classes!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A number of people have asked me about my classes, so I'll give a little update! I'm taking Gender and Development, Politics of Kenya, Swahili I, and Geographies of Development. My schedule goes like this:

Monday: 9 - 1 Swahili; 1 - 2 Lunch; 2 - 4 Geographies of Development

Tuesday: 9 - 11 Gender and Development; 11 - 1 Political Science

Wednesday: 9 - 1 Swahili; 1 - 2 Lunch; 2 - 4 Political Science

Thursday: 11 - 1 Geographies of Development; 1 - 2 Lunch; 2 - 4 Gender and Development

So I have some free time 1 - 4 on Tuesdays, and don't have to be at school until 11 on Thursdays, which is nice! All of our classes are going well. Swahili I and Geographies of Development are ending next week and we'll start Swahili II and then do our ICRP stuff. (ICRP = Inter-cultural Research Project.) I found out today I'll be volunteering in a hospital, hopefully in an HIV/AIDs clinic!! I'm SUPER excited. Sometime next week Lillian (our resident director) will be taking me to the hospital to get situated.

Our homework for Swahili (due tomorrow) was to write about our families. Here's what I wrote! (I'll give a translation, don't worry.)

"Nina Baba na Mama na kaka wapili. Nina mbwa anaitwa Zoey na buku anaitwa Ernie pia. Ernie ana unene na upumbavu. Baba yangu anaitwa Dave na Mama yangu anaitwa April. Dave ni mwalimu kwa shughuli na uhasibu. Anafunda kwa chuo kikuu Michigan. Mama yangu ni mhasibu kwa kanisa. Wazazi wangu wanapenda kucheza gofu na kucheka kwa wao kwa wao. Kaka kwanza anitwa John na kaka mpili anaitwa Tom. John ni fundi wa takirishi. Tom anafanya kazi kwa duka wa kahawa. Mama yangu anapenda chai lakini hapendi kahawa kwa maana Baba yangu anapenda kahawa lakini hapendi chai! Ninapenda kahawa lakini sipendi chai. Nina babu wawili na bibi wawili. Mama wa Babu yangu anaitwa Marilyn. Marilyn anapenda kufuma na kufanya chemsha bongo. Baba wa Baba yangu anaitwa Bill. Bill anapenda kutazama besiboli. Mama wa Mama yangu anaitwa Grace. Grace anapenda kilimo cha bustani. Baba wa Mama yangu anaitwa Happy. Happy anapenda kusoma. Marilyn na Bill wana watoto wawili, wanaitwa Dave na Steve. Happy na Grace wana watoto watano, wanaitwa Linda Jo, Patricia Gail, Roger Paul, April Lynn na Elizabeth Ann."

"I have a father a mother and two brothers. I also have a cat named Zoey and a hamster named Ernie. Ernie has much obesity and much stupidity. My father is named Dave and my mother is named April. Dave is a teacher of business and accounting. He teaches at the University of Michigan. My mother is an account of a church. My parents like to play golf and to laugh with each other. My first brother is named John and my second brother is named Tom. John is an expert of computers. Tom works at a coffee shop. My mother likes tea but does not like coffee whereas my father likes coffee but doesn't like tea! I like coffee don't like tea. I have two grandfathers and two grandmothers. The mother of my father is named Marilyn. Marilyn likes to knit and to do crossword puzzles. The father of my father is named Bill. Bill likes to watch baseball. The mother of my mother is named Grace. Grace likes to work in the garden. The father of my mother is named Happy. Happy likes to read. Marilyn and Bill have two children, named Dave and Steve. Happy and Grace have five children, named Linda Jo, Patricia Gail, Roger Paul, April Lynn and Elizabeth Ann."

Yay!! It's pretty elementary, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it, so that's what it is. Hope you enjoyed!

On Friday our group is leaving early to go to Naivasha with our Swahili professor to see a real village in Kenya. We're renting tents and little mattresses and just hanging around with him for the weekend. I'm very excited!

Here are some random pictures of kids from my group, since we haven't done anything really exciting in the past few days.

Mimansa in the K Room

Amelia and Megan chilling on my bed

Saskia (making a scary face) and Megan in the K Room

Emily (also in the K Room) (also making a weird face)

Me and mutsy (before Amelia, Megan, Emily and I went out last Saturday)

can't think of name

Sunday September 19, 2010

Today seemed to go on forever! It probably didn't help that Kevin, some of his friends, Amelia and I were out until 4am last night!! Nairobi really becomes alive at night. But finally Amelia and I said we were too tired and had to go home. We slept for maybe a few hours, and then got up to go on a planned trip with Amelia's host sister and some Norwegian students who are here for an exchange program.

