Would a Clopper by any other name be just as much of a sarcastic smartass? Well the answer to that question is of course yes. But I wanted to run through for you the various names or monikers I have in my village and in the rest of Kenya. I’ll try and give the origins and meanings to them and who uses what. Jason

Interestingly enough very few people call me this besides PCVs and PC staff. Mostly just my family in Sipala and Loitokitok. Although sometimes teachers at my school call me it. Obviously this one was given to me by dear old mom and dad in the states. Clopper

The post office staff call me that. I can’t tell if its because its easier to say or something, or its because a lot of Kenyans sometimes put their “first name” second or what. That one is a family one obviously. Jackson/Jefferson/some other J name

People who have met me once or twice, or I’ve worked with once before who either misheard it or something, I don’t know. Names and messing them up are less important to Kenyans, so I don’t take it personally. Plus those forms are more familiar to them so they naturally hear that when someone says Jason, especially with my weird American accent. Teacher

Students at my school call me that. Its usually not my students, or ones I deal with all that frequently. The ones that know me better or take my ICT class call me… Mwalimu

Which is kiswahili for teacher. I get this from most of my students and some members of the community as I’m walking around. I like it because it kind of makes me feel like just another teacher at the school, and feeling normal around here is difficult when you’re whiter than paper with a big bushy red beard. Wafula

This is my Tachoni name originally given to me by my Tachoni language instructor in pre service training. Still one of my favorites, its used a lot by people in my village, and guys who hang out in the towns I frequent and work in the “transportation industry” aka matatu touts, piki piki drivers, etc. I’m particularly attached to it as it means born during the rainy season, which makes me think of home and family as rain always does. Omutachoni

This is the word for someone of the sub-tribe Tachoni I live with. Some of the guys that hang in my village around the shops in my village call me omutachoni. I was once talking to them in Tachoni which is near identical to Bukusu, and one of them called me omubukusu and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, no sir, I am Tachoni, “Nivere omutachoni.” They thought it was funny, and now they call me Omutachoni when I roll through. Rooney

For those of you who don’t follow the most popular sport in the world Rooney is an English footballer (aka soccer player). Both he and I are white and have a slightly similar hairline, so in Kenyan terms we’re pretty much identical. I get a lot in my neighboring town which is my matatu stop, although I have literally gotten it all across the country. Of course whoever says it thinks they are the cleverest person and noticed it for the first time. I would get annoyed more but he’s one of my favorite players, so I’ll take it. Although when I shave my head and have the goatee I sometimes get called Stone Cold Steve Austin. Mzungu

Still get this one, although much less in my area. Means white person. Super annoying, especially because its usually coupled with annoying, ignorant and immature behavior I’ve detailed before. For a refresher check out Urban Dictionary’s entry for mzungu. Brian or Wekesa

Brian is the name of the closes PCV to me. His Bukusu name is Wekesa. Despite the fact that we look nothing alike and have lived here for a year and a half, we still get mixed up sometimes. I particularly get annoyed in his town, a place I frequent often enough to think I have my own identity, but I still get called “mzungu Brian.” Brian has a lot more patience than me, and a kinder soul, so we have different ways on how we deal with this in our respective sites. We’re pretty sure its what’s led to the difference in attitude in our villages, but who knows. Random “White Names”

Some people shout out random “white names” like John or Peter, honestly as annoying as mzungu or just straight up calling me white man is, I prefer it to the random name thing. Random Western Nationalities

I’ve heard things like “Hey German” or “Englishman” or “Spanish” or “Italian” on multiple occasions in different places. The best I can surmise on this one is they once met someone from one of those countries or something, so now they assume that every white person is that nationality. Being confused for being English at least makes a little sense as I speak English and it was their former colonizer, but the other ones, who knows. The N Word

I’ve been called the N word on more than one occasion. I can’t tell if they think they’re being ironic, cool, or just think it’s a thing westerners say because its in rap. I consider trying to explain to them the hateful origins of that word and everything it symbolizes, and how ignorant and dumb they sound using it, but I know they just wouldn’t get it and don’t bother wasting my time. Sad, but if I let stuff like this get to me I would go nuts. Not that I ever think its appropriate or acceptable to use, someone really needs to teach them to drop the hard R on the end at the very least. Jaw-woo

Lastly, and possibly my new favorite, the smallest resident of our house (not counting the countless critters and pests), little Stacy, I’m pretty sure has begun trying to say my name. On more than a few occasions she started saying jaw-woo when I’m around interacting with her. This has been tricky to confirm, but it seems she only does it around me. Its been awesome getting to hang out with her and it makes me sad that she will probably not remember her white uncle she played with while younger.   And lastly, completely unrelated to the rest of this post, if any of you ever wondered what I would look like with the facial hair of an old timey cowboy, its your lucky day…

So there is no clever theme or well thought out thesis in this post, just a quick here’s what I’ve been up to. I’ve been getting a bit of flack from people (also read my mom and sister) about the lack of any activity here. That’s in large part because I don’t really think of anything here is that exciting or new anymore, but maybe it will be to you. And the things I get excited about are not very exciting to you, I’m guessing. So here goes… Work I’ve been keeping pretty busy, mostly still in my teaching business studies at the high school. I’ve managed to fall into a pretty good rhythm with it, think I have a good handle on the teaching thing, and have made some good relationships with my students. What’s new with that is I’m now also teaching ICT (computers skills) classes at night for a few of my students in our school’s new computer room. The idea behind it is to kind of teach them through ICT other concepts as well like communication, presenting, leadership, etc. A big part of that is the kids in this class will be responsible for planning, preparing and teaching the next class. Also in this class I really stress finding things out themselves or helping each other which is having great results. I’ll find that I’ll let them loose on a project and before I know it an entire hour will have gone by with out me saying anything much because the more advanced kids will be helping the slower learners. Although, that’s a challenge, albeit one I think I’m handling, keeping the advanced ones who may have used computers before challenged while still supporting and going slow enough for those who are still struggling with the double click and whose English is not very strong at all. But all in all I’m really enjoying it and the kids seem to be to. On top of that I’m using the computer lab and projector to help better teach business studies. Since few of these kids have books, and fewer have been to any sizeable towns, conveying certain ideas has been difficult. Imagine class with no pictures or visual aids besides a blackboard. Now imagine teaching the various means of shipping goods and the business ramifications it can have to kids who have never seen, nor have a good idea of exactly what a plane or ship is. So I show pictures and videos of new concepts. I also download current clips from Kenyan news broadcasts on contemporary topics like free trade, inflation, etc. One indication its working: one of my students approached me after class wanting to discuss inflation (something particularly bad in Kenya right now) more, he said “Teacher, this thing of inflation, its really keeping me up at night.” I’m also working with another group in a town a little ways away. It’s a very big organization with lots of smaller groups within it. So far I haven’t done much but I did conduct a training with them on project management. Time permitting, I’ll be able to conduct future trainings on projects of their choosing later. I have a few other things I’m kind of exploring, but I’ll wait to see if anything comes of them before putting them up. Grad School So I just finished another two grad school classes last week. I know I got an A in one (97% in large part to the perfect score on my final paper, which I was pleasantly surprised with) and still waiting for a grade on my paper in the other one. Two more classes to go, wrapping up in mid-December. All that will be left will be my practicum, something I’ve decided to put off until I finish Peace Corps. There is a lot of factors that went into that, but bottom line it will be easier and of more valuable to me to wait until I finish Peace Corps and put my full effort into it. So not able to cap off that Master’s degree until probably next winter. Other News So I took the Foreign Service Officers Test (FSOT) about a month ago and just found out I passed. So, what does that mean. Well there is more or less 4 stages in the application process for becoming a Foreign Service Officer at the US State Department: FSOT > Personal Narratives > QEP > Oral Exam. For more info on the process check out www.State.gov, under Careers I believe. This is pretty exciting because its really what I want to do and if all works out the timing will come down that I won’t have a hug lag time between finishing Peace Corps and (hopefully) the Foreign Service. If it doesn’t work out, no big deal, I’m young, no rush to hop into my career, I go do something for a few years I find interesting and advances my professional aspirations. And lastly… Security Concerns Since I’ve had a few inquiries or people wondering about this I thought I would nip it in the bud right now. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about check BBC, CNN or Al Jazeera for the news on the couple of kidnappings that happened in Kenya and the subsequent advance of Kenyan forces into Southern Somalia, and the occurrence of some “incidents.” I have plenty of opinions and thoughts on this stuff, but frankly I’m sick of talking about it. So here is what matters: I’m safe. My village is far from all that trouble and I’m being smart about what I do. Peace Corps is keeping an eye on the whole thing and taking appropriate precautions and steps to ensuring my, and other volunteer’s safety. So no need to worry. If you want to stay alerted to more immediate and breaking news with regard to Kenya (the international news sites are usually a day behind on most things unless its real big), you can check the Daily Nation at www.nation.co.ke or follow them on Twitter. They seem to be the most immediate and thorough on reporting security incidents. Next time on Lost in Kenya…. I have some more ideas ready to go for blog posts, so sit tight and they should be out in the next few weeks once I get some free time.

Alright I’ve been holding off on this for long enough (Warning: not very well thought out rant ahead)… It’s great everyone has been hearing about the drought and subsequent famine in parts of East Africa and is feeling really bad about it. But where was that compassion and caring as refugee camps all over Africa were filling up the last few decades? Or where was the outrage as aid has been stalled, delayed, skimmed off, or misused due to poor governance and corruption for years? Where was the desire to help as lack of infrastructure, training, and high costs crippled agricultural output for as long as one can remember? These and many other factors have been building and contributed to the current situation. This wasn’t just a disaster out of nowhere, it was a tragedy building for years. To take the moral and empathy card out of it, lets look at costs. When these things come to a head, often with the help of a natural disaster, the costs of rebuilding and aiding others is extremely large. These costs I imagine (my educated guess) would be far less than slow and steady capacity building over time. But its far more satisfying to send a big check to Red Cross or whatever cause of the month when we see the horrific images bombarding us on cable news. So to put the moral and empathy card back in there, we would do far more to help those in need with small donations or other means of support to good grassroots organizations who are truly building people’s capacity on the ground. Let me end this little rant with a picture. Not too long back, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and accompanying tsunami, sprinkled with potentially the worst nuclear disaster, ever. You may have heard about it. The following picture is inspiring. Shortly after this tragedy, the highly educated and historically disciplined and motivated Japanese workforce, got back to it. Empowering people to support themselves, in good times and bad. To me that’s how you battle poverty and underdevelopment.

