Taught the kids about love and kindness. They now come to me pointing to their check wanting a kiss and a hug in the morning. Taught them to stand in line for food and taking turns( still not perfect but working on it) Showed the teachers, teaching KSL does not have to be scary. Brought Life skills and HIV education to my school. Got my Headmaster to agree, teaching condoms in school is a

I love my students. I mean I really love my students. If I could bring them all with me to America I would. Although not sure if my mom would like 250 grandkids. They make even the worst day better. I know that whatever crap I go through with my teachers, they are always there to support me and comfort me and today I needed the comfort. It all started with taking 53 of my student on a field trip

Working in a 3rd world country where corruption, abuse and tribalism is common, can wear a person down. In order to survive, one has to keep looking for the positive. Well here’s my list of my positives. What I love about Kenya • Mama Rono and her hour long stories • Florence, my Kenyan sister and best friend • The beautiful landscape. Sometimes I still can’t believe Im in Kenya • My

So since last post was about my struggles, I thought I would share some good things that have been happening..... Well, to start off, I am pleased as punch to FINALLY announce that after many months of coordinating, designing and beating our heads against the walls, the deaf friendly VCT kit is officially finished!!!!! This project was first thought of by Volunteers from the group before mine.

It’s late and I can’t fall asleep. So I thought I would get a blog in since it’s been awhile. I had a rough day today that made me question why I am here. I guess it’s that time, the yr and ½ mark where we start to feel anxious about going home, feeling burnt out, and we start to question have we really done enough. Today started out ok. I was in a good mood, I had gone for a walk with my

I know it’s been awhile. It has been one wild ride and I needed sometime to come down from it. Let me just show you how crazy my “holiday” was. 1st week: Nairobi: The minute school closed I headed to Nairobi for a week to work on my VCT Deaf friendly project. Happy to announce it’s officially finished!!! Anyway, while in Nairobi I got really sick but luckily I was where the doctors were and

Another term ends, leaving me 2 to go before my service is finished. This term has flown by. I feel like a chicken without it’s head, running around all crazy like. Besides teaching, I have been working on a VCT video that will be deaf friendly. The DVD will be a tool for VCT’s who don’t know KSL. When a person who is deaf walks into a VCT, the counselors there( if they don’t know sign language)

This is what I have notice so far…..Im sure more to follow I don’t know how to say the word yes. Instead I raise my eyebrows in response Before I was strictly a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl…now Im a ankle length skirt and blouse. If I go out in anything else I feel like a prostitute I will end up singing even if you have no idea how to sign When someone asks me a question, I say ‘eehh” or a

Living in a different culture can wear a person down over time. The lack of support at school, the aggressive attitude men have towards women, but then a moment can happen that reminds you why you are here and all of the crap just disappears. I had two in one week. My first moment was when I was heading home from Nairobi. We always stop at this gas station in a town called Narok. Narok is

So school has started. Almost all of the students are here. Besides the 22 lessons per week, Im teaching KSL at two of the local VCT’s as well as helping out with a mobile VCT on Thursdays. VCT is like planned parenthood but for HIV/Aids. It stands for voluntary counseling and testing. Since some people live way out in the interior, the VCT goes to them. Last Thursday, I had a pretty powerful day

Like I had stated in the pervious post, most of my holiday is spent taking care of Peace Corps business. But I did have a week or two to myself. So, another volunteer and I wanted to travel to parts unknown this holiday and we decided to go camping at Mount Elgon. One of Kenyas National parks, it lies in the north part of western province in between Kenya and Uganda, and is one of Kenyas hidden

12-29-2010 * sorry these are out of order You know on the show Glee, how the kids react when Mrs. Schuester gives the “ vitamin” to the them before they go and do their mash ups? Thats how I feel right now. I can’t stop screaming, jumping off the walls and hugging people. For the last 2 days, I have been feeling down, not looking forward to school, trying to delay it as much as possible. But

1-07-2011 Today, as I walked out of my house, I made a list of everything I could do to keep myself busy during the staff meeting that was going to happen today. Not a fan of them, I made sure I had my phone and a notebook for doodling in my bag. Around 10:30am, I got a call from my friend who works at the hospital. A friend of hers had a sister in law in the maternity ward and she was going

Well my holidays now belong to Peace Corps. I have been busy helping with PST( training for the new soon to be volunteers) and my mid service medical( check ups, dentist etc). I have to say even though it took 2 weeks out of my holiday, those 2 weeks really helped me remember why I joined the Peace Corps in the first place. It showed me where I’ve been and where Im going. During PST, I got to

Go for a walk to someplace new everyday. Travel to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Lamu, Hells gate, Lake Turkana, Mount Kenya, and a game reserve before the year is up Stay out of the teacher drama, this one is going to be a hard one. Set up at least one IGA so the athletic club can be self sufficient by the time I leave. Get 2 people trained to work at the VCT Go up and hang with the students at night at