First we went to a polo game!! Who knew Africa had polo teams? I didn't. It was really cool because I'd never seen one before. The crowd was full of whities (rich whities) but there were a few Africans there. Amelia and I left in the middle of the game and went to go pet the many horses that were waiting to be used on the field.

After the polo game, we went to a giraffe feading park! This was different than the last one, because we were up on a platform and the giraffes had to reach up to grab the food, instead of leaning their necks down. This meant that their slobbery, purple tongues were all over your hands. It was both gross and completely cool.

It was a long day and at the end of it all Amelia and I were both completely exhausted. I got home around 6pm, had a little bit to eat and fell right to sleep through the night.

Until next time!

-me

lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Wednesday September 15, 2010

Today we went to an ANIMAL PARK! It was awesome. First we got to FEED GIRAFFES AND MONKEYS. The giraffes were behind a fence thing, but they’d just lean their heads down and slurp up pellets from our hands! Their slobbery, scratchy lips covering our hands in spit. The monkeys were everywhere, and if you held out a pellet to them they’d reach out their little hands and grab it. Then usually run away or go find someone else with food. It was so cool.

We continued to walk through the park and saw crocodiles, hippos, more monkeys (they were literally running around all over the place), water buffalo and a bunch of snakes (in cages.) We had a guide who walked us around and talked to us about all the animals, which was really cool. One of the crocodiles attacked the other one while we were there! He drew blood, it was an interesting mix of awesome and terrifying.

Tonight a few friends and I went to the Indian Ocean, at around midnight or 1. They were sitting on the beach and at some point I decided to go lie in the half foot of water that’s actually present at that time of day. I was wearing a swim suit top and shorts and was just…lying there in the cold water, looking up at the stars, the water covering my stomach as the tide came up. This is hard to describe, but, since I've decided to be more of a spiritual person than a religious person, I haven't had very many "ah-ha" awed moments. But lying in the Indian Ocean at one or two in the morning, all by myself with the waves passing over my skin, staring up at the stars - I felt completely in awe of the univerese. It made me feel so small compared to the vast spaces of the planet. I felt so in tune with mother earth, and nature, and life. I felt completely whole, and completely at home. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

Unfortunately, that is all to report for today. Over all it was a great day, and I hope the pictures are enjoyable to you all!

-Me

Feeding a monkey!!

I want one.

CROCODILE

Adventure to Mombasa!

Monday September 14, 2010

We drove up to Mombasa this morning - leaving Nairobi at around 8 and not arriving at our hotel/resort until 6. It was a long trip, traffic was insane, and we made two stops. There's no air conditioning in the cars here, so the windows were always open which was actually quite nice to get some fresh air.

Mombasa ia BEAUTIFUL. I've never been to a place so exotic in my life. Our resort is super ritzy, very classy. And it's a two minute walk to the beach from our hotel. Yesterday we all walked down to the beach and were going to walk to the ocean, but there is a large coral reef before you get to the real waves. Each of us had a guide - mine was named Charles. He showed me all sorts of really amazing sea creatures that were in the water, as we walked through. I held a sea cucumber in my hand! It looks like a cucumber, only it feels like a really wet worm. Charles said they're 95% water! Craziness. I also held two types of starfish - the one everyone thinks of when I say starfish, which is really cool looking. And one that's more stringly and kind of wiggles around in the water. They were all over the place. After we got a ways out there he told me to put on my flip flops because sea urchens hide under the seaweed. He picked a bunch up and let me hold them. It was really scary, actually because they're basically little balls covered in long spikes that are like razor blades. It moved around in my hand a little and I gave it back to him and he threw it away. I got stuck by one on my toe and bled a little, but that was the worst of it. There were some places when we were walking that literally all you could see were a bunch of spiky sea urchins. It was hard to walk in flip flops and I was kind of nervous about it so he held my hand the whole way out and the whole way back! It was really nice of him. We got out to the ocean and stood in the waves were crashing and booming around us. It was a magical moment for me.

