Well, lots has happened since I last updated you. I completed my orientation and training in Kitui and got sworn in as a full-fledged Peace Corps Volunteer last week at the U.S. Embassy. I was really sad to leave my host family, but not sorry to leave Kitui (and the endless miles of walking everyday) and start the new adventure. I shall miss the singing of the bats at night as they flew in and out of the rafters over my head, but I shall not miss the bat dung on my suitcases and mosquito net each morning!
The sounds of rural Kenya include much more than just bats singing. It is chatting of neighbors living in the same or nearby homestead areas as they walk to and from their own homes on the way to the little neighborhood store called a duka or into their garden, called a shamba. It is the sound of women and young girls singing as they go about their daily chores of cooking, cleaning and washing clothes. It is even the sound of the water swooshing with the clothes in basins on the ground as they are scrubbed and rinsed by hand. It is the sound of a matatu, a small van, roaring down the clay and dirt roads in and out of town kicking up dust. It is the steady increase in the sound of a once dry river bed now alive with the torrential rains of the season. It is the huffing breathes and excited screams of young boys playing soccor in the dirt with a homemade soccor ball from scraps of paper, string and whatever else they can find. It is the sound of babies, laughing and crying and their unique musical noises cutting through all other sounds to light a smile of life on faces.
Sounds are not all that appeals to the senses in Kenya. The smells are ever present. They range from every person's own individual smell of sweat,(which can be pretty powerful) to the smell of food cooking in the outdoor kitchens on the jikos, little outdoor stoves. Cooking cabbage, goat, tomatoes, onions and garlic all waft through the neighborhood as the evening meals are prepared. The only food that has no smell, is ugali. Ugali is ground corn that is cooked very much like oatmeal but much more stirring is involved until it cooks up and holds its shape.
It was the smell of popcorn cooking on a jiko after I taught my host family to cook it. It was a smell that pervaded the neighborhood as each person shared the cooking secret with the next neighbor in some sort of chain reaction. Prepared popcorn is very expensive to buy so many people in rural Kenya have never tasted it. They were amazed at the relative low cost to buy the kernals and cook them up at home.
It is the stinky, overpowering smell of diesel fuel from lorries, matatus and other transport vehicles. It looks black and billowy and clogs your nose and lungs! But, it is also the scent of fresh fruits that are in such abundance and the sweet smell of pulmaria and jacaranda flowers in bloom. And, I would be remiss, if I did not mention the ever present smell of the outdoor choo! A latrine is a latrine is a latrine, no matter what native language is used for it!
I am currently in Nairobi, still living out of my suitcases as I work on the business plan for my project. I will actually leave for my new community the 17th and hopefully be settled in before Christmas. And, yes, for those who want to know, Christmas is celebrated in many of the same ways here as it is in the U.S.. Church cantatas, children's school programs, decorations at the stores in the big cities with Santa and Christmas music playing. I even saw face painting last weekend at the Nakumatt. It is Kenya's version of WalMart. In the rural areas, not so much decorating of stores and homes, but still the music of the season is heard and sung, plans for family dinners and get togethers abound and people look forward to a few days off from their normal routines. I will meet up with my host family in Mombasa over the holdiays as well as spend a couple of days with 2 volunteers north of Mombasa.
Keep me in your prayers. I get many reuqests for what kinds of things to include in care packages to me. Now that I have discovered Nakumatt, my list is much shorter. Books are very expensive here so if you read one you like, send it to me. Any kind of nutrition bars are good things to send. The selection here is limited and in small villages and comunities like Mariakani, they are nonexistent. My favorite are Cliff bars and Luna. Individual packs of Crystal Light - all flavors would be nice as well. Remember I have a new mailing address:
Patriica Gillette
Peace Corps Volunteer
c/o Family Health International
Sheetal Plaza, First Floor
Mohdmohdir Road, off Moi Avenue
P.O. Box 16961
Mombasa, Kenya
Any letters or packages should be in padded envelops with some kind of prayer or Bible verse on the outside (a simple God bless you in your work and travels is sufficient) and the customs label can just say books. The scripture and prayers keep others from deciding they want to own what is in the package.
Just as a note, Nairobi is like any other city of 3 million people. Big and noisy day and night with lots of traffic jams and interesting people trying to sell things to car occupants as you wait for traffic to move. Each day brings a new product group. Somedays it is sunglasses, others it is candy or nuts and some days like today it is small metal Christmas trees! Newspapers, magazine and DVD sales are very profitable with stopped traffic.
My prayer for all of you is that God blesses you richly this holiday season and that you pause to remember in your prayers those who struggle for their daily bread in these developing African countries. Each day in Kenya is a new day for me. I am always learning something new about life here; the struggles, the joys and the enormous barriers that people have to overcome to not just survive but push forward into the 21st century. I love you and miss you and wish you all a very joyous Christmas season and a wonderful New Year.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Patty in the Peace Corps
Patty in the Peace Corps
Habari gani? What's the news is the typical Kenya greeting. The typical response is nzuri (good- the news is good) – if you respond “jema” (okay) it is polite to find out why.
I am living with a wonderful host family. Baba Keolongi and Mama Waua are very kind to me and their neighbors. By our standards they have little, but they have generous hearts. They share food with several neighbor children and keep a watchful eye on them as well.
I am taking an in-depth, learning by using, language class for Kiswahili and will be required to pass at the intermediate level a proficiency test. Scary for me since I have been working at learning Spanish for several years and still talk like a 3 year old.
