We are going to Machakos on Sunday for a three day "vacation"! It will be nice to get a change of site. We are doing our HIV/AIDs training and should get some good down time to hang out with each other. We are planning a big 4th of July party and make some American food. I'd kill for a Taco bell or pizza right now, but the food isn't bad. We just got a cookbook with a lot of ideas in it so when I don't have anything to do I'll be practicing making different things in a makeshift oven of sorts. Less then a month till we test in our languages, leave here and swear in at Nairobi. AH!
If anyone hasn't heard there is a referendum being voted on in Kenya for a new constitution. It happens on August 4th. Read up on it to get an idea of what is going on in the politics here. We are hoping and pretty sure there won't be anything like the post election violence in 2007.
PS...this post is for Nicole who called me out, but for the record I was talking about the last post! Love you NicNic!
Missing everyone! xoxoxo
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
About one month in
It's crazy to look back and see that I've been here for about a month already! And I only have a month left in Loitokitok and then we head to Nairobi to swear in and then off to our sites.
A normal day consits of me waking up at the horrible hour of 6am and laying in bed till the latest 6:30am. Then I get up and get ready, eat breakfast which is usually a fried egg, a kenyan pancake, and chai. Sometimes Blue band sandwiches are thrown in there which is just "butter" on bread. It's tasty though. Then I leave and have my 30 min walk to my language class which is at Paige's house....across town. It's small groups. Mine has three people, Paige, Louis and me. Our trainer is Sam. We tend to have a good time during our class. Like last week we learned how to say "If I was a rich girl" in Kiswahili like the Gwen Stefani song. We have language till noon and then lunch. We normally have a cheap lunch at a hoteli or restaurant. I'm a fan of the rice, chapati, and beef with some vegetables (cabbage) on the side. All for about 60 shillings which is less than a US dollar. We then walk around the market and maybe buy some bananas or oranges that aren't orange in color they are actually green and yellow. After lunch, we have cultural and technical training. We were matched with groups in the area to work with and do a small project. Julie and I are working with an HIV/AIDS support group in Kimana. We are working with them to plant skumawiki which is a vegetable that is eaten a lot here. After those different sessions, we all head to a local bar to watch the World Cup. It's our time to hang out together and relax before going home at our 6:30pm curfew. Then comes dinner with my family and some wonderfully dubbed Spanish soap operas that my mama and I watch together on TV. Yep, TV, and I have electricity and water with a shower. I'm spoiled here and it's not going to help prepare me for my site which has none of these things! So, I'm going to enjoy them while I can!
Today (Saturday) is the main market day and everyone is out selling and buying things. It's a really fun thing to see and experience. Today i got a Leso which is a piece of fabric that you wrap around you. It's a huge thing here and all the ladies wear them. Weekends are pretty relaxed here. I do my laundry in the morning which is washing my clothes in a bucket. I clean my room and hang out. I did a lot of reading today. The volunteers like to get together and play soccer, football, or frisbee on the weekends too so that gets us out of the house and we are able to see each other more.
We all talk about the food that we miss from home so please, everyone...enjoy taco bell, mexican food, and cheese for me!!!
Much love from Kenya!
A normal day consits of me waking up at the horrible hour of 6am and laying in bed till the latest 6:30am. Then I get up and get ready, eat breakfast which is usually a fried egg, a kenyan pancake, and chai. Sometimes Blue band sandwiches are thrown in there which is just "butter" on bread. It's tasty though. Then I leave and have my 30 min walk to my language class which is at Paige's house....across town. It's small groups. Mine has three people, Paige, Louis and me. Our trainer is Sam. We tend to have a good time during our class. Like last week we learned how to say "If I was a rich girl" in Kiswahili like the Gwen Stefani song. We have language till noon and then lunch. We normally have a cheap lunch at a hoteli or restaurant. I'm a fan of the rice, chapati, and beef with some vegetables (cabbage) on the side. All for about 60 shillings which is less than a US dollar. We then walk around the market and maybe buy some bananas or oranges that aren't orange in color they are actually green and yellow. After lunch, we have cultural and technical training. We were matched with groups in the area to work with and do a small project. Julie and I are working with an HIV/AIDS support group in Kimana. We are working with them to plant skumawiki which is a vegetable that is eaten a lot here. After those different sessions, we all head to a local bar to watch the World Cup. It's our time to hang out together and relax before going home at our 6:30pm curfew. Then comes dinner with my family and some wonderfully dubbed Spanish soap operas that my mama and I watch together on TV. Yep, TV, and I have electricity and water with a shower. I'm spoiled here and it's not going to help prepare me for my site which has none of these things! So, I'm going to enjoy them while I can!
Today (Saturday) is the main market day and everyone is out selling and buying things. It's a really fun thing to see and experience. Today i got a Leso which is a piece of fabric that you wrap around you. It's a huge thing here and all the ladies wear them. Weekends are pretty relaxed here. I do my laundry in the morning which is washing my clothes in a bucket. I clean my room and hang out. I did a lot of reading today. The volunteers like to get together and play soccer, football, or frisbee on the weekends too so that gets us out of the house and we are able to see each other more.
We all talk about the food that we miss from home so please, everyone...enjoy taco bell, mexican food, and cheese for me!!!
Much love from Kenya!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
I'm here in Loitokitok!!
So we don't really have internet access here in Loitokitok. I'm at an internet cafe right now. Training is going well. We are learning the language Ki Swahili. And yesterday we found out where we are going. I'm going to the coast! To a place called Jilore near Malindi. Check it out online! It's going to be hot and humid there! Sticking with the same language and I'll be working in a dispensary doing health education to my 5,000 people village. I'm nearby 4 other volunteers so it should be nice. It very beautiful here too! Mt. Kili is huge and it's in our backyards. My host family is very nice and very excited to have a Mzungu (white person). My Mama is very nice and wants to teach me everything!
Hope all is well over there. I miss everyone and home a lot but things are busy here. Will update when I can but it will be spaced out!
xoxo
Hope all is well over there. I miss everyone and home a lot but things are busy here. Will update when I can but it will be spaced out!
xoxo
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