Later in the afternoon we went to Fort Jesus, which is a Fort that was built by the Portugese in the 1500s I believe. It was really beautiful and I took a bunch of pictures. Then we had a fantastic dinner right by the sea side. I can tell this week is going to be simply amazing. We have class in the morning from 8:30 until 1, and then we have a little free time before doing our touristy things in the afternoon.

I'll update more later!

(left to right) Saskia, Emily, Megan, Amelia

Our swahili professor, Francis, and our Gender and Developmental professor,

Roseanne (or, as I affectionately call her, Rosie)

Emily hanging out at Fort Jesus

The beautiful view from our restaurant that night

"Old town" in Mombasa, reminded me of Italy

OUR GROUP!! (Left to right) Zach, Mimansa, Amelia,

Saskia, Me, Megan and Emily

FIRST MARRIAGE PROPOSAL!!!

Wednesday September 8, 2010

We started real school on Monday. Our first class, Swahili, starts at 9am - I leave my house at 8:30 or 8:45 to get there on time. We have class until 11 and then we have a "tea break" for half an hour. Our group has found two cafes to go to that are right across the street to buy tea (chai), coffee (kahawa), bananas (ndizi) and a sweet breaded treat called mandazi. That's generally what we are found munching on. Swahili begins again at 11:30 and goes until 1, when we have an hour for lunch. We've gone to different places every day - I really love the dish called pilau, which is rice, some sort of meat (I think beef) and a spicy red-brown sauce. It's delicious! Today I had my first legal drink in Kenya! (Don't worry Mom.) We went out and had pizza and each got a beer. It was VERY stereotypical American, but we decided we've been here for a week and deserve a little American treat! It was delicious. Usually in the afternoon we have a class called Geographies of Development, where we talk about the ways in which Kenya has developed as a country. But on Tuesdays and Wednesdays we don't have that class.

Today, in lieu of GoDev, we went to the American Embassy! It was kind of cool, but mostly they talked to us about boring stuff that we already knew. But Roseanne, one of our teachers/advisers, tells us it is mandatory. I took a few sneak pics there.

Afterwards, we drove to Saskia's house to drop her off because we were so near where she lived. She lives in a BEAUTIFUL BIG house. The epitome of a rich Kenyan. I took some pictures on the way to her house.

Aren't these flowers beautiful?

Next Monday we are going on our first excursion to Mombasa, which is about an eight hour drive Northeast of Nairobi. It's right on the Indian Ocean, and I hear we are staying in a hotel that literally sits next to the ocean. Our Swahili instructor, Mwalimu Francis, tells us that we can simply walk out of the hotel and the beach is right there! Beautiful. I hear that it is an absolutely wonderful place. I am excited to go and practice my Swahili.

Speaking of practicing my Swahili - I got to do a bit of that today when I was walking home from school. There's a park on the way, so I stopped to sit and read, relax for a bit. A man came up to me and told me that he didn't speak much English but wondered if I wanted to try and have a conversation anyway. I said sure - it was still very light out, and many people were about so it was completely safe. No worries. He told me about his life - jobless, houseless. I told him that I was a student at the University, studying to become a doctor. ("Mimi ni mwanafunzi katika chuo cho Nairobi University na ninajifundisha nina kuwa daktari.") He seemed very impressed. I asked if he had a family - he said no; no wife or kids. He asked if I had a boyfriend! I said "Hapana, sina mpenzi," which means "no, I don't have a boyfriend." He then said, "how do you say...I'm crazy about you?" I laughed outloud! Then said, "what?" And he said, "I'm crazy about you!" I thanked him and he said - in broken English - that I was very beautiful and smart, and asked if I would be his girlfriend!! Oh my goodness. That was funny. I laughed, and he did too. I told him no, I didn't want a boyfriend. He said, "But I'm crazy about you!" I smiled and said, "Pole, lakini hapana," which means, "sorry, but no." We talked a bit more and then I told him I had to go home and I left.

It was so awesome to be able to almost have a conversation with someone in Swahili! I felt proud of my progress - taking the class in the spring has definitely helped me. I told my friend, Megan, about his offer and she said, "Haha - as long as you don't accept!"

A fun day. I'm very tired and will probably be going to bed early tonight. I find I don't sleep well here yet. It's quite difficult to fall asleep - I toss and turn for half an hour or an hour before I finally drift off. And I've woken up every day at around 6:30 because the light begins to shine through my open curtains. I don't mind that, because it ensures that I will wake up when the time comes. I expect falling asleep will become easier as I grow more accustomed to my room and life here.