Anyone who has served in the Peace Corps can tell you, you go through many changes. You dress far more conservative than your friends, you pronounce the p in corps as well as your t‘s, you feel awkward in jeans or trousers, and your view of people changes as well. This one is probably the most difficult to accept. Before joining the peace corps, I felt like I was a trusting person. I would talk

You know you're a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa when... ..walking around holding a roll of toilet paper seems like a completely normal thing to do. ..Sitting under a tree watching goats graze is considered a "productive day" ..you stare when you see a white person you don't know ..the length of time it takes you to walk anywhere is wholy dependent on how many people happen to be in their yards

I don’t know if it’s a good idea to post this on my blog. I did promise not to post any more sad posts but I feel I need to get it out. Today, I had a staff meeting. It started out like any other staff meeting, slow and redundant. Then without any knowledge before hand, I found out that a few days ago one of my class 8 boys raped one of the class 2 girls. This is a boy who I thought was a caring

Well another milestone happened today. I finished my 1st year of teaching. And as my class 8 students leave one by one, I can’t help feeling a little sad. Sad, because my students won’t be here next year with me, sad because I only have one more year here in Kenya and sad I still have another year with the psycho teacher. Since reaching my year mark in Kenyan everyone from family to friends, to

Dear Winny, Irene, Kelvin, Ronald, Julius, Tumanka, Joan, Betty, Vincent K, Jackline, Goffrey, Tonkei, Komoni, Vincent L, and Obadiah,         As I sit here in my new rocking chair, trying not to tear up, I can’t help thinking that I have you for only one more week. I failed. Tearing up has now moved to full on crying. It was you guys who helped me survive my first year in Kenya and KSL and I

So I was looking through my blog and spoted this old post from my first term that I actually never posted. Reading it now brings a smile to my face. I hope it will for you as well. Enjoy. Although I have 3 weeks of teaching under my belt, I still can’t tell which kids are in which class. Friday’s schedule has me going to class 6 for PE for 35 min and then class 7 for PE. So, I went to class 6

Today is November 4th. For most of you this is a day just like any other day, nothing special about it or important, but for me it marks my one year I have been in Kenya. This year has given me ups and downs…. Ok more downs than ups but it was still a year of learning, trying new things( I can now eat ugali and sukuma wiki and actually enjoy it) and making a difference. However, for most of us

My new month has finally arrived and so far so good. This has been the best week in a long time. The crazy teacher is out for awhile so things have been relaxed. Im also getting really busy which helps a lot. Some new projects on the horizon.... Athletic club: Some friends have started this club for the youth here in the Litein area. One of the coaches is a famous runner and has traveled all

If you hadn’t noticed from facebook and the blog, the month of October has been HELL! This has probably been the worst month so far. Im hoping for a new one soon. So here are some of my monthly lows and highs. I want to get them all out so when November rolls around, I can start fresh. HIGH - This month I went to Mumias for a language immersion. I spent 4 days learning Swahili. Hopefully by

“ The immigration official stamped our passports. I was pleased to see that it was a modest little stamp, unlike most developing countries, which seemed to have decided that if they couldn’t be Great Powers, they could at least have Great Stamps, ornate displays of grandeur occupying a full passport page, sometimes two.” passage from The Sex Lives of Cannibals -----------------------------------

Most people spend their holidays relaxing, getting chores done around the house or catching up on reading. But what do I do with my holiday? Get on my students must hate list. I was teacher on duty this week and since last time the students and I worked out the kinks, I felt like it would be smooth sailing. Last night I noticed the grounds of the school were covered with trash so I asked primary

I went to Nairobi this week to greet the new group of education trainees. I still cant believe its almost been a whole yr since I was in their shoes. As I watch my favorite purple blossoms fall off the trees, I am taken back to this time last year. Still packing with my mom the night before, saying goodbye to my family and friends at the airport, meeting the group of people I would come to rely

So this week has been a shitty week. If you read my blog, you’ll knowI had some issues trying to take my kids to the local VCT and instead got the school to agree to bring the Deaf VCT here to the school. For the last month or so I have been on the internet, phone and talking people’s ear off trying to plan this event. When I first started, my school said money was not an issue. I knew we were

This is just another reminder that the posts on this blog are my own personal opinion and are meant to be humorous and taken lightly. Nothing on this blog is meant to offend, disrespect or anger anyone. Living in a country that is different from your own can be a challenging experience. I am constantly learning and adjusting to the food, culture and people. I hope I haven’t given anyone the

Hey guys. Sorry. I know this post is long overdue. So, I finished my first week of classes!!! ( this post is so over due im working on my 2nd week now. Haha) So far things are looking up. My classes are so much fun. Although I will probably be over stressed with my KSL class 8, mainly due to the fact that they are going for exams in about a month,. But on the upside, I get to play with the

I kept telling myself that when I came home, I would be more patient and less easily frustrated. It’s been 10 months in country…I don’t think its going to happen. Working in the Kenyan system sure tries your patience. My last post, I mentioned some projects I was planning for this term. When I wrote that post, I already had approval from the head teacher, the class teachers and the VCT to take a