I once mentioned to a very lovely friend of mine I wanted to read a very obscure book called “High Risk/High Gain” by Alann Weiss. Now when I saw her next low and behold she somehow managed to get a hold of it. How? I’m not sure. Now it has “Lakeside Community Library” stamped on it so I’m assuming she stole it from that particular book depository. More likely she found it second hand on the interwebz, but I enjoy the vision of her in some crazy comical chase scene through the halls of an old dusty library being chased by a librarian that could be described with the same adjectives, too much to cede it to reality. Now High Risk/High Gain is actually about Peace Corps training in the ‘60s in the early, early years of Peace Corps. Back then training was done in Manhattan. So Allen Weiss is preparing for teaching in Nigeria, and having fun coming to terms with the massive and sometimes seemingly bass ackward bureaucracy that is Peace Corps (I say that with all due love). So often I’ve wanted to share quotes from the book, like from almost every other page. For example, “I mean here’s this organization famed for self-reliance but they don’t seem to trust us to find our way into Manhattan without getting lost.” Now I could modify the last part of this statement in so many ways and it would still be true. It’s amazing how so many things are still the same or relatable now. Here is a particular passage I couldn’t help but share. Someone on Peace Corps staff is giving Alan the straight talk about what’s to come, I’ve pared it down a bit: “Guys like you get all fired up and join and nine times out of ten it doesn’t work out the way you thought it would. The Peace Corps is occasionally as exciting as its press releases, in the rainy season we may have to ferry you over the roads in canoes, sure there’s romance, but mostly its simply day-to-day hard grueling work, just putting one foot in front of the other. Oh, we’ve had our smashing successes, a kid in the Philippines saved an entire rice crop, a gang of kids in Pakistan started producing chicks by the thousands in modern hatcheries, these are things you can count, rice saved, chicks hatched, but most of our people just shuffle along, serve our their two years in an unspectacular way, and return to America changed how? in a way we can’t yet say. Nothing much seems to have been done, nothing you can put your finger on, it’s a hell of a thing, and let me tell you, teaching is probably the most unrewarding of the lot.” He then goes on to describe how Peace Corps is proof the US is finally “growing up.” And wraps up with, “This is America living up to its promise. So goddamn you, don’t talk to me about mud huts, your job goes beyond mud huts, beyond mere teaching, your job is to help carry America into the twentieth century. We’re already too far behind… Now what do you say? Are you for us, or agin us?” Hard and unrewarding work that is part of something bigger (we hope)? Same ol’ Peace Corps. Some things never change…

Nice very concise article in the economist about food prices in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular the following passage I found pretty interesting: “Moreover, shortages in Africa are partly caused by inefficient farming, an estimated loss of 40% of produce on the way to market, and the high cost of fuel. And while Africa has more virgin farmland than anywhere else, in some areas good land is scarce. Many families, for instance in western Kenya or northern Ethiopia, have less than the 0.3 hectares (0.74 acres) deemed the minimum for supporting a family. Land title is still often held communally, making it nigh-impossible for farmers to get credits. Women especially find it hard to get property rights, though they often do most of the farm work.” http://www.economist.com/node/18745313 All of these are interesting and apparent where I’m at. To think 40% of produce is lost in transit, its crazy. And then if we could calculate the opportunity cost of farming done inefficiently, it would be staggering. For example, the group I work with had a very bad time with the maize crops it grew last season for a variety of reasons. They ended up harvesting only two standard bags of maize from two acres. One well run acre in this part of Kenya can produce over 50 if done correctly. So 98 bags of hypothetical maize not produced, plus the loss from the renting of the land, the labor, the seeds, the fertilizer, etc. Abdolkarim Soroush, an Iranian scholar, once said, “the greatest dictatorship is that of poverty and ignorance.” I couldn’t agree more.

Here is a rundown of a fairly light day. I just picked a random day last week and recorded how it went. Just a little bit of teaching and hanging out. 12:36 AM – Awake to hear my sister screaming, I think there was a bat in the hallway 8:10 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 8:20 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 8:30 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 8:40 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 8:50 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 9:00 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 9:10 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 9:20 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Hit snooze button. 9:30 AM – Awake to the sound of my alarm. Bucket bath. Get dressed and ready. 10:00 AM – Check emails, Facebook, and discussion boards for grad school. 10:10 AM – Look over what I’m teaching today. Grade some papers. 11:00 AM – Stop by faculty lounge. Say hi to a few teachers. Grab chai and a Blue Band sandwich. 11:10 AM – First lesson of the day. Form 2. Its a double, meaning two 40 minute blocks. Discussing different means of transportation and how they relate to business and shipping of goods. Get in to a discussion later in the class about travelling to and from America, and then travelling in America. The kids are more responsive and active today than normal. 12:30 PM – Second lesson. Form 4. Go over various documents used in international trade. Extremely boring topic. The kids (and I am) pretty bored. At least one was dazing off. Got better as we started to move into international financial institutions. Introduced the IMF to them. Realized I’m probably the first person to talk to them about it. I remember the various classes I learned about it in and how each one introduced it in a different light, some good, some bad, some objective. Made me think about how I talk about it. 1:10 PM – Talked with the other Business Studies teacher about classes and told her I would bring her some material on fish ponds to help with her fish pond. 1:15 PM – Got back home, made myself pasta with some marinara sauce I picked up in Kisumu the weekend before. 2:00 PM – Walked a few kilometers to the main road to get a matatu to town (Webuye). Waited for a bit before one with room came by. Trip cost 30 Kenyan shillings or ksh (under 50 cents). 2:45 PM – Got to town. Checked PO box for mail. One letter from a high school friend,  an invite to her marriage (congrats Erin and Skip). Got a 5 pack of Indomie instant noodles (Indian top ramen, 90 ksh), some Cadbury chocolate with caramel (125 ksh), and credit for my phone (500 ksh). Got in a matatu to go back, it took 45 minutes to get loaded up before leaving. 4:30 - PM Got off in the small market center of Lugulu. Ride cost 40 ksh. Walked a few kilometers home. 5:00 PM - Graded more papers. While watching the Office on my computer. 6:00 PM – Did some reading on online dispute resolution and culture for grad school. 7:00 PM – Dinner prepared by my sisters. Pasta and some beef stew. Ate it while watching translated Mexican soap opera with the family. Was also reading my Economist. 8:00 PM – Alternated between solitaire on the computer, watching the office, grad school work, and grading papers for a bit. 12:00 PM Finally went to sleep.

One Year. Twelve Months. 365 Days. That’s how long its been since I started this… this…. thing. I’m not sure what to call it. Adventure doesn’t sound right since sometimes I’m as bored as I’ve ever been in my life. Job isn’t right because, well its not enough work and not enough pay. Trip isn’t right because that’s too temporary. Well whatever you want to call it, I’ve been doing it for a year. What have I done in that year? Well, funny you should ask. Here’s a list of some of the highlights. Learned a little bit of some new languages Today’s Lesson: Dealing with matatu touts, street children, and bothersome prostitutes. Through 8 weeks of pre service training I received a little bit of Kiswahili training and Olutachoni (a rare Luhya dialect). One of my favorite phrases, one I used in my language test translates to “You’re a thief.” As my language instructor looked at me confused, I simply explained in Olutachoni, “Because you stole my heart.” Passed it. Touched a lion This one is pretty self explanatory, and awesome. The one in the picture is the lady lion, a lioness, she was pretty chill. The male who looked liked Scar from the Lion King was not as nice. Nearly took my friends finger off when he tried to touch his paw. Probably still pissed over losing his throne to Simba. Got a tribal name I don’t have a picture for this one. My name, if you ask most of the people in my village is Wafula. Its pronounced wa-foo-la. It means born during the rainy times. Considering I call what is known as one of the most rainy regions of the US home, I find it very fitting. Wherever I am in the world, rain makes me feel at home. I fixed a computer The first tangible thing I did at site. After some testing and scrounging and cannibalizing some of the broken computers at the village primary school, I got one working that hadn’t been in years. I even got their printer working too, which promptly broke the next day. C’est la vie, or perhaps c’est la Africa. Taught some classes Probably my most easily recognizable contribution to my village, I’ve been teaching. I teach a subject called “Business Studies,” which is kind of an amalgamation (see, I am a teacher, I use unnecessarily big words) of what we call Accounting, Finance, Economics, and Business Administration. I teach what is called Form 2, Form 3, and Form 4. That would be Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors in high school. But since kids have to pay school fees, which means they may start late, or take breaks when their families can’t pay, the ages may be way different. Just taught you something. Bam, teachered. Taught some kids some new greetings Sick of hearing “How are you?” all the time as the only greeting. I made a point to teach my kids other ways of saying hi. When I got back from being away once, one of my students saw me and very quickly and naturally said, “What’s up?” Teachered. Taught some guys how to make websites The guys who teach at the local computer skills center asked for some help on how to design websites. I had a whole legit presentation and everything. I mean I taught them real HTML code and stuff. Teachered. Learned monkeys are jerks They look so cute right? Like they would be great little friends or butlers right? Wrong. They steal food, block traffic, make loud noises at night. Generally, they are jerks. Got my group’s fish pond project back on track Through some poking and prodding and asking about our fish pond. I got my CBO to start feeding the fish, something we hadn’t been doing before my arrival. Since now we had someone going to the pond daily, we found out there were some young guys stealing our fish. We then built a fence. We are now paying a lot more attention to the pond, and this next go I think we’ll be having much higher yields. Swam in the Indian Ocean Another pretty self explanatory one. Part of my awesome trip to the Kenyan coast. I’ve now swam in three of the world’s oceans. Expanded my cooking repertoire Previously I had a few things I could cook pretty well, but now I can cook many more and from scratch. This includes many Kenyan foods and baked goods too. Camped in an equatorial rainforest For my 24th birthday, I spent the weekend with 5 of my best friends camped out in the Kakamega rainforest. We hiked around, had some drinks, swam in a waterfall, saw some wildlife and generally had a good time. Went back to school I’m back in school, not just as a teacher. As mentioned in earlier posts, I’m working on my Master’s. So about the time I wrap up Peace Corps I’ll have a MS in International Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from Creighton University. Was accepted into an awesome Kenyan family, twice So I have been extremely fortunate with the families I’ve stayed with. My family in Loitokitok was amazingly welcoming. I spent many hours watching football with my baba and cooking with my mama. Then I got lucky again and am now staying with another amazing family in Sipala. I love witnessing parallel conversations that I’ve seen my American family have like arguments over American Idol/Tusker Project Fame, or So You Think You Can Dance/Sakata, or seeing the patriarch picked on by the girls of the family. I am truly lucky, lightening struck twice for me. Lost 40 pounds From this…   To this… Makes not having all my favorite foods and delicious treats more bearable knowing its made me drop a fifth of my body weight. Excerpt from a recent text from my host family little sister in Loitokitok, “I am praying for you to gain some weight.” Yeah, eating less and walking a lot more have made a huge difference for me. My Sounders jersey that used to be a bit snug, is now actually a bit loose. Screw any diet fad, join the Peace Corps. Now if I could just get a tan. Made Amazing Friends   To me what I’m the happiest about, what has meant the most so far, is the amazing friendships I’ve made. Without these people, I would go insane. Well more so.   Here’s to 14 more months. Lots more to do.

I just miss being around for awesome stuff like this… I miss game day in the Emerald city, a lot. And I just love that cartoon of Levesque. Wish I could have seen Timber’s fans faces when it went up. They hate that guy for the same reasons we love him. All hail the ‘stache. Ugh… 14 months to go.

