Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Libraries and Islamist Coalitions
Sunday, June 28, 2009
I Miss My Hair
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Afline & Gervas
I also spoke with Gervas Ouma. He's one of the children I am making a "Day in the Life" video of. He is very talkative and a very good singer as well. I'll be sending some clips over to Keith very soon.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Kibera and More
Today Paul and I started teaching the case workers how to type and use Microsoft Word more effectively. We had them take a test to find their words per minute and it was, frankly, quite shocking to see how poorly they did in comparison to Paul and I. But it's understandable because they were never taught how to type in school, they never even had computers.
Oh, quick update on the pineapple incident. I'm good. It didn't affect me or knock me out in anyway so that's good. I'm thinking of trying some other fruits, you know, try my luck. We also ate some minnows last night which were tasty, heads and eyes and all. Kind of awkward when they're checking you out with wide eyes while you're munching on them but Paul and I pulled through.
Next week, Paul and I will be moving to our next homestay with a board member named Rachel. I met her, her husband and their children already and they all seem very nice.
Tomorrow, during the Saturday Program, I will begin pulling kids from the activites to get their headshots which is one of my jobs while I'm here. There will be approximatley 24o children in the program by August which is amazing since the organization was only started 2 years ago. I am also experimenting with video editing but it may end up with me just giving Keith a large pile of video clips and let him do the rest of the work, but I think I'm doing pretty good so far.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Plan
Peter, Paul and I have also made some schedules up so that we can get most of the jobs we're here to do done before the August camp. Next week, Paul and I will spend two days getting the library together which will really help the kids check out books more fluidly on saturdays. Keith and I have also been emailing back and forth to figure out which pictures he wants, and what exactly he wants for videos. The plan is that I am going to be making 4-6 "Day in the Life" videos of outgoing children in the program. Right now, some ideas for kids are Gervas Ouma, Alice Lavender, Noah Ngugi, Marleen Makuri, and Michelle Akuni.
Also, Jackson's band and I are planning to write and record a song about the children and HIV/AIDS. I will be meeting with them next Wednesday before work to start spinning some ideas, hopefully this song will be a good one.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Letters
Anyway, today, just like every Wednesday, we had a meeting to talk about the past week and goals to meet for upcoming weeks. Last week, I thought of an idea to get more letters to the sponsors from the kids and therefore more responses. I thought that we could take time out of a the last saturday program of each month to sit down and write. Peter then suggested taking just a certain amount of kids each saturday and then sending them all off at the end of the month. This will lead to more responses as was said before but this will also make the sponsor feel more connected to their sponsered child. The more connected they feel, the more personal it gets and the more this organization will spread by word of mouth. Right now, the great majority of sponsors are in Minnesota with a few clumps in other states. There are 49 other states that we need to try to wring out as many sponsors as possible. I feel that this incease in letters will truly help this happen.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Car Crash and Pineapple
Also, this might make for an interesting week. I bought a pineapple today and washed it with some clean water. After eating it I checked my email and found out from Dale, my step-dad, that I should steer clear from succulent fruits such as watermelon (I'm pretty sure the pineapple falls in the category of succulent as well). I am a little worried about it now because I ate more than half of it on my own but it was very delicious and I have some antibiotics just in case.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Update and Kenyan Culture
So I was finally able to upload a photo, sadly it took 20 minutes to do just one but I'll keep testing it and see what happens. This past Saturday was my first Saturday Program experience. The children really seemed to enjoy themselves and loved the fact that Paul and I are whiteys. They played games, raced, celebrated birthdays and were laughing, running, and flipping around the whole time.
That night, all the workers in the office and Peter went out for dinner and clubbing. It was a good time but Paul and I were wiped at around 2:00 A.M. and when Paul went over to ask Peter if we were heading out soon, he replied "4:30." That night, we didn't get back to Peter's place until 5:30 (that's Kenya for you). Then on Sunday, we met a board member, her children and her sisters and we hung out at an outdoor restaurant for about 5 or 6 hours. The music was so loud that Paul and I had to step out for a break every once in a while.
