BISHOP ABIERO GIRLS' SECONDARY SCHOOL LABORATORY CONSTRUCTION

Dearest Family and Friends,
Finally (FINALLY!!!) my Peace Corps Partnership Proposal (PCPP) has been approved and posted on the Peace Corps website. The proposal is for the completion of my school’s laboratory. As a science teacher, I can clearly see how the lack of hands on activities has a detrimental effect on the interest of studying of the sciences. How can students be enthusiastic about learning when they don’t know the practical applications? Finishing this laboratory and providing a place for students to develop their critical thinking skills is so important to me. But I need your help! The PCPP depends on friends and family (that’s you!) of the Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) to donate towards funding. Once all the money is raised, the PCV (that’s me!) will ensure that the project is completed and not lost to corrupt hands along the way. Therefore, your tax deductible donations will go directly to my school! Please, take a look at the project at:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=615-185

And here are some pictures of the unfinished laboratory for your viewing pleasure.




Thanks for looking and a million thanks if you can donate!

Jenny

Puppies Galore

I think I’m becoming that crazy woman next door who only talks to her pets. And on the rare occasion that she does interact with any other humankind, she talks about, of course, her pets. So because I’m admitting my puppy obsession, it’s ok to talk about them some more, right? Here are some pictures of them. Aren’t they cute?!







And finally Nala's swinging boobs. Don't worry they're slowly retracting.

Waiting for Water

Living on the equator has its benefits. It’s sunny for most days of the year ( a plus for a California girl missing home). The day’s length is relatively constant (no confusing fall back, spring forward… or is the other way around?). And it’s pretty cool to live next to the Rotary Club’s “You are now passing the equator” sign. But it’s not beneficial during this drawn out drought. According to my school’s principal, in the four years that she has been in Magwar she’s never seen a drought like this.
My previous conception of drought included a TV reporter advising all earth conscious folk to water your lawn only once a day, changing the vegetable garden sprinklers, or my mom warning us to save water by turning off the tap when brushing our teeth. But here, in Kenya, a drought means something completely different. It means wilting maize, beans and kale crops therefore questioning a family’s ability to feed its children. It means dust covered foliage on the roadside. It means the rain water tanks are squeezing out their last drop of clean drinking water. It means the school’s seemingly endless well drying up leaving a few inches of muddy slush. It means school children wandering Magwar with jerry cans and buckets searching for a well that hasn’t yet met the same fate.
While we wait for the rain to come, I can’t help but wonder, what if it doesn’t? Of course, it will one day, but the scorching heat and thirsty students and panting dogs make me question the when. When will it come to save the parched crops? When it will come to change the dusty roads to muddy ones? Never before has water been such a continual thought on my mind. As I sit here looking up at the cloudless sky, I can only help that day will come soon. Soon enough to replenish our well, to provide drinking water, to quench the crops. Soon enough to make me wish the mud were dust. It will, but will it be soon enough?

*Disclaimer: It rained! It hailed! Our tank has water! I wrote this entry a week ago and now can gladly say that rain has come to our village. The buckets are under the rain gutters. The plants are dust free. And the people are happy.

A new year, a new term

After a somewhat rough start to school (who wants to go back to waking up at 5:30 everyday after a month and a half of pure vacation bliss?), I finally feel like I am back into the swing of things. This term I’m teaching Form 1, 2, and 3 Biology at Bishop Abiero plus all Forms of Life Skills. I’ve also arranged to work with other secondary schools nearby to teach Life Skills to their students. I believe this “optional” class to be seriously important, especially for an isolated Kenyan adolescent. Because of cultural taboo, children do not ask their parents or elders sex related questions. Because of poverty children cannot access books or the internet describing adolescent changes. And because of culture, children can’t even say the word condom without looking away embarrassed. Life Skills provides an outlet for all these pent up questions to be asked anonymously. I’ve heard everything from “Can you use lemon juice instead of condoms?” to “Can a man get a goat pregnant” to “Is there sun in America” to “Can lions change their colour to blue?”. Clearly, there is a lack of resources for looking up such questions. And Life Skills’ anonymous question box works at alleviating that. While I cannot return 12938403000 answers in 2.3 seconds as per google, having the education and background knowledge allows me to answer some of the student’s legitimate questions.

