OK, so I've been complete rubbish at the blog business. I had grand plans of updating people from home about my everyday comings and goings... but oh well. My excuse is that internet connection is not the most reliable. Pole sana (Pole-ay sana, I'm sorry in Kiswahili). I've traveled a lot since my last post-- 5 hours West to Nyahururu in the Rift Valley, many trips back and forth to Nairobi (where Dr. K's second home is), and a long trek (think LA to San Francisco in a car) to the Kenyan coast for a short holiday. I've visited orphanges and schools, attended a few conferences, and been hassled by beach boys selling wares. I now know enough Swahili to get around public transport (crazy matatus) and impress Kenyans along the way. And my tan is, well, becoming permanent. I've only seen rain like four times since I got here in November, which is good for people who can't get enough of this perfect weather (me) but bad for the farmers whose crops are brown and decrepit looking. Actually there are millions of Kenyans facing starvation. Reading about famine in the Horn of Africa for many years and then seeing it first hand is really hard. You would think you would feel less helpless living just an hour from people who are truly starving, but when you come to learn of the complexities on the ground here-poor infrastructure (lack of proper roads and water supply), lack of modern agricultural technology, and corruption (which it all boils down to in the end)-you feel just as helpless and much more frustrated. How can so many be starving in a land of plenty? I shake my head at things that I just don't understand daily. And just when I think I've become immune to the poverty and all of its devastating implications around me, something will shake me to the core and remind me where I am. For example, mob justice is alive and strong here. If someone steals a cell phone, perfectly respectable looking people will turn into an angry mob, form a circle around the thief, and beat him to near death or death until the police show up and take the thief/victim away... while a television camera is filming the whole incident. When I see this on TV I'm visibly horrified but then I look around the room and people are laughing or shrugging. I know why this mob justice system thrives; there isn't a large enough police presence and the legal system is corrupt and often ineffective. People need to punished somehow. And to be fair, most of my Kenyan friends that I've talked to about this don't like it but they respond with "This is Kenya. That's just the way it is." But just because something is the way it is, it doesn't mean it has to be that way... right? I try not to impose my "Western" attitudes and way of thinking on situations here at the risk of being/sounding/appearing ignorant or condescending, but sometimes I can't help it. The big, ever-present question is what can I, as one person, actually do to enact the changes I want to see here? It might be the oldest dilemma ever in existence for the practical dreamer. Change can happen with one step, one act of kindness, one person at a time... and from the work I've done so far with IPI, there is true meaning to this mantra.
At the risk of this post being all doom-and-gloom, I'll switch course and end on a positive note. Yes, the magnitude of the problems here are so great and it can be completely overwhelming at times. But there are wonderful, beautiful things here in Kenya and most of my days and experiences here are indeed wonderful and beautiful. The people I live and work with here are so hospitable and helpful. I can't say enough about them. They truly value me being here and make every effort to make me as comfortable as possible. I'm not sure that I deserve such attention, but I'm certainly not about to argue! Kenyans are so honest, which can be both endearing and frustrating (if I'm trying to be ironic/sarcastic). I eat fresh food everyday-- mangos, bananas, passion fruit, spinach, carrots, arrowroot, beans. My body likes this. And the scenery continues to amaze me. On our way to Mombasa (on the coast) I caught a glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro, hundreds of kilometers south in Tanzania. It was a bit hazy in the distance, but it is so huge and its signature snow-capped plateau/peak so breathtaking that my eyes remained strained until I could no longer hold my head sideways. Makes me think that on my next trip to Kenya (and yes, I will be coming back here many times I think) I will get closer to Kili (Mt. Kilimanjaro). I floated in my third ocean recently on this same trip to the coast. The Atlantic, Pacific, and now the Indian Ocean have played host to Emily Morris. Pretty cool, huh?
Well, I'm tired of typing on this lazy Sunday and should probably get some lunch. There really is so much more I'd like to share, but maybe that's for the memoirs I hope to write someday. Can't reveal it all at once! As some of you know, I was supposed to leave Kenya on March 11th but have extended my stay until April 14th. I'm not done with this place and it's not done with me. We're still learning from each other. Kwa heri for now!
xox Em
P.S. New pics from Mombasa, Watamu, Malindi, and Kilifi (the coast) are on my Picasa site.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A Brief Discourse on Meru
Happy 2009! Kenya continues to be mzuri sana (very good). As we speak, I'm turning into a giant mango from over-consumption of my favorite fruit. Kidding. It's hard to believe that I've already been here for six weeks! Dr. K says that I've adapted so well that it seems as if I've lived here forever. I have very little to complain about here-- the food is wonderful if not very starchy, the scenery is breathtaking, the people are so kind and hospitable, and I've learned to co-exist with giant spiders. I'm not only trying to learn basic Kiswahili phrases, but Kimeru (the tribal language spoken in Meru) as well. Let's just say that people are very amused when I try to pronounce words, although a new level of respect is attained when I say "Mooga!" (hello/how are you in Kimeru).
Meru is such an interesting place. It is alive with colors and sounds (and sometimes, unfortunately, smells). The city centre is a hodgepodge of ramshackle shops, butcheries (in unprecedented numbers), women sitting amongst heaps of mangoes and bananas to sell, men peddling miraa (a local plant-turned-drug), Toyota Corollas from the early 80s with at least 6 passengers in them at all times, carts pulled by sad looking donkeys, matatus (old rickety vans used as public transport) with names painted on the upper windshield like "Handsome", "Lord Lover", "Real Scare" and "Slim Thug", lots of stray dogs (sadface), and thousands of people dressed mostly in clothes I would wear in winter (perfect for an equatorial climate of course). But it's not all dust and less-than-savory shops. In the middle of all the craziness is THE symbol of wealth and Western influence, a giant Nakumatt store. Nakumatt is Kenya's version of Walmart, only it's cleaner and better organized. The parking lot is rarely full and the cars that are there are usually newer and shinier than the rest in Meru. I go to Nakumatt no fewer than three times a week for various things-- shopping there is strangely (maybe more like sadly) comforting. And, Nakumatt has the best bathrooms going... 5 cents to use them and they are clean and modern (even if there are no toilet seats, you have no idea how great these are unless, well, you've seen the other "public toilets" in Meru).