This is going to be a kick ass term. I can feel it. We had one of the infamous Kenyan staff meetings, where it never starts on time, the teachers are having side conversations in Swahili, and everyone’s yelling over each other. By the time we got to the one thing on the agenda that even pertained to me, I was exhausted. And I hadn’t said anything by this point. Unlike in american schools where

Greetings blog readers! So school has officially opened. However this means the kids start arriving and teaching doesn’t happen a till a week later. So we waste a full week of learning. Kenyan school system, what can I say. But seeing the kids is great. Since I had to go to Nairobi for referendum, I was a little scared something would happen and they would evacuate us and I would never see my

I know its not New Year’s eve but school starts in 4 days and I think it’s about time I made some. Last term was hell and I have decided this term will be nothing like last term. This will also be my last term of the year which marks the completion of half my service here in Kenya so I have to end the year right. In order to make that happen, I need to make some resolutions. So these will be Term

So I finally took a vacation. This month has been pretty busy for me. My first week, I had to stay in Nairobi for the voting of the constitution which thankfully went peacefully. Last election went not so good and Peace Corps had to evacuate everyone. I then went back to my site for a few days only to turn around and head to Kisumu for a training. After training, a few friends came back to my

Weekly Highlights

There have been days when I get so swamped with school, frustrated with the immature boys, and more focused on the teachers drama that I forget to appreciate the beauty of Kenya. But then I have a day where Kenaya reminds me. As I sit in my hotel room, watching the sunset over Lake Victoria, a must see for anyone who visits Kenya, and listening to the monkeys make wild love making calls, I am reminded that whatever negative happens in my day, there is always a positive that follows.

I got to meet a youth organization that uses participatory theater and puppet shows to teach their community about HIV/Aids, reproductive health, condom use, child abuse, student- teacher relations and other community issues.

Im working on an essay about living with epilepsy and joining the peace corps. If I feel its good enough to submit, Ill send it to the magazine.

I found a friend who will play the part of my boyfriend while he is visiting my site. Goodbye marriage proposals…hopefully.

Bought a new shirt, jewelry, new material for yet another skirt and birthday goodies for my sisters. The highlight was I bargained my ass off for them and got a good price.

Learned a lot of Kiswahili…problem is I don’t remember any of it. However, I feel confident as time goes on, I’ll become fluent by the time I leave.

Whenever volunteers come together, we swap movies, books and any other entertainment. I have 4 new books to read and a ton of new movies that will last me till the next time we all come together.

You ever see that website F**K My Life? Where people post shitty things that happen to them? If you havent check it out. Some of the stuff is hilarious. Well, this is one of these stories.

The other day I was talking with one of my neighbors son and his best friend about the crucial role Kenyan women play and although Kenyan men like to think they have control, this culture is really run by the mamas. Now to get you caught up, these are 2 of the 7 boys who are vying for my affections. The son professed his love to me two weeks after meeting me. I turned him down, however Kenyan men…I meant Kenyan boys don’t take no for an answer so our friendship has been awkward ever since. Now the best friend has professed his love for me( at least he waited a few months). And I had to turn him down. But again, they don’t understand the word” no” As our conversation got more heated, I had a brilliant idea. Part of my peace corps service, it is my job to educate my friends on Americas culture. So I told them today was their lucky day. By the end of my two yrs here, they would be great husband material and then wesley dropped the bomb…”Well maybe you will be my wife.” Well I said what any 24 yr old who doesn’t want to think about something she probably won’t do or even think about till shes at least 35. … “ HELL NO!” He then wanted to know why not. This guy doesn’t even know the real me and he already sees us getting married. So I gave it to him.

The top 15 reason why he wouldn’t want to marry me.

1. Im Loud

2. I can be really immature

3. I’m frustrating

4. I don’t know how to cook

5. I hate cleaning

6. Im definitely not having any watermelon size kid come out of my body( This is a deal breaker for most Kenyans and I thought this would end the conversation. It didn‘t. He wanted to discuss that I have at least one. AND WE AREN‘T EVEN MARRIED YET!)

7. I expect my man to cook and clean

8. I’m Argumentative

9. I may never want to get married

10. I throw my clothes all over my house and wont pick them up for weeks.

11. Im Stubborn

12. I will leave a pile of dishes in my sink till theres a weird smell.

13. I can get into jealous fits of rage and if anyone ever cheated on my I would castrate them

14. I don’t believe in God and Im a heathen

15. And Im not even thinking of getting married till Im at least 35 or even 40.

He said he wouldn’t give up and that there was a reason I came to litein and he was the one…..FML!

Well as lock downs go, this one aint half bad. Since the referendum is a holiday, a group of people were allowed to head to Nakumatt for some shopping( we are not allowed out of our hotel tomorrow and Thursday). Well, you can imagine the chaos that ensued. What did u expect, take 17 people who have been out in the bush for three months, put them in a city with k-mart size supermarkets and people are going to get a little nuts. Well, heres my shopping list.