At Bishop Abiero, I’ve been working on proposals to complete our laboratory building and to construct hand washing stations near the latrines. Proposal writing is a long, slow, tedious process that I’ve come to loathe, but can only cross my fingers that they’ll go through. Be on the look out for ways you can donate (tax deductible!) through Peace Corps to construct our lab!

Last week, two other PCVs and myself attended an intensive language immersion for 4 days where we studied our local mother tongue of dhoLuo. It was tiring, but incredibly helpful. While I still feel much more comfortable speaking in Kiswahili, I’m glad to know much more dhoLuo and now have to make an effort to speak it. It’s a difficult language that I don’t find particularly beautiful, but nonetheless, it is the local language. So I’ll be practicing my bargaining skills at the market, greeting the swarms of children and conversing with the mamas in Luo from now on.

Next week I’m starting to work at the primary school by my house. I miss working with small children so the headmaster agreed to let me teach the lower primary reading classes on Tuesday mornings! I’m excited to be around lots of cute, smiling faces, but a bit nervous as my dhoLuo is not that great yet. If it goes well then I’ll branch out to the other primary schools in the area and maybe teach life skills to the upper primary.

I’m also working with the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society to plan an HIV/AIDS sports day in which the local secondary school students will be able to spend the day getting HIV tested, circumsized (for boys), competing in sports competitions, dance and drama competitions and attending health talks.

And of course, I still have a ton of puppies to keep me busy. They are adorable as ever, despite their constantly pooping in the oddest places (really, IN my shoe!). As they are slowly leaving for their future homes, I can’t help but feel a tiny bit of sadness. I want to keep them all! But, alas, I can’t end up the crazy Kenyan dog lady with 10 dogs following her around. So I’ll keep Kibo, Nala, Abby, and maybe another one…we’ll see.



This term will be a busy one, but I’m excited to be productive and stay motivated during my next year here!

Nile Rafting

Happy 2011 to all!
I hope that everyone had a lovely holiday season. While I would have gladly enjoyed sipping egg nog, listening to the Mariah Carey Christmas cd, and decorating a tree, my Christmas season was quite nice. A few nearby peace corps volunteers came to my house for the Christmas weekend. We enjoyed a delicious meal with my family next door. They, unlike the rest of my village, even had Christmas decorations! While the absence of cold weather and constant Christmas advertisements may have made this Xmas not seem too Christmas-y, it was being with my Kenyan family and good company that made this holiday special for me.
I was able to meet my neighbour’s youngest daughter Sophie who is coincidently studying in California and is back in Kenya visiting for the holidays. It was interesting to discuss with her the reverse experiences and adjustments we have had. While I’m getting used to ugali and choo usage, she had to get used to big macs and flushing toilets. Here’s a picture of us after Christmas dinner.



After Christmas, a few friends and I travelled to Jinja, Uganda, to go white water rafting down the Nile. I was initially very scared; the pictures of flipping rafts and class 5 rapids were intimidating. However, it ended up being very exciting and lots of fun. Here is a picture of our group before the adventure began.



The rapids ranged from class 2 to class 5. Some being mild, but fun.......



............and a few resulted in our raft flipping.



And here is a picture of us going over a 2.5 metre waterfall. Looks kind of like a Disneyland ride doesn’t it? Ahhhhh!


Now that the adventures/vacations/2010 are all over, it’s time to start school again. It’s hard to believe I only have one year left here. Sometimes it seems like such a short time and other days it seems like forever. At least I have nine puppies and Nala to keep me company!