Only the main roads are paved, so as soon as you are out of town's centre and off the tarmac it's rural farmland and scattered houses for miles. Everything you can think of is grown here and people work really hard to maintain their farms. A different set of mountains is always in the distance and when I am lucky enough to get a glimpse of Mt. Kenya jutting into the sky I have to catch my breath. Its peaks are magnificent and uninviting at the same time. I can't wait to get out my ice pick and start climbing. In the midst of all the natural beauty, however, is the darker side of Kenya: poverty, sometimes extreme. It is still overwhelming to see small children with dirty, torn clothes and no shoes, or an elderly lady walking long distances with heavy firewood on her back to sell for 150 Kenyan shillings (about 2$) in town. I just try and remind myself that unfortunately I can't save everyone but I can try to make a few people more comfortable. Small steps.
The holiday season was very busy but successful. We handed out Christmas bags with various items of importance to over 75 IPI kids. It was really fun playing Santa Clause. Since the New Year, we have been hosting some American visitors at Dr. K's house. Whenever more mzungus are in town, many parties and gatherings ensue (which means mounds and mounds of food three times a day: beans and maize, potatoes, stew, goat, chicken, fruit, rice, etc). We have hosted and attended many meetings as well, including home visits to see where IPI kids live and helping a group of elderly women and men start a dairy goat project to sustain themselves and their grandchildren, etc. It has been fun and interesting! And the most exciting thing is that we are going on safari tomorrow for a few days!! Lions and elephants and giraffes, oh my! (sorry, cheesy and overused, eh?) We will be driving to Samburu and Nakuru before heading to Nairobi to see our visitors off at the airport. It's still strange to me that heading south to Nairobi means crossing to a new hemisphere. The joys of equatorial living!
OK, I tend to ramble so I will end this long post here. I must pack for safari and charge up my camera batteries! I hope you've had the chance to take a look at some of my pictures on that PIcasa link. More to come soon!
Lala salaama (good night) from Meru!
xxEM
Meru is such an interesting place. It is alive with colors and sounds (and sometimes, unfortunately, smells). The city centre is a hodgepodge of ramshackle shops, butcheries (in unprecedented numbers), women sitting amongst heaps of mangoes and bananas to sell, men peddling miraa (a local plant-turned-drug), Toyota Corollas from the early 80s with at least 6 passengers in them at all times, carts pulled by sad looking donkeys, matatus (old rickety vans used as public transport) with names painted on the upper windshield like "Handsome", "Lord Lover", "Real Scare" and "Slim Thug", lots of stray dogs (sadface), and thousands of people dressed mostly in clothes I would wear in winter (perfect for an equatorial climate of course). But it's not all dust and less-than-savory shops. In the middle of all the craziness is THE symbol of wealth and Western influence, a giant Nakumatt store. Nakumatt is Kenya's version of Walmart, only it's cleaner and better organized. The parking lot is rarely full and the cars that are there are usually newer and shinier than the rest in Meru. I go to Nakumatt no fewer than three times a week for various things-- shopping there is strangely (maybe more like sadly) comforting. And, Nakumatt has the best bathrooms going... 5 cents to use them and they are clean and modern (even if there are no toilet seats, you have no idea how great these are unless, well, you've seen the other "public toilets" in Meru).
Only the main roads are paved, so as soon as you are out of town's centre and off the tarmac it's rural farmland and scattered houses for miles. Everything you can think of is grown here and people work really hard to maintain their farms. A different set of mountains is always in the distance and when I am lucky enough to get a glimpse of Mt. Kenya jutting into the sky I have to catch my breath. Its peaks are magnificent and uninviting at the same time. I can't wait to get out my ice pick and start climbing. In the midst of all the natural beauty, however, is the darker side of Kenya: poverty, sometimes extreme. It is still overwhelming to see small children with dirty, torn clothes and no shoes, or an elderly lady walking long distances with heavy firewood on her back to sell for 150 Kenyan shillings (about 2$) in town. I just try and remind myself that unfortunately I can't save everyone but I can try to make a few people more comfortable. Small steps.
The holiday season was very busy but successful. We handed out Christmas bags with various items of importance to over 75 IPI kids. It was really fun playing Santa Clause. Since the New Year, we have been hosting some American visitors at Dr. K's house. Whenever more mzungus are in town, many parties and gatherings ensue (which means mounds and mounds of food three times a day: beans and maize, potatoes, stew, goat, chicken, fruit, rice, etc). We have hosted and attended many meetings as well, including home visits to see where IPI kids live and helping a group of elderly women and men start a dairy goat project to sustain themselves and their grandchildren, etc. It has been fun and interesting! And the most exciting thing is that we are going on safari tomorrow for a few days!! Lions and elephants and giraffes, oh my! (sorry, cheesy and overused, eh?) We will be driving to Samburu and Nakuru before heading to Nairobi to see our visitors off at the airport. It's still strange to me that heading south to Nairobi means crossing to a new hemisphere. The joys of equatorial living!
OK, I tend to ramble so I will end this long post here. I must pack for safari and charge up my camera batteries! I hope you've had the chance to take a look at some of my pictures on that PIcasa link. More to come soon!
Lala salaama (good night) from Meru!
xxEM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