Well I’ve been in this little country on the edge of eastern Africa for almost a year now (I have a good post lined up for that milestone), but I realized I haven’t spent much time telling anyone about Kenya. Since that is technically part of my job, I thought I would take the time to do just that. I do want to make it clear first off though that this is a mix of some facts and my opinions. My opinions only. Not Americans’. Not Peace Corps Volunteers’. Not white peoples’. Mine and mine alone (although I’m sure I’m not the only one that holds some of them). They are mostly based on my narrow experience. Where things are facts, I’ll do my best to back them up. Also, I’m going to purposefully avoid certain issues that could compromise my work, I’m not qualified to speak about, or I’m wasn’t around for. For example, controversial stuff, specific people, the government, 2007 post-election, etc. Again, this whole thing is just my opinion based on my experiences. (That was a good CYA, right? My first disclaimer so go easy.) The Good Kenya is gorgeous

No doubt about it. There is a reason why many people from all over the world make trips out to see the Masai Mara, Tsavo, Mt. Kenya, the Great Rift Valley, etc. From a beautiful coast, to amazing mountains, plains, rain forests, deserts and the rest. I like to jokingly say this is where they shot The Lion King. But even the parts that don’t look like what you expect of “Africa,” they are still striking, with lakes and green hills. You even can peek at Mt. Kilimanjaro, just on the other side of the border in Tanzania. There are some really fun places in Kenya

So besides the usual “safaris” to be had, there are some cool places to hang out and have fun. While certainly Mombasa is well known as one, even its more laidback lakeside cousin Kisumu is good times and a favorite weekend getaway of PCVs and NGO workers out west. And let me tell you about Diani Beach, now that’s a good time (I’m super jealous of the PCV stationed a short matatu ride from it). Not to mention if you throw a rock in any direction and you’re bound to hit some cool place to go camping, hiking, snorkeling, or go on some sort of adventure. Community Life

There is definitely a much deeper sense of community and connection to your neighbors and people around you here. I’m sure part of that is a lot of the time your neighbors are related to you, but even more so that people lean on each other and look out for each other here. Everyone knows your name and where you live, gives you hand occasionally. The matatu conductors and touts know where I’m going. The restaurants and pubs know me and know what I like. Village livin’ definitely has its upside. There are some great people

There are some amazingly welcoming and friendly people here. People who care about their community and work to better it, often with no benefit to themselves. I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with many of them and the greater privilege of living with two amazing families here. There is a flip side to this though… The Bad There are some terrible people

I’ll jump right into it, some people here suck. From corruption, to tribalism, to just being bad people, they’re around. Being foreign means you get constantly bugged. This ranges from people just wanting to say hi, to asking for money, to trying to rob or rip you off. On an average day I get called “mzungu” what essentially means white person (not the original meaning of the word) like a dozen times a day, by random people, and that’s on a good day. If you’re white, or really non-African, and you plan on coming to Kenya, forget any semblance of anonymity when you get out of Nairobi. One of the worst examples is that some people will just yell things like "ching chong chang” at anyone of Asian descent. Ignorance and immaturity abound. Many people use whatever leverage or power they have to rip off their government, community or whoever they can. The worst part is that these people overshadow and distract from the many nice, polite, honest and hard working Kenyans. Transportation

Oh man, let me tell you, getting around here sucks. Getting from Webuye to Kisumu, something like 60 km can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. Being crammed into a matatu is no fun, especially if you have a middle seat or no seat at all (although I will admit you get used to it and it becomes normal fast). And that’s just talking about comfort, safety is a whole ‘nother ball game (Mom, don’t read the rest of the next few paragraphs). Any long trip I always see several tipped over trucks. I’ve witnessed some horrific motorcycle accidents, and twice now when I’ve been on a train, we were stopped for hours while they cleared a tipped over train down the track. This leads me into my next section… Safety

Or lack thereof. Now I will say this, I rarely actually feel unsafe. This is due to both the fact that if you use common sense, and this is anywhere in the world, your risks drop significantly, and my sense of normal and danger has been changed a bit. So yeah, my two biggest pieces of advice for surviving abroad: don’t be an idiot and suck it up. So besides the roads of Kenya being fairly perilous, crime can be bad here. I’ve been lucky enough to avoid any (besides one brush with it), but some of my friends have not been so lucky. This has included one having their house being cleaned out and another being robbed with a machete to the throat. They fly the volunteers up north to their sites because its cheaper than hiring an armed escort. Again, I want to emphasize I really never feel unsafe, despite all of this. I just wanted to point out that things can go wrong here, and they when they do, it can be bad. The only times I actually felt at all truly unsafe were at night on the streets of… Nairobi

Or also known as Nairobbery. The name is fairly fitting. While I’ve never been robbed there, I did have my credit card info jacked (Thank you Visa for catching that as fast as you did, “No I did not buy sneakers in Nairobi for $3000.”). So besides the fact that this city is super shady, I also hate the ever so apparent inequality. The shanty towns across from the super expensive mall. The local workers cooking small traditional meals on the outside of the 20 foot high fences around the fancy and expensive houses. Now I say this as a total hypocrite who will walk by glue kids and into the fancy restaurant to spend what amounts to about ten days wages for an average rural Kenyan on a meal. Still when you ride the train into Nairobi and pass through Kibera (a massive slum) then go to a place like Village Market (a luxury mall complete with water park), its hard to believe they exist in the same world let alone the same town. This takes me to… The Ugly Poverty

Widespread and deep, with almost half the population living below the poverty line. Half. That’s every other person. Its like when you used to split up class in elementary school by having people count off, 1-2-1-2-1-2… except its 40 million people and the 2s live off less than $2 a day. I’m not going to talk more about this, because I have no way to really convey it. I studied Political Science and Economics in college and constantly read about development and poverty, but hearing all those stats and numbers never really gets through. Seeing large families live in tin shacks or mud huts and be happy they have that much can’t be summed up in some batch of numbers. Health

Sadly there are many health problems in Kenya. This includes HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, malnutrition, worms, etc. Even the cheapest of medical treatment for what should be quick fixes, can turn into the toughest of decisions for poor families. Take this child to the hospital, or feed all our children for a few days. Again, words on a computer screen can’t sum this up.   So yeah, there is a little bit of my take on Kenya. Now again, this is a country with 40 million people, many different tribes, a deep and rich history, unique and complicated with its own challenges and triumphs. I don’t want any misinterpretation of this post as some sort of judgment of this country or its people (well, most of them) that I’m still working to get to know. Every country has plenty of things to complain about, and plenty of things to celebrate. The important part is not letting us define things that are so complicated, like a country, culture or people, by one dimension. Now if you would excuse me, there is a giant bug in my room I have to go kill.

Well I’ve been in this little country on the edge of eastern Africa for almost a year now (I have a good post lined up for that milestone), but I realized I haven’t spent much time telling anyone about Kenya. Since that is technically part of my job, I thought I would take the time to do just that. I do want to make it clear first off though that this is a mix of some facts and my opinions. My opinions only. Not Americans’. Not Peace Corps Volunteers’. Not white peoples’. Mine and mine alone (although I’m sure I’m not the only one that holds some of them). They are mostly based on my narrow experience. Where things are facts, I’ll do my best to back them up. Also, I’m going to purposefully avoid certain issues that could compromise my work, I’m not qualified to speak about, or I’m wasn’t around for. For example, controversial stuff, specific people, the government, 2007 post-election, etc. Again, this whole thing is just my opinion based on my experiences. (That was a good CYA, right? My first disclaimer so go easy.) The Good Kenya is gorgeous

No doubt about it. There is a reason why many people from all over the world make trips out to see the Masai Mara, Tsavo, Mt. Kenya, the Great Rift Valley, etc. From a beautiful coast, to amazing mountains, plains, rain forests, deserts and the rest. I like to jokingly say this is where they shot The Lion King. But even the parts that don’t look like what you expect of “Africa,” they are still striking, with lakes and green hills. You even can peek at Mt. Kilimanjaro, just on the other side of the border in Tanzania. There are some really fun places in Kenya

So besides the usual “safaris” to be had, there are some cool places to hang out and have fun. While certainly Mombasa is well known as one, even its more laidback lakeside cousin Kisumu is good times and a favorite weekend getaway of PCVs and NGO workers out west. And let me tell you about Diani Beach, now that’s a good time (I’m super jealous of the PCV stationed a short matatu ride from it). Not to mention if you throw a rock in any direction and you’re bound to hit some cool place to go camping, hiking, snorkeling, or go on some sort of adventure. Community Life

There is definitely a much deeper sense of community and connection to your neighbors and people around you here. I’m sure part of that is a lot of the time your neighbors are related to you, but even more so that people lean on each other and look out for each other here. Everyone knows your name and where you live, gives you hand occasionally. The matatu conductors and touts know where I’m going. The restaurants and pubs know me and know what I like. Village livin’ definitely has its upside. There are some great people

There are some amazingly welcoming and friendly people here. People who care about their community and work to better it, often with no benefit to themselves. I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with many of them and the greater privilege of living with two amazing families here. There is a flip side to this though… The Bad There are some terrible people

I’ll jump right into it, some people here suck. From corruption, to tribalism, to just being bad people, they’re around. Being foreign means you get constantly bugged. This ranges from people just wanting to say hi, to asking for money, to trying to rob or rip you off. On an average day I get called “mzungu” what essentially means white person (not the original meaning of the word) like a dozen times a day, by random people, and that’s on a good day. If you’re white, or really non-African, and you plan on coming to Kenya, forget any semblance of anonymity when you get out of Nairobi. One of the worst examples is that some people will just yell things like "ching chong chang” at anyone of Asian descent. Ignorance and immaturity abound. Many people use whatever leverage or power they have to rip off their government, community or whoever they can. The worst part is that these people overshadow and distract from the many nice, polite, honest and hard working Kenyans. Transportation

Oh man, let me tell you, getting around here sucks. Getting from Webuye to Kisumu, something like 60 km can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. Being crammed into a matatu is no fun, especially if you have a middle seat or no seat at all (although I will admit you get used to it and it becomes normal fast). And that’s just talking about comfort, safety is a whole ‘nother ball game (Mom, don’t read the rest of the next few paragraphs). Any long trip I always see several tipped over trucks. I’ve witnessed some horrific motorcycle accidents, and twice now when I’ve been on a train, we were stopped for hours while they cleared a tipped over train down the track. This leads me into my next section… Safety

Or lack thereof. Now I will say this, I rarely actually feel unsafe. This is due to both the fact that if you use common sense, and this is anywhere in the world, your risks drop significantly, and my sense of normal and danger has been changed a bit. So yeah, my two biggest pieces of advice for surviving abroad: don’t be an idiot and suck it up. So besides the roads of Kenya being fairly perilous, crime can be bad here. I’ve been lucky enough to avoid any (besides one brush with it), but some of my friends have not been so lucky. This has included one having their house being cleaned out and another being robbed with a machete to the throat. They fly the volunteers up north to their sites because its cheaper than hiring an armed escort. Again, I want to emphasize I really never feel unsafe, despite all of this. I just wanted to point out that things can go wrong here, and they when they do, it can be bad. The only times I actually felt at all truly unsafe were at night on the streets of… Nairobi

