Finally Online!

It’s taken quite a while to find internet around here, but I finally bought myself a modem. It’s not the cheapest thing around, but at least it works.

SO. So much has happened in the last two weeks it feels like I’ve been in Kenya for months. The other volunteers will probably tell you the same thing. PST (pre-service training) is so packed full of classes and events and meetings and sessions every day that it’s hard to remember it’s only the second week. I have learned so much in the last few weeks; about Kenya, about the languages, the people, the school systems, and my new assignment.

Speaking of which, I have been posted to Kilifi, a touristy-type town on the coast, about an hour north of Mombasa. The coast is HOT. Hot hot hot. Like hotter than anything Americans have seen before. But apparently it’s a very nice town. There is another volunteer currently at that site, doing the exact thing I will be doing. I am going to be living on the compound at the deaf primary school, and teaching Biology and Math, and maybe Life Skills at the deaf secondary school right next door. It is a brand new secondary school, meaning resources are extremely limited, and I’m only the second volunteer to be posted at this school. It’s definitely going to be challenging.

I spent a week in Machackos, with the rest of the deaf ed. group, and then was bussed to Loitokitok for the rest of training. I had a host family for one week in Machakos, and though some days were extremely hard, I’ve been learning like crazy. I miss home and everyone, and have had a few mini panic attacks here and there, but nothing a little country music can’t fix. It’s definitely the small victories that mean the most so far.

Here’s some beginning PST milestones:

• Successfully learned how to pee in a hole (here it’s called a choo, pronounced “cho”)
• Learned how to wash my clothes by hand (scraped the skin off my knuckles in doing so, but at least they got clean)
• Learned how to get pretty clean from only one washcloth and one bucket
• Learned how to treat my water so I don’t get parasites and such
• Had some conversations with some deaf adults in Kenyan Sign Language
• Learned how to greet people and count to 10 in Swahili
• Understood my language trainer when she was interpreting from Swahili to KSL

This weekend I travel with Amanda (the other secondary deaf ed volunteer) to Mombasa and then Kilifi for a week of shadowing current volunteers at their sites. We come back a week later, before soon taking off again to meet somewhere else for HIV/AIDS week. See? Busy busy busy.

Here’s what has been really hard:

• Adapting to a new culture is probably easier if you don’t look like a marshmallow in a giant bowl of chocolates. Here white people are called “mzungu” and it’s a word I have now begun to totally identify myself with. Kenyans automatically assume wazungu have tons of money, so we get stared at constantly. As much as I love being the center of attention sometimes :) this is really tough.
• Not being able to talk to everyone at home all the time. Thankfully I have the most wonderful support group I could have asked for here with the other volunteers. I could not be more thankful for them.
• Not having cheese. And cereal. We spend a lot of our free time talking about food we miss, and it’s only week two. Lord help us.
• Trying to pick up two languages at the same time. KSL is very similar to ASL in a lot of ways, but also completely different. Swahili isn’t like any language at all, except maybe Arabic, so that doesn’t help.

And here’s some things I am very happy about:

• I have a cell phone, and I know to call the states :)
• The other volunteers in my group are absolutely amazing, and I totally could not do this without them.
• I have 6 siblings in my host family here in Loitokitok. I love it. Ages 20, 16, 13, 10, 7, and 6. And there’s some cousins that run around too. Just two months ago they had another volunteer stay with them, so they know the drill. The kids help me with my Swahili words, and I teach them signs. They’re awesome.
• So far, the food isn’t bad. The fruit is fresher, the meat is a little chewier, and when we get candy, it’s that much tastier after not having it available all the time. Tea (chai) is a total staple here and I am rapidly falling in love with tea break, which is a Kenyan necessity. Why don’t we have tea break in America?
• I have been writing and venting in my journal like a madman, and it has really been a huge relief when things are stressful.
• The top of Mt. Kilimanjaro pokes through the clouds every so often, and reminds me that I’m actually in Kenya.

It’s hard to believe that I am actually going to be here for two years. I can’t believe I’ve only been here for two weeks. It’s a little scary when I think about it, but I’m so determined to see this through, that when I do finish, I’ll be that much more proud of myself. Just like they told me, emotions go up and down like a roller coaster by the second, and two things are on constant scroll through my mind every day, and will be for the next two years:

One day at a time.

and

No giving up.

I hope everyone at home is doing well, and that things haven’t changed too much in the last two months, I mean weeks :). I love love love all of you, and can’t wait till I can post again.

Love always,

Shub :)

PS my phone numberS are now posted under my address. Two sim cards = Two phone numbers. No telling when you'll be able to reach one or the other, so just try both if you need.