Explosion in Nairobi Yesterday there was an explosion at mall in downtown Nairobi. In the last few months there have been several small grenade attacks in Kenya, mostly on the coast and in Garissa-a region bordering Somalia. For the most part these attacks have been blamed by Somali militants associated with Al Shabaab, although this explosion currently has no identified cause.

Although there has been an uptick in the number of attacks recently, in my part of the country it's completely noticeable. That attacks may as well be occurring in Russia or on the moon. With the exception of these few incidents in these few areas, the vast majority of the country is very calm and unaffected. The risk of automotive accident or eating bad omena is much higher.

Going to the Hague Back in 2007, Kenya experienced a wave of violence following contested elections between Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki. In the aftermath, four Kenyans, MP William Ruto, MP Uhuru Kenyatta, Joshua Sang, and Francis Muthaura were all indicted by the International Criminal Court for various crimes during the violence. They've had various appeals since, although now legal avenues have been closed. The two MPs are an especially interesting case, as they have intentions of vying for the Presidency of Kenya in the upcoming elections. Several of their appeals have been to postpone the trials until after the elections so as to allow them to run. This has not been done.

Most of my colleagues are Luo, and as such were supporters of Odinga and his party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Odinga came in second behind Kibaki in the election, and many of his supporters claimed election fraud. Generally, they-my colleagues-are in favor of the ICC process. Many Kenyans have little faith in the government's ability to prosecute major public figures successfully, and the ICC is seen as a step towards ending 'impunity.' Not everyone agrees, of course.

And some shorts:

: The Coca Cola company in Kenya has some pretty awesome energy and resource saving technologies on its Nairobi building. : Kenyan roads are a little scary. I travel this way all the time. : Cell phone use in the developing world is crazy-and it offers some amazing business opportunities. :

After I had finished with Nairobi, I was headed for Mombassa. Early that morning I caught a shutte to downtown Nairobi where I planned to catch a bus eastwards to the coast. Traffic getting into the city was pretty bad, and I arrived later than I would like. The 'bus stop' to is a long street with large brightly painted tour busses lining each side. Touts harass pedestrians as they walk by with calls of "Mombassa? Mombassa? You, my friend, are you going to Mombassa?" All the rates were the same, and all the busses seemed similar on the inside. I don't think there is much difference from one to the other. I was still waiting on some friends, so I ducked into a side cafe for some chai and mandaazi while I waited. They arrived some time later-the traffic getting into downtown had worsened considerably in the few hours since I had arrived. We selected the first bus we came to, paid, boarded and were soon on our way.

Rather than travel all the way to Mombassa in one day, we instead decided to stop over at the Sikh temple in Makindu. The temple is simply a delight. It's as if someone took a park and set it right in the middle of a busy Kenyan service town. Outside the walls is Makindu-dusty and noisy. Inside the temple compound is serene and quiet, with soft green lawns and peacocks roaming the grounds. The temple has become a 'must see' for Peace Corps volunteers; it's a refuge from the stresses of Kenya, and it's free. Donations are accepted, but the guest houses and meals are free of charge.

When we arrived we were met by a middle aged Sikh man, Amar, who welcomed us to the temple and helped us find a room. On the lawn were several younger Sikh men playing a game of cricket. They invited me to join, but I was tired and don't know how to play cricket, so I politely declined.

After dropping off our things and cleaning off a little, we went to the dining hall for tea. At the dining hall we were required to cover our heads, and several bandanas and headscarves were provided for those who hadn't brought headwear, which was all of us. The meals were vegetarian Indian fair. Simple and delicious. Lentils, potatoes, and wheat chapatis were accompanied by sour pickled mangos. We took a plate of chapatis and lentils, a few cups of chai, and took a seat at a table. The dining hall looked very much like any community hall back in the States. The walls were decorated with numerous signs asking diners to eat all the food that they take, but since the food was quite delicious this was not a difficult request.

Afterwards we dropped our borrowed hats in the basket outside the hall, and spoke with Amar about the temple. The temple itself has been in Makindu for some time. The guest houses, however, are a more recent addition. Besides the temple and guest houses, the Sikhs also run a hospital across the road. He told us that we had arrived at a good time. On the weekends the compound is often very full. Indian families from Nairobi come and most of the guest houses are occupied and the dining hall becomes very full. Amar himself had come to Kenya from India fifteen years ago. Despite that, he speaks little swahili. Actually, he very rarely travels outside the walls of the temple compound.

The next morning we caught a passing bus on the way to Mombasa. It was another six hours before we arrived.

It's nice to be back at site after two weeks away. When I left, the rains had just begun. The grass was brown and dead. The cows were bony. No crops had been planted. After two weeks of rains, though, it was like returning to a completely different place. Everywhere is green and growing. I have a water tank full of clean rain water. It's wonderful.