Now for a few things I have noticed of the Kenyan people and culture. Just so you all know, when I say Kenyans, I don't mean all Kenyans because I don't like to speak in generalities but I am saying the majority. The first thing I found interesting was their view on religion. 95% of Kenyans are Christian and most of the ones I've talked to follow the Bible in a very strict, blind manner. Peter is not one of them and he and I agree on a lot of things when it comes to religion but his wife for example, is one of the general populace. Many Kenyans believe that if anything good happens, it's God, and if anything bad happens, it's Satan. I was talking to Veronica, a case worker, and she told me that God helped the pilot get me here safely. I told her that it was simply the pilot's training and experience that got me here, she then asked me where he got that and I said from a teacher, she asked me where that teacher got the knowledge and I said research, and so on. Another example was that Peter's wife told me if a man rapes and murders a small child, that means that he has a demon. I told her no, he has a sexual psychiological disorder (among other issues) that can be fixed through extreme therepy, not exorcism. I believe that this thought process takes responsibility away from them and takes away the whole point to choice and logic, Peter agrees. Peter said that one reason many Kenyans believe this is because most of them havn't even traveled outside of Nairobi, let alone Kenya. Along with these beliefs comes the disdain for birth control which is one of the major facilitators to the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Another cultural thing I've seen is a little different but if someone is working or eating with their hands, when you go to greet them they hold out their hand and you grab their wrist (unlike American culture where you just say "oh, my hands are messy." This really threw me off guard the first time and I just sort of lightly punched the guys hand. A third thing that Paul and I have both seen is the noise of this culture. Kenyans love loud sounds almost all the time, be it music, TV, talking, etc. Everytime Paul or I are watching TV at Peter's, if one of his sons comes by to watch with us, he sits down, grabs the remote, and turns it up a couple notches to the point where it hurts to listen too (and even in our bedroom we can hear the TV clearly). It's the same way with music no matter what time of day (I mentioned Paul and I having to take breaks from the music because we couldn't talk to each other, we could only yell). One final cultural difference is the way Kenyans are socially. In America, we spend maybe a couple hours with a friend to grab lunch or something but here, you spend the entire day with one friend. Sorry this one was so long but I just wanted to let you guys know about the Kenyan beliefs and culture.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The New Intern
Today was an exciting day for me, especially because of the unfortunate blunders of Paul Walters's first day. He's been struggling to get his Mac's Wi-fi to work for the past hour, we walked for an obrusively long time while Jackson kept saying "just over there" (giving us false hope everytime he said this), and I witnessed the most ironic situation imaginable. We were walking and Jackson asked Paul if he was enjoying Kenya and Paul said so far but he needs to use the restroom; immediatley after he said this, a bird fecal matter-ed on the three of us (worst of all Paul and Jackson).
Today, we also visited the studio where Jackson and his band record and they asked me to sing something for them so after I did, his producer told me that me and Jackson's band will record a song and make a video before I head back to America so that'll be fun, he said it would even be put on the radio here (if it's good enough). After this we walked for about an hour until we reached to factory we will buy the t-shirts for the August Camp from. We then took a couple Matatus back to the office where we had lunch at 4:00 P.M. That's about it for now, it was a good day.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Issues and Good Timez
Yesterday, Jackson and I visited the campground where we are going to have our August camp. Its near Kibera, the second biggest slums in Africa (the first is in South Africa). The camp was very nice and tucked away into the African forest. Tom, Peter, and I have been talking about the logistics of the camp through Skype; we are planning on sleeping over night a couple times with the older kids so that should be fun with a campfire and such. After that, everyone had a meeting to have a quick update on all the families and how everything is going in the program.
Last night, Peter and Jackie took me to a club called Tacos. They were playing some very cool music and they were also having a dance contest. Because I am a Mzungu (a white person or person of European decent), the MCs called me up and I danced in front of everyone in the club, twice; I got a free beer out of it so that made me feel better. I also met another girl at the club, Cate, and got her number; she's the one who won the "Sizzling Ladies Dance Contest."
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Introduction
I am currently staying with Peter Ndungu and his family and I will be posting a video of his home sometime this week. I am having a great time at work as well. We visited a few families yesterday and I got to ride the Matatus. All the workers are very nice and I was given an African name to make me more culturalized; I am now known as "Kanjairo." Kanjairo is a comedian here in Kenya so I'm alright with that.
Peter took me out to a club last night where congo music was being played and him, his friend, and I drank a few Tuskers, a tasty Kenyan brew, and I was hit on by my first Kenyan girl, Jenfa. She was cute and we danced a little bit, I felt a little intimidated on account that I'm about as white as you can get but she said I was a good dancer.
That's it for now, I'll be posting some more photos and videos once I get them.