Or also known as Nairobbery. The name is fairly fitting. While I’ve never been robbed there, I did have my credit card info jacked (Thank you Visa for catching that as fast as you did, “No I did not buy sneakers in Nairobi for $3000.”). So besides the fact that this city is super shady, I also hate the ever so apparent inequality. The shanty towns across from the super expensive mall. The local workers cooking small traditional meals on the outside of the 20 foot high fences around the fancy and expensive houses. Now I say this as a total hypocrite who will walk by glue kids and into the fancy restaurant to spend what amounts to about ten days wages for an average rural Kenyan on a meal. Still when you ride the train into Nairobi and pass through Kibera (a massive slum) then go to a place like Village Market (a luxury mall complete with water park), its hard to believe they exist in the same world let alone the same town. This takes me to… The Ugly Poverty

Widespread and deep, with almost half the population living below the poverty line. Half. That’s every other person. Its like when you used to split up class in elementary school by having people count off, 1-2-1-2-1-2… except its 40 million people and the 2s live off less than $2 a day. I’m not going to talk more about this, because I have no way to really convey it. I studied Political Science and Economics in college and constantly read about development and poverty, but hearing all those stats and numbers never really gets through. Seeing large families live in tin shacks or mud huts and be happy they have that much can’t be summed up in some batch of numbers. Health

Sadly there are many health problems in Kenya. This includes HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, malnutrition, worms, etc. Even the cheapest of medical treatment for what should be quick fixes, can turn into the toughest of decisions for poor families. Take this child to the hospital, or feed all our children for a few days. Again, words on a computer screen can’t sum this up.   So yeah, there is a little bit of my take on Kenya. Now again, this is a country with 40 million people, many different tribes, a deep and rich history, unique and complicated with its own challenges and triumphs. I don’t want any misinterpretation of this post as some sort of judgment of this country or its people (well, most of them) that I’m still working to get to know. Every country has plenty of things to complain about, and plenty of things to celebrate. The important part is not letting us define things that are so complicated, like a country, culture or people, by one dimension. Now if you would excuse me, there is a giant bug in my room I have to go kill.

I’m walking up to the ticket gate at Qwest field for the Sounders season opener, wearing my retro NASL Sounders hat.

Ticket lady, “Nice hat.”

Me, “Thanks.”

Ticket lady, “Repping the 206.”

Me, “Always.”

It felt good to be home. A word to the wise this will be more of a touchy-feely personal post than normal. Talking about me spending in time for the most part wouldn’t be that interesting, but I figure possible future volunteers might be interested in what going home after be out here feels like. Home

The familiarity and comfort of family and friends is great. Its amazing how 10 months later you can fall into the same rhythm with people, places, food, etc. In one way nothing had changed, it was like slipping right back into things. But while that feeling of home was there, it wasn’t quite there. I described it to people as that life feeling like vacation, and my Peace Corps life was “real life.” But that’s an oversimplification, and after some more thought I was able to nail it down. I know for me, what I want to do with the rest of my life isn’t going to take me back to the Northwest permanently. I also know the life I had before I left I will never really have again, even if I went back there and started living like I never left. I realized the way I think about home and that life, isn’t homesickness, its nostalgia. That love and longing for something I’ll never really have again. Which is fine, I will still have great times with my old friends, my family will always be amazing, and the Northwest will always be home. What more could I want. I realized I like to live my life on the move and never settling down, its how I thrive. That isn’t stopping anytime soon. Ups and Downs

Whenever I get the question, “How is Peace Corps?” or “How is Kenya?” I always respond with “You know, not bad, ups and downs.” Which is true. I had another friend who got back from the US at about the time I was leaving and said that she found herself talking about mostly the good things. For whatever reason I didn’t find myself doing the same. I eventually found myself talking more and more about things I don’t like. When I say we have ups and downs I really mean it, but I thought I was in an up before I left. Maybe I just needed to vent, who knows. It sort of came to a head when I met with someone who was coming to PC Kenya in the summer. After awhile he asked me something along the line of “wow, does it ever get good?” I then went on to explain all the awesome stuff. It kind of shook me out of it, and in the end he was pretty physced about getting out here too. I think being put outside of the experience was a good way to come back to my sort of equilibrium. I’m back to being content, not ecstatic, not miserable, just living life as I know it now. And now I’m back and starting to expand what I’m doing. But more on that later. In sum, America=Awesome, but not my life anymore. At least not right now.

As mentioned in previous posts, I'm in an online Masters program from Creighton University in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution. It requires I go all the way from my small African village to a small American village known as Omaha, Nebraska. I joke. Turns out Omaha is a pretty nice place. Here's the tale of my adventure to a strange land, my home, the United States of America.

Leaving KenyaSo after crossing half of Kenya (about a 7 hour trip), I stayed a night in Nairobi. The next day I headed off to the Nairobi Airport. As the taxi pulls into the international section I'm struck by the fact that there is no sign for departures, just arrivals. Slightly worrisome, since I did in fact want to depart. Well there in the area marked “Arrivals” is the area for departures. I walk in and kind of wander up and down the not particularly long counter of airlines and quickly realize there is no counter for Emirates, the airline I'm flying with. Again, a bit disconcerting. I ask and am told they will start checking in at 1 PM. I take a seat and settle in. I watch as they essentially set up the Emirates check in desk around 1 PM. I feel better. I should mention, to even get into this gate area you have to go through a security gate. I mention this because after I'm inside, passed through exit customs and buy a water in the duty free, which they then seal in a duty free bag, I find I have to pass through another security where they without saying anything to me throw out my double sealed water bottle I just bought. As I watch others who have liquor and water in their duty free bag pass through without having it confiscated, I ask why mine was. No answer. They then hold my bag. And are talking about it and me in swahili. I ask in both english and swahili if there is a problem. No answer. Eventually they hand me my bag with no explanation of why they held it for a few minutes, not actually opening it, just curiously looking at the x-ray. I move in to waiting room number 2. I dust off my Chinese to talk with a few Chinese businessmen fresh off safari, and eventually everyone loads up onto the plane. 5 hours, 2,211 miles and one pretty good dinner later, I'm in Dubai.

DubaiFlying into Dubai is pretty great. Amazing skyline and all the cool man made islands are visible even at night. The Dubai airport is nuts. The terminal has a big fancy expensive mall/duty free/food court area. It runs the length of the terminal. It also has a hotel and some really nice restaurants/lounges IN the terminal. After walking around and reminding myself I'm a poor Peace Corp Volunteer, I went and sat down at the waiting area for my gate. A few hours later I get on my plane headed for JFK. 14 hours, 6000+ miles, a great second dinner, good breakfast, all next to a squirming, annoying little child, I land in the US of A.

JFK to EppleyI found that the second I stepped off the plane and new I was in America I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Without me thinking about it, it popped up and wouldn't go away. So I hand my passport to the first US customs guy and he give it a good hard look as he has with all of the other US citizens coming home, and looks up at me, then the passport then me, “Wow Jason, looks like you've lost a lot of weight.” Thanks CBP agent, I have. I hop a cab to Laguardia. While waiting for my next flight I chow down on some pretzel dogs from Auntie Anne's. I was so, so, so happy. The next two flights go by like nothing and I touch down in Omaha. A few more hours and 1200+ more miles if anyone was curious.

OmahaAs any of my friends from the mid-west can tell you, I poke some fun at the area. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by Omaha. It has a very pleasant downtown area also called Old Market. I also was welcomed into the Mathew home by the parents of one of my very good friends Paige. Joe and Linda Mathew treated me to a great dinner and some lovely gifts. It was a very nice welcome to Nebraska. It was pretty great to meet all my fellow students and current and future professors. We were finally able to put faces to names (and discussion forum posts). I'm always amazed at how quickly people going through a common experience bond, no matter their backgrounds. This week was no different. I already feel extremely close to my classmates and we were all sad to say goodbye. I am really excited about the next residency and seeing everyone again. So now I sit in the Omaha airport waiting for the pair of flights that will take me to all the familiar places, friends and family in the Emerald City.

General notes or observations or realizations that I've come to after traveling back to America-America is amazing-Emirates airlines is great-Embassy Suites is baller-Bacon cheese burgers are beyond fantastic-I'm pretty sure I've already gained some weight back, no joke (by the way 40 lbs was the official weight loss count before coming back)-I have developed an inherent distrust of tap water (I know its perfectly safe to drink here, but I have such ingrained instincts now that I'm very hesitant)-I used to hate flying, but now, I'm very used to it-Adjusting back to America was so much easier than I thought it would be-Flying internationally and stuff you're around a lot of “global citizens” and “international” people. I'm starting to realize I'm becoming one of them. I like it.

Next week on Lost in Kenya.....Americaland (Part II): Jason returns to the Emerald City

Just to let everyone know, I will be in the US for two weeks in about a month. I have a graduate school thing in Omaha from the 8th to the 12th and will be in Seattle from the 13th to the 21st. So if you want to hang out, please let me know. My US number will be active again when I get back.

For the first time in a long time, I'm looking at my schedule for the next week and realizing I'll be fairly busy (with work stuff, not just fun stuff). Here's what I've managed to find to keep my schedule busy.

Teaching

Starting tomorrow I will be teaching at Sipala Friends Boys High School (Sipala High). I will be teaching business studies to Form 2 and 3 students. That's the equivalent to Sophomores and Juniors at a high school in the states. Although age wise, it can vary greatly from the US depending on when the students started school, or if they ever had to stop (say because they didn't have money to pay school fees one year).

Business studies is an interesting heading for which a variety of topics fall under. It includes what we know as: Economics, accounting, business, and a few other things tossed in there. There is a fairly specific syllabus to follow. So tomorrow I'll be explaining to Form 2s how and what a partnership is (they are going through business types like sole proprietorship, cooperative, etc) and later in the week I'll be getting to into Supply and Demand with the Form 3s.

Training

On Saturday I'm meeting with two young guys who work as teachers at the Webuye Youth Empowerment Center doing computer skills training. I'm gonna be working with them to teach them the basics of web design and building websites.

Grad SchoolFor those of you who don't know, I'm back in school in more than one way. Teaching high school and working on my MS in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution online through Creighton University. Timing should work out I wrap up this as I'm wrapping up my service here.

Proposal Writing

I'm working on a funding proposal to build a computer lab at Sipala high. I'll share more details on that down the road.

So yeah, that's what I'm up to. On top of this stuff I'm still working with my CBO on the various projects they have going on, its just not all that time consuming.

FDR had his war against totalitarianism.

JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan and others had the war against communism.

Bush had the war on terrorism.