Theres a spot maybe 15 kilometers away from my village that I always pass on my way to Migori. It's flat. Very flat. During the dry season it's just like any other part of Karungu-it's brown and dead. When the rains come, though, the transformation is complete. This little spot, maybe a kilometer along the road, becomes a sort of seasonal wetlands. The flatlands become a small marsh, with people's homes now sitting on islands in the water. Where once there was no wildlife, now crowned cranes come to visit. It's a wonderful sight; I wish I could take a picture, but the car always drives by to fast.

Of course, it's not all lovely. About ten kilometers north of Gunga, in Gwasi, the rains were so heavy that they washed away several homes. Nine children and their mother were killed. And last year the rains started off strong. They even came a little earlier than they did this year. After two or three weeks, though, they stopped. Crops that had been growing well dried up and died. An entire harvest was lost.

These problems have been more and more frequent in the last few decades. Due to deforestation and climate change, many areas of Africa, such as Nyanza and especially Karungu, have seen the formerly predictable rains become unpredictable. The older generations still tell me that 'The rains will come by February 20th. They will go in May.' They don't. Not anymore. Whatever the cause, the rains don't do what they used to; they've changed.

Now, in the developed world, this might not be as big a problem. Irrigation, while not freeing us from the whims of the rains, has at least given us some degree of independence from them. That's not the case. While it might sound strange that farmers mere kilometers from Lake Victoria, one of the largest sources of fresh water in the world, can't irrigate their crops, it's the reality.

True, the farmers down by the shore can. The fields that run along the lake are always bountiful with kales and tomatoes and bananas and maize. But start running inland you run into problems. Many of the shambas-small subsistence farms-are on hills. It's difficult to carry the amount of water needed to water several acres of water even a few hundred meters by hand or by donkey, let alone three or four kilometers uphill. Few people here have the finances to afford pumps, either. Nyanza is the poorest region in Kenya; in Karungu whole families must often get by on less than a dollar a day.

I hadn't meant for this to get quite so heavy, especially for this post being my first after a long time away. I started talking about the rains and this was the natural progression. Now that I have access to a laptop and internet at site, I should be able to update more regularly. The next few posts will be a brief catch-up on my life in Kenya (in Alphabetical form!), and some stuff on the current term as I'm closing up my service.

Besides, for now the rains are here! Everything is green and wonderful, even if the mud is a pain, and every time I walk down the paths I see families weeding and gardening, hoping that the rains will see them through.

Hey All!

I've been pretty bad about keeping this thing updated; the internet in Nairobi is surprising not that good. At least not where I was. It's a lot better here in Migori, surprisingly.

Anyhow, the last couple of weeks were spent in Nairobi at IST. Good times were had, saw a lot of other PCVs (and didn't see some faces I had hoped to), and learned a lot about how to improve our schools and communities. Tomorrow starts the second term. Plenty of challenges, but I have some good (or bad, time will tell) ideas about how to overcome them.

I don't have a lot to say right now, so in the meantime, here's a video from my concert type thing at the AIDS orphanage.



Early in April I went down to the Dala Kiye AIDS Orphanage, run by the St. Camillas Mission. They care for about sixty kids, all have been orphaned by HIV, and most (if not all) are positive for the illness. Despite that, they all are wonderful kids, and they all have great smiles and really great attitudes. They're pretty good dancers too.

That aside, HIV is a huge issue here. In Nyanza, the rates are about 20%. Out on the lake shore (where I am) rates can get as high as 30-40%. In my site alone, there are at least four orphanages catering to HIV cases. The solution lies in education, getting people to use safe practices and get tested. It's a rough battle, actually; there's a lot of misinformation and ingrained cultural inertia to overcome. Hopefully we'll see a little improvement in things while I'm here.

But, even when facing something terrible like HIV, there're still opportunities to smile.

Welcome to the Kurungu Zonal Games! There are about 8 schools here, playing handball, netball, doing track and field and playing soccer! Right now you can see a soccer match underway. Unfortunately, my school doesn't have the field space or numbers to field a competitive soccer team, so we don't.

200 m Dash! The runners are rounding the track! For those of you track nerds, the times are coming in about 24-26 seconds. Not too shabby considering the surface and quality of track shoes. (There are none!) Incidentally, this is not a very pleasant surface to go bear foot on. Just sayin'.

Ah, but this is Kenya, so there must also be distance events! Here's the pack for the 1600 m run. Notice again the lack of shoes. (Not pictured, there were a lot of injuries today. Partly the track, partly poor equipment. Please if you try this at home, be sensible and run on soft, non-prickly ground.)

Boys Handball! Here are the Gunga players (in blue) about to score on BL Tezza! (In Yellow) Handball is played by tossing the ball between players or dribbling, a little like basketball, except that instead of a net on a pole there's a hockey-size net at either end. Keepers included. It's a fast, fun game to watch.

Not the games! But this is my Jiko oven. I take two pots and stack them on top of each other. It actually works surprisingly well. A brick and a metal plate create space and a cooking surface. Incidentally, if you can't read it, my multimeter-thermocouple down at the bottom reads 387 degrees!