4 types chocolate bars

2 bags of candy

2 bags of chips( kenyas make of cheetos and Doritos)

3 liters of white wine…BOX wine( when you are living off of $200/month you have to lower ur standards)

300ml of kingfisher fruit wine…hey hey hey before you judge it has 8% alcohol so take that u girly beer drinkers

3 liters of water

3 sodas

300ml of woodpecker cider

Cream Cheese, Gouda, Chedder( which ended up having a hard boiled egg aftertaste) and classy European cheese spread that has a laughing cow on it. Yeah, we sort of went nuts on the cheese

And with the cheese comes crackers

A packet of chocolate chip cookies

Milk to go along with our European version of cinnamon toast crunch

And mom if ur flipping out about your daughters health, this next bit is for you.

A bag of lettuce

Spanish olives

Bell pepper

Cauliflower

A succulent grapefruit that didn’t last through the night.

Broccoli ( to make sure we were eating some what healthy)

And ranch dressing

…oh yeah and a small bottle of herbal essence shampoo.( I spent 15 min smelling all of them trying to decide which one I wanted.)

As school closes and kids go home, I finally have some time to reflect on this term and I have to admit, it was not my favorite. I found myself encountering more challenges and frustrations then when I first started. Most volunteers find their first term the worse and then find it getting better. However, my site had to do things backwards. I had an amazing first term. The teachers were supportive, the students and I were getting along, and I was loving teaching. But the minute 2nd term started things started to change. I witnessed a teacher beating a student( to this day I still don’t know why) while the other teachers were sitting around actually encouraging the teacher to beat the child harder. I had witnessed teachers beating students before but this was the first time when the teachers almost seemed animalistic. They seemed to find enjoyment, a sense of power when they beat the student and that I couldn’t handle. As I sat there, trying not to cry, I felt my support system I had come to rely upon disintegrate. For two weeks after the incident, I cried myself to sleep. I couldn’t interact with the teachers the same way. I even started thinking of a site change. But Peace Corps is all about resiliency and if I had changed, I would be back at square one, so after a few more days of being depressed and feeling alone, I came out of the funk and decided to change my surroundings. I was here for the students not to get pulled into the teacher drama. For those who work in a school, you’ll be happy to here that gossip, back stabbing and petty issues are not just found in America. Yes, the teachers I was close with were no longer the right teachers for me to follow, but there was a whole school of teachers who loved me and were ready to help. So I created a new support group, allowing myself to be more open to the other teachers. I also made a promise to myself that I would be more honest with the teachers. If there was something I didn’t like, I would tell the truth instead of keeping my mouth shut in fear of how it would be interpreted. Over time, my mood got back to normal. Soon it came time for final exams, a time I usually dread. This is where the truth comes out about my teaching capabilities. I gave out an HIV exam as well as a KSL. The HIV exam was more for my benefit, unlike KSL. Which in 3 months time, my students would be taking the national exam which would decide if they would go on to secondary school or not…so no pressure or anything. I was nervous but tried to remember these exams will tell me what to work on for next term. HIV test result: out of 45 students, three students got a score above 60 and one of them got an 84( last term only 2 students got a score about 60). KSL test results. Out of 15 students, 6 students got a score above 80. I was proud beyond belief. It really helped that the students who have low self esteem were among the few who got a good score. One of them even placed 3rd in her class. So in terms of relationships with the teachers, this was not a good term. However, when I ignore that and focus on the students, I guess this wasn’t such a bad term after all. Just writing this makes me excited for next term. I can’t wait to make it better.

SIDE NOTE.

If any of you have been following the news in Kenya, you will know next week on the 4th is elections for the constitution. People are a little nervous particularly because of past experiences when it comes to elections in this country. But I just wanted people to know that Peace Corps has learned from the past and although they don’t expect it to be as bad as 2007, they are being proactive. I will be in Nairobi for this week. I have been talking to my village and they say they are seeing people learn from their mistakes and are hoping people keep their cool. So by the 10th, I expect to be back in Litein. But non the less, I don’t want to leave so whatever you do, pray, hope, wish, send good thoughts that Kenya will get through its first peaceful election and I will be able to see my students again. I have attached a link to the local paper here in Kenya if you would like to follow whats happening. I will also hopefully have free internet in Nairobi so if anyone wants a chat date, give me a shout. I might be able to even pull a video chat.

Weekly high lights

I went to Kisumu for a meeting and met up with some friends. We went to a bar with awesome food and continued bar hoping Kenyan style, taking over someone else’s tuk tuk( 3 wheeled motorcycle) and pilling 10 people in this 3 passenger vehicle. If you ever go bar hopping in Kenya, always go to the bathroom. The beauty of Kenya is not all the toilets are the same. Some have a hole in the ground, others a flush toilet and some even have their own version. This bar decided to have the western style toilet but cemented down into the ground….all the way to the seat. So it was a western flush hole in the ground. After taking pictures with the toilet, we ended up at a dutch bar to watch the Germany vs. Urugray match. My friend and I were a little tipsy since we had already gone to 2 other bars before this. Although she was way more tipsy than me. It was fun hanging out with fellow mzungus even if they were making fun of Peace Corps volunteers. My friend and I sat through the match not paying much attention to the playing but to the HOT players on the two teams. Thanks to the Octopus oracle, we already knew who would win. After a few drinks, we needed to relieve ourselves, so we went in search of the bathroom. How many PCV’S does it take to find the restroom? A lot more than 2 I guess. We searched and searched and couldn’t find it. We ended up finding a bathroom only to discover some ass locked the womens room. So what do you do in this situation? Yup go in the mens. Don’t worry we didn’t use the troff, we left that for the men folk.