I have mine against pestism. At approximately 11:45 PM last night, the first shots of my war began. Their had been minor border incursions previously. The odd ant line on my wall, a praying mantis in my mosquito net, a giant beetle on the ground, and the buzzing of a mosquito here and there. But last night it became a full fledged conflict. While most of the pests out there would make the occasional attempt to penetrate the confines of my room, some successful, some not, the cockroaches and I had an understanding. They would hang around the bathroom at night, and I would just avoid them, and they would stay out of my room. Live and let live. That uneasy truce was broken unilaterally by them. As I awoke to the sound of rustling just outside my heavily fortified bed and mosquito net. Normally I would have ignored it, but I kind of needed to use the restroom anyways, so I thought I would check it out. I get up and flip on the light and I see the raiding party of cockroaches scrambling for hiding spots. They were raiding a stash of my food (luckily the good stuff is in a secure bucket). One even had the audacity to hide in an open pocket of my toiletry bag. He paid for that boldness with his life. I then in my subsequent trip to the restroom found a whole batch of cockroaches, no doubt preparing for more raids. And so it began. The next day I purchased some bug spray and got busy getting rid of any trash, locking up unsecured food and spraying any entrances to my room. In my cleaning I found a swarm ants near around my garbage. Clearly the ants and cockroaches are joining forces for day and night attacks. Well my Doom (Kenyan bug spray) made quick work of them. I’m not alone in my fight either. I have allies. The quick and stealthy lizards who travel through cracks in the wall. They have joined me in this fight. I believe the small one I found in my bed was a messenger sent to arrange the terms of our alliance. I can see one such brave soldier now, dutifully patrolling the window sill. And my past enemies, the spiders, are now trusted friends in the face of this new threat. They long occupied the corners of my room, too numerous to bother trying to dispatch. However, they now have given me a signal to show they are on my side. One of the cockroaches who met the underside of my shoe last night, who I had pushed into a corner to deal with later, was strung up in a web, half eaten, being presented by a massive spider to me. Clearly a gesture the spiders want to past grievances behind them, and unite. My bed, being raised off the ground and with a mosquito net tucked under the mattress is heavily fortified and secure. But the rest of my room is sadly unprotected and I fear may be the site of future battles. But armed with bug spray and shoe, I will take back this land, I will make it safe, not just for me, but for my stuff, and the stuff I may one day have.

For a little R & R I went travelling across Kenya to spend a little time in Nairobi, Loitokitok and up and down the coast. It was an interesting trip that I thoroughly enjoyed. Although it was funny in how it managed to both highlight the typical and atypical things in Kenya. Nairobi

So I set off a day early than most of those I was travelling with to deal with a broken seal on one of my teeth. I’ve been in and out of Nairobi so many times in the last few months I’m getting pretty used to the 8-9 hour bus trip. Oddly enough I run into another American on the bus this time. A pastor from Oregon who was doing some travelling/volunteering. We both thought it was pretty interesting that we were the only foreigners for hundreds of kilometers and we both happened to be born in the same town, Portland. Nairobi was fairly routine. Dentist visit took 30 minutes or so and had some good food. A good number of my friends from my training class were in town either to travel with me or had their other travel plans that started there. Our class has garnered the reputation of being the party class. Wish I could argue with that, but its well deserved. Not that we don’t know our stuff or don’t do our jobs, but we know how to have a good time too. We figure the other volunteers are just jealous. Well, our last night in Nairobi we made a trip to a place that has sounded too good to be true. Its a mall called Village Market. It sports an impressive array of nice stores and a up scale food court complete with mini-waterfall and river cutting through the whole thing. The parts that really grabbed our attention though were the pool hall, bowling alley, water park, and mini-golf. Not that I’m particularly a big bowler, it was nice to do something we might do back state side. So that’s how that night started, and I’ll leave out the details but the rest of the night included dancing and a few adult beverages. Suffice it to say, some of us were a little slow to rise the next morning. Loitokitok

So while some of were still in recovery mode, a group of 6 of us decided it made sense to just rent one of the matatus headed to Loitokitok. It took a little wrangling at the stage and some bad kiswahili (and even some bad kismasai from Megan) but we worked it out. So with some extra leg room we left Nairobi. I sat up front with our driver who was a nice chap, with what I thought was quite an interesting hat, it was essentially a green trucker hat that said “Northwest Fresh” on it. I pictured it on the head of some grocer working in one of the Pacific Northwest’s supermarket’s produce sections. It was quite funny as we all called our families as we got close and were all met or picked up at the stage in town. I felt like we were coming back from summer camp or something. While originally I was thinking as this stop as a duty or responsibility owed to the family that hosted me, I quickly realized how wrong I was. I felt instantly comfortable and felt like I had returned home. Shortly after settling in I sent Brian a text saying, “Feels good to be back home.” He heartily agreed. I got the necessary scolding for losing too much weight and not staying for long enough. Then spent some quality time catching up with the family and cooking with my mama and sister. My mama insisted on doing my laundry despite my protests. But she sure can make my Adidas bright white. They always look brand new when she’s through with them. I even spent some time with the extended family. My cousin Edwin (whose actually the “brother” of another volunteer) took me hiking around the forest. He took me up near the border with Tanzania where we got to see some motorcyclists smuggling stuff through the forest to avoid customs. My uncle also took me a long hike up to the village him and my mama are from to see the compound where they grew up and meet their father, a hardworking over 80 years old man. The village where we were was only accessible by foot or motorcycle. It was pretty interesting. One last cooking session with my mama and sister and the next morning we were off.   Coast

Another 8 hours or so of bus travelling and we made it to Mombasa. We stayed that night at what was definitely the most casual hostel I’ve ever been to. It was more like some guys had just started letting people stay at their place and charge them a few shillings. It was a pretty cool atmosphere though. Me and few ladies decided to go out for drinks and dancing which was pretty standard, although they had draft beer which was a nice surprise, even if it was just Tusker. The real excitement came when the cab driver on the way home tried to, well I’m not exactly sure what he was trying to do, but I think he was trying to make it seem like we stole his phones and extort us by threatening to take us to the police. Being in this country long enough, none of us in the cab took very kindly to it. After screaming at him for a bit (the contents of which my friends would be happy to share with you), we got back to the hostel and sent him on his thieving way. The next morning about a dozen of us piled into a matatu rented out to take us to One Love Island up north of Malindi. En route we were stopped by 4 or 5 police road blocks and only extorted for bribes by 2 of them. Luckily we didn’t pay, not that we would have been willing to be, but the drivers and guy organizing the island stay footed that bill. After about 4 or 5 hours by matatu and a quick canoe ride we made it to our own private island. One Love Island is a small island that you can camp out on. It was originally helped to be set up by a PCV. If you can’t be at home with family for Christmas, why not be on private island with friends. We were provided with great seafood cooked by the, we’ll say “manager” of the island’s mother. Two nights there, swimming in the Indian ocean and fooling around on the beach. It was quite nice. We then made a trek back down to and through Mombasa, to a little place called Diani beach. Diani was a blur of beaches, dancing all night every night, swimming, snorkeling, and big “family” dinners. Brian and I were the only ones staying some place nice. We had a nice little apartment to ourselves, while everyone else decided to camp. So we played host to about 10-15 people every night. We had BBQ night, Mexican night, and pasta night. We also let people nap at our place almost daily since we had fans above our beds. New Years was spent at a beach bar called 40 Thieves. It flew in some really great South African DJs and set up for a long party. I was one of the few that made it to sun rise. My main motivation being to take a matatu back to the apartment (30 shillings) rather than a cab (500 shillings). I told my dad due to all the dancing this week I was finally convinced I was his son. So after a nice (and towards the end a bit pricey) vacation, Brian and I decided to take the train back west. That was an adventure in of itself. It was nice to be able to sleep in a bed for most of the ride (and have the option to order cold beers), but it was still a distinctly Kenyan experience. There were two toilets, one western and one a choo. Essentially they were both still just holes in the floor. Additionally, the first train to Nairobi was supposed to take 14 hours, but due to another train on the same track further ahead derailing, we were delayed some six hours. Yup, another train literally derailed further down the track. The Nairobi to Kisumu train was much more uneventful. Then once in Kisumu, we hopped on a matatu north to Webuye. So there it is, one from side of the country to the other. From fancy malls, to secluded villages, from private islands to crowded beach bars. My first Kenyan vacation. Oh and I didn’t take much pictures but I’ll try and collect some from others to post. This picture is funny to me (because I have a dark sense of humor), but that chicken is warming itself and its chicks next to the fire cooking another chicken. This chicken literally watched my mama prepare the other chicken start to finish, plucking, cleaning, gutting, etc. As my mama put it, “It is wondering, ‘I am to be next?’”

I may have made a rash decision regarding my hair… Before…. Brian at work on phase 1… Me finishing it off… After… I swear it looks better than this picture makes it seems. For now I’m keeping the beard, although I’m considering a switch to a goatee. We’ll see. Literally the styling is based on the villain from Iron Man, because we weren’t sure how to do the beard. And before I get a swarm of messages telling me to put on sunscreen, I’m already on it.

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving in Kenya. So it started off as about 7 of us volunteers getting together and cooking random stuff and ended up being close to 20 people feasting. We started inviting our Kenyan friends and family and it ended up being a big get together. Everyone was mingling pretty well. Its odd because Thanksgiving for me back home is usually just me and my immediate family so this was a little different. It felt more like a “stereotypical” Thanksgiving. Big and noisy. Different distant family members. Cooking all day. Stressful. Someone making a drunk scene. Etc. Overall though it was nice. Its weird because it doesn’t seem like the holidays. No big marketing campaigns. No cold weather (god I could go for some cold weather). No shopping. None of it. My friend Lauren pointed out its like life is paused because the seasons don’t change. I kind of agree. Monkey Noises, Slash, My Birthday So most of us who had gotten together for my Thanksgiving went camping for my birthday. We went to the nearby Kakamega Rainforest. We rented a tent and stayed at a campsite. The irony was that camping for some of us was nicer (amenities wise) than “home.” I wasn’t among those but it still was pretty nice. They had a big outdoor kitchen area which was where you could start fires with firewood and stuff, it had power in this area (so lights and charging phones), and they had a shower area. So we stayed two nights, the day in between being my birthday. My birthday started with us hiking out to a waterfall, which we then went swimming in. My friend has a waterproof camera so pictures are on the way. We then went back and made lunch. And at sunset we hiked up this big hill that had a viewpoint. We watched the sun go down before hiking back. All in all a pretty good birthday. One thing I should mention is I’ve learned a lot of strange things out here. I know far more about beekeeping, fish farming, and regular farming than I ever thought I would. But one that didn’t occur to me was that I can identify the sound a monkey makes. Which let me tell you is a weird one. They apparently travel through the campsite at night. Previously I would have thought Kenya was being attacked by the aliens from War of the Worlds. But now I roll over in my sleeping bag, think for half a second, and go “damn monkeys.” As a popular YouTube video called “You know you’re a PCV in Africa when…” put it: Monkeys serve the same purpose squirrels do back home.

T.I.A.

