update #7
on Beatriz Pujol (Kenya), 08/Mar/2009 12:00, 34 days ago
Hi Everyone,I hope this email finds everyone well. I am hearing that NM and the East Coast are starting to get some spring weather. I know that is nice to have after a long winter. I was wishing for some of that snow the E. coast got last week. It has been HOT in Kitui!I am in Nairobi for a training and some much needed R&R. I got to Nairobi last Wed. and have treated myself to: a manicure/pedicure, a massage, haircut and some nice Western food! I am staying in a nice hotel and catching up with friends. I am starting to feel revived. I started ICT (In Country Training) with VSO that is usually done upon arrival to country. If you remember, I arrived out of cycle along with 3 other volunteers (Sandy, Rachael and Abdu) and we were given a 2-day briefing and sent to our placements. So, now that another cycle of volunteers have arrived we have been invited back to attend the training. Better late than never!! I am thrilled to have 10 days off of work and a break from rural living! It is great to hang with my buddies and to meet all the new volunteers!Prior to coming to the big city I had a rough few weeks. I think I just really needed some time off. My last update mentioned that we had hired a new manager and he started and that has been really good. I like him a lot. However, I think I hit a wall right before he started and I had not recovered. I am starting to feel better this week. My new manager will join this training mid-week and we work together the last few days. So, I am hoping to get a chance to set my expectations and role straight and get on the same page with him.Work is hard for me. It is much more administrative and removed from the kids than I thought it would be. I knew it would be more office work, but I really don’t spend much time with the kids. Going from 20 hours on the floor doing therapy with my 2&3 year olds to sitting in offices and horribly long meetings is quite a change! I am really missing my autism work. I recently visited the school for the mentally handicapped in Kitui and will visit their autism classes later this month. I hope to do some training for them. There also may be something in the works with VSO that would lead me back into autism. Will keep you all posted when I hear more. I am connecting with a group of Special Ed. professionals who volunteer their time to do trainings, workshops and assessments here in Nairobi. I need to fill out the application and meet with them to get on board. But I am hoping it will be a good way to network for future jobs. (Yes, I am planning to stay!)There isn’t much new going on in my life in Kitui. My house has not made much progress. That causes me many headaches and my landlord really gets under my skin. The day before I left I had a Kenyan friend intervene with him and I think she may have gotten him moving. But I am not holding my breath! My friends Sandy and Rachael visited a few weeks back for a long weekend. The day they arrived the city water was shut off for 4 days. They do this to ration water but there is no advance warning. So, I have a water tank on my roof that is supposed to have enough water for 2 days. However, it was empty forsome reason (the plumber had been out to fix a leak the week before!). I also have a jerry can in my kitchen with some water. But, I expect to have a two-day supply on my roof so there is about another day’s supply in the can. However, with two friends in town and no water on my roof we had to carry water from my neighbors’ (landlord) well. It was a pain. Then there was a clogged pipe so water from the bathroom sink was coming up through a hole in the floor by the toilet, so the bathroom was flooded. It is frustrating that there is always SOMETHING wrong with my house. But, I should be grateful, as I have it better than most people I know in Kitui. Patience and gratitude are my mottos! (It doesn’t always work!). Thank God for the dear friends I am making who let me vent and offer much needed emotional support!Speaking of friends, I have had some nice slumber parties with my PC friend Lisa. My neighbors, Jeremy and Jerica continue to be amazing friends. I am making friends with Kenyans: Jack, Evans, George, Mary, Judy and a few others. I am slowly getting to know my neighbors as well and they are nice.I am settling into life in Kenya and with that I am getting accustomed to the way things happen here. Being at ICT and meeting the new volunteers reminds me of how far I have come. I am learning the ways of life in Kenya. However, as my dear friend Jen DiBella recently pointed out, I am also at that point where what was endearing when I arrived is now just annoying now!! Some of the things I find most challenging are the lack of organization, how long everything takes, how late everyone is, NO cell phone etiquette, the complacency which people have towards everything. So, I understand (and hope) this is a phase I am passing through!My cousin, Mike, asked me the other day what I miss most and least about/from the US. What I miss most is my family and friends. I had a real longing for my friends and family the last few weeks. I made“Nostalgia” photo albums on facebook. I also really miss my kitty, Fonzi! Food wise I miss salad! Fresh, crisp greens! And pine nuts and green chile! Also a frozen margarita would hit the spot! What I miss the least is the chaos and craziness we live with in the US. My life has been stressful lately but it is nothing compared to life in the US. I also don’t miss all the commercialism and drama of the rich and famous all over the tv and magazines. Chaos, commercialism and drama exist here, mainly in Nairobi. But I live quite removed from it and I have stopped following the news, as it istoo depressing here. So I just live in my little Kitui bubble, which has enough issues and challenges to keep me occupied.Thanks to everyone who responded about my co-worker James and his university funding. I have put that on the back burner but will get back on it in the next week and try to get something going! I am also working on other ways people can help the kids. There is much help needed and I am trying to find ways for friends back home to help in a way that is sustainable. I will keep you posted on that as well.So, I don’t know what else to write about. I love when people write me back and ask questions. I usually add them to my updates. My cousins sent me a bunch of questions that I responded to and have added below. Please ask me and I will answer as best I can.What are some of the perceptions of Americans there?Kenyans like Americans.They LOVE OBAMA and are certain he will magically solve all their problems!!!How does the US influence African culture?American/Western culture is everywhere, particularly in Nairobi and with the young people. You see it in fashion, clothes and attitude. The good and the bad are here!!What kind of music do you hear on the radio?Reggae, Hip-hop, 80's American&European, Bongo (East African), Christian and just about everything you can imagine.What kind of food are you eating? What do locals eat?I eat/cook mainly American/Western food: eggs, toast, veggies, some meat, pasta, rice, pb&J, curries, stir fry, etc... When I eat out: roasted meat (goat usually) (nyoma choma), beef stew, chapati, ugali, sukami wiki (kale), chicken. The main staple is githeri (maize and beans), which I don't like.In the area where I live most people are quite poor and they eat githeri, ugali and sukami wiki and cabbage most days. Porridge or tea and bread for breakfast. And then githeri or ugali with sukami wiki and cabbage (sometimes mixed with tomatoes and onion) for lunch and dinner. They get meat rarely due to cost. Chapati is also only eaten on special occasions.Does water come from a well?In Kitui we have piped city water, which is quite good. Locals drink it. I boil and filter it. There are often rations so we all keep a jerry can with water in it as backup. I also have a back up/overflow tank on my roof. At the hostel where I work we have piped water and a shallow well. Lot of people/communities have shallow wells or boreholes (deep wells). Those who don't have access to wells or city water use river water, which is really bad.