Another Beautiful Day in Kenya

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.

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

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Meru!

Hi everyone! Habari (how are you)? My sincere apologies for the delay in posting on this blog. I have been in Kenya almost one month and I have only written one entry! Poor form! I do have a solid excuse, though: we have been insanely busy here in Meru and the internet is pretty terrible.

Anyway, I am indeed still alive and well. I've seen and done so much and met so many interesting people. I've been shown fantastic hospitality by perfect strangers and become quite close with my extended Kenyan family over here.

I am working on a more detailed post of my recent experiences, so for now, I would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season. I celebrated my first Christmas away from home yesterday. It was certainly different than any of the previous ones. It was strange to open the doors to a beautiful, sunny and hot tropical scene, and the words, "The goat has arrived. Do you want to see it before we slaughter it?" (I politely declined, of course, and did not eat goat that day). I ate very well, otherwise. I missed my Mom and Dad, family, and friends, of course, but I was surrounded by so many people that I definitely did not feel alone.

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the Spare Change for Kenya fund (especially my cousin Karen). That money was converted into 47,000 Ksh (Kenyan schillings) and part of that was used to purchase Christmas gifts for over 75 IPI-sponsored kids. The rest will be put aside for the community home, which is still in the works. The children were SO appreciative of their gift bags; it was truly a gratifying experience for all involved. My fundraising goals are not over, however. Now that I am here and can more adequately assess the needs of the programs, I have so many new ideas. I will need your help again in the near future!

My next post coming as soon as possible. I need more time to work on it! I hope all is well wherever you are. I'm very excited that 2009 is just around the corner-- I am going to continue to dream big and take some chances, as you never know what might happen! :-)

Kwaheri (goodbye) for now!
xx Emily

P.S. Check out this link to my Picasa web albums (I update it frequently with new photos, so check back): http://picasaweb.google.com/MorrisEB

Everything is mzuri (good) in Kenya!

Greetings from Kenya! In the short time I've been here, I feel like I already have a lifetime worth of stories to share. I arrived at 8:30pm Kenya time on Friday, Nov. 28th, and instantly felt the warm, tropical air stepping off the plane. I got through customs after a bit of a wait and, thankfully, both of my massive bags were present and intact. My introduction to Kenya was pretty amusing--after eighteen hours of being on planes, a very disheveled Emily stepped out to the greeting area to a sea of faces (literally) waving signs with various names on them, none of them were mine. I couldn't see Karambu anywhere and did a few walks back and forth looking at the staring crowd. I felt pretty out of place. I didn't have a working cell phone so I was trying to think of my options. After about 20 minutes a woman approached me and lucky for me it was Karambu! She said she didn't really recognize me and thought I was skinnier and more blonde (Which I was in June when we met- haha). She introduced me to her son Andrew and we headed to their apartment in Southern Nairobi. After helping me lug my huge bags up 4 flights of stairs, we ate dinner, had tea (which they prepare with whole milk), and then headed for bed.

The next day, we headed to a party for Karambu's niece Njeri in Kiambu, which is about 20 minutes west of Nairobi. It was Njeri's dowry ceremony, which I guess is an engagement party of sorts, only the elders gather and discuss the dowry being offered. Nowadays a dowry means how much money will be exchanged between families (though in parts of Kenya they still talk goats and chickens). There was a buffet and I noticed just how much Kenyans eat in one sitting. Even the oldest ladies have a plate piled high with food. I tried to compete, but it being my first day in the country I didn't want to overdo it on native food yet. Small steps! Karambu's family members were very gracious and friendly to the strange American party crasher and by the end of the night, I was drinking Tusker (local beer) with her cousins.

Sunday we woke up very early (6:15am, and for anyone who knows me, you know I don't do mornings). We walked to a gas station up the street to meet Robert, who would be driving us up to Muranga, a town about an hour and a half north of Nairobi. Karambu's colleague at the University of Nairobi, Nyuthoa, was holding a memorial service for his parents, who had been prominent citizens in Muranga. We picked up Robert's friend John, who is Head of News for Kenya's 24 hour TV station, and began our trip. They wanted to know all about my thoughts on Kenya so far and how I felt about obama winning the election (I've learned that all I need to say is "I love Obama" and I will instantly be a friend to Kenyans). Then they told me something that I am still laughing about: Kenyans are naming their newborns 'Obama' and 'Michelle' in record numbers. Amazing how one man can have such an impact on the hopes and dreams of people everywhere. After getting past Nairobi and the shocking slums on its outskirts, the drive to Muranga was so beautiful. If anyone has seen "The Land Before Time", I felt like I was in "the valley" at the end of the movie... lush, hilly countryside. We arrived to the church in a rural village outside of Muranga town after going down many windy, hilly, bumpy, red dirt roads. We were in the middle of farm country in the middle of nowhere and I was surrounded by green everywhere: banana and mango trees, coffee and tea plants, napier grass, maize and bean crops. I was quite the attraction at the church. At one point, there were about 10 kids crowded around me in the back of the church just watching my every move. When I would smile at them, they'd giggle or get bashful and look away. I might have been the first mzungu (Swahili term for white person) they've ever seen in person. And my camera has been a big hit, especially with the kids.