So I was walking home one day after a big rain storm and the road is of course deep mud. My flip flop breaks and I'm like a few kilometers away from home, and the rocky muddy road sits before me. I say F it and go barefoot. The funny thing as I do, I have my Ipod on shuffle and the song “T.I.A.” by K'Naan. For those of you who don't know, TIA stands for “This Is Africa.” If you've seen the movie Blood Diamond, you may have heard it there. So TIA is how you tend to explain away some of the weird and messed up stuff you see or hear. But there is a certain way you say it. It has certain sympathetic resignation to it. For example, a PCV will tell me some story about how some development project fails because of corruption or how they got screwed on something, all you can do is shrug and say “TIA.” But it conveys a sort of I get it, I feel for you, but that's the way it is, that's life here.

“Getting It”

So a PCV from anywhere in the world will get certain aspects of the PC experience. PCVs from Kenya will get PC in Kenya. PCVs from your region will get PC in that region/tribe. PCVs in your training class will probably get you and your experience more than you will. I can tell stories, show pictures, and explain and explain, but no one will get it like these people. In that vain I would like to encourage you to check out some of my training class buddies' blogs. If you go to http://paigemathew.wordpress.com/ you will find Paige's blog, she's a very good friend and talented writer. Her last post titled “Toothpaste” is particularly good. She also has a list of some other PCV's blogs from our training class up there. You can also check out Peace Corps Journals and look at the Kenya section.

Yeah, I know its a lame post title, but I couldn't think of anything better to name it.

I Fixed a ComputerPretty self explanatory. Small victory, but it was a great feeling nonetheless. So the primary school down the “street” that my “mayi” (luhya for mama) teaches at has four computers. Exactly none of them worked. So after a couple days tooling around with them, I found out they all have different problems. So from four broken computers I was able to put together 1 working one. For those who speak nerd, I took the RAM from one, used the tower and motherboard from another, and the hard drive from another. This was the first time I felt like I left a noticeable impact on my community. I mean its rare we get do things that we can measure. Like Sipala Primary before Jason: 0 working computers. After: 1 working computer. The teachers are happy because now instead of having to record all the grades by hand they can do it on the computer.

GenerosityWhile sitting around with my family the other night watching TV there was a very funny exchange worth noting. So my family was watching “Tusker Project Fame” which is essentially American Idol in East Africa (so it was very similar to the scene back home of my American family sitting around watching). There was a rather large lady dancing on the screen, and my sister Faith goes “God was very generous to the African when giving body.” And then my Papa goes “Especially with the bottom.” Which is very very true. Of course, during this conversation I'm trying to hard not to giggle to loudly in the corner.

Highway RobberyFirst real brush with crime yesterday. While heading to town via matatu the guy next to me tried to pickpocket me. I noticed him shuffling around and a little later I checked my pocket and surprise surprise my wallet is MIA. I start looking around to see if it fell out and eventually turn to this guy and am like have you seen a wallet? And in my head, I'm not sure how to approach this, because there is now way in hell I'm letting this guy off without checking him for my wallet. After a little bit of panicking he lifts up his leg like he was just innocently looking with me, and low and behold there it is. So pretty sure he gave up on the idea of stealing it. Especially, since all I would have to do would be call him a thief and he would have been beaten to death. So win-win for both of us is he gives it back and we both smile and act like it was a big accident. He doesn't want to die, and I don't want to be responsible for him dying (or at least being beaten severely). And I'm not exaggerating, other PCVs here have witnessed mob justice in action, it ain't pretty.

CookingI'm getting damn good at cooking out here. Well Brian and I are getting good. On Thursday, we made an amazing meat lover's pizza. Completely from scratch, amazing crust, delicious sauce, ok cheese and italian salami, bacon, and beef. I'll post pictures sometime, it was amazing. Then on Friday, Brian, I and our PCV friend Elizabeth had a Mexican fiesta. We made flour tortillas from scratch and some damn good beef faijita mix. We also made corn tortillas and then fried them for chips. These delicious chips were accompanied by an equally good mango salsa. I can't wait to get back home into a real kitchen and have some fun.

DesensitizedSo me and my friend Brian are walking through this good sized town called Eldoret the other day and there was this street kid, who was either high on glue or drunk on sugar cane alcohol or both, and he said in a really goofy way “hey how are you?” and he tried to touch me and we just kind of sidestepped him and laughed because it was funny the way he said how are you. And it took me a second to realize that me and my friend (I consider Brian to be one of the nicest guys in the world) just laughed at a little kid in tattered clothing, dirty and high or drunk in the middle of the day living on the streets. Not only have things like street kids become normal to me, but I had laughed at it. I had to seriously think about that for awhile because that sight should be horrifying, like truly shocking, and I see things like that or worse all the time and brush them off. But I think you have to. You have to put yourself in a place where that stuff doesn't get to you. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to hack it. You would breakdown emotionally. You can't work here in development and not desensitize yourself to the shocking things you see. I can't help that one kid, but I can hopefully help make his community be able to help him. But what of myself do I have to give up to do that?

MatatusI'm not sure if I've fully explained what a matatu is. You can google it real quick if you want to see a picture of one. Essentially a matatu is a old beat up Toyota van. It is the primary form of long distance transportation for the average Kenyan and PCVs. The legal limit of passengers is 14. The actual limit is however many the “tout” can fit. Which can be like 25 at times. So there is a driver and a tout. The tout collects the money and crams people in, and the driver drives, usually terribly. Sometimes as we approach police checkpoints they kick people out, not enough to get to 14, but to about 20 or so. 20 seems to be the level cops are ok with, or at least can be bribed at. Something that happens often. Although I have been in a matatu when a cop kicked everyone out and arrested the driver and tout. So to get back to my theme, I'll explain. Getting on a van that is falling apart (quite literally sometime, as I've seen the door fall off of several), with 5 people in three seats and the tout more or less in my lap, for 3-5 hours, used to be enough nearly give me a panic attack. Now, I've literally fallen asleep on them, something I wasn't able to do on the giant comfy bus I was on for 7 hours the other day. Its very odd that again, that's normal for me. And now when I'm on the side of the road trying to catch a matatu and it drives by without stopping because its full, I'm like “come on, I can squeeze.”

NairobiI'm in Nairobi right now for another short training session. So after seeing more of the country and stuff, and actually getting out into Nairobi a little bit I've come to the conclusion Nairobi sucks. Sure you can get all the comforts of home, good food, and have a good night out, overall I would rather be somewhere else. People here try and rip you off even more so than normal, you have to watch your back all the time, and the inequality is smashed into your face. We walk towards the Peace Corps office and go by giant houses in gated communities while the servants and locals are cooking next to the street over a fire. Or across from the giant luxury mall, you see a small shanty town where the beggars and hawkers who work the area around the mall live. I would much rather go to Kisumu the biggest city on the west side of the country. Its on Lake Victoria and has a nice beach town feel to it. Much more relaxed, and even haggling is easier there.

So quick update on life at site:-will be really getting to work next week, revamping projects, starting new ones, etc.-still no house, but supposedly they are working on it-loving living with another host family so its not a big deal

Any Requests?I had a request to talk about the education levels of the people I'm working with. So I thought next time around I'll do a requests post. Tell me what you want to know about, or my thoughts on whatever and I'll blog about it.

Ok so I and some of the PCVs in the are decided to get our own box that just we have the key to. So my new mailing address is as follows:

Jason Clopper

c/o Elizabeth Genter

PO Box 1062

Webuye, Western Province

Kenya

Again, still not 100% on the formatting, and you should probably make sure to put the c/o because technically the box is in Elizabeth's name.

Sorry this is a long post, but I hadn't posted in awhile.

Kenyan Bureaucracy 101So as a part of our work during the first 7 weeks or so before going back to Nairobi for In Service Training we have to prepare a Community Needs Assessment or CNA. Some of the stuff required is like statistics on population, health, education, etc. So we've had to go around to various ministries in the area and ask for information. In most cases they all have been nice and been like sure, come back in a week and we'll have it. Problem is we come back in a week and that person is out or in Nairobi. This has been mostly a problem with the ministries or organizations based in Webuye (not all though, the District Education Officer was very helpful). My local officials in Chetambe Location (which is kind of like a county, but smaller) have been great. My Chief and Assistant Chief have been lots of help. Both have offered me offices in their buildings and helped with the information needed.

I'll say when I heard terms like Chief and village elders I was expecting something more traditional, not the government bureaucrats I met. For example, the Chief of Chetambe has been Chief for 15 years I think, and before that he was an aeronautical engineer and studied in England. When they are at barazaas (a kind of public hearing or meeting) they are dressed up in their official uniforms which is military garb.

So after having trouble with getting our information we (me and a couple of other volunteers from my training class in the are) had a meeting with the District Commissioner, the top dog in Bungoma East. When he heard the basic info we were looking for and that after about a month we hadn't gotten it yet, he cracked some heads and got things moving for us. He called up the District Officers that run the divisions and had them hold meetings for us and essentially had everyone get on the person below them in the line of command to help us out. So things have been moving faster now.

Modern PolygamyMuch like my views of the chief, I expected the polygamist I would meet to be very traditional too. But that hasn't been the case. I'll say my views on the practice have changed significantly, not saying I'm looking of multiple wives (keeping one woman happy is enough work for me), but I don't put quite all the stigma on it that I may have before.

So while staying in Mumias we meant a very interesting man who had 3 wives and about 30 children. So this man, who was very hospitable, had worked in the US for about 7 years as an internal auditor, worked in London for about 3 years as a finance director, and several African countries managing factories. So a very smart and business savvy guy, also quite well off by Kenyan standards. So on his compound or homestead there was 3 houses, one for each wife where they had raised the kids. He says all his wives got along and will often spend time together. His children are all grown, the youngest about 18. All had gone to secondary school which is quite the accomplishment out here, about 6 of them had Master's degrees, many had bachelors. Some were lawyers, other CPAs, teachers, one a theological law specialist, etc. Some lived in Nairobi, one in Canada, one in Germany with her German husband, etc.

Another example is the father of the family I stay with now comes from a polygamist family. Him and all his brothers now have quite nice jobs. He's a principal, another is a doctor, one is a contractor, etc.

Host Family: Round 2So since there was some issues with my housing situation out here, I'm staying with a family again while we build me a house on their compound. At first I wasn't too excited about it, but now I'm starting to really enjoy it. Its a different experience than before. They have three daughters: one that lives in Nairobi who I haven't met, another that is about my age who lives here (she also has a beautiful baby who stays with us), and another who is 17 who lives here and is looking for a university. Its been cool to bond with my new sisters who are closer to my age. The mama here is a teacher at the local primary school but also runs some businesses out of her home. The baba is a principal at the local secondary school and an officer in the Community Based Organization I work with. One big plus is they have an oven. Which is very rare. They hadn't used it in years and weren't even sure if it worked. Well it does and I used it to make pizza the other day. Like I made the dough from scratch type of thing. I'm starting to get pretty creative with my cooking. Anyways, like I think I said way back in my China blog, I really like connecting with people who have different experiences than me, and having another host family has definitely helped me do that.