Miss you all and hope you are doing well!

first weekend

Saturday September 4, 2010

Haven't even been here a week and it feels like forever. I miss home and family desperately, but am following the motto "keep on keeping on." Orientation is over and classes start on Monday. The walk to school is about twenty minutes, although depending on traffic it could take more or less time. I walked home from school on Thursday with Amelia, who lives about fifteen or twenty minutes from me walking. We stayed at school for a bit and explored the "Kalamazoo Room" where there is internet and three computers that work well enough to use. I suspect it will be a nice place to hang out after or between classes. We then lay in the grass in the middle of campus, which is BEAUTIFUL, and talked about the past few days. Finally we walked home.

Friday morning I walked to school by myself. SCARY! Traffic is insane - cars don't stop for stoplights, which are few and far between, or people. I have found that you can't hesitate, and once you start walking across the road you have to keep going. Often you have to run! Luckily, many Kenyan students have already started school so I can follow them as they run across the street. It was scary at first, but I've walked around a lot since then and find it much easier now.

We took a driving tour around Nairobi Friday afternoon and saw all of the city a much of the outskirts. I took pictures. Of course.

This is part of our group - in the middle seats are Saskia (left) and Mimansa (right) and in the back is Emily (looking out the window), Amelia and Zach. Megan and I were in the front seats.

We visited a place called Kibira, which they call the slums of Nairobi.

These "houses" go on for miles, and I am told that the rent is often 1000 shillings, which translates into about $12 per month, which to these people is considered expensive. It was a heart-breaking experience to see poverty so close to our houses, which have running water, a shower, a refridgerater, etc.

Our whole group stood on the top of this hill, looking down on the scene before us, feeling guilty and at the same time blessed for what we have. It's hard to remember that, for us, these six months are merely a "vacation" from real life, but for some it is their life, and our time spent here is spent in luxury compared to most who live in Nairobi.

Friday afternoon Mama Carol graduated and got her Masters degree! We had a big celebration at our apartment, with many of her family and friends. There was lots of food and excitement was all around. After the party, I spent the night at Amelia's house and we watched movies all night, and discussed our worries, fears, excitements. Amelia reminded me (and herself) to keep in mind that we've been here less than a week, so of course we're feeling homesick, uncomfortable, anxious, etc. And that by the end of six months this place will really feel like home. I try to keep that in mind.

We leave for Mumbasa a week from Monday and I hear that it is beautiful! I'll try to keep you updated from now until then, although internet access is limited - as in I only get it in the Kalamazoo room at school and am still debating buying a modem.

Lala salema! (Good night!)

i'm hot, sweaty and pretty tired.

Tuesday September 1, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I'm so glad I got to call and talk to you today - it felt good to hear a familiar voice.

Today I woke up late (10:30) and ate some breakfast (an apple and mango yogurt) and waited for Kevin to wake up. At around 11:30 I decided to go knock on his door, but just as I was about to leave him and a friend walked in. His friend's name is Albert, or Arnold or something. They were nice enough to show me around the city today! I also met four other friends of Kevin's who were girls, but cannot remember their names. I have a horrible time with that. We walked thorugh a huge park with lots of grass and endless space to lay and read. I imagine myself doing homework there a lot - although at night, Mama Carol tells me, it isn't very safe so I shouldn't be there past 6. I got a phone! It was quite expensive, but it's a necessity so I decided that it was worth it.

Walking around downtown was a bit of an experience, as there are no real crosswalks and to get across streets to just have to look and sort of run. At one point I forgot to look and was exceedingly close to a bus that was coming very fast down the street, but Kevin put his arm in front of me and pushed me back a little with a laugh. I believe I said "Oops! I forgot to pay attention..I'll have to remember to do that." His friend said that the trick to Nairobi is look like you know where you're going, even if you don't. As we walked I felt like everyone's eyes were on me all of the time, I saw one other caucasian man walking down the street and he smiled really big at me, obviously sensing my discomfort. He, however, looked quite used to Nairobi - he must live here or has been here for a while.

After about an hour downtown I started feeling quite nauseaus. Kevin's friends dispersed and him and I were walking to a shop he needed to go to but all of the sudden I knew I was going to throw up! I was so embarassed. But he led me to a restaurant where I ran to the bathroom and relieved myself of the mango yogurt. It hadn't been refridgerated and although it was still "good," I think it freaked out my body for a while. We stayed downtown for a bit after that, as I was feeling better, but then walked home. I've been feeling nauseated all day long and took a little nap to make myself feel better.

