After I jumped off a 135-ft tower over the Nile it sorta felt like everything I've done since then has been rather mediocre, but numerous people have asked where the next blog post is. So I'll just write about boring old Kenyan Peace Corps things :)
So after Uganda we all headed back to Nairobi together for our IST (In-Service Training). The place in Uganda where we stayed, though absolutely fantastic in every way, only served fish n' chips, or pizza. So for four straight days that's kinda all we ate. I was really craving some decent Kenyan food when we got back, and unfortunately later paid for my day-long binge on it with a night full of food poisoning. Awesome. Thankfully it didn't last too long, and thankfully I was in Nairobi where Medical is super close and handy. They are absolutely right that you always get sick when you travel. Anyhoodle, I definitely wasn't the only one to get sick during IST either, so we spent MANY evenings at the local malls getting deli sandwiches and chocolate. We also had really good Indian food, Ethiopian food, and Thai food too. If Nairobi had a Target and Starbucks it would be just as good as America.
IST is meant to be the time when all us education volunteers get back together and talk about how much we screwed up teaching our first term, and compare notes on how we can improve. Being with everyone else from my group again was definitely the most useful part. We learn so much from each other it's crazy. It's also just fun to share ridiculous stories about our individual sites. In fact the first day of IST was dedicated entirely to "Volunteer Report-Outs," which essentially stands for get-up-and-vent-sessions. It was awesome to hear how everyone else is doing, and get ideas for ourselves for different teaching methods and projects to work on. I now have a very long list of things I want to accomplish in two year's time. I know some of them, no matter how hard I try, will never get done, so I will always fall back on my two continuous goals for Peace Corps: to keep my kids happy, healthy, and free of HIV.
BUT, that doesn't mean I won't try and get some other things done. Here's a few things I have in mind (maybe posting about them will motivate me more to get them rolling):
- I want to do the World Map Project up at my school, since it's brand new and has nothing exciting to look at, inside or out. I might have to wait till the rainy season is over and will definitely need help from my kids, but 2 years should be plenty of time.
- I want to get through the red tape of taking my kids on a field trip and bring them to the Kilifi VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing, where you can get free HIV tests). It's EXTREMELY close and shares a compound with KEMRI (Kenya Medical Research Institute) which is an awesome facility and hopefully something I can take the kids to also. I know for a fact that some of my kids' parents are HIV+ and though it will rip my heart in two to find out any of them are, it's something that needs to be done.
- Some of the other deaf-ed volunteers in Kenya have started teaching KSL to their communities, and though Kilifi is really big for Peace Corps standards, and there's already an adult KSL night class at my school, I want to get involved in this somehow. I think it's super important that people other than the deaf themselves know they exist and can communicate with them. Since their English is so poor and Kiswahili is a lost cause, AND since KSL is now the third official language of Kenya, it only seems suitable that more people start picking up a few signs here and there.
- I signed up at IST to have some tree seeds mailed to me. What kind or how many I'm getting I'm not sure, but hopefully they'll come with instructions and what not. If this all follows through we'll have some super cool little tree seedlings planted.
- Another thing I mentioned before but haven't gotten started yet is getting a signboard made for our school. We need something to tell Kilifi there's a secondary deaf school. Not sure whether I need to get wooden or cement or what, and pretty sure there's going to be a bunch of red tape with this one too, but at least it's a thought.