Promulgation DaySo as I write this, we are watching the promulgation day festivities in Nairobi on TV. They are officially adopting the new constitution and swore in the officials again using the new constitution and oaths. The tone is all very hopeful and nice, hopefully it brings change, but seeing as its all the same people doing essentially the same jobs, I'm not holding my breath. The real thing will be if it can create the strong institutions necessary for a successful and functioning democracy. In the past strong personalities have ruled and abused power to stay in office. But people clearly want change, so here goes nothing.

Its funny as tanks and soldiers march through the park where they are holding the event and how the idea of tanks rolling through DC would be ludicrous. I can't tell if the showing of military might is a leftover symbol of more despotic rulers, or like a pride thing of less developed countries showing off what they have.

Your Tax Dollars at WorkSo besides paying for my living expenses (thanks by the way), your (ours really because I pay taxes too) tax dollars do a lot over here. In fact, a large percentage of the Kenyan public health budget is paid for by the US government. Well I got to see where some of it goes first hand the other day. The Chairman of my CBO who is a pastor by profession (so is every other person here), invited me to a meeting of community health volunteers. I got to hear about their activities and duties. Their main job is to go in to their villages and hold various discussion groups on a variety of issues including: AIDS, malaria, TB, family planning, reproductive health, etc. They also refer people to hospitals or dispensaries for testing or treatment. I was proud to see that they were all wearing matching T-Shirts that said “USAID: From the American People.” The whole program in Western Kenya and I think nationwide is funded by USAID. So next time you prepare your taxes be happy knowing that a small part of that is helping teach a mother in the village of Sipala on how to keep her children from getting malaria.

So I'll try and post everything I can remember. (Also I've been adding to this off and on for like 2 weeks so it might seem choppy)

Host Family Appreciation

So the last day we were in Loitokitok we had host family appreciation day. All the host families and trainees came togethor for speeches, skits, thank yous and whatnot. My family and I exchanged gifts. They gave me some Maasai belts and some other things, I brought some Seattle things including some smoked salmon from Pike's Place Market which can travel just fine (hint hint).

What was really a cool moment was as we were watching the speeches and all that, my host family cousin, little Paul whose 8 I think, was crawling all over me and messing around in the same way that he did on my Baba that made me think he might have been my little brother on the first day we met. I didn't really expect to become close with my host family when I came over here, but over long cooking and washing sessions with Mama and watching football games with Baba, I truly consider them family. My Mama, was tearing up as they left us at the compound we stayed our last night in. It was very sad. I get daily calls or SMSs from them checking on me and telling me how they miss their "dear son." I'm most likely going back to Loitokitok to spend Christmas with them.

Nairobi

So we then left for Nairobi where we stayed for about 4-5 days where we binged on burgers and pizzas. I also went to a microbrewery (one of two in probably all of Kenya not counting home brewers that could kill you) and had some of the first decent beer in a long time. It was a magical time, and it was odd going to these nice places and seeing other non-Kenyans and getting good service. The first night we actually felt very uncomfortable, granted we adjusted quickly.

Besides burgers, pizza, and beers we also met our supervisors. Everyone's Community Based Organizations (CBOs) assigns someone to be your Supervisor (or counterpart depending on the situation). So I met David who is a Pastor by profession from my community.

Swearing In

So on the last day in Nairobi we went to the Ambassador's residence for the swearing in ceremony. Lots of speeches, media, etc. The Ambassador has been taking an unprecedented role of being very vocal about the upcoming constitutional referendum, so he gets lots of press nowadays. But he's not the only one....

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000014770&catid=159&a=1

Everyone quoted in that article are people I trained with. The best is that Mr. Brian Schultzenberger is actually the volunteer posted closest to me and one of my really good friends. The whole thing about him driving a BMW back in the states is actually just a huge inside joke amongst our training class. I mean he actually did, but he's also like the biggest sweetheart and often described as adorable. So the joke started by our language cluster was that whenever someone gives him a hard time or cracks a joke either he says or one of us says "Hey! He drives a Beamer! So back off!" Somehow that inside joke ended up in the paper, and countrywide everyone in our training class died laughing.

Site

So, after a 10+ hour trip west we ended up in Western Province Kenya. Webuye is the closest decent sized town. I'm based in Chetambe which is a location that has 40 or so villages, the one I currently live in is Sipala.

As stated earlier I am working with Chetambe Rural Community Based Organization, which is an organization that works to support orphans. So far I've just been getting to know them and the area. Also, we (the 5 PCVs in the area around Webuye) are working with an NGO called Voices of Africa to help bring Information Communication Technology to the rural areas through Rural Internet Kiosks. I think I explained that before. You can find more about the NGO at their website:

http://www.voicesofafrica.info/

Oh and my housing fell through so currently I'm living with a family again. Cons: Don't get to cook for myself, not a ton of privacy. Pros: Don't have to clean for myself, saving tons of money on food and whatnot. They are supposedly working on building me a house, so we'll see how that goes.

Referendum

So Kenya is having its big constitutional referendum this week. Peace Corps decided to be over protective like it always is and banned us from travelling for the week. Plus side is they gave us permission to stay with other volunteers for that week. So I'm staying in Mumias with some friends for the week. This town has a big sugar factory so it has some amenities that the rest of us don't have, like supermarkets with cheese, 3G internet, etc.

Also, we have an in at what we are calling the local country club, which is really just like a golf course, restaurant, pool and bar for the upper management of the sugar factory and members. So while laying low for the week we've been living it up.

Well that's it for now.

Oh and my new address is... (I think, this is the PO box and everything, just not sure how exactly you put it all together)

Jason Clopper

c/o Chetambe Rural CBO

PO Box 831

Webuye, Western Province

Kenya

So decided I should take the time to let everyone know what I'm up to. I've been putting it off because I usually just want to sit around and be lazy when I get done with training for the day.

What I'm doing right now

Currently I'm in pre service training or PST, although that will be over as of Wednesday next week when we swear in as official Peace Corps Volunteers or PCVs. So the 36 of us in this training class (29 Public Health trainees and 7 Small Enterprise Development or SED trainees) are in Loitokitok (LTK).

LTK is beautiful because its in the shadow of Mt Kili and my host family is amazing. Other than that LTK is a dust filled hole that no one likes. We also might just be sick and tired of training.

Training consists of two main parts: language and technical. Their are some other things like cross-cultural, medical, etc, but language and technical are the main two things that dominate our time.

Language was for the first week and a half working on Swahili. Swahili is spoken almost everywhere in Kenya, but since its not the primary language in most parts of the country most of us learn local dialects. So after get our toes wet in KiSwahili, we all switched to our local dialects we will be using at site (site is what we call the place we will actually go do work, its also where we get to stop being treated like children, more on that later). I'm learning Tachoni which is one of the 26 dialects of Luhya. Luhya is one of the good sized tribes in Kenya, it has 26 sub tribes, Tachoni being the smallest of them, making its dialect damn near useless outside of where I'll be. Oh well, the 6,000 speakers of Tachoni will appreciate it hopefully.

We have our Language Proficiency Interview tomorrow. We have to score an intermediate low on it before we can go to site. Theoretically they can send us home if we don't, although generally they just provisionally swear you in and make you stay in Nairobi to work on language until you're at the level you need to be. Nairobi, while being dangerous, also is seen by PCVs as pretty great because they have western food and other amenities.

Technical training varies by sector (SED, Public Health, Education, etc). I really think our Technical Training Facilitator, Emmanuel, does a good job. Him and our APCD (SED Volunteers' boss) Louis have essentially set up training to be a hands on practical learning experience. A lot of our time has been spent working with local women's groups or youth groups to have them start businesses. One group is starting to raise chickens to sell eggs, another buys oil (like fuel for stoves ands stuff) in our town and sells it in another that doesn't have a real big retail outlet, and ours... well... is a longer story. We originally were paired with some young guys and we worked out with them a business buying peanuts on the Tanazian side of the border where the Kenyan shilling goes further and roasting them and selling them in LTK. They fell off the face of the earth after the second week, probably because they found out we weren't going to be paying for any of this. Donor Syndrome or Dependency Syndrome is a big deal out here. They see white skin and think dollar signs (or shilling signs?). So we switched projects to work with an already established business run by a group of people living positively. "Living Positively" is the term for people living with HIV/AIDS, and I really like it because it spins the term from that of victim or sufferer to something more positive. They have a few activities including farming and making beaded jewelry. We've been working to create them a website (which should be up next week, props to Tyler for help with their logo). Me and my partner Rich also had a training session with them to teach them how to use email and internet. We have a few other things on top of those we're trying to help them out with.

Other parts of technical training include going to microfinance institutes (sidenote big rip off for most people), having panelist sessions with local business people, financial institutions and cooperatives and having current PCVs coming back to train us. All in all its been very helpful and interesting.

All this comes to an end next week when we swear in. Swearing in ceremony will take place at the US Ambassador's house which will be sweet. The end of training is bitter sweet. While the heavy workload, rigid structure, 6:30 curfew, and constantly being treated like children gets old, we've all grown extremely close and its gonna suck being spread all across the country.

What I'm doing at site (maybe...)

So PC pairs PCVs with local Community Based Organizations or CBOs. Mine is located in Chetambe, which is near Webuye in Western Province sort of near Uganda. My CBO is Chetambe Rural CBO.

So what I think I'll be doing is pieced together from the paperwork I have and the video my APCD made of when he did his site visit. The CBOs primary function, as far as I can tell, is to help support orphans with school fees and other financial needs. The Kenyan government's prefference is not to have orphans live in orphanages but live with extended family members and receive aid. My role, as far as I can tell, will be to help them develop and/or improve existing income generating activities or IGAs. Common IGAs for CBOs in Kenya include Beekeeping, Brickmaking, Fish farming, etc.

So, my paperwork only has info about that side of the CBO and a side project that I'll get to further down. In the video there is also a part where this guy is talking about a agricultural cooperative. When I asked my APCD about it, he said when they called the meeting both showed up. So I will probably be working with them too...? TIA (TIA means This Is Africa, its a term borrowed from the movie Blood Diamond, something thrown around by me and my friends here).

So one IGA that I know I'll be doing is something called a rural internet kiosk (RIK). Its essentially a computer in a big phone booth looking thing that can be used by three people at once, solar powered and has satellite internet. Many applications to help development including education, health awareness, and research for farmers on things that afflict their crops or new ways to increase their harvest. For my part, its making sure that it turns a profit for the CBO.

Things Maybe I left out

-My host family is amazing. My Mama is amazing and I'm often told by other (usually bitter) trainees that I'm spoiled by her. She does stuff like gets us cheese from Nairobi (try going a month with out it and then talk to me) so we can make quesidillas and stuff. My Baba is big into (proper) football. He refs and used to coach (huh, reminds me of another father figure I know). I have a little sister who is currently at boarding school, but we had fun when we hung out the first week. They are also Manchester United fans which is amazing. My Baba's sister, my host family aunt, is actually another trainee's Mama. So our families hang out a lot and so I have some cool extended family here too.