Amelia (another girl on the trip with me) came by with her host sister, Monique. We hung out and watched a terrible movie entitled "Spring Break: Shark Attack." It was pretty bad, but still entertaining. Mama Carol arrived home around 7 o'clock and her and I figured out how to call my parents in the states, which I did. Cecelia, the woman who helps them around the house - I don't know whether to call her a maid or not - made us dinner, which consisted of a salad, some vegetables in a vinegar type sauce and some sort of other thing, which I can't really describe but will compare it to huevos - a Mexican dish with eggs, meat and spices. It was delicious but I didn't eat too much because my stomach has been on the fritz today.

Mama Carol and I went over house rules, none of which are out of the ordinary for me, and now I'm off to bed. I have orientation tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock and Kevin is going to walk me to the school at around 8:30. He will also hopefully pick me up around 4:30 although the school is very close - essentially down the hill and take a right and it should be there, so I'm none too worried especially now that I have a phone with telephone numbers in it.

I miss everyone and am quite homesick, but it helps to know that we're starting off with a busy day tomorrow and I am having a great time despite everything.

Love you all!

PS: Here's a look from the outside of my building:

And here's my room setup:

first time on the internet!

Hello! I wrote this the first day I came:

At around 8:00 or 8:15p.m. Kenyan time (just after 1 o'clock in the US) our group of seven departed from customs, having spent around 17 hours on two planes and about 20 hours total of travelling. We were exhausted, smelly, and rumpled. We walked down the stairs, got our luggage (none was lost!) and looked around aimelessly in hopes of seeing someone with some sort of sign. We didn't have to look too far before we saw a large group of people, holding signs with our names on them. I found my family and was immediately grinning ear to ear, so excited to finally be here. My host mother, Mama Carol, was holding a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of red and white roses for me and my host brother, Kevin, stood smiling. I was greeted with two large hugs from both of them, which I appreciated greatly, making me feel at home already. Kevin took my luggage cart, even after I insisted that I could manage, and we walked over to where the group was standing. After a short introduction from Roseanne, a woman who will be helping us get situated our first week here, we walked on. Carol introduced me to a friend of hers (whose name I have already forgotten) who is the host mother of my friend Amelia! The two women work together and she explained that when she was out of town, Amelia's host mother would be taking care of me and vice versa. We left the group and got into the car.
The city is BEAUTIFUL. Lights everywhere, cars (and crazy) drivers everywhere. Carol told me that I probably had the best location as far as homes go, and Kevin told me that the walk to campus was only ten or fifteen minutes. Horrah! Kevin is turning 23 in September and has just graduated with a degree in commerce and business. Carol works at the YWCA and I have already told her all about my working at the YMCA Camp these past two summers.
We live in apartments sponsored by the YWCA, which are lovely. Carol has her own room, bathroom and shower, as do I. There is a small kitchen, a dining room and a "sitting room" as she calls it with cable TV and a stereo. They also have someone who helps around the house named Cecelia, whom I haven't met yet. While Carol took a shower, Kevin and I talked and ate some dinner - rice, chicken and vegetable stew. He said that he lives in the same complex but his room is down the corridor, and I was instructed to wake him tomorrow morning if I woke up and he wasn't there. He's going to show me around the city, help me find and buy a phone and some walking sandals. Kevin says he likes music (hip-hop, of course) and likes to go out with his friends when he has free time. I asked him if he wouldn't mind taking me out some night to a restaurant or a bar to show me the fun places in town and he said he'd be glad to.
So far I couldn't be happier with my family. They are small, but their hearts are big and they have already been incredibly kind and welcoming. I have set up my bedroom, put up pictures of family and friends and put my things away in the dresser. I miss home and friends but am THRILLED to be here and can't wait to get to know the city better. Earlier tonight, Carol mentioned I should take a walk up to the top of the complex, which I did. The view is spectacular: lights, big buildings and cars everywhere. It's absolutely breathtaking.
I miss you all but have so far had a wonderful couple of hours in Nairobi! I'll write when I can.
-Katie

Mom and Dad - sorry I couldn't email when we got to Amsterdam! Our flight out of Detroit was delayed about an hour and a half and by the time we got to the Amsterdam airport we had to walk swiftly to make it to our next flight on time. I hope you weren't too worried.