Niko Sawa

So I haven't been able to post for a bit because my computer was out of juice and and we haven't had electricity for a few days. Luckily, the Catholic church we have been having classes at does have electricity. It's all good now.

Training has been coming along, though is slowly getting more and more frustrating. For one thing, Amanda and I have not had one full week in the same city yet. This is good because we have experience with traveling around the country (which is pretty much a contact sport here), but we are sick and tired of living out of our backpacks. Since we are the outliers in the group (the only ones teaching at deaf secondary schools) we've had to go all kinds of places to get our training requirements in. I'll survive, I just would like at least one weekend at home. *Sigh*.

So next week we have to travel back to Machakos (the first city we were in after Nairobi) for our first language exam. This is where the rest of the deaf ed. group is, so the people testing us are there too. Thankfully right when we come back it's Thanksgiving. For those of you that don't know, this is my all-time favorite holiday. For me, there is absolutely nothing better than my family mixed with a day full of football and fantastic food. It won't be the easiest thing being in Africa for it, but at least I have a family here. The other volunteers (there are 26 of us total in Loitokitok) have rented some tents next Friday at a place called Outward Bound, which is a base camp resort thing for climbing Kilimanjaro. The Peace Corps has decided to pay for our dinner and breakfast the next morning. It won't be like any Thanksgiving I've had before, but it will at least be interesting, and I definitely won't be alone.

I also already have Christmas plans. Which is good because Christmas happens right after we all swear in and get to site and realize how alone we truly are. Thankfully there is another volunteer at my site, some more on the coast, others a little bit inland, and tons of other mzungus in Kilifi. We will be roasting a pig at a friend's beach house and hopefully drinking the night away. Christmas in Africa!

Before Peace Corps my blog posts relied solely on the photos I had to back them up. I think now it will be opposite. I will post photos when I can, but there is so much to say that posting without photos may be a common occurrence.

We have been spending the last few weeks learning about the education system in Kenya. From my perspective now, Americans do 2 things really well: equality and education. I feel SO lucky to have gotten the education I did, and most of the time have it handed to me on a silver platter. Sure, I worked for my diploma and degree and stuff, but I just took for granted that I even had the opportunity. Education in Kenya, like most other things run by the government, is relatively corrupt. In order to move from primary to secondary school (our equivalent of grade school then high school, respectively) students must pass these national exams. They also have other national exams after form 4 (12th grade) which are comprehensive from the last 4 years and are super hard. Normally a 25% is passing, and last year, only 30% did pass. And even if you do pass, universities here are set up just to make money, so they won't necessarily have enough room to house all the students that deserve to be there. The students that don't pass their exams are sent to... get this... teacher's college! They are trained to be teachers, which is most of the time the last thing they want to be doing. It's a giant vicious cycle.

So many of the teachers in the classrooms don't want to be there, don't care about the students, and lots of the time don't even show up. Students are taught nothing but the value of rote memorization, and that teachers should be feared and respected. We spent yesterday afternoon learning about corporal punishment. For Americans it's just inherently wrong. For many Kenyans, it's the only way that works. We had current volunteers come talk to us about alternative forms of punishment in the classroom, and that was really helpful. The new Kenyan constitution, which is still being put into effect in many aspects, has outlawed corporal punishment. But this basically means that it's something for the government to say that they don't do, and still do. Beating children still happens all the time, just about everywhere.

And there's this whole issue with the deaf students! Kenya is definitely a more forward-thinking country when it comes to the deaf community, but there's still a lot that needs to be done. Many deaf children are still thought to be cursed, and kept inside most of their lives because they shame their family. The students that do make it to the deaf schools (which there aren't a ton of) don't usually have the greatest teachers. Mix the last few paragraphs with not being able to sign, and just yelling at the students for not understanding. They're deaf for Pete's sake! I'm really excited to start teaching, so I can let them know that they're not disabled and deserve just as much as the hearing kids. So basically it's tough for them, but thankfully I have two years to help them out, even if it might only be a handful of kids.

On the bright side, my family here in Loitokitok is awesome. Mama laughs at everything and never leaves me hungry. She always packs me snacks during the day, and always heats my bath water in the morning. My would-be Baba (father) died just two months ago in a really tragic car accident so it is Mama and my 6 siblings. Try to keep track. Paul is 20, he's sharp as a tack and very worldly. He and I have all kinds of discussions about the differences in our cultures, and he always has some funny insight. He took over Baba's furniture business after he died, so he's pretty much the man of the house now. Trizzah is 18, she just finished secondary school, and is waiting to hear back her results from the KCSE (the secondary national exam). She wants to go to university in Nairobi next year, but for now is just loving the fact that she has a mzungu sister. Ann is 13 and does everything around the house when Mama is not around and when Trizzah is at school. You'd think she was my age. Henry is 10 and absolutely LOVES my electronics. He also loves to try and scare me when I get home from school everyday. Most of the time he succeeds. He's the only other boy in the family so Paul is a great role model for him. His other favorite thing is reading with me, which is funny because it usually puts us both to sleep before dinner. Monicah is 7 and Margaret is 5, but she thinks she's 6. The two of them love walking me to class in the morning and love joining me for nap time. Basically it's non-stop play time and I don't get much privacy. It's ok though because I know I have a limited time here before I leave for good.

I laughed with Ann, Paul, Trizzah and Mama for over 2 hours last night about the differences in the way we speak. Kenyans for the life of them cannot pronounce "r" the way Americans do. It's super funny. Here's some other funny things: Henry was looking at my pictures from home and was totally astounded that I have black friends in America. "Black Amerikan!" he kept saying. It's crazy to them. When I opened up my computer the other day Heidi Klum popped up in some ad online. Margaret pointed to it and said "That is you?" I almost fell over laughing. They think all mzungus look alike. It's hilarious. They also think that people in airplanes can see them when they wave. I think that's my favorite one so far :)

I haven't gotten really sick yet, and am dreading the day I actually do. Lots of other people have, so I'm kind of just waiting my turn. Have I mentioned the other volunteers in my group are fantastic? Last weekend we got together for a hiking trip, then spent the evening drinking beer and playing charades. This weekend we're attempting to cook an American lunch, then meeting again for more games and possibly some more beer. When I have the energy I go running in the mornings with some of the other girls, which is actually quite easy when Mt. Kilimanjaro pokes it's head through the clouds as the sun comes up.

So save for a few times falling in the ever-present mud, the incessant "How a' yuuuu"s from the little kids who don't know what else to yell to the mzungus, and a looming bout of homesickness on Thanksgiving, niko sawa; I'm OK. I'm ok and I know this is the right thing for me right now. I can't wait to become a real Peace Corps Volunteer, I can't wait to get to my site, and I can't wait to start teaching. Hope home is doing well, home on the East coast and home on the West coast. I miss you all like never before.

Love you bunches, will post again soon.

~ Shub :)