This is girls netball! Seen here is the goal scorer (official position) going for a shot. Now, in netball dribbling is not allowed, so the ball is passed along from player to player. Otherwise it's more or less like basketball. There are some minor differences and positional things that I don't follow, but for the most part the same idea.

Our center going to receive a pass.

4x100 m relay! Notice the rather stick shaped baton.

Me and the teams! Bunch of great kids. It was so wonderful to see them running about outside of the school environment. Laughing, playing, singing. Simply wonderful.

Victory! The Handball team celebrates a hard fought win! Mr. Fred (their coach) is quite happy. (Incidentally, he's a Chelsea fan. Also, he picked the team's uniform. Coincidence?) The boys ended the day 2-1 and advanced to the semi-finals! Unfortunately, the girls dropped two of their three and won't be going on. But, one of the girls will progress in discus! (We'll have to work on her technique a bit, though.)

That's all for now! Go Blue! Beat Duke!

I know the great snow storm that wasn't didn't happen something like two months ago, but I was really excited to use my own Snow related end-of-world pun. So, Karibu the Kenyabetical-Ragsnowrok Edition!

A is for American - Imagine my suprise to discover a couple of americans working at the mission hospital two kilometers down the road from me! There's an elderly couple and a young nurse volunteering there. They've been here since January and I have had absolutely no idea they were even here. Crazy.

Anyhow, it's been nice to meet up with americans and chat and things. It's really amazing how much you end up missing being able to talk to people in your normal accent about things you're used to talking about. Also, refrigeration and showers are nice too.

B is for Bread - One of these days I'll get a picture up. Not yet, though, I'm afraid. But, by putting two suferias on top of each other, adding a brick spacer and a metal plate - Jiko Oven! You can cook bread on a charcoal or paraffin stove! (And if you happen to have brought a mulitmeter with thermocouple, well, you can even check the temperature. Not that you have any control, mind.)

C is for Candy, give me- I think this is something I've mentioned before, but the use of the word "please" isn't really common in Kenya. I think it's generally understood. Still, when little kids come up to you and all they say is "Give me candy," it can get a little annoying. Years of white travelers have trained the kids and adults to swarm new mzungus asking for sweets and money.

D is for Day in the Life - Kenyan students work hard. Very hard. They're supposed to arrive at school at 6 AM, no later that 6:45 for "Preps." That is, personal studying. Usually they have to do manual work, such as cleaning the school, during this time as well. At 7:20 comes the first class. There's no guarantee that a teacher will be there for that class, mind, but the kids are expected to keep busy regardless. Classes go till 10, at which point there is a tea break. Then classes till 1:00. Which is lunch. It's usually beans and rice for the kids. After lunch, it's class till 4, followed by games and clubs. And then studying in class from 5 to 6. Twelve hours at school. I'm told at the boarding schools the schedule is even more rigorous. Unsurprisingly, burnout is rampant. Still, I don't think I have ever seen a group of students work so hard to learn so little.

E is for Electronics - If you had told me it would take my moving to Kenya to catch up to the 21st century, I probably would have laughed. But, here I am, and I have an internet phone, twitter, a blog, another phone, and a rather robust texting plan. It's actually cheaper and easier to get on the internet from a phone here, thanks to some pretty vicious telecom price wars. Seriously, the IT revolution in developing countries is absolutly amazing. I'd sort of seen it before in Jamaica and Guatemala, but still, wow. Also, MPesa is the bomb.

F is for Flakey - Kenyan teachers can be... less than reliable sometimes. When I arrived at my school, I was to be the physics teacher, and there were teachers for chemisty and bio. Then the bio teacher went to college and the chemistry teacher "got typhoid" and "disappeared into Tanzania." That left me, at one week, the senior member of the science department. Woo? We've since picked up another chemistry teacher, and he seems pretty cool, so thank goodness for that. Still, we're a bit understaffed in the sciences department.

G is for Giardia, Again - And that's all I have to say about that.

On the other hand, Ciprofloxin's a hell of a drug.

H is for Humanization - One of the most surprising things about the area I'm in is how 'not wild' it is. I'm not talking about development, per se - electricity is sparse, water is questionable, many people live in thatched roof cottages, and the roads are... charming - it's a matter of the effects people have had on the terrain. Most of the land has been used somehow, by grazing or farms, the deforestation is incredible (mostly for coal), and the only wild animals are donkeys and goats. Really, while one of the least developed, it's one of the least 'wild' places I've ever lived.

I is for Italians - There is a massive Italian presence in the Karungu area. There are something like three separate Catholic missions, two mission hospitals, an AIDs orphanage, all run by Italians and all sitting right on this beautiful stretch of prime waterfront property. Well played Rome, well played. Also, a group of Italian NGO/Film makers came by and talked to the students and teachers about student rights - like not getting caned- and stuff. We'll have to see how it takes, but getting the teachers to at least talk about it was incredibly helpful!