Had a great HIV lesson with my vocational students. We talked about what to do instead of sex, what encourages sex. I was surprised how well it went. They want the same lesson next week.

Got my hair done….well half done. I just couldn’t sit for 4 more hours to get my whole head done and it was PAINFUL!

My best friend who lives next door came visiting for the week. We have been enjoying girl nights all week.

My cat now understands when I yell at him in Swahili, he’s in trouble.

Have been cooking and actually using my veggies in my garden. I made a green gram stew over rice and then vegetable rice the next day. I made the stew backwards and the rice the second day came out a little crunchy but it was still good. Even my cat ate it and he never eats any of the food I cook.

Im getting used to tea. As long as Im freezing, I can now drink a cup and ½ each day.

Got sick on Wednesday but was felt the need to clean so I cleaned my kitchen and living room. This included washing the floor. Now if only I had washed some clothes. Oh well guess Im going to school naked tomorrow.

Term 2 is coming to a close. I have only 4 more days of teaching and then it's exams.

Just something to make you laugh. Granteed if you are not in the Peace corps, some fo these may fly over your head but I enjoyed reading them.

1. an ambiguous government agency designed to quash the idealism of recent American college graduates over a two year process.

2. an international American government organization with continual rotating foreign staff and a fleet of white Landcruisers aimed at catching volunteers out of site.

3. two years of one’s life determined in a brief 20 minute interview after 15+ hour international flight.

4. committees, sub-committees and exploratory committees for both.

5. the automatic and immediate forfeiture of four of the first ten Amendments.

6. a mechanism for those who cannot get laid stateside to remedy their situation and for those who could to forget how.

7. groups, flipcharts and markers.

8. commonly preceded by “Oh shit! I just graduated with a degree in international relations”

9. A whole lot of seriale (often dubbed over)

10. where CD, PTO, AO, PM, LCC, SSC, TM, PCMO, FA, GSM, and GSA speak to PCVs and PCTs about SPA, PCPP, MSs, WWS, ICE, IRC, and RA as well as EAP, ET, MS, and COS in acronyms.

When I joined the Peace Corps, I had no idea.

Week’s highlights( well more like the last 3 weeks)

Im starting to teach sessions about HIV/Aids out in the community to schools and church groups

Had the best cappuccino…although it came out of a packet and was sent from america. Thanks mom keep them coming.

I have lost 35 pounds since coming to Kenya

I have also lost my desire to shave my legs and armpits. I have to force myself to shave at least once a week. You try shaving during a bucket bath, its not easy

Finally posted a letter to the grandparents, friends and family…cost me 380ksh. Best 380 ksh ever spent

I haven’t killed my garden yet. I have beautiful flowers now. Even my carrots, green peppers and coriander are starting to grow although I cant tell which is which.

Spent an hour watching puma try to climb around on my couch...he had just devoured a whole cup of milk so he wasn’t as agile as normal.

I’m trying to get one of the student teachers certified in being an HIV/AIDS councellor( this is how the Kenyans spell it. I SWEAR to god!)

I havent had internet for the past 3 weeks and Ive honestly been ok. I think my face book addiction has finally died. Hey, it made me write 4 letters. So something good came out of it.

I devoured… yes devoured 7 pineapples in 3 days. I need to go to PA( pineapples anonymous)

I have memorized 3 songs so far

Got a standing ovation from my class 6, 7, 8, for me life skills review.

The carpentry class made me a pointer for my class since Im so short I cant reach the board.

Made a Ideal man list

My gift for cooking rice has been taken away. No matter what I do it always turns out with a little crunch.

Got a new phone that holds the charge for 1 whole week!!!!! My old phone held charge for ½ of a day.

Took class 7,8 to the tea factory in Kapkatet. I interpreted the whole thing. Learned that they don’t waste anything and will send the waste either back to the farm to replant or send it to make shoe polish. While we were in town waiting for the other teachers to finish their sodas in the restaurant, a weird man came up to where the students and I were sitting outside and tried to approach me. Before I could even say or do anything 3 of my students came up to me, blocking the man from me and made him go away. I love my students.

Its winter here in Kenya and even though Im freezing my ass off and theres no snow on the ground, I feel closer to home. I even started to sing Christmas carols.