One big reminder that I am not in Windham anymore happened when I asked Karambu where the bathrooms were. "Outside," she said and I figured they were probably like an outhouse/portable toilet system. I thought, OK Emily, you've been camping before, you can do this! But nothing could have prepared me for when I opened the door of the dark outhouse and saw a small dirty hole in the ground. I almost died. Since there were people staring at me, I went in and just starting shaking my head and laughing about how crazy this all was. This was probably the fastest I've ever peed in my life just to get the heck out of there. I went back and reported to Karambu about my shock and we just laughed and laughed. Then we had to tell John and Robert of course, and they started dying laughing as well. I'm glad my bathroom story could provide entertainment at least!

When we returned to Nairobi, the guys took us out for some drinks. We went to Veranda, a popular (not so mzungu) bar downtown, and Arsenal was playing Chelsea on TV (ahh the international language of soccer). Kenyans are obsessed with football and the whole bar would erupt when their team was about to score. John is an Arsenal supporter and Robert a Chelsea man, so they were quite funny about it. After a very action-packed and lovely day, we headed back to the apartment to get some rest... our trip to Meru was the next day!

**A brief commentary on what I will from henceforth term "Kenyan patience", which must be its own breed. The traffic in Nairobi is some of the worst in the world (Boston traffic is child's play in comparison) but no one seems really flustered by it. What should be a 10 minute trip can turn into 2 hours of insanity. There are also no lanes painted on most roads (even main highways), so it's kind of a free-for-all. Add people walking in between cars selling all manner of goods and darting across major roads to get from one side to the other and you've got a serious mess. Kenyan patience also applies to every other daily activity. The concept of time seems to not really matter here. You get somewhere when you get there, no questions or worries. Adjusting to this slower pace of life will be a challenge for this antsy gal! So far, though, Kenya has been amazing, beautiful, shocking, and very interesting.

More posts about my trip up to Meru and what I've been doing with IPI to come soon!

Leaving today!

So I just had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day meal with my family at my Auntie Marie's house and am now listening to Christmas music. I am leaving at 7:15 tonight for Kenya, flying to Amsterdam and then on down to Nairobi. I should be arriving Friday, 11/28, at 8pm local time in Nairobi (which is EST +8). I have my iPod charged and plenty of reading materials (and Tylenol PM) to help me out on the flights.

What a week! Turning 25 (eek!), packing, Thanksgiving, saying goodbyes, hello Kenya! I hope you guys all had a great holiday. And please check out the post below to find out how to contribute to the charity fund I set up for the new Amani Community Home. Ciao ciao my friends. My next post will be from Meru!!
xoEm

My, my how time flies - departure is in sight!

I've been a busy lady of late. As is the norm before I'm about to pick up my life and fly off somewhere, I'm in complete procrastination mode--especially in the packing department. I hate packing and luckily have managed to yet again enlist the help of my super-organized cousin Amanda. Some people just have a gift.

What I really want to share is that I've started a charity fund for the holiday season at my local Citizens Bank. I've dubbed it "Emily's Spare Change for Kenya Fund". All donations will be directly wired to the IPI account in Meru. With that money, we will be able to buy Christmas presents for the local orphans and their new community home (currently being completed by IPI staff and volunteers). I can't think of a more deserving group of children. I haven't even met them yet but I know they will appreciate these gifts and supplies. Just think—most of them can’t even afford a pencil to bring to school, let alone buy backpacks, socks, shoes, calculators and other basic necessities we take for granted. And I'm sure the DVD player and TV I'd like to buy for the home will go over big.

I've written a letter in two of my local papers about this endeavor and been met with lots of support by my friends and family. If you want to help out, here is the address:

Emily’s Spare Change for Kenya Fund
Attention Deborah Fauth, Branch Manager I
Citizens Bank
115 Indian Rock Road NH-473
Windham, NH 03087

Anything you can give will go a long way. Thanks so much! OK, I think that's it for now. I'm getting REALLY excited...

xxEM

First Post - The reality of leaving sinks in (quite literally)!

Jambo! Yesterday I got the necessary vaccinations for the trip to Kenya and an approved visa, making my upcoming trip all the more tangible. My arms are very sore-- I got the Yellow Fever and Tetanus shots in the left arm, Typhoid Fever and Hepatitis A in the right. And somehow, the Kenyan consulate decided to spell my first name "Emilly" on my visa even though it appears as "Emily" on the rest of my passport and all the paperwork I filled out. No matter, just small and amusing bumps in the road. Now I need to decide which kind of pills I want to take for malaria prevention. Definitely nothing I've had to consider in my travels before!

I decided to start this blog now so I can keep people apprised of my preparations for the trip and some of the logistics that go into such a venture. Obviously more exciting posts than this one (complete with pictures) are to come! Now onto learning more Swahili!