J is for Jaluo - Jaluo is the native language (or mother tongue) of the Luo people. Actually, very few people around here speak kiswahili, what with it being a Bantu language and jaluo being not. Many people are trying to get me to learn it, but so far the success rate is low. Still, Bear Ayina! (Hello, more or less.)

K is for Kimchi - Besides the bread, I've had a few other culinary adventures. One that was not so successful was the kimchi. While I was saddened to not get my korean fermented cabbage fix, the mold I ended up growing was really cool!

L is for Lakeside Property - As you may have heard, I live by the lake (1 km away!). The breeze is wonderful, the sunset's gorgeous, and the fishing boats at night on the lake is like having a whole nother night sky. The lake flies are a bit of a bother though. In the day they create these clouds that get in your eyes and nose, and at night they swarm the lights and make this incredibly obnoxious buzzing noise.

M is for Maize - Maize is the number one crop here, and everyone is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the March rains so they can start planting. For now at least, the morning air is filled with the sounds of people plowing and readying the soil. There are no tractors here, and so almost all of the work is done with yoked oxen and a plowshare.

N is for Nom-Nom-Nomena - Omena is the name for the tiny little fish that everyone around here likes to eat. They're maybe about the size and flavor of anchovies or sardines. They have a strong fishy flavor, and are usually fried and eaten whole, bones, eyes and all. Not too bad, but apparently I'm one of the few americans to think so.

O is for Odiero - Odiero is the local term for 'Mzungu.' It's sort of an improvement, certainly sounds more dashing anyway. When I hear Mzungu all I can think about are dumpy old british guys in khaki shorts.

P is for Peanut Butter - Seriously, I go through this stuff at an incredible rate. Which is problematic, since there nearest place that sells it is a two hour matatu ride away (30 km) in Migori town. Migori also happens to be the only town around with a bank, so getting paid is always a bit of an adventure. On the plus side, they have ice cream!

On the other hand, fresh peanut butter may contain aflotoxin fungus, which gives you cancer. That's why I buy the processed stuff!

R is for Roadside Bike Repair - Dear "Buy America" people: You have no idea how crappy China is capable of making things. The mountain bike I picked up to cover the 7Km trip from my house to town has been nothing short of a crash educational course on bike repair. So far I've learned on the side of the road to straighten wheels, repair punctures, replace chains, fix jammed gears, and put that damn pedal back on. Seriously, it keeps falling off!

S is for Science Congress - Science Congress is a bit like a giant science fair competition between all the schools in Kenya. The idea is to give students a chance to exercise their creative and scientific juices and try to come up with some new ideas. In practice, however, teachers usually copy old projects, give them to the students to memorize, and repeat the same thing year after year. Also, there's a lot of corruption, apparently. As the science department, I was in charge. As the new guy who never did it before, I fell flat on my face. Which is ok, we can start afresh and do some interesting projects, and do them well.

T is for Temptations - "How I Wish it Would Rain." Not so that I can go outside after woman trouble, but because it's so very, very dry. I have only seen a few places drier, and none by the lake!

Everything is brown, the cows are skin and bones, and everyone looks hopefully at every cloud that floats by. Hopefully soon. Hopefully.

Incidentally, one of the big problems is that the lake is off-limits (or was until recently) due to a treaty England signed with Egypt before they left Kenya. Even then, pumping water in land is a major expense that most people here can't afford.

U is for Ugali - Once again, ugali is the staple food around here. Actually, even more so than in Loitokitok. Rice and pasta are considered 'snacks,' and the people here have no idea how americans get so big and strong without ugali. They often ask me what the "staple food" in america is; I've settle on french fries.

V is for Very Excited - The KCSE results were released earlier this week, causing mass celebration in the schools that did well. (Like, no classes for a week.) And mass soul-searching in the schools that didn't. Of course, the usual remedy for improving performance is to lengthen the school day and make the students come in on the weekends, but that's a tale for another day.

W is for World News - It's a little strange reading about american politics in the World News section of the paper. Also, Kenyan politics is full of fun! It's mostly about: corruption, corruption, ICC, corruption, constitutional crisis. With the new Constitution comnig into place, it seems that things might be on the up swing, but we shall have to see. It's a fragile process holding together a lot of tribal tension.

Y is for Yes We Can - If Obama was popular in the rest of Kenya, he's ginormous here in Luo land. (His father's family is Luo, from near Kisumu.) Pictures of him everywhere, Barack and Michelle are the most popular names for babies, he even has his own jam! (Strawberry!) Just like in America, though, people here are quite disappointed he hasn't solved all their problems yet.

Z is for Zen and the Art of Keeping out of the Way of Motorcyles - Around here, traffic laws are more like... guidelines. Keeping out of the way of motorbikes is a constant challenge; I've almost been hit a good number of times. The road situation doesn't help much, either. The cars and matatus I've ridden in have gotten stuck on rock outcroppings quite a few times. Ah well. Karibu Kenya!

Hello all!

I've managed to get a handle on a mailing address.

Attn: Brennan Crispin PCV

St. Joseph's Gunga Secondary School

P.O. Box 123 - Karungu 40401

Kenya

I'm not sure about what international type things need doing, but I bet the post office can help with that.