A pile of puppies

After my travels with David and Peace Corp’s mid service medical examinations, (no parasites/TB/ African infectious diseases for this girl!) I rushed back to my site because my dog had given birth to NINE puppies. This large number would not have been such a surprise had my Kenyan vet told me that I could expect a litter of this size. However, he told me (after falsely diagnosing my dog’s pregnancy and telling me she was too young to get pregnant) that she would have no more than three puppies and I quote “but she will eat one so you will end up with ONE or TWO puppies at most.” Well, turns out that he, like most other Kenyans, told me what I wanted to hear, rather than the truth…funny how that applies to just about everything here from meeting start times, prices, puppy number, etc.

When I got the call from my neighbour that my dog had given birth to this abnormally large litter, she asked me, in all seriousness, if I would like her to “slaughter some puppies.”
“Um, what?!?!” I yelled into the phone
“Slaughter some puppies because there are too many”
“DO NOT KILL ANY PUPPIES!!!”
That is quite possibly the worst thing I have ever heard. Who wants to be a puppy slaughterer? And if I agreed, wouldn’t I be accused of puppy manslaughter? So, I unequivocally refused to allow her to commit puppy murder (which in my opinion, is up there on the morally reprehensible crimes list) and that is how I ended up with TEN dogs in my house.

While I may have recently felt my maternal clock ticking, all wants of children have been completed abolished after caring for nine pups. I have not slept a full night’s sleep for the past two weeks (did you know newborn puppies do not sound like dogs? Rather they constantly make a squawking noise like a dying flock of seagulls), I’ve run out of pc money feeding Nala meat, milk, and fish to keep her healthy, and I constantly smell like puppy poop. I definitely have a new gratitude for mothers.

But the joys of motherhood, or in my case grandmother-hood, arise from the precious moments: a puppy falling asleep in my lap, seeing their eyes open, witnessing a wobbly first step. So, despite my constant crankiness due to lack of sleep and my empty bank account, I’m thoroughly happy with all ten dogs in my home. They are adorable beyond belief and I’m glad I get to witness their growth.




Nala is a great mother. She is dedicated as ever and very protective of her pups. Note her luxury dog bed that I transported all the way from Nairobi.



They all sleep in one big fluffy puppy pile.



Did I mention that the puppies are adorable?! Here, they’re spooning in their sleep!!



I’m busy looking for good homes for all the pups. Hopefully some pcv friends will take a few and I know a couple Kenyan families who will treat dogs well. But this one, Kibo, is staying with me. He’s my mom and brother’s xmas present and will be travelling to America in August. Hopefully they love him as much as I do. Isn’t he so cute?



Alright, I have to go, I hear the puppies squawking!

David's Visit

I’m incredibly lucky to have an amazing boyfriend who has flown to Africa to visit me, not once, but twice! We had an adventurous vacation to Zanzibar, an island off of the coast of Tanzania. It is one of the three Swahili ports of eastern Africa and is therefore an intriguing mix of cultures. It sometimes did not seem like we were even in Africa due to the Muslim influence, Islamic architecture, palm tree lined beaches, and tropical cuisine.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from our vacation. Does it seem to you too that most of my blog posts are about traveling? I promise you I do work (!) and your tax dollars are not being used to fund my holiday excursions:)

Before we started our travels, David came to my site and was able to experience life minus modern luxuries i.e western toilets and dishwashers. You can ask him about his fond memories of using a choo. Here he is cleaning dishes with my Kenyan dishwasher i.e three buckets. Note the bright green polka dot cleaning gloves :)



We then made a quick stop at Lake Nakuru National Park famous for its hundreds of flamingos inhabiting the lake. We also spotted giraffes, water buffalo, tons of baboon families, two white rhinos, and much other wildlife. Here we are amiss piles of flamingo poop. Can you spot them in the distance?



On our flight to Zanzibar we passed the infamous peak of Kilimanjaro that has so haunted me since our August climb. I really did get chills thinking about the excruciatingly cold and miserable summit day. While Uhuru Peak(the tallest point in all of Africa) seemed to be smirking at me from a distance I did feel a bit of satisfaction knowing that I climbed that beast of a mountain (I can say that, of course, from the safe and temperature controlled cabin of an airplane).