Was teacher on duty this past weeks which means for one whole week I’m in charge. I have to supervise meal times as well as deal with anything that happens during the day. The primary students thought nothing of it since they were used to my discipline methods but the Vocational students decided to revolt. After I got mad at them for pushing past the primary students, they decided to ignore me for assembly when I asked for someone to do the raising of the flag. It was tough going for the first part, making the kids line up and take turns for meals, not acting like animals fighting over the watering hole, but in the end the students thanked me for doing such a good job, apologized for their mini revolt earlier in the week and begged me to continue with duty. I feel like I now have a stronger relationship with my students.

The boy who kept saying I was his wife to his friends AND family finally go the message. He texted back apologizing and repeatedly stated we were only friends.

Good thing about not having internet, it forced my mom to call. It was short but it was nice surprise

to talk to her before classes.

I think I need to change pumas name. Its gotten into his head that he really is a puma and is now attacking and pouncing on everything that moves. His favorite toy, my arm when Im typing

So from my last post, I guess you can tell I have been having a hard few weeks. So after talking with my mom( why does talking with your mom ALWAYS help) I have started a gratitude book. it’s a book where I mark the highlights of my week. So I would like to share some with you.

I went to mumias for the weekend and had a run in with a very stubborn tout( someone who works on the matatus taking money and hustling people in). Well my friend and I were traveling from mumias to Kakamega where the fare should only be 80. So we both gave the tout 100ksh. Then the tire blew out. As we are waiting for another matatu, we are asking for our change. The tout refuses. We try to argue with him for a good 10 min. A second matatu arrives and tries to push us on, however, we still havint gotten our change. So I have had enough. One of the teachers at my school told me of a method to use incase of a problem on a matatu. So I separate from the group and take my phone out ready to take down a certain number where I can then give it to the police who will then deal with it. Well my plan worked, the driver got scared, called the tough and made him give me our change. Funny thing was, I had no idea what number to take down. So my bluff worked! DANIELLE vs. TOUT. Winner? DANIELLE!!!!!

Sitting outside of the local supermarket eating 500ml of ice cream…alone. Now before you judge, kindly remember my site has NO ice cream, it’s a hot day and sometimes you just have to do it.

I brought my new kitty puma home.

While playing, Puma jumped into a large tub of water. So now I have a rat instead of a cat.

Puma f*%@ked up my computer when he decided to play with the reflection cat he saw in my screen. Now I have a pink screen, no internet and no movies.

Had a great night class with my class 6, 7, and 8. They asked for a review before their life skills exam the next morning. So I had all 55 students in one class. Half way through the deputy head teacher asks to join. This is the same teacher who thinks my teaching about condoms is bad. He stayed the entire time and even participated in the game with the students. The next morning, he told me it was a good class and that I was a good teacher! GO ME!!!!!

For 3 hours I was squished between 2 mamas with their little ones. It wasn’t till we reached the matatu stage that one of the little ones decide to throw up all over everything…ECEPT ME!!!!! J

On the hippo tour:

Tour Guide: “hippos shit in water.”

Me: Did he just say shit?

Tour Guide: “Hippos shit in water. You know toilet? They use their tails to swish it around.”

Me: Yup. He said shit.

Tour guide: “ male hippos have sex with the female hippos for 45 min. The water makes them light.”

I bought Ritz crackers. J

Had a rough day today. Pictures were found on the vocational school camera of primary girls in inappropriate positions. Frustrated with the deputy ‘s take no action stance, the heaping club brought the girls in to talk with them. We started with 3 and learned who their boyfriends were, where they have sex, and how many times they have sex. Little did we know how bad it was. 3 girls turned into 6 and 6 turned into 10 and 10 turned into 16. We were shocked by who the girls were and who their boyfriends were. Some had only had sex 1 time while others had sex 9 times. Some had only one guy while others had multiple guys and some even shared guys. Most of the guys who were named were from vocational While the girls ranged from class 8 all the way down to class 2. This has all been happening since I have really focused on my life skills class. I guess the only good thing is all of the boys used condoms except 1. I understand abstinence should be enforced but I feel like the teachers are going about this wrong. They still look at these kids as children in primary school and vocational students as big bad men in their 30’s. They see the girls as the victims and the boys as the predators. But the truth is these girls are really having sex with their peers. All of the girls from the 1 in class 2 - class 8 are around 14-17 yrs of age. While the vocational boys are around 18-21.By the way, there’s no age limit for sexual consent. So, what do we do? These children are no longer children. They are sexual adults. They may be in primary school just like their hearing peers but you can’t compare the two. Take for example a hearing student in class 8 to a student who is deaf in the same class. The student who is hearing is usually around 13/14 yrs of age while the student who is deaf can be anywhere from 14-17 yrs of age. I find it frustrating when the only time the teachers get in an uproar about it is when the kids have gotten caught, otherwise the teachers lips are zipped, its just a problem for another day. Where as I have been trying to teach them life skills, HIV/Aids, how a condom works, how its used properly and I get criticized for it. I go up at night to work with the students and then there’s talk that I am only doing it for my own personal gain. I don’t care anymore if the teachers want to blame me for their students having sex and using condoms, Im going to do what I came here for, to teach my students how to make smart choices regarding sex and HIV.

