Into the Chaos

A lot has happened in my short time here in Kenya. Since it would be impossible to tell every anecdote, here is a basic play by play of my adventures so far: 

Triumph of Love: It has been a week since I moved into my host family’s house. At first everything was really hectic with three little sisters and a cousin. I have been nicknamed Mazungu Hannah and so I have nicknamed them thus: The Oldest (10 years old), The Sass-master (4 years old), and Little one (1 year old). My life there is filled with pillow fights, playing hair salon, Spanish soap operas dubbed over in English and lots of chaos. Like I said, I’m learning to just go with it. Every night we watch Spanish soap operas that have been dubbed over in English (Triumph of Love is Oldest’s favorite) I’m really getting into them, so dramatic. It is a house packed full with eight people, and I share a room with two others.  I have a feeling this will lead to many stories of crazy adventures throughout the semester, so stay tuned. 

                                                           Sass-master and Youngest

Superbowl: During our orientation week at SIT the US embassy came and talked to us. During the talk they invited us to watch the Superbowl at the embassy with the Marines stationed there. At 2:30 am we all piled into our favorite taxi driver’s car and made our way to the compound. We went through security and entered paradise. They had running water/plumbing, snacks and a TV. I could not have been more excited. Even after a week of semi dysfunctional toilets, a running one seems like paradise. Even though the Pats couldn’t hold it together it was a worthwhile experience-there is nothing like watching your team lose in the US embassy.

NGOs: So far we have visited WOFAK to speak with a woman infected with HIV aids. This was incredible because her husband had died a year earlier and her thirteen year-old daughter still does not know that either of her parents were infected. This organization helps women and children who are infected maintain their health for as long as possible by providing food assistance, shelter and in some cases a job.

            Carolina for Kibera was another of our visits last week. I think by far this is the one that has made the most impact on me. This is an organization that provides health care to the largest and most dangerous slum in Africa. It usually takes around 30 mins for someone living in Kibera to get to the hospital, and even then they may not be able to afford the treatment. Carolina for a Kibera built clinics inside the slum. We walked through the small openings between houses- there are no roads, and little sanitation. There are rivers of human feces and roads made of plastic bags. I don’t think I could even take it in because I’m sure if I had I would have responded more strongly.

            MYSA and AMREF were also on the list. MYSA is basically a boys and girls club for children of Mathare, another slum in Kenya. They provide a library, soccer programs, and arts for children. They provide a safe place for kids to hang out after school. AMREF is a health research foundation. Both were interesting to visit and will help a lot of us with our independent research projects.

                                                          A little taste of slum life

Rift Valley Fail: This weekend a group of my friends and I attempted to journey out on our own. We set our sights on Nakuru in the Rift Valley. We hired a driver, Paul, who drove us two hours to the Chester hotel. After fighting with the staff on how much we should pay (we get ripped off a lot because we are mazungu) we finally got a fair price. On Sunday we decided to go on a Safari and after more bargaining we ended up at Hells Gate where we saw lots of Zebras and Warthogs…and that’s it. Paul also got the van stuck in the dirt (including the exhaust pipe) Eventually we were able to push it out and make our way back to Nairobi. It was definitely a learning experience, and memories I wouldn’t trade. But next time maybe we will plan before we try to voyage out of Nairobi. 

                                            Surprise! A picture of Zebras... Welcome to Nakuru.

As a side note: My style has also evolved. The only way to describe it is by picture. So here it is:   

Advice from a Mazungu

After my first few days in Kenya I have gotten a lot of different advice from a lot of different people that I will now share with you all.

1. Do not get involved with the locals. Many have given this advice: my travel doctor, friends, and family. However, I will admit that I broke this rule the first day. We went to the giraffe park in Karen and I met a beautiful giraffe named Helen who came over and gave the group “kisses”. Seeing giraffes in person was an amazing experience and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the awkward yet graceful animal.

 

Sorry Mom, I couldn't help it- Just look at that face! 

2. Lie about everything. In our information packet that we got during orientation week we were told that in the city, people will lie about their name, age, money situation, phone number, basically anything you ask about them. We were also told to make up these things when asked, as it is unnatural for someone to ask this of you and will probably cause you trouble in the future. However, we were also told that Kenyans are very friendly and the next day we had “the drop off”. This is an activity where they dropped us off in the middle of the city and told us to ask questions of strangers. This will be a very necessary skill to acquire when it is time to conduct our independent study projects. My drop off was at Nyumbani orphanage for children with HIV/Aids. All 112 children there were sick and had no one to take care of them due to the stigma against the HIV/AIDs in Kenya. It was an incredible experience. We sat with the Kindergarteners while they practiced their letters and they showed us around the school and playground. I even got to see what Westerners or “Wazungu” look like from the outside. A bunch of Canadians stopped by and it was so bizarre to see them with huge cameras in the kid’s faces and treating them as if they were a novelty. I really hope that I come to understand the culture in a deeper sense and connect with the culture on a deeper level that helps me learn and truly understand what is happening in politics and health here in the country. I would like to add that Kenyans are truly nice and willing to help out, you just have to be aware, like in any city, that some do not have the best intentions. 

                                                                       Nairobi!

3.     Stay inside because the real world is dangerous. We have gotten countless hours of safety lectures already and have heard the worst of the worst in terms of horror stories. Kenya is the only country that has both a critical rating for both crime and terrorism that the United States allows diplomats to travel with their families. The streets feel very safe and you just have to be aware of your surroundings and follow common sense. I think my favorite piece of advice was “don’t eat cookies that are offered to you on the bus”. This is because they likely contain drugs that will make you sleep and you will get mugged. OK, this makes sense, but why would you eat cookies that a stranger gave you on a bus? You just have to stay on your toes and use common sense.

                                                      Traffic downtown

This leads me to my last piece of advice:

4.     Embrace the chaos. Nairobi is a wonderful and chaotic city. Nothing goes as expects and you have to learn to go with it. We had a day in the city and experienced a matatu- this is a 10 passenger van that miraculously “fits” 15 people inside it. Since we are wazungu we have to pay extra and after struggling to find one that would give us a good enough price (Kenyans are all about haggling) it ran out of gas right outside the city. This began our tour of downtown Nairobi where we visited the University, saw the Bomb Blast site, and ate at a restaurant (also a fairly chaotic experience). The cars drive like mad men- I even asked if you needed a license to drive here apparently you do- Basically the mentality is do what you need to. It doesn’t matter if you are driving on the wrong side if there is a pothole and passing is more of a sport than a necessity. The city is filled with people, noise, smog, culture, and life. I am learning to love the chaos and adventures that this experience will bring me.