Mama Waua helped me kill and dress and cook a chicken. It was a tasty stew. The activities of daily living here are very different – not better nor worse – just different. Bathing must occur two times a day. Morning and evening- from our buckets. And, the “choo” is a hole in the ground in an out building. While there is no seat or other amenities, it is kept clean and as insect free as possible (if they see one it is not only killed, but removed.) The choo is also the disposal for any unwanted trash. Anything close to edible is given to the very effective garbage disposal sysetm – the kukos (chickens), paca (cat) and the goats. Waste not want not is a way of life.
Thank you to my work team for the radio and torch (flashlight) that operates without batteries. Mama and the children thank you as well. They have been a focus of attention and entertainment.
My wish list includes small bottles of sanitizer, lotioned kleenex, USA stamps (I get these duty free for the first 3 months), tupperware (large for clothes), and lots of prayers. I have been taking my “chill pill” and am managing to adjust.
Kwahari and Salama.
Goodbye and peace to you!
Patty
Habari gani? What's the news is the typical Kenya greeting. The typical response is nzuri (good- the news is good) – if you respond “jema” (okay) it is polite to find out why.
I am living with a wonderful host family. Baba Keolongi and Mama Waua are very kind to me and their neighbors. By our standards they have little, but they have generous hearts. They share food with several neighbor children and keep a watchful eye on them as well.
I am taking an in-depth, learning by using, language class for Kiswahili and will be required to pass at the intermediate level a proficiency test. Scary for me since I have been working at learning Spanish for several years and still talk like a 3 year old.
Mama Waua helped me kill and dress and cook a chicken. It was a tasty stew. The activities of daily living here are very different – not better nor worse – just different. Bathing must occur two times a day. Morning and evening- from our buckets. And, the “choo” is a hole in the ground in an out building. While there is no seat or other amenities, it is kept clean and as insect free as possible (if they see one it is not only killed, but removed.) The choo is also the disposal for any unwanted trash. Anything close to edible is given to the very effective garbage disposal sysetm – the kukos (chickens), paca (cat) and the goats. Waste not want not is a way of life.
Thank you to my work team for the radio and torch (flashlight) that operates without batteries. Mama and the children thank you as well. They have been a focus of attention and entertainment.
My wish list includes small bottles of sanitizer, lotioned kleenex, USA stamps (I get these duty free for the first 3 months), tupperware (large for clothes), and lots of prayers. I have been taking my “chill pill” and am managing to adjust.
Kwahari and Salama.
Goodbye and peace to you!
Patty
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Ready To Go
Well, I am 6 days and counting from departure. It has been a very emotional September. Saying goodbye is hard. Everyone keeps asking how I am feeling about everything and the answer is easy - sad and excited.
Saying goodbye to close friends and my family is very painful. The days have been full of tears and emotion as I make my last rounds to see family. There have also been quiet times, lots of laughter, good conversation and times of reflection. My son, John, tells me to keep thinking about it like I am going off to college. I know there will be visits, telephone calls and email when possible and, of course, snail mail. It is really not goodbye, just so long for now.
The exciting part is that I am actually leaving. I depart from Philadelphia, then to Amsterdam and then on to Nairobi. I will not know where in Kenya my orientaiton will be held until I get to Philadephia. I will get some inoculations and basic safety training in Philadelphia for a day and half before leaving for Amsterdam.
I continue to work on the packing. My pre-departure checklist arrived from the Peace Corps and I had a new list of things I need to gather together - strange things, too, like 12 passport pictures.......and normal things as well. A good kitchen knife was on the list and one good fry pan! This weekend will be my final opportunity to actually get myself down to the 80 pounds I am allowed to take with me. Lots of clothes will have to go by the wayside. There are some basics I will find a way to cram into the 80 pounds, like 21 sets of underwear,my gore-tex rain jacket for the rainy season and some good books.
This is probably my final post until I arrive at my orientation site or maybe even later than that. Continue to pray for me as I learn the language and the culture of the people I will serve. I am absolutley sure I will be utterly and absolutuely homesick for each of you. I am also confident I will be learning and growing each day I am away. My love to you all. Email or post comments to me. I will be looking forward to them!
Saying goodbye to close friends and my family is very painful. The days have been full of tears and emotion as I make my last rounds to see family. There have also been quiet times, lots of laughter, good conversation and times of reflection. My son, John, tells me to keep thinking about it like I am going off to college. I know there will be visits, telephone calls and email when possible and, of course, snail mail. It is really not goodbye, just so long for now.
The exciting part is that I am actually leaving. I depart from Philadelphia, then to Amsterdam and then on to Nairobi. I will not know where in Kenya my orientaiton will be held until I get to Philadephia. I will get some inoculations and basic safety training in Philadelphia for a day and half before leaving for Amsterdam.
I continue to work on the packing. My pre-departure checklist arrived from the Peace Corps and I had a new list of things I need to gather together - strange things, too, like 12 passport pictures.......and normal things as well. A good kitchen knife was on the list and one good fry pan! This weekend will be my final opportunity to actually get myself down to the 80 pounds I am allowed to take with me. Lots of clothes will have to go by the wayside. There are some basics I will find a way to cram into the 80 pounds, like 21 sets of underwear,my gore-tex rain jacket for the rainy season and some good books.
This is probably my final post until I arrive at my orientation site or maybe even later than that. Continue to pray for me as I learn the language and the culture of the people I will serve. I am absolutley sure I will be utterly and absolutuely homesick for each of you. I am also confident I will be learning and growing each day I am away. My love to you all. Email or post comments to me. I will be looking forward to them!
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