Alright. So. Breakfast. White bread and margarine. Fruit from the shamba (farm) also... usually bananas. Yum.

Monday through Friday I have language class from 8 until 11. Some days, me and three other volunteers in my village have class at the shamba accross the road; some days we wak to the next village (about 3-4km) so that we can have more time for language before technical session. From 11-1, we usually have a technical session with about 10 other volunteers from surrounding villages. We talk about... mmm... nutrition for PLWA (people living with AIDS), water purification, community entry techniques, etc... and then we usually walk to town (another 2-3km) for lunch. After lunch, we meet again for another hour or two of language and then I either go back to town (if I want to get groceries or check my email), meet other volunteers for a beer, or just go home. Anything I do after class in the afternoon must be completed by around 5:30 so that I can walk home before it's dark.

Usually when I get home, Mama and Baba are busy on the shamba (after having worked at their respective schools from around 8 in the morning until 4 or 5); I always jump right in and offer to help Mama cook dinner (which, when you're using a coal jiko, fire and sometimes gas, can take up to 4 hours). My Mama is incredible in the kitchen-- she sits on a tiny wooden stool about 6 inches off the ground and is so graceful, moving back and forth from pot to pot (on the floor), chopping things using her hand as a cutting board and not spilling or dropping a... drop. I've never seen her cut herself or burn herself, for that matter... but every night, she chops--tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions-- and picks up pots of boiling water, milk, stew, vegetables, WHATEVER with her bare hands. It blows my mind.

We usually sit down to dinner by 8 or 8:30... at that point, it's BLACK outside (though the sky lately has been beautifully painted with stars) and we are cooking by lamp light. My house has a few solar powered bulbs, so when it's been sunny, we can use those (only one at a time, though). We eat infront of the (solar battery powered) TV. We only get one channel-- KBC, Channel 1-- so... that is what we watch at, as I mentioned the other day, a ridiculous volume. Still don't know why.

Mamas in Kenya REALLY like to feed guests, so... whatever we eat, it is imperative that I eat at least two heaping bowls full... and I have to drink at least one cup of Chai afterwords. Baba keeps telling me that Chai is "just water", but... something about the whole milk (from our shamba's cow) and sugar makes it pretty heavy. Call me crazy :) The food in Kenya is "sweet" as we say ("delicious", "tasty", etc = "sweet" in Kenya); it's totally fresh and natural (before it is fried in vegetable oil and served with a pile of starch). Starch is HUGE here, and I'm understanding now that it kind of has to be, because everyone walks 10-20k a day.

Anyway, I usually go to sleep by 9:30 because, well.... that's what there is to do after dinner. Then I wake up, and do some version of it all over again.

I'm about to get booted off the i-net (again), so I have to wrap it up. I'm off to Nairobi tomorrow (wahoo!) and we find out our future sites on Monday (eek!). I will be back next week with a lot more information (hopefully) about what my life will be like for the next two years!

Love and miss,
H

About that Kiswahili...

Er.... I just BOMBED my practice oral exam in Kiswahili. Something about being asked questions I can't answer in English ("Why did you join...? What will you do when you get back...?") threw me off... and then I started forgetting things like "I am..." and "I have...". Awesome. At least I'll be able to show HUGE improvement when I have my real exam in four weeks. :)

I forgot at the beginning of this blog to post the disclaimer from my PC training manual, so, for the record: THE CONTENTS OF THIS BLOG ARE MY OPINION AND DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINION(S), FEELINGS OR POSITIONS OF THE US PEACE CORPS OR GOVERNMENT. (That's not it exactly, but I don't have it in front of me. I'll fix it next time.)

I also didn't post my address last time, if anyone wants to send me a letter, so here it is... at least until August 2nd:

My name, PCT
PO Box 30518
Nairobi, Kenya

Some people were curious about a typical day in the life of a PC trainee.... or at least in MY life, so I will, as much as I can, try to give you an idea of how I'm spending my days. I have yet to experience any two days that are the same, so it's hard to choose a "typical" day to describe, but I'll split the difference(s) and take creative liberties for the sake of.... you. :)

On week days, I usually wake up between 6 and 7 am (7am is known as 1 in Kenyan time... the hours are counted from sun up to sun down. Makes sense, no? So 8am is actually 2, etc etc.), usually because the roosters, cows and dogs are going NUTS and/or because Mama is boiling water for bathing and/or Baba is blasting the Kamba radio station in the next room (the walls don't go up all the way to the roof, so I can hear everything, expecially when it's crazy loud. Any multi media, it seems, must be listened to at an unbelievable volume.... I have yet to figure out why...). If the bafu is unoccupied, I get my basin and fill it partially with boiling water, then the rest of the way with cold water. I splash it on myself, never as successfully as my Kenyan family members do, but I'm learning. (I use a cup to wash my hair-- so mzungu like).

Breakfast every morning consists of white bread with margarine and Chai.

Uh oh. Looks like I need to go get fitted for a bike. Ha. Soooo.... I'll keep you all on the edge of your seats ("What happens after breakfast?!?!?!?!?").... promise I'll continue soon.

Xoxo
H

More from Kitui-land...

Saturday in Kitui, and I actually found and open computer at an internet cafe. I think the trick is having absolutely no expectations and being willing to wait for up to 3 hours for a computer (somewhere) to open up. It worked. :) Since I'm not at the post office, I am actually sitting in a comfy chair... the mouse works, AND the keyboard isn't all crusty. My fingers aren't getting the workout they would there (I don't have to exert much force to push the keys down), but I guess I'm ok with that. For today.

The weeks are starting to fly by here which is both weird and exciting to me. I'm thinking it must mean that life seems more normal to me now. I'm not shocked by many of the things that used to make (and or break) my days when I first arrived. Making babies cry is not out of the ordinary, in fact, I'm pretty good at it, but I don't take it personally (some babies who have never seen wazungu are terrified). I look forward to my bucket baths (twice a day) and reading by lamp at night is a wonderful way to fall asleep (SAFETY NOTE: DO NOT FALL ASLEEP with a kerosene lamp lit. When I said "lamp" up there I actually meant "torch" which actually means "flashlight" here).

Kiswahili is coming together-- still pole pole, as we say. This week we have a mock language exam. That could be sobering, but I'm feeling good. :) Next