For those of you who don't want to send me mail, here's a bit of awesome from Kenya's leading telecom:

Well, howdy everyone! Teaching's been going really well for the last three weeks. The kids seem to be warming to me and all. Still have a lot to learn about teaching. We'll see. Also, I finally have a schedule! I'm the physics teacher for the school, so that's fun. But, the other science teacher is a little flaky at times, so I might be doing lots of chemistry as well! Yay? Also, I'll be teaching some life skills when it fits. Besides that, I may be working the cross country kids, and trying to get an engineering/appropriate technology team started. Really it's just minions for solar cookers and windmills, but still. Also! I have a twitter now! It's Brennankenya. I figure I'll keep it updated a little more regularly with daily happenings and whosnot. But enough blither blather! I have pictures! Behold:

This is the school block! On the far left are the Form 1s, and on the far right are the Form 4s. The Forms 1s aren't here yet, but should be arriving sometime in the next month or so. It has to do with the Kenya School selection process, which doesn't actually happen until after the school year has started. Hmmm...

This is the inside of one of the class rooms. School hadn't started yet, so it's a little cluttered. Also, notice that there are no lights. The school doesn't have electricity (or running water for that matter) so it's all natural lighting. Right now there are about 60 kids total, which makes for some pretty manageable classes.

Kenyan traffic jam. There have been many times that I've been stuck behind or had to maneuver in between large groups of cows and goats while here. Always fun. Especially on bicycle.

This is the walk up to school. I see this every morning. Although, since I get to school at around 6:30, it's a little darker.

My host mama in Loitokitok! She makes yogurt. It's crazy delicious. She's mixing the strawberry flavoring right now.

This is Fred, my counterpart. He helps take me around Kurungu and the area. Keeps me out of trouble and stuff. Also, I've hooked him on Wazungu food, especially coffee and peanut butter.

This is where I live! On the right you can see the school, and in the middle is about where my house is. It's maybe 6km from town, so getting things takes a bit of a hike.

Stereotypical Kenyan children picture! The kids here are about the same as Kenyan children everywhere, with one major difference: Instead of chanting "How are you?" They chant "Ciao." There's a Catholic Mission in town staffed by Italians, so that's why. I'm trying to get them to say "Wie geht's" or "Bahweepgrannahweepninibong." (10 House points if you catch that reference) So far, however, no luck.

These are the clouds that cover Mt. Kilimanjaro. Often we couldn't see the mountain, but the clouds are pretty beautiful anyway.

The view from my house of Lake Victoria. The sunsets are gorgeous. At night, the fishing boats go out and look like another night sky. Haven't had any luck with that picture, though.

Me and my mama at the Host Family Appreciation! Check out my Kenyan duds!

Standing in the cold waters of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Christmas in Kenya is kind of strange. They take all the American imagery (snow, trees, and Santa) and stick it in random places. Especially the snow.

Yay! I live here!

This is Sori. It's the place I go when I need to buy some things. It's not huge, and so some things just aren't there, but it keeps me mostly stocked.

Tigra. The giant hill near my house. Makes a good climb. Will probably be used for a lot of training.

Hamjambo All!

So, I've now been a kenyan teacher for a shade over a week now, and things have been going pretty well. About fifty or so students have shown up to class so far, with the form 1s still to arrive. They'll be here in february. Maybe. So, until that time I'll be teaching form 3 and 4 physics too. The teacher for those classes sort of hasn't shown yet, so... Oh, and our principal got transfered yesterday. Got the news in the morning. New one got here today. Karibu kenya!

That's all I got for now. I have an internet phone, so I can update often, but no keypad, so long entries are hard. Until then,

tutaonana!

Well, just completed my first week of teaching here in Kenya! It went pretty well, all things considered. Noone hurt themselves, at least. I'll be teaching Forms 1 and 2 Physics and Chemistry, and so that's more or less what I've been doing so far. There hasn't been a staff meeting yet, so I don't exactly know... But it's kind of nice right now, I just go and teach whenever I feel like it! So far only about 30 some kids are at schools. The Form 1s don't show up until February, and the rest haven't come yet... So, that makes it nice too. On Monday things should pick up a bit.

Hope to get some pictures up eventually, but it's hard to be sure.

Hey All!

First: I'm a real Peace Corps Volunteer now! Got sworn in December 15th by the Vice-Ambassador. He has a nice house. Then went into Nairobi town for some good food and Harry Potter! Accio Hamburger!

Finally moved into my new house! It's a beautiful part of the country. I sit on a hill overlooking lake Victoria. Absolutely gorgeous. Hope to get pictures up soon. House is nice too, but smells like bat guano. Oh! And I have new spider friends! They're a bit bigger and meaner looking than the Loitokitok pair, so I call them Shelob and Aragog. Due to comments regarding previous spider pictures, they're photos will not be posted.

