Kenya Part 2 (March 16, 2010)

Hi Everyone,

So I definitely jinxed the weather in my last update when I wrote that it rains every day. It has not rained at all this past week. The weather has been much hotter. Now that the rain has stopped, we have to carry all needed water up from the stream in jugs on top of our heads. Needless to say, I provide all the neighbors with plenty of entertainment around here. They could not stop laughing the first time I attempted to carry a jug on my head. I wound up spilling water all over myself.

Tasks that are every day chores for my Kenyan family are new cultural experiences for me. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to hand wash my clothing so that it is actually clean. I am so happy to be living with a Kenyan family here because I am getting a pretty in depth experience of a very different lifestyle.

I am quickly adjusting to life in Eregi. I know my way around now. Though this is a village, things are pretty spread out so I wind up walking for around two hours every day. I love walking from place to place because there is plenty to see and everyone is so friendly. I like the way everybody in Eregi greets each other (“Habari”, meaning “how is the day?” is always answered with “mzuri” which means “fine”). I am beginning to get to know many people in the village. I am also slowly learning some Swahili. I feel more at home here every day.

On Sunday, Kizito had one of his monthly men’s group meetings. I went along with him and spent the entire day in the kitchen, helping the host’s wife, Nancy, prepare an absolute feast. We prepared rice, chapatti, ugali, cabbage, greens, greens with groundnuts, potatoes, beef, chicken, soup, eggs, and more. Nancy was very patient teaching me how to cook Kenyan style. And all the men were impressed (surprised maybe?) that I had helped.

As far as volunteer work goes, my days are very busy. I’ve decided to focus on one project per update. Three days a week, I teach computers to interested teachers and a group of girls at a local high school. The teachers and students are all very excited to get a chance to learn some basic computer skills. They realize how important computer literacy is for many jobs around the world. My lessons are split into different categories, including introduction to computers, microsoft word, microsoft excel, and internet basics. It has been interesting for me to see just how foreign of a machine the computer is to most of the people I'm teaching. The teaching takes a lot of patience but is also quite rewarding.

I hope you are all well!
Keep updating me on your lives please,
Emmiliese

Pictures:
1) Diana is a pro at carrying water jugs on her head up from the river.
2) Learning how to cut Kale properly. I'm not very good at cutting it into small enough pieces, especially with no cutting board and a blunt knife.
3) Eregi's main market. The building is Sunray Supermarket. I think calling it a supermarket is a bit ambitious.
4) No feast is complete without cow intestines roasted on a stick.
5) Chapati, rice, potatoes, beef, chicken, cabbage, greens 1, greens 2 (I'm never quite sure what the greens are...), beef, and chicken. The food is definitely not bad. But the food in India was a lot better.
6) Teacher computer training