-Food sucks here. Sorry, maybe that sounds harsh. On day one in Kenya, like hour one really, we asked some PCVs what their favorite food here was, their answer...."Next question." With a few minor exceptions (like chapati) food here is bland and basic. Its weird too, because they have the ingredients and stuff to make more flavorful and interesting foods, they just don't. Oh well, soon enough I'll get to cook for myself.

-The pics of my house in Chetambe look too good to be true. I'm just hoping it turns out to be as awesome as it looks. Other trainees are moving into shacks and mud huts soon. Sorry guys, you can come visit.

-While you can still send stuff to the Nairobi embassy address, its highly suggested you wait until I get my at site address. Otherwise stuff received by PC for me may not get to me for awhile.

-This will only be understood by a few of my friends in the states. Their are like 4-5 restaurants in LTK trainees go to. One is called Arsenal Cafe and has a big gooner logo outside. A decent amount of my trainee friends can't understand why I refuse to enter it. Also, you will often see cars or motorcycles with a combo of Man U, Chelsea, and/or Arsenal stickers. It boggles my mind (very very very rarely do I see a Liverpool logo, I guess even Kenyans got standards). They do love premier league here though, a lot of teenagers and guys my age are super knowledgeable on it. Also, little kids to adults call me "Rooney." Apparently being white and having a similar hairline is enough to make me look like him to them.

-Remember how I used to be a kid person? LTK has undone that. No way to really fully explain it, but after on a daily basis kids yell at you constantly "HOW ARE YOU?!?!" in this nasally tone over and over, it wears on you.

Keep your eyes peeled for a video about PST in the next week or two. Also while in Nairobi I'll have the bandwidth to skype, so let me know if you're interested in seeing my sweet African beard. Bigger and manlier than the American version.

PS Sometimes my tone may come off negative or cynical, but overall I'm having a good time, meeting amazing people and enjoying myself so don't take my comments to seriously. Well, you shouldn't really ever take me seriously, but you probably already know that.

PPS What the heck is going on with the Sounders? I'm gone for 6 weeks and what happens?

***UPDATE***

So I wrote this yesterday but was having internet difficulties so I decided to wait until today to post it. So did my LPI and think it went all right. After that we went to the Kimana Wildlife Sanctuary where we saw in the wild giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, zebras, monkeys, etc. I also touched a lion. Yep, read that one more time. I touched, with my hand, a lion. Several actually. One of the trainers who was nice enough to take us (he's Maasai and the park is run by the Maasai) also told us a story of how he killed a baby giraffe. When some of the girls with us horrified by that statement asked why, in a completely straight face with no intonation whatsoever he responded, "Lunch." According to him the heart of a giraffe is very "sweet." They tend to say sweet when anything tastes good, whether its actually sweet or not. Apparently, that trainer (he's not my language teacher) tells stories like that he always tells them like they are completely normal, like the time his dad was attacked by a lion. TIA.

I decided to make a post on two topics I found interesting.

The Katiba

So Kenya has a very big political event coming up in August. They have a new constitution (katiba) that has to be passed by referendum, a direct vote by the people. It has created interesting divisions and alliances. The Kenyan prime minister and president who had previously been at odds and their rivalry was the source of the violence in 2007, are now aligned in their support of the proposed constitution. Other mortal political enemies have aligned on the no side. VP Joe Biden was here recently to make a speech on why the constitution should pass and Barry O himself even made a speech on TV about how it should be approved. At the moment it appears that it should pass. It’s interesting to see some of the same issues we deal with at home in the US combined with other ones we don’t in the political forefront. Every newscast has information on the two sides’ campaigns. The yes claim the no campaign is twisting the truth and misinforming the public.

Here are the issues the No side take issue with, the Yes side say the No side is misrepresenting them:-abortion

-homosexuality (which is illegal in Kenya at the moment, and I think still will be even if the constitution passes)

-Islamic Courts (they are creating a separate set of courts to handle Muslim marriages and issues)

-land issues and rights

Kenyans are very political people and it is interesting to watch how things develop. They are also very tribal and regional, sort of. Either way, it’s an interesting issue to watch.

The World Cup so far

No big surprise the World Cup is a big deal here. Bars and video lounges charge people to watch. At my host family’s house we have satellite TV (it’s like 13 inches, if that) so everyone in the neighborhood comes to watch. And we’ve watched almost every game so far.

Two things struck me in particular; the first being the scope of African unity. I always viewed Africa as a big diverse place that shouldn’t be lumped together. Kenya itself has over 40 different major tribes which often have dozens of sub tribes, and every sub tribe has its own languages and customs. And that’s just one country in Africa. And yet, everyone here roots for every African team. I’m sure you can also see on TV how South Africans are also behind every African team. They really take pride that the tournament is in Africa, and as a continent they feel united. I figured there would be some of that, but not on the scale I’ve seen.

Secondly, my host family that I think normally would root for England (since they all follow English Premier League here), have told me they are rooting for the US. My mama who was up at like 2 in the morning because she went into Nairobi for something yesterday stayed up for the game, it was at 9:30PM here. I could actually see her getting visibly stressed by the game. She kept counting down the time because she, like all of us, could see the US was just holding on (that and I think she didn’t like being so stressed). It was very sweet to see them so invested in a team they normally wouldn’t have cared about.

PS I just killed a cricket-locust hybrid thing in my room. I also spotted a little frog. But he’s hiding behind a wood piece in the wall, maybe he went back outside. I need to see if I can train him to patrol my room for bugs. There have been a lot today for some reason. Thank god for my mosquito net.

UPDATE: Frog showed up after dinner on top of my clothes. Mama heard me chasing it around and came in and used her broom thing to push the frog out.

So quick update. To be followed by a big video update after Pre Service Training.

-Loitokitok is beautiful. Great views of Mt. Kili.

-My host family is amazing. Plus they are Man U fans. Also have a TV, so we get to watch the world cup.

-Learning both Swahili and Tachoni because I'm going to Chetambe after training.

-My site and job look great.

-My house at site will be amazing and should be a great place to visit.

The video in a month should fill in the rest.

Too busy to make a good post now but been writing everything down to make a good long one eventually. Although we leave Nairobi tomorrow and with it consistent internet. Here's the summary so far:

1. Safe and sound in the training ground in Nairobi.

2. All the other Trainees are awesome and we are bonding very fast.

3. Tomorrow head to Loitokitok to really get started with training and move in to our homestays.

Applicant.

Nominee.

Invitee.

Trainee.

As of about 12:30 EST today I became a Peace Corps Trainee. Meeting all the trainees in my class, 36 total. Approximately 30 public health/HIV trainees, and 6 small enterprise development trainees (like myself).

Today was paperwork, policies, logistics, etc.

Tomorrow (well really the next day or two), will be very very long. A 3 hour bus ride to Long Island, and two 8+ hour flights. Good thing is I got to know so many people in my training class that we will be able to hang out and talk on the flight. So far everyone is really cool.

Last meal in the US of A was at "Sullivan's Steakhouse." I had a fat NY Steak, paired with King Crab legs. We all shared sides so also had kick ass mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. It was a good way to go out (plus PC gave us a bunch of cash for our short stay in PA, so why not indulge?). Had some great PA beer called Yuengling; apparently from America's oldest brewery.

Well off to bed. Very good chance the next update will not be for a while.

PS If I remember I'll post my address before heading out tomorrow.

Here's what my next couple of months look like:

May 14 Last day of work at ING Direct

May 23 Fly from Seattle, WA to Philadelphia, PA, go to King of Prussia, PA

May 24 Registration and Orientation in King of Prussia, PA

May 25 Bus to JFK Airport in Long Island, NY, fly to Zurich, SwitzerlandMay 26 Short layover in Zurich, fly to KenyaMay 26 Bus to Nairobi from Airport, stay the night in Nairobi

May 27 More orientation, vaccinations, get malaria stuff, etc.May 28 Get detailed assignments (find out what the hell I'll be doing for 2 years)

May 29 Bus ride from Nairobi to LoitokitokMay 30 Meet host family, stay with them for the rest of training8 Weeks of training in Loitokitok, then off to wherever for 2 years

So the only internet access in Loitokitok is at a cyber cafe that apparently is very slow and competition for it is fierce. I will probably get a cell phone sometime while I'm there and give the family a call, but its best to assume I will be incommunicado through July. So, probably a safe bet that this will be the last blog post until mid-summer and all E-Mails will go unanswered until then as well.

I assuming there will be a few questions about me and my upcoming Peace Corps service. So why not put them all up here so everyone can check them out.

Q. Who the heck are you and what's with this blog?

A. My name is Jason, I'm heading to Kenya with Peace Corps at the end of May 2010. Last time I was abroad I found a blog a very effective and helpful way of keeping my friends and family in the loop on what I was up to with minimal effort from me (anyone can tell you I'm horrible at keeping in touch). However, anyone who wants to check this out or ask me questions feel free.

Q. Where are you going and when? How long will you be there?

A. I will be leaving for Kenya May 31, 2010 for 27 months. The first 3 months being training, and the next two years after my actual service. Specific locations to come as I find out.

Q. What will you be doing?

A. The following is from the Peace Corps's web page on Kenya and is a good summary of what the paperwork they sent me has...

"Volunteers help Kenyans address unemployment and alleviate poverty by focusing on sustainable income-generating opportunities. They support women and youth groups, community organizations and cooperatives in beekeeping, handicrafts, textiles, agricultural and dairy products and other areas. Volunteers help improve skills of local entrepreneurs, including marketing and bookkeeping skills. Some Volunteers are assigned to vocational and technical institutions to assist with computer literacy and the use of information technology in business and other areas."

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.wherepc.africa.kenya

Q. What about safety/health/etc?

For this one I'll let the Peace Corps handle it. Here is a link to their Family and Friends section with anwsers to those questions...

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.faf

Q. Are you excited/nervous/ready/etc?

The best way I can sum up my feelings on it are by using the following analogy. I would assume I feel a lot like a sky diver on a plane about to make the jump. Nervous, but mostly super excited and feeling reasonably confident everything will work out. Only difference is this jump will last over 2 years.

Q. Why the Peace Corps?

For a few reasons: to serve, to represent, to build the resume, to grow and to challenge myself. To build on that list, I feel that I've always had a pretty good deal in life, time to pay a little something back including to the country I've grown up in and love so much. To represent the US abroad as a part of an international relations institution that has been around almost 50 years and was created under the leadership and foresight of JFK. To add something valuable to my resume to help my future career. And lastly to challenge myself. I was reading in a book once about how all men (and maybe women too) spend their lives looking for the challenge or event where they can prove themselves, show who they really are. This may be mine. We'll see.

Q. Can we hang out before you leave?

We better... anyone of my friends who is in the pacific NW better make time to hang out before I leave.

That's it for now. Check back later for more details. If I haven't posted something on the site yet, probably a good chance I don't know it either yet.

This will be my new blog for my Peace Corps placement in Kenya. Details to come soon...