P.S. Any ideas that might help this situation would be greatly appreciated.

Since being for 8 months, I have noticed 2 problems at my school. Granted there are more than 2 problems, but at least these 2, I have the chance to fix. The 1st problem is nocturnal activities among the students. Now Im trying to teach HIV and sex education but its not enough. The students are primarily alone at night, after school and on the weekends. They have no organized activities to keep them out of trouble. So a teacher and I had 2 ideas that might be the answer to our problems. We have a library that is never used and we have books that are never read. So we thought to open it back up but as a recreation room where students could come in, read, play games, and do arts and crafts. Our 2nd idea was to have 1 or 2 nights a week when teachers would stay late and play games or lead projects with the students instead of them watching T.V all night till bedtime. We would rotate teachers to supervise it and the students will hopefully be kept busy and maybe even form a better relationship with the teachers. So, even though I came here with the intention of NOT asking fro help from the US, I guess Im asking for help. I know times are tough but to make this work we need games, coloring book, arts and craft ideas and any children’s books you have lying around. I know it’s past spring cleaning but if you happen to see a garage sale sign, maybe head over and see what’s available. Im not asking for you to go out and buy all new games and books although if you want to, I wouldn’t refuse them. Again, I know times are tough with the job cutbacks still happening but any little thing you could donate would be much appreciated. Thank you. Danielle

Wish list

Coloring books

Puzzles ( for older and younger kids)

*Games( checkers, shoots and ladders, candy land, pictionary etc)

Cards

Jacks

Children’s books( again for younger and older kids)

Posters to hang on the wall

Arts and craft ideas

Magazines( doesn’t have to new. Highlight, national geographic, Newsweek etc)

Markers( big and little)

stickers

stencils

* Even if it’s just the boards, we can improvise the pieces

I have been in a slump regarding teaching but my other job as a behavior change communicator has picked up. I have reached my 8th month mark and things are starting to look up. 6 really great things have happened regarding my job as a BCC.

1st - Word has spread that a peace corps volunteer is in the area..I know, about time. Well, this means groups are coming out of the woodwork to ask me for favors. So far it’s only been coming to talk to their group about HIV/AIDS which is part of my job here. So yesterday I was called by one of the teachers I am working with to sit in on a meeting with a headmistress from a school in the nearby village. I had gone to look at the school last month. That’s when the visit I thought would be quick ended up being singing and dancing for 3 hours. Well, I guess I said something inspiring, hell if I know what, and she took the big step in telling one of her parents to get their child tested. Turns out he was positive. So, she came to my teacher scared about what her next step should be and seeking advice. Her teachers didn’t know what to do with this student and the students guardian( hes an Orphan whos parents both died of AIDS) was thinking about giving him up. So my counterpart and I head over. It was a small class of 5 teachers. I was so nervous. Talking about HIV in my community is difficult. it’s a disease that is attached the sex and sex here is pretty much taboo so getting people to talk about a disease that’s really personal is a really difficult. But I was surprised in the end. All teachers were very open minded about the information and it sounded like a lot of them were going to go get tested. Now the headmistress wants me to come to the school again and talk to the students. How do I talk to 7yr olds about HIV? Im going to have to get pretty creative. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

2nd - Like I said groups are coming out of the woodwork. I was approached by another teacher asking if I could talk to the Police station. I agreed and again I was surprised how well it went. The captain, or whatever the head police officer is called, asked if I could do a status day where all the officers get tested!

3rd - One of my friends at the school wanted to get tested and asked me to go with him. Little did I know he wanted me to go as an interpreter not for support. So I went and he and I both got tested. It was great experience for him and Im hoping now he can use that experience to pass on to the rest of the students.

4th - A small group of volunteers including myself have started to make a deaf friendly video for the local VCT’s. This video, which can be shown in schools or at the VCT, is supposed to help those facilities that do not have an interpreter for the deaf community. So the group and I went to Kisumu where there is a deaf VCT to research what happens when someone goes to get tested. It was a success and now we are planning on going to Nairobi where we will start filming it. Our hope is to produce it and send it all over the country.

VCT - Like a planned parenthood with counseling and testing for HIV and other STD‘s.

5th - After talking with my counterpart, we have decided to create a mural for our school. This mural will be about making smart choices regarding sex, ie say no and MEAN no, avoid being alone with the opposite sex, focus on school etc. Since a lot of my students are into the nocturnal activities this mural is not supposed to stop them but to be a reminder to them.

6th - Another teacher and I are thinking of reorganizing the library. Right now, its just a place to store crap. But we plan on turning it into a rec room filled with books, games, and other activities to help the students keep busy. One of these activities that is in discussion is bead making and trying to sell them in the states as well as around the community.

So that’s whats been happening in a nutshell. A lot of these things are still in discussion but Im hoping some will come to be actual activities. If you have any ideas or advice please let me know.