Anyways, things are going great here so far. Had a few volunteers over for Christmas! We had burgers with guacamole and pineapple. Crazy delicious. Then we played hide and seek in my Haunted House, since we never actually celebrated Halloween. It was a good time for all. But alas, they have all returned to their sites. Sigh.

Classes 'start' January 7th, so I have a bit of time to try and figure things out, but there really isn't all that much to do. Lots of reading and stuff. And playing soccer down the road. Rocks make things interesting.

That's all for now. Hope to have a meatier update in the next few days, but you never can tell. It's a couple hour ride (Did you know you can fit 14 people in a 5 seater station wagon? With luggage too!) to the banking and internets, so we shall see.

Have a Merry Holiday All! And Welcome to '11!

Also, Go Blue! Beat the Bulldogs!

Hamjambo All! Things in Loitokitok are going really well. I don't have much time to write and stuff, so here are some pictures! Ready. 1.

It's Julio! My spider friend who lives in my room. He completely harmless, mostly. I've been trying to set him up with the cute spider in the choo (Gladice). I think they'd be so cute together.

The clouds in Loitokitok are absolutely amazing. It's like a Renaissance painting every day. During the mornings this flat area is sometimes filled with fog/clouds. Gorgeous.

It's hard to tell that this is a river. It used to be a road. I forded it. My oxen died. Sadness.

This is my house. It's very nice. Although it doesn't always have electricity. Dang elephants.

Welcome to Loitokitok! This is the view coming into town.

And from the other side.

This is the walk I have to training every day. Very pretty.

Saki! It's one of the popular sites for PCTs to get chai after the day is over.That's all I got for now. I'll try and have a more in depth update later, but it's difficult for now. I will be getting a better internet option at some point, so the updates should flow better then. Until then: Go Blue! Beat the Buckeyes!

Greetings all from beautiful Loitokitok, Kenya! It's been an incredibly busy couple of weeks and so much has happened in such a short period of time. So, rather than write everything out long form, I figured some form of organization would be helpful. In this case, alphabetically. Because everything's better with letters!

P.S. I hope to get more pictures up eventually, but the internet in Loitokitok is slow as molasses in January (July for those of you in the Southern hemisphere) and it would take a day and a half to get all the good ones up. So, that's going to have to wait til Nairobi.

A is for Africa

Well, of course. Incidentally, TIA (This is Africa) is a very useful phrase to have in the back of mind. Because it for sure isn't Kansas.

If you're feeling a little more local, there's the always popular Karibu Kenya!

B is for Bathroom (NSFW)

The preferred method of self relief here in Kenya is the choo. It's a hole in the ground. You squat. The hole is very deep. (Roughly 10-11 m, if I timed the drop right.)

C is for Cosmopolitan

Well, maybe that's not quite the right word for the place, but there is a mild international flavor to the place. Besides the all 'mericans running about the place there's a pretty big Chinese presence in the community. They're building a road that runs from the main highway into Loitokitok and probably will continue to Tanzania. From what I understand, they're using Chinese equipment and manpower, so local construction firms aren't to keen on it, though.

Besides the Chinese, there's a guy from Boston who lives here. Married a local, evidently. Also, a couple of missions and an Italian aid agency down the slopes somewhere. Also a couple of Dutch volunteers from VSO are in the area. I met them today. Very nice chaps.

There's also a mosque (largely Somali ex-pats, I'm told) and the call to prayer echoing across Loitokitok is actually really cool. Adds to the flavor of being in a new place.

D is for Doin’ it by Hand

How do you wash without a shower? With a basin of course! Warm up the water on the Jiko (stove) and pour it over yourself! You can get surprisingly clean, although washing hair for the ladies can be a little rough. Still better than G-West in January, though.

E is for Electricity

We do have stima (electricity) here, although it can be... tempermental. For instance, no one in town had any for a couple days earlier this week. Apparently an elephant knocked out a transmission line. TIA.

F is for Food

Omnomnom. The most popular food here is ugali, which is maize flower (stripped white) and cooked into some sort of brick. It's pretty much empty calories, but it sits in your stomach and keeps you full. But that's not all! There's also wali (rice), spaghetti, viazi (potatoes), viazi vitamu(sweet potatoes), maharagwe (beans), ndizi (bananas), makote (unripe banana stew with potatoes), meat stew, sukumo wiki (spinach, translated as "Push the week."), kabichi (cabbage), and other things. The current favorite for PSTs eating at the local cafes is Chips na mayay (Chips and eggs.) It's like an omelette.

But what they don't have here that I miss most of all? Whole grain anything. Brown rice. And cheese. There isn't any unless you travel to one city on the west side.

G is for Guardia

And all sorts of other fun little friends. It's important to make sure I purify my water like whoa or things get real fun. (For those interested, the official PST water treatment is Pur. It coagulates all the stuff together for easy filtering. It's really cool to watch, actually.)

H is for How are you?

Walking home is always fun, since there are loads of little kids who come running out to see the Wazungu (White person/traveller) and constantly chant “How are you How are you?” as they follow you down the road. Sometimes they get high fives or fist pounds.