On another note, while I was in Uganda I got word from some other volunteers staying at my house while on the coast that the mice in the house had shredded some of my scarves and multiple couch cushions and I assume were eying the rest of my closet as well. So I called a friend of mine in town, Felix (the man who sells me juice and didn't believe homeless Americans existed) and told him I needed to get a cat when I got back to Kilifi. The day after I got home I went to town to run errands and get groceries and while I stopped to say hi and get juice, Felix opened a little door in back and a precious little paka walked out. I finished my errands super fast and ran back to pick her up and take her home. She was a little traumatized by the bumpy tuk tuk ride, but she got over it pretty quickly. She's super cute, about 5 weeks probably, seems very healthy, loves chasing beetles and mosquitoes, and has already spotted the notorious house mouse, though hasn't caught him yet. She loves tuna and banana bread, and screaming when she can smell either one. I even found some really expensive commercial kitten chow at Tusky's! Who knew! She only gets it for dinner though, since I can't afford to buy too much. My kids love her too, and they think it's quite hilarious how I don't treat her like a goat or a cow or every other animal in Africa, and they laugh at how much I love her. Oh well, I'm already white and crazy; this is just another thing to add to the list of weird things mzungus do. ANYWAYS, I've just been calling her paka, which in America might sound cute, but in Kenya it just means I'm calling her "cat." So I need help with a name. Check out the pics and let me know if you have any ideas!
Ok moving on. Today at school was mostly just a hang out day for me, since about half the teachers were there and many of my kids haven't even shown up yet. So whether I should have or not I basically just chatted with my students all day long. We got a little planning in of projects for the term, but mostly I just wanted to enjoy their company; which I surely did. And I want to give you a little taste. At one point I took my computer out to show my Form 1's the video of me bungee jumping. They went a little crazy for a bit but conversation soon turned into other things. Here's how it went down, translated from sign of course:
Deaf Kid: "Did they pay you to bungee jump?"
Sarah: "No I had to pay myself."
Deaf Kid: "How much was it?"
Sarah: "70 in America, 5,600 in Kenya."
Deaf Kid: "You ARE rich, you just keep lying to us."
Sarah: "If you people tell me one more time that I'm rich I'm going back to America!"
Half the class: "No no! We were just kidding, stay."
The other half of the class: "OK! We're coming to America with you!"
Sarah: "I wish you could, guys."
Deaf Kid: "Let us see some pictures of you in America again."
(So I show them pictures I've shown them a million times of me in college and stuff)
Deaf Kids: "You used to be so pretty. Why did things change when you came to Africa? What are those little red bumps all over your face now and why is your hair so different? You definitely don't look the same."
Sarah: "Thank you all so much. I feel great."
Deaf Kid: "How much money is your computer?"
Sarah: "200 in America, 16,000 in Kenya. But I didn't buy it, my dad did!"
Deaf Kid: "So your parents are rich. But that must mean that you're rich too."
Sarah: "Seriously, I'm gonna punch you."
Deaf Kids: "How 'bout you lend us your computer for the night?"
Sarah: "Absolutely not."
Deaf Kids: "We promise we'll give it back."
Sarah: "If you give me 16,000 shillings I will give you my computer."
(They all start trying to see if their pocket money combined would be enough. It wasn't.)
Deaf Kid: "I'll give you all my books and clothes and wash your clothes for the whole term."
Sarah: "No. And don't be silly I can wash my clothes by myself."
Deaf Kid: "I'll give you my dad's car!"
Sarah: "Nope."
Deaf Kid: "I'll give you a kitten."
Sarah: "I already have one! You just saw it!"
Deaf Kid: "No no, you definitely need more than one. I'll give you as many kittens as you want."
Sarah: "Tempting, but no."
Deaf Kid (settles everyone down because his offer is going to win, and completely and totally seriously says): "I will give you 10 cows."
Before I fell over laughing I finally got out: "Are you trying to buy my computer or marry me?"
At this point I exploded in giggles and couldn't handle it anymore and had to walk out. My kids make me laugh SO much. Even Alyssa, my Beach Corps buddy up in Lamu, says that when she comes to Kilifi her face is always hurting because she smiles so much. So I will happily leave you with a hilarious photo of Emmanuel and Ali, pretending to do some big drama, but not able to keep straight faces.
Love 'em.
And I love everyone that reads this blog!! Cheers to you guys.
Miss you bunches,
~ Shub :)
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