We arrived in Zanzibar and began exploring Stone Town, the heart of the island. It has endless narrow streets that you could wander for days albeit many of them sell the same touristy items. We meandered through the streets, stopping for street food, fresh fruit juices, and the occasional reprieve from the heat in air conditioned shops. To me, the most beautiful part of Stone Town was definitely the intricate wooden doors. Isn’t this one just gorgeous?



Forodhani Gardens, a waterfront plaza, transforms into a seafood extravaganza at sunset. There were tons of vendors selling fresh seafood on skewers that they would roast for you and serve warm with delicious coconut bread. We indulged in “Zanzibari pizza” aka a banana and Nutella crepe like creation fried in lard. Artery clogging, but delicious.





We spent one afternoon going on a spice tour in which we traveled to a spice farm located in the center of the island. We learned about, smelled, and tasted all sorts of spices from pungent cinnamon bark to the exotic tumeric. Here is some raw vanilla bean. Did you know it takes weeks of intense processes to produce the type of vanilla sold in stores?



We then enjoyed a yummy home cooked and coconut infused Zanzibari meal before heading to a secluded beach to float in the Indian Ocean. Pure bliss.



After two nights in Stone Town, we traveled to the eastern side of the island to enjoy the serene and isolated beaches of Jambiani. Our hotel (despite its perpetually late, incompetent, and completely stoned Rasta staff) had an amazing location. We were literally on the beach and fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing which is quite possibly the most soothing sound ever (at least in comparison to my norm of rooster crowing and cows mooing).





We spent our time here lounging on the beach, eating delicious seafood (mmm coconut curry prawns), befriending adorable children, sipping cold Tanzanian beer, gazing at the spectacular stars, and watching the gorgeous colours of the sunrise.





Each evening, the tide would go out as far as you could see. We walked through the tide pools examining the many spiky starfish and hermit crabs. The local women did the same, except they were in search of small shells with some sort of meat inside that they would undoubtedly cook up for supper. The shallow waters made it look like we were walking on water, quite a feat for someone who had just consumed their body weight in delicious sea food :)






One fateful afternoon, we decided to go on a dhow (boat) snorkeling trip. While we should have been a bit hesitant due to the boats obvious sketchiness (it was only a foot wide!) we decided to go anyways. We sailed out to sea before emerging ourselves in the clear blue waters of the Indian Ocean. I should note here that David has developed an irrational (well, maybe not so irrational) fear of water creatures. He would constantly spurt out facts about deadly sea animals citing shark attacks and other various recent and fatal tourist incidents. I assured him that nothing of the sort would happen here. However, not TWO minutes into our snorkeling excursion we were swimming through a swarm of jellyfish! I tried to keep my calm channeling Dory from Nemo (clearly David would be the terrified Nemo here), but alas, our trip ended with a slightly scared David and lots of “ I told you so’s”. While neither of us was stung by our jellyfish friends, I did spot a sea snake a bit later only to later discover it is one of the most poisonous snakes around! Yikes.



We returned from Zanzibar to spend an evening in the luxurious Fairview Hotel in Nairobi (thanks mom!) where we enjoyed all the Western amenities allowing David a mental transition before his flight back to America. And lastly, I provide you with a pensive picture of David possibly pondering his deep desires (whoa alliteration) to never again visit a choo, dreaming of America land of food sanitation laws, or most likely, he's just trying to have the camera catch his good side.



Despite our run-ins with deadly sea creatures, I thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Zanzibar. It was everything I could possibly want in a vacation: great company, beaches, relaxation, amazing food, and interesting culture. Thank you to an amazing boyfriend and a spectacular trip. And to any of you that have yet to visit Africa or East Africa, it has some seriously beautiful spots to explore. Karibu.