So I was all set to write about my slump that I seem to be in. I haven’t seemed to want to go to any of my classes. Even the thought of the kids hasn’t been able to lure me. I spend more time at home then I do at school. I feel like the “honeymoon” period is finished and I am finally seeing teaching for what it really is. So to try to get out of it, I decide to go for a walk. A fellow teacher blamed my slump on being horney and she recommended getting laid. For a country where sex is so taboo, my teachers think sex will fix all of my problems. As I was walking past the butchery, I notice a head of a goat hanging in the window right next to it‘s carcass. Well, Im still in my slump....but I feel better knowing I could have my head on display and my body diced up for mans consumption instead. Things could always be worse.

I had a good day today. The teacher still isn’t talking to me but at least I am making some head way with my KSL class. For the last week I have been trying to teach them SOV sentence structure. For those of you who don’t know it’s “ Subject, Object Verb” So an English sentence would be 'the boy played with the ball.' But in KSL its BOY BALL PLAY//. This has been a difficult concept for the students. So for the past week I have been making them write 10 sentences every day in SOV format. When I get the books back its BANANA MOTHER SISTER// or GIRL RUN JUMP// So its been tedious but today I had a breakthrough! About half of the students are writing perfect SOV sentences. So, I have assigned them to their classmates who aren't getting to help them. I guess I don’t totally fail as a teacher. After the class however, things started to go downhill. I have been fighting a cold and it just got worse as the day went on so I went home an slept, missing my PE and art class. But in the end I would still consider it a good day.

P.S. I think my cold has finally gotten to me. I actually forgot how old I was just now. I had to take out a calculator and do the math. This sucks. Im going to bed.

I started out on this dreary rainy Monday, feeling sick. I had an elephant size migraine and my throat was scratchy and sore. I definitely didn’t want to teach today. But then I got a surprise call from a friend seeing if I was feeling ok and my mood changed to deliriously happy. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I met up with some of the other teachers in our close knit heaping club and even their weird mood couldn’t change mine. While hanging out in the art room I made a comment about getting 4 pineapples for 50ksh instead of the normal price of 100ksh for 4. And one of my friends literally jumps down my throat about how I always think Kenyans are conning me, which was not my intent at all. I tried to explain to her, that was not what my comment was about but yes, I have had some situations where the tout in the matatu or the mama in the market sees a mzungu and immediately bumps the price up 3x the regular amount. So, do I always think someone is conning me? No, but I have had to become weary of certain people. She is one of the teacher who when in a mood, is difficult to talk with so I told her polity, I was in a good mood today and I didn’t want to ruin it so I was going to leave. Well, as hard as I tried, I had lost my good mood and couldn’t find it after that. It would tease me and return when I was with the kids but then it would disappear again. I did not talk with my friend for the rest of the day. After school it started to rain, so I went home and decided maybe watching a movie would improve my mood. I should have chosen something with hot guys, or things that transformed, or blood and guts. But no, what did I choose? Love Actually! I was literally in tears by the end missing my friends and family. Now on top of not feeling so hot, I am homesick. This Monday blows. I have given up on movies and now I am listening to my music, eating top roman( or at least Kenya’s version of it) chicken flavor, imagining it is my moms chicken noodle soup. The one that comes in a can, but she mixes like 3 versions of it so you get three types of noodles and different textures of chicken. Ahh home. LOL. So I am going to get back to my music and my wanna be chicken soup and hope that tomorrow is a better day.

Yesterday I went to Kericho where I had to deal with the dreaded Kenya Power company. They wanted me to pay 1,100ksh for one month of electricity. Except that one month? I was only living in my house for 1 week, So Off I went try to haggle with them. When we got to pineapple Road( this road that is in-between kericho and Litien. Many mamas sell pineapple there. No it’s really not called pineapple road but I don’t know how to say the real name) we picked up another passenger who sat in the front with me. We started talking about what I thought of Kenya, what did I do there, How long I was there for etc. Nice conversation, nice guy. He was another teacher at one of the local schools in the area. When we get to Kericho, we got off at the same spot and he walked me to where my friend was going to pick me up. He then started asking me questions like was I dating, did I have a boyfriend. I answered his questions and said goodbye. When I told my friend, she asked if I had gotten his number since he seemed interested in me. I said no which then led her to call me a stupid mzungu. Maybe I was stupid for not getting his number but the whole incident made me miss the simplicity of my friendships with guys back home more than it made me want a Kenyan boyfriend. Everytime I tell my friends I met someone, they immediately ask was he cute? Did I get a number? When will I see him again? Here in Kenya, it’s difficult to have a friend who is a male. It's even difficult to have a guy in your house since the 1st thought that comes to the communities mind is sex. My good friend was friends with her boyfriend for 3 days before it turned into something more. I have friends aplenty here in Kenya, but they are all female friends. I am in desperate need of a friendship where half of it is testosterone. There are times when I just want a guys perspective on things. But lately I have found it difficult since the minute I find a guy who has the potential to be friends, he switches on me and tells me he has feelings for me. I just want a a plain and simple friendship with a guy. Is that too much to ask for? Apparently it is in Kenya.