Monday, January 18, 2010

A Choo is Like a Bicycle

After more than a month away, I am finally back in Namanga. While looking out the window on my matatu ride home, a few questions consumed my thoughts: Will I remember how to use/aim in the choo? How bad will the spiders be in my house? Have the termites taken over? Will Namanga be green or brown? How will I feel when I get there?

In just a few hours at site I had my answers. A choo is like a bicycle; you just don't forget. The spiders were awful and big, including one solpugid (I think)...I don't want to think about any live ones. My house is still standing, but I'm crossing my fingers that the termites will let my bed stand for one more year. Namanga is GREEN! I am happy and excited to be back. When I got out of the matatu, the taxi guys recognized me and one drove me home. It is comforting that after being gone for a month I can return and be recognized as a teacher, not a tourist. I got big smiles from everyone in my compound, especially the kids. Eric (my 2 year old neighbor) still calls me mzungu, but still makes me laugh. As I was filling up my water buckets I watched him strut across the compound in my neighbors heels. I am happy to know that it isn't just my shoes that he steals. I danced around my house to my neighbor's music as I cleaned. When I looked outside I saw that Robbie, Shiko, and Sandra were doing their own dances. I smiled an sighed...I'm home.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Mwaka mpya


With the new year came my year as a PCV in Kenya mark, a whole load of reflection, a really bad sunburn, and maybe some new years resolutions (but there is always time to make those later). As I write this (to be typed when I have internet) I'm in nairobi, snuggled under 2 wool blankets, and sporting a long-sleeved shirt as well as a head lamp. There is question about my ability to survive the Vermont cold when I return next winter...it may kill me.

I have been away from my site for a month, and am in the process of re-energizing myself to return. Looking back on the month of December, I feel like not a moment was wasted. My family flew in for a two week visit on the first. After a day with Sammy (best taxi driver) in Nairobi we trucked down to my site. Now that they have all returned home, I am curious about their reflections on the town that I now call home. Along with the family came a soccer ball for the kids on my compound. I thought I had seen the peak of their excitement when they discovered my jump rope; I was wrong. I have never seen someone's face light up as much as Douglas' did (the oldest kid in the compound) when we gave him the ball. It was clear that they kids had never seen so many wazungu at once, except maybe in tourist cars destined for Amboseli. There were mixed reviews. Most kids were curious, some were excited, one just started bawling...

From Namanga we went to Watamu, a town on the coast. Watamu has a lot of tourists, but it also has a lot of beach. We stayed at a place that is traditionally for people doing reserach on the marine reserve. Because it was on a reserve, we essentially had the beach to ourselves, day and night. I have MISSED the ocean. Walking up the beach about a mile led us to Turtle Bay Resort. I'm not sure what to say about that place. I think I prefer my empty beach, even though we didn't get drinks served to us on the beach and our shower didn't work. The ocean cleans you off, right?

After Watamu we went back to Nairobi so I could see my family off as they flew back to VT. Saying goodbye was hard (little did I know they actually spent the night on the Nairobi airport floor), but I can't put into words how much it meant to me that they came. I didn't have the emotional crash that I expected after they left. It may have helped that another PCV came armed and prepared with milk and cookies for me post-departure. Or maybe it is just that I"m really happy about the experience I am having. Or maybe I"m just kidding myself and it will hit me later.

The day after the family left I went to loitoktok to work at the training for the new education volunteers. I forgot how beautiful Kilimanjaro is in the early mornings. It may just be the definition of breathtaking. After having spent 2 months in loitoktok for my own karibu kenya training, it is a lot of fun to come back. I love walking through the market and feeling completely comfortable, going back to the hoteli where we spent every afternoon playing cards and drinking chai, and chatting with my mama. I visited my host family in August, but this time I got to see my two host brothers who were still at school before. I was so happy to see them again, with big smiles on their faces! I went 'home' for lunch one day, and because my mama was at work, my host brothers cooked food for me. Their family is pretty amazing.

Following training was my second vacation of the month, and my second kenyan coast visit. It was my first experience in an air conditioned hotel room in Kenya, which made me laugh as I thought about how my family crowded into an ATM booth for the AC. After a long bus ride up the coast to another PCV's site near Lamu I fully savoured the milkshakes that I've heard so much about. Christmas was simple, but not so simple that there weren't pancakes AND maple syrup involved. The land surrounding Namanga is beautiful, but the coast is a whole different kind of beautiful. And it has coconuts. New years was spend on the island of Lamu. Lamu is very touristy, but I have no idea where all of the tourists went around midnight. There were drums, music, and acrobatic competitions on the street (all kenyan), but were were some of the only wazungu I could see. It made me really wish that drums were played in Namanga. The giant moon shining over the indian ocean on new years eve sealed the night for me.

It has been 3 years since my snorkling days in Hawaii, but finally I got to return to a mask, snorkle, and fins. On new years day we took a two hour dhow ride to a reef, where we got to jump in and explore for two hours. Have I mentioned that I miss the ocean? It was surprising to me that so many of the fish were the same or similar to those in hawaii. And not surprising to me that I spend most of the time challenging myself to remember their names. Apparently I also forgot how white I am, but four days later I still have a hefty reminder...sunburn. I cannot imagine having a more painful two day bus ride back to Nairobi.

That brings me to where I am now, with my two wool blankets, long sleeved shirt, and head lamp, thinking about what I want to do to make this year different. The beauty of PC, especially for teachers, is that it is two years. I already know what I liked and didn't like about last year. I'm working on putting those feelings into concrete ideas (yes, I just talked about feelings) and creating some goal for myself. I guess I'm back to the list-making that my parents love to make fun of me about!

I'm sending good vibes from Kenya for a creative, adventurous, and lively 2010 in the states, and I can now say I'll see you (or talk to you on a US cell phone) in a year!