Yesterday I tried to teach a couple of them how to moonwalk (They were wearing one glove, it seemed appropriate). It doesn't look like dance is in these kids' futures...

K is for Kilimanjaro

I may have mentioned it, but Loitokitok sits on the north face of Mount Kilimanjaro. It looks something like this:

This is taken from the exit to our driveway into the house I'm staying. I see this everyday. Woo!

L is for Language Acquisition (Secondary)

Much of the time for training has been spent learning Kiswahili. It's actually a real fun language to learn, which is good, because it's going to get crammed into my brain for the next six weeks. Of course, this is a good thing, seeing as that's all the time we have to get formal language training. Incidentally, the language trainers the Peace Corps has are really, really good.

But you know what's really awesome? Getting to say “Hakuna Matata” in regular conversation.

P.S. I also find myself silently mouthing “Squashed Banana” every time I say “Asante Sana.” I wonder if that urge ever goes away?

M is for Meph Dreams

We live in a malarial zone and so that means I get to take malaria prophylaxis! For most volunteers, this means mephaquin. And mephaquin means meph dreams! Now, apparently this sometimes means really horrible night terrors with blood and axes and stuff. Also, apparently you sometimes go crazy? I don't know much about that though, since I'm batting about 50% on dreams being pretty normal and 50% on them featuring showstopping Broadway numbers before I wake up. Seriously. It's like an episode of Glee every time I go to bed.

N is for Nets

Also joining in the fight against malaria: Mosquito Nets. I sleep under one. It's actually pretty comforting. Like sleeping in a blanket fort.

Incidentally, yesterday I woke up to a mosquito stuck in the net trying to get out. I think I'm did something wrong...

O is for Oh! Chai!

Chai is the national drink here. Not a chai latte from Starbucks mind you. It's teaa, whole milk, and a mess of sugar. It gets drunk all the time. I usually go for Chai Strungi (strong or black tea). Mimi si mkenya, ni mwamerika, I guess.

P is for PikiPiki

Or motorcycle, that is. I wish I had a picture of some of the crazy things I've seen people carrying on the back of motorcycles around here. Ladders, stacks of chairs, families. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see someone carrying a couch or another motorcycle on the back of one of these Piki Pikis.

Q is for Not in the Kiswahili Alphabet. And Neither is X.

So there.

R is for Rafiki

It's the rainy season, and although it has been pretty dry (la Nina, I'm told), the rains we do have are pretty hardy. More importantly, though, they tend to turn the Kenyan dust, which is unbelievably fine and into-everything-getting into Kenyan mud, which is something special all on its own. I probably should have brought higher boots.

S is for Simba

Ok you jokers, I haven't been eaten by a lion yet. Haven't even seen one. But I have seen giraffes! A mess of giraffes on the way over from Nairobi. I about plotzed right there in the matatu. Also, there's a bunch of colobus monkeys that live around the area we're staying.

Speaking of animals. My mama (katika Kenya) has a cow and chickens. Baller.

T is for Time Dilation

Maybe it's the long days or the lack of the internet, but these past few weeks seem really, really long in hindsight. That's not a bad thing at all! So much has happened in the last few weeks it seems like I've been gone for three months instead.

Speaking of the internet, I haven't the slightest idea what's going on back home. Not sure I miss the news that much...

U is for Um, nimesheba?

That is, I'm full. (Have become full, technically.) My host family is absolutely fantastic. There's only a mama and baba. The three kids are off at university in Uganda, although I should have an opportunity to meet them. My Kenyan mama is fantastic. She's very understanding of all my American oddities and is more than willing to help me learn kiswahili and how to do things around the house. For example, cooking! And laundry by hand!

V is for Very High

We're sitting about 1700 m above sea level here. My first run at altitude could best be described as “rough” and more accurately as “borderline vomitous.” All I could think while bending over on the side of the road was “where's the air gone?”

Note to self: Pole pole. (Slowly slowly)

W is for Washing Machines

Once you get the callouses going, it's actually kind of fun to wash your clothes by hand. Until then though, did you know that bleeding on your clothes when washing them is not helpful?

Y is for Yogurt

My family here makes their own yogurt! I am going to learn how this is done. It is crazy tasty, yo.

Z is for Zip?

Ok, I'm running out of good words. This is hard, ok? But to end this entry, here's a bit of info on my next stop. I did get my site placement, which is going to be on the south side of Lake Victoria, near the Tanzanian border. I'll be teaching physics and chemistry. Apparently the school sits on a hill and overlooks the lake. And apparently my house will be “on the brink” of Lake Victoria. So, that sounds promising, yes?

Unfortunately, swimming is out of the question on account of all the schisto, but hey, I get easy access to fish everyday! Samaki Chapati's anyone? (Taco is a poor word choice in swahili...)

Well, that's all I got for now. I'll probably be going more in depth on a lot of this stuff later. Especially the food. Until then: tutaonana!

