I realize it has in fact been two weeks since my last update. Oops -- so much for writing every week. Apologies.
Life is pretty good. I hit a little rough patch about the time I last wrote, but things have definitely improved since then. Work has gotten busier, for one. Those of you who know me know I do best when I'm busy, when I have things going on, goals and projects and events. When I first got here, there was enough new to keep me busy, but eventually that slowed down, and life got a little dull, which was frustrating... but like I said, work has picked up, I've met a handful of other expats in the area and made several new friends, and it has been really encouraging.
It's still about a month out from the arrival of our first batch of interns, but this means that developing calendars and setting meetings actually makes some sense now; there's a little more urgency. We're meeting with host organizations to make sure they're ready to put an intern to work "from the word 'go'" (as my supervisor likes to say). We're meeting with host families (not so much me as my local counterparts) to make sure they have adequate setups for their new family members. There is actually quite a lot to do and take care of before the interns come!
Another fun personal fact: I love Mexican food (insert Trump-Hispanics-taco bowl joke here). Some of the other expats and I threw a Cinco de Mayo dinner on Friday evening, and I had forgotten how good black beans taste with melted cheese. I dragged out the Peace Corps cookbook for my old reliable tortilla recipe, and braved flour tortillas (which turned out surprisingly well - they actually held up well when used in a burrito - I was so proud). I also roasted sweet potatoes with some spices, and made black beans (which were not as tender as I wanted, but we were hungry and all the other food was ready). There was also guac, several kinds of tortilla chips, and plenty of veggies. I made new friends, and we feasted. I went home very full, and very content.
Today, the current intern and I went to the site of perhaps Kakamega's only legit "tourist" item (apart from the forest, which will have to happen at some point in the future), called "The Crying Stone," because (when it rains) the rock looks like it is crying. It was quite an ordeal getting there (we took piki-pikis, or motorbikes), and in her words, we ended up paying pretty much the whole village. There was one guy who guided us to where the trail to the stone was, and he needed something. Then there was another guy who actually brought us up to the stone and taught us about the history and stories of the rock, and he needed something. Then there was a woman who merely lived by the stone, and supposedly starred in some World Cup 2010 something something something, and she needed something (that one seemed like a stretch to me). Then there was an old guy, perhaps a former tour guide, who was sitting on his butt and doing nothing, and he needed something. And then once we got back to town, we were told there was a "waiting fee" for the piki drivers, who opted to wait with us while we were there. Ridiculous. What's more, we were there early enough in the day that it had not yet rained, so the "Crying Stone" was not even crying! It was dry. "It cried yesterday." Perfect. Oh well, cross that one off my list - I feel no need to go back and see it again, that's for sure! (Check out some photos below)
Another neat thing! The current intern (we only have one at present) had the final training workshop as a sort of finale to her projects here. It was a two-day poultry training and workshop; the other program coordinator went on the first day, and I went the second day. The woman leading the workshop, someone from the ministry of agriculture, or at least educated in those topics, seemed like she was completely in charge, and very good at her job. She was writing notes in English, and holding a very interactive training conversation with the woman who were eagerly scribbling down everything she wrote on the flipchart paper. It was very endearing to see all these older (middle-aged at least) Kenyan women in their brightly colored, mismatched outfits, sitting and taking notes like they were back in high school. They were definitely more engaged than my students ever were in Lesotho, so maybe I was a little jealous of that... At the end of the workshop, a pickup truck pulled into the lot, and there were close to 80 chickens in the back, just walking around, softly clucking and trying desperately to hide, especially when one guy started picking them up and handing them to the other guy, who then deposited them in boxes, and counted to make sure each box had six before it was handed off to one of the lucky recipients. It was awesome. The women were so, so excited to be receiving these birds, and I really think/want to believe the project will continue after the intern has gone. I think my favorite image of the day was watching these women as they all went off together, carrying chickens in ratty cardboard boxes wrapped in beautiful Kenyan fabrics, on their heads.
Alright, that's all I've got for now. Time to go home and cook dinner!
Love and peace from Kenya,
-K
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| This doesn't really fit with the theme of the rest of the photos I've shared here (it's not chickens or a crying stone or me on the back of a piki - note I rarely take/post selfies), but Lake Victoria is beautiful, especially at sunset. |
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