke so we are down to 2 of them :(. 

8. It is avocado season!!!!! Parachichi (my favorite Kiswahili word) HERE WE COME! 

9. I have a new found love for goats. I think it was my hike through the Ngong hills that inspired this passion but I am really digging the animal. I can't really place my finger on what it is exactly--maybe it is how they stick out their tongue when they make a noise or that they can fake faint...but there is just something about them that is so captivating!

10. We hiked the Ngong hills on Saturday! The Ngong hills are a series of 7 (maybe more--it's sort of  unclear) hills. I think the most startling part of the whole hike was when we were first greeted by our guides and they were all equipped with 6ft long spears, bows, [poison] arrows and machetes. No joke. This is because there are "wild buffalo" and "crazy people" that could pose as a threat to us...or at least this is what they told us. 

Here are a few pictures from our Ngong hill hike:

Random Kenyan who was "teaching" us stretches?

The rest of the week seems to be very much the same--relaxing and rejuvenating. Hopefully you're feeling the same. Hakuna matata!

Here we go Saints!

FUN NEWS!!!

"An American university is celebrating the election of six of its former students and lecturers in the March 4 polls." (Kariuki) 
That American University that they are talking about is my very own, St. Lawrence University. This has been a fun new development of the recent elections earlier this month! Yes SLU, repping hard. Earlier in the semester, my group had the honor of meeting and having dinner with Ken Okoth, the newly elected MP of Kibera, which was really great to see and talk to a politician on a more personal level! 

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/American-university-hails-alumni-elected-in-polls/-/539546/1725016/-/5197mg/-/index.html

Heres a short article to explain a bit more! 

Neubea! (Hadzabe for "Thank You" and "You're Welcome")

As mentioned in the previous post, Kenya is safe to enter again. So here we are, back in the good ol’ Kenyerrrr. However, my time in Tanzania was incredibly beautiful and unbelievably eye opening. Because of the Kenyan elections, we were mandated to take extra precautions and had the luxury (and it sure was a luxury) to spend not one, but TWO weeks in Tanzania. (All other SLU student groups spend only one week, but we were surely the lucky ones.)

            On top of being the most beautiful and picturesque country I have been to, I really did learn a lot. We had many discussions with local community members and were able to get a glimpse into their lifestyles and saw not only the vast differences but focused more on the similarities. We had a pretty jammed packed trip (some called it vacation) so I will refrain from giving you a day by day recap and just highlight the most interesting and fun times.

Camping schedule for 2 weeks :

March 2^nd: Drive to Tanzania. Stay at Dorobo Safaris (Most awesome Safari group in the world http://www.dorobofund.org--check it out if you want to read more about Dorobo)

March 3^rd: Panel discussions with various community members (DANNY’S BIRTHDAY!)

March 4^th: Panel discussions with more community members and a soccer match with the locals. (Yes, we did win!)

March 5^th: Drive 7 hours to Tangere National Park and have a mini "game drive"

March 6^th: "Game drive"—saw some incredible wildlife (lions, giraffe, elephants, ostrich, water buffalo, SO MANY birds…Cody you would have loved it.)

March 7^th: Drove to the Iraquw forest and had a panel discussion with the community members (JACK’S 21^st BIRTHDAY…!)

March 8^th: Visitation with the Iraqw people and 15k walk to the waterfall

March 9^th: Soccer game with the locals (sadly, we lost this time)

March 10^th: Drive to Yaida Valley

March 11^th: Gather Tubers with the Hadzabe women

March 12^th: Walk across Yaida Valley (Over 10 mile walk). Honey hunting, archery practice and Baobab tree climbing

March 13^th: Hunting with the Hadzabe men

March 14^th: Loooooong drive back to Arusha…11 hours…we had some sick kids and car trouble. Happy Pi Day!

March 15^th: Group Presentations and drive back to Kenya 7 hour drive. (Yes, I am sick of driving now!)

The highlight of my trip was spending time with the Hadzabe people in Hadza Land in the Yaida Valley. The Hadzabe people are some of the last original hunter gathers in Africa. This means that they live VERY sustainably off of their natural land and use their resources to live abundantly. It was absolutely amazing to experience this different way of life and felt such a strong connection with the Hadzabe people--they were an inspiration. I’m now looking at the way I live my life through a very different lens.  The Hadzabe community was nothing but friendly, warm, welcoming, hospitable and very funny. We all exchanged laughs, funny stories and cultural songs—however I can say, without hesitation, that their songs and dances were SO MUCH better than ours. We sang, All Star by Smash Mouth, Country Roads by John Denver, Wagon Wheel by OCMS and the Star Spangled Banner…they did not seem too impressed hah. We got the opportunity to find, dig and gather tubers with the women. A tuber not cooked tastes a bit bitter, but cooked it tastes like a combination of a sweet potato and a regular potato.

Secondly, we “hunted” with the Hadzabe men. This was more of a crazy experience. We split into groups of 3; my group was Ally, Chloe and me. Our leader “Ai” (pronounced eye) was a young, fit man—who seemed to be about our age. However, he clearly possessed light years more knowledge then I, or anyone in our student group did, when it came to hunting. Ai caught a long horned bird, chipmunk like animal (I could not understand the Hadzabe word) and a Hyrax.  I am very happy to have had this experience, but do not see the need to try this again. I think it is so very interesting and fascinating but believe it is not a practice that I am very well suited for.
      I wish I could stress how amazing and inspirational this trip was but I am finding it very difficult to do so. I will leave you with some photos from my beautiful, incredible, unbelievable and remarkable trip!

TMFL Ally!

Our humble abodes for 2 weeks! 

Flamingos 

The VERY VERY slippery/muddy walk to see the Flamingos 

"Futbol Match" against the Iraqw locals (we lost 3-1)

Tangere National Park

All the amazing beautiful animals we saw!

SO MANY ZEBRAS!

Yes, we were this close!

CAUTION: LION CROSSING!

One of the highlights of the trip: getting caught in a flash rain storm while being surrounded by lions...!

Sick and skinny lioness--she didn't make it much further than this point :(

Over 400 Water Buffalo!

Twiga (Giraffe in Kiswahili) 

Watering hole for the elephants

Lions sleep for upwards of 20 hours a day...lazy?

Yes, again, we were this close. 

European Weaver...I think?

Karibu Tanzania

Tangere National Park sunset

Digging Tubers with the Hadzabe Women

Archery practice...sweet form Megan...NOT

"Pole sana Moshi, ngefindisha!"

Making an arrow with the Hadzabe

Final product!

Climbing a Baobab tree

Our professor, Sinarry, attempting to climb the Baobab!

My Hadzabe hunter, Ai, smoking out a Baobab tree to get honeycomb

The honeycomb Ai got--note it was actually dripping honey

Ai with his first kill--the Long Horned Bird

Ai and his Hyrax (closest living relative to the elephant...what?!)

SUCCESS! Note: Ben petting the Hyrax, Chloe genuinely excited, Me--more of a fake excited, and know the chipmunk animal is sticking out of Ai's left pocket.

Sunrise in Yaida Valley

Waking up from sleeping on the rocks

Last morning in Hadza Land

The most beautiful and incredible place I have ever been. (Our camp is at the bottom of this)

We March 4th Together

Great news! The coast is clear; Kenya is safe to enter once again. The elections went…well…sort of. Seeing it was the fourth time Kenya has voted in elections and the first time under the newly (2010) implemented constitution you could say things went okay—at least they went better than last time in 2007.

March 4^th was Election Day. We left for Tanzania on March 2^nd so was not present for any of the election drama. However, we did have the luxury of having a portable, battery operated, radio which we could get sporadic updates “on the hour”. This was the way that we stayed connected and informed. Unlike in America, where the election results come out that night, Kenya’s did not. March 5^th no results, March 6^th and 7^th still no results but on March 8^th Kenya had their 4^th president, Uhuru Kenyatta. However it was not an easy decision because in order for an accurate declaration of a president one of the candidates needs to have 50% and then 1 more vote. That is why it took so long for the results to be declared because there was controversy between the two leading candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga. Still today, there is a lot of back and forth of how accurate the results are and Raila Odinga is not very content with his loss.

Despite what the American news is saying, which I’m sure it sounds worse then it is, Kenya is on the up swing. Fingers crossed for the next few days and even months. We (SLU Students) had dreams and even aspirations of staying in Tanzania for longer but it is nice to be back in Kenya. I’ll be sure to keep y’all updated if there’s any post-election drama!  

...Most Embarrassing Moment of my Life

So here I am, sitting at Valley Coffee Shop--this quaint little cafe that is in the center of Nairobi city. I have been here every day for the past 4 days. You're probably thinking there has got to be something incredibly delicious that keeps me coming back day after day...and I'm sorry to inform you that you are wrong. However, they do have great lemonade! But that is not the point; us SLU students raid to this hopping joint between the hours of 10:30 am and 3:00 pm because there is free internet--well free at the cost of a drink, so as to not abuse and or loose our "free internet" policy. (We have already managed do that at the YMCA...!) So again, here I am, trying to finish my three papers before we depart for Tanzania!

Sorry I haven't been blogging much recently--it has been very crazy, busy and exciting for the past two weeks. The story goes like this: I have been in the urban home stay component of my program where each student stays with a affluent family of the greater Nairobi community. From the sounds of my fellow colleagues everyone is very happy with their situations, and I am no exception!

Disclaimer: The names of my family members remain anonymous because we were told by St. Lawrence, specifically not to include names because Kenyans are very tech-savvy and could find and read your blog if you're not careful! (As if I would have anything bad to say about my family anyhow..!)

I am living in a very nice, well decorated, exceptionally kept house with 4 family members--the 5th is in Canada for University. We have shared many laughs, insights and cultural exchanges that I cannot wait to show you all back home! My family is very well off and has been able to show me a side of the Nairobi elitest life that I would have otherwise not have been exposed to. To me, this whole affluent life, is very interesting I feel like the best way I could describe it all is by saying that my family, as well as many other SLU students host families, could be the stars on Real Housewives of Nairobi if there was such a thing.
Heres why I think this:

• My mom gets her nails done once a week. Along with her hair "touched up" twice a month
• My sisters wear white...only white clothing (purely out of choice)
• My father owns a Range Rover...and a BMW. 
• We have a house help, driver, gardner and driveway keeper (yes, I had that same confused look when I heard this too)
• My family gets over 300 channels of T.V--all American, British and Kenyan channels!
• My mom hosts "girls afternoon" every other day at my house. This is basically where all her girl friends come over, drink tea (a lot of it) and gossip about their money, friends and house helps  (yes, sometimes our sweet househelp is even in the room) It is times like this that I wish I was fluent in Kiswahili...what ARE they talking about?!

Basically, it is to my understanding that my family is very well off--and props to them, both my host mom and dad work very hard and they deserve it all. However, it is just not the lifestyle I was picturing  living in and even more-so is such a contrast to my rural home stay! 

Moreover, my home stay experience has been nothing but great and I have no complaints. Some of the more interesting things I have done so far include:

• Clubbing--Kenyan style (yes, there is a style!)
• Making a vegetarian pizza dinner for my family (Don't you worry dad--yes it was homemade dough and caramelized onions)
• Attending my first Catholic mass---in Kiswahili
• Eating Chinese food in Kenya (it was actually really good...nothing compared to you, Kai!)
• Bargaining HARD at the Maasai market
• Attending various election campaigns (sometimes more scary then fun)
• Going to the Rift Valley
• Seeing Hippos...real life wild ones!
• Attending a Kenyan wedding...and passing out in front of everyone...

Here is the story for that one: I went to my host fathers, nephews wedding on Saturday. It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding in Nyvasha (the Rift Valley) right on lake Nyvasha. So we get there at 11:45 am and the wedding is projected to start at 12:00 pm. Thanks to the wonderful africa time the wedding service didn't start until 1:30 pm. Classic. Lunch was supposed to be at 2:00 pm but the service didn't get over until 3:30pm...(yes, it was a long service). Then we went to refreshments which consisted of boxed fruit juice (it is Lent so everyone is giving up alcohol so this was a very alcohol free wedding). Anyhow, at this point in the day it was 4:00 pm and we had not eaten lunch yet...actually I had not yet eaten ANYTHING all day. I clearly wasn't thinking because I chose not to eat breakfast in the morning, just took my normal cup of tea, thinking I would be able to eat at the projected 2:00 pm lunch time...turns out I was wrong...so wrong. So I am standing amongst a group of Kenyans sipping my juice (I was actually chugging mine, because I was SO hungry/thirsty). I start to feel light headed and sweating a little more than normal. As a disclaimer: I have only passed out one time prior to this so I was very unfamiliar with the feeling/symptoms. I quickly realized this was a very abnormal feeling and decided I should do something about it. I politely excused myself from the group to go sit down. I started to walk to the chair area with my host sisters trailing behind me...I made all of 5 steps (to the nearest chair) and BAM--I passed out. Don't worry, I some how, miraculously  made it on the chair and must have woken up all of seconds later. However, it felt like a lifetime and I am sure that EVERYONE at the wedding saw me because I woke up to the entire "refreshment section" staring at me... Turns out everything was alright, the bride and groom were fine with it. They thought it was funny having a Mzungu pass out at their wedding. I'm glad someone found it funny hah! I've learned my lesson--eat before any Kenyan wedding...things never start on time! 

The rest of the week was a lot more relaxed...thank goodness. I visited the Maasai market with my family which was great because I didn't receive the haggling or Mzungu Tax that I would have if I were by myself! 

Tonight is my last night here...we are planing on having a "pizza, movie, cake and games night". My sisters and I baked a cake and decorated it (it looks very professional) and we are going to play our favorite games together Uno, Spit and Catch Phrase!

I will post pictures as soon as I can! Secondly, I am leaving for Tanzania...actually more like running away to Tanzania on Saturday (March 1st) because the Kenyan elections are on March 4th. My family thinks, and I agree, that it is silly that we are running away from the election--Kenyans have learned their lesson and we will not see a repeat of 2008. One can only hope. We'll be gone in TZ for two weeks and be returning on the 17th. See you then! 

Perks of Being a Smart Traveler

Being the "smart travelers" we are, the SLU students signed up to receive the smart traveler updates and events from the US Embassy in Kenya in order to stayed in tune and warned. Typically the weekly/biweekly emails we get are intended to be followed with caution but are found more comical amongst us students. (NOTE: we do take the emails seriously, but it is more the way they are worded that is comical) Some of the more interesting emails I have received include:

1. "The Embassy reminds American citizens that Kenya is rated Critical for Crime.  This means that crime is rampant, indiscriminate  at times violent, and happens in all parts of Kenya, at all hours.  We advise that when driving, be especially alert of any person(s) or vehicles acting in a suspicious manner and keep your distance.  Also, whenever possible be sure to park your car in parking lots that have security.  If you are the victim of a carjacking or robbery and are held against your will, try your best to remain calm and begin talking with your captors to lower your/their anxiety.  Historically, many carjacking and robberies in Kenya have been de-escalated by compliance and cooperation with the criminals."

AND

2. "Traffic Advisory: Around 20,000 people are currently rallying in Uhuru Park.  No violence is yet reported, but Kenyatta Avenue traffic is at a standstill." 

However, on a lighter note we did receive an email from the US Ambassador of Kenya inviting us to an "Emergency Preparedness" meeting held at the house of the US Ambassador. Today, we all took a trip to the elegant home where I found myself pleasantly overwhelmed by the culture shock...or maybe reverse culture shock to some extent. This was the most Mzungu (white people) I had seen, concentrated in such a small area, in a while and it had such a deeper more shocking effect then I thought it would have! 

The house itself was absolutely beautiful--appropriately massive, tastefully decorated and packed with culturally diverse Americans. There were about 200 chairs set up outside on the field of a lawn and there were white tents strewn about...this is where all the cookies were found. (Also where you could find all the sweet deprived SLU students!) Not surprisingly, there were many other college students there and we found it very easy to make conversation with them. New friends! 

We arrived at 2:00 pm and the talk did not begin until 3:00 pm so there was a lot of down time where we gorged ourselves with the various sweets that were served. There was a member of the US Embassy who was trying to facilitate different jokes, and trivia but was struggling and wanting some student help so my friend Ally (a girl on my SLU program) went up in front of the 200 Americans sitting down and started playing a game with everyone called "Guess Who". The Game is very simple and is played identically to the childhood board game "Guess Who" where Ally picks someone in the crowed and they ask questions to try and illuminate people to find out "who" the mystery person is. This game went on for a good amount of time until the Ambassador was ready to speak! GO ALLY!

The talk itself was very interesting and informative--it included the safety precautions we should take, preparedness tips etc. We were given a packet detailing "how to create a shelter-in-place-kit" which includes water, minutes for your cell phone, candles  pocket knife, pet supplies and many more "necessary" items. 

The whole election process, while it went very poorly in 2007/2008, is projected to run a lot smoother this time around. Kenyans, and everyone alike, is hoping for a more "peaceful, safe and fair" election. We can only hope for the best. You should all try to keep up with the election news in Kenya come March 4th (election day) because this is a very historical time in history. Kenya recently (2010) implemented a new constitution highlighting many new changes which are now all being enforced in this upcoming election. They are being looked at through a microscopic lens and hoped to be viewed as a role model for other  politically aspiring countries. If all goes well for Kenya then there is hope for other countries. Fortunately/unfortunately I will be in Tanzania come March 4th, but something tells me I will be able to quickly hear the election results! Stay tuned!