Training is going very well. It is a very lovely place we are in. I hope to have a real update sooner, but an elephant knocked out electricity and I've been very busy. Tomorrow, mayhaps?

So... I'm in Kenya now! Also, it seems that hotel we're at has wireless. But only on one side of the building. Fortunately, I'm on that side. So, hello from Nairobi It's been quite the whirlwind last couple (?) of days. I don't actually know how long it's been. Three maybe? Anyway, it was a long flight from JFK-->Amsterdam-->Nairobi, but we're here now!

We got into Nairobi about 9 PM last night, and got to our hotel about 10:30. There was simply a mountain of luggage! Getting all that sorted and loaded proved to be quite the challenge. It was pretty much zip in, grab dinner, run my luggage up to my room, and then go to sleep. And sleep I did.

Today was very busy and very tedious. There's a lot of stuff to go over, and a lot of paperwork to sign. Also, inoculations! Got two shots today, plus my first dose of malaria medication. (Mephadoxin I think.) I don't recall if this is the one that gives you sunburn or nightmares. I guess I'll take A? But for the most part, it was a long day talking about the next couple of days, how not to get robbed, and how to take care of yourself. For the most part, common sense stuff. On the plus side, though, tea time! The were several breaks for tea during the day, and for some reason tea time is great fun. Maybe it's the tea or the excuse to step outside for a change, but it's pretty baller. I think I'm going to enjoy this part of Kenya. After the day was over we headed down to a store area to buy a few useful items, like toilet paper. Also, ginger-lemon tea. Delicious.

Tomorrow we head down to Loitokitok (Low-ee-Toke-Toke) where we will meet our host families and start our Pre-service training! It's a bit of a drive, but we're headed down towards Kilimanjaro. Needless to say, much excite!

'

Howdy!

I arrived in Philedelphia this morning for Peace Corps staging. After a brief (yet strangely comical) series of events where I took an airport shuttle to the next town over and the completely wrong hotel I made it safe and sound to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Philly.

There I had the pleasure of meeting a simply fantastic group of people. To give you an idea of how awesome, nearly everyone believes that Lion King sing-a-longs are the proper way to get pumped for Peace Corps service in Kenya. I'm just sayin'. The group is about 70-30 Science/Math Teachers and Deaf Educators. Lots of different backgrounds and origins. People from all over the country! (And a few from Big Ten country. There may be some smack talk. Just sayin')

There's not a lot to say about staging. It's mostly examining why we joined the PeaceCorps, what our goals are, and a brief discussion of the challenges we expect to face. Most of the detail work goes on in country, so here's a picture of Travel Gnome Steve!



Unfortunately, I haven't the foggiest when I'll have the time or internets to update this thing properly for the next couple months, so here's what's going down:

1. Depart from JFK, fly through Amsterdam and arrive in Nairobi.

2. Spend a couple days in Nairobi doing more in-depth preparations and final vaccinations.

3. Travel to Loitokitok (It turns out I've been mispronouncing it all this time! I still don't know how to say it right) and move in with our host families.

4. Language and technical training. Will be learning Swahili, possibly KSL. Much excite.

5. December 15 - Get sworn in. Get assignment. Woo!

It's a long day tomorrow, so that's all I got. Go Blue!

Hey Everyone.

So, by now you've probably heard that I'm going to Kenya with the Peace Corps. I'll be doing secondary science education. For the first couple of months I'll be in Pre-Service training in Loitokitok, on the north face of Kilimanjaro. (PST is where I learn Swahili, how to be a teacher, and cultural norms.) That will last until December 15th, when I'll be sworn in as a volunteer and given my teaching assignment.

I don't have a lot of information right now, so instead I'm going to copy and paste all the relevant contact information for the next couple months.

E-mail: bcrispin@gmail.com

From what I understand, there is internet access in Loitokitok. However, it can be... spotty. I'll try and do my best to check it semi-regularly, but no promises.

Telephone: TBA

I anticipate picking up a cell-phone in country. I'll post a number once I have it, for those interested.

PST Mailing Address: I'm just going to copy and paste the package/mail recommendations.

Brennan Crispin, PCVU.S. Peace CorpsP.O. Box 698-00621Village MarketNairobi, Kenya We recommend that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more frequently. Custom fees can be quite expensive. For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets), several services, such as DHL, FedEx, TNT, and UPS operate in Kenya. These services however, are very expensive, and can cost as much as $70 for a letter. If you do choose to send items through them, you must address the package to the Country Director, c/o Peace Corps, Nairobi, Kenya. (The street address of the Peace Corps office in Nairobi is: Grevellia Groove, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya). If you send the item to the Country Director, no liability can be assumed. Note: If you're a letter writing type, letters can generally take 1-2 months to arrive in Kenya, if at all. It's recommended that letters be numbered so I can tell if I missed any. Also, postcards should be sent in envelopes. Apparently they'll end up on the Post Office wall otherwise.

Ok. That's all the information for now. I'm sure the next update will be far more entertaining and about you know, Kenya and the Peace Corps.