That's Kenya-speak for "Give me a freakin' blog entry, you lazy mzungu!"
I have to apologize because it has been months- literally months- since my last post. So, following the Peace Corps tradition of celebrating relatively unremarkable amounts of time (e.g., 45 years of Peace Corps Kenya), I shall write a blog entry for you all in celebration of slightly over seven months of Margaret + Peace Corps Kenya. Excited?
Very much has happened in the past few months, so I'm going to limit this entry to more recent history. I will, however, let you know that in April, I took a vacation to the Coast with my gal pals. It was fantastic! I recommend that, should any of you come to Kenya, you bypass me and just head straight to the Coast. I promise I will not be offended. Also in April, the whole training group got together in Nairobi for a week-ish-long training session. It was great to catch up with everyone, and quite a relief to realize that we're all facing similar challenges.
I want to start this paragraph off by saying that things are going fine at school, but that would be a bit untruthful. I guess that the past few months- the time before the harvest- have been difficult for many people; there is a shortage of food and a serious shortage of money. My school is completely broke (if you'll forgive my lack of tact). There is no money for bread to go with our tea in the morning, no money to pay the teachers, and very little money for food. Lately, the only thing we've been getting to eat is githeri (maize and beans) which I like. Unfortunately, do to the "serious and widespread" outbreak of Aflatoxin in this years maize harvest, Peace Corps has instructed us not to eat maize or maize-products (i.e., ugali, i.e., the dietary staple of every person living in Kenya). Even worse, because of the food shortage in the village, most of the students only get one meal a day. Also, the lack of money to pay teachers is also a serious problem, of course. Many of the teachers have children of their own and need money to pay school fees. Needless to say, moral is a bit low amongst some of the staff.
School is going alright for me, although I am currently facing the challenge of trying to teach algebra to my Form 1's. Holy mother of pizza! Who would have thought it would be so difficult? Also, they continue to copy each others work, clearly convinced that I'm too stupid to notice, or perhaps too nice to care. Indeed, I do find it difficult to punish my kids because I love them to death, even when they drive me bonkers. This week is my first on duty (dun dun dun...) so I have to be at school mad early, stay until the end of the day, AND I'm in charge of discipline. At the end of last week, I made an announcement to the staffroom saying that there would be no caning during my week on duty. They laughed at me, of course, but so far they have respect my rule. :)
In other news, I have started an Art Club at the school!! My wonderful family sent me a bunch of art supplies from home, and we got started on Tuesday. It was great fun; I got about 12 students, and I think the number will increase. What I really wanted was to give students a chance to have fun, be creative and express themselves, because they hardly ever get a chance to do those things. It's a little strange considering that I hardly know them, but I want so badly for them to be happy. I'm not sure my art club is capable of making them happy, but if it makes their lives a little brighter, then that's something.
In other other news, I have broken the monotony of my wardrobe with two new skirts. Seriously, having to wear the same five skirts for six months is enough to drive even the least style-conscious person over the edge.
OK, enough of that. While seven months may not be an interesting or substantial amount of time, the things that I have learned certainly make up for that fact in... um... substance. So, allow me to present:
A List of Lessons Learned: [Slightly Over] Seven Months in Kenya!1. The only thing I can count on in my life here is lizard poo, mold in my bafu, and afternoon downpours. Apart from that, every day is excitingly inconsistent.
2. If you never do anything that scares you, you'll always be afraid.
3. Allow me to quote someone more eloquent than myself! "If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you will find nothing when you return." - The Alchemist
4. When you remove the clutter from your life and things become more simple, it doesn't take much to make you happy. For example, a few weeks back I was having a really terrible day and had just about lost all my faith in humanity (not to be too dramatic or anything). To top it all off, I had done laundry the day before, and one of my clean towels had fallen into a mud puddle. I just left it there and went to school. When I returned in the evening, I found that someone had cleaned my towel and hung it back on the line. I nearly cried. In fact, I may have.
5. Before I came to Kenya, I joked with people that I was going to save the world. People say that it is possible for one person to change the world, and I'm not sure if I believe that or not. But I do believe that the only way anything will ever change for the better is it people believe that they
can change the world. Oh my goodness, Kenya has turned me into a steaming heap of CORN! (that one's for you, dad)
6. The list of things that I've learned about Kenyan culture could fill whole series of text books, so I'll have to save that for another day. And trust me, I wouldn't go so far as to claim that I really understand Kenyan culture at all. All I know for sure is that it amazes me, confuses me, and drives me slightly crazy. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing here. But the point is that I'm here, I'm learning and I'm doing stuff. And aren't we all just somewhere, learning and doing stuff?
7. Goats with full-body mohawks and five-inch-long eyebrows are the coolest animals on God's green earth.
Well that's all for now. I hope you've enjoyed reading the above randomness.
Drop me a line if you'd like; I always love to hear from people on the home front! (margaretdcallahan@gmail.com)
Margaret
**The above blog entry is hereby dedicated, with all my love, to Mr. Dave Lang, lifelong friend and second father, and awesomely awesome person. You and your family are in my thoughts always. I miss you guys a ton!**
Comments (1)
How great to be away teaching the young and learning yourself! I've thought about doing the same thing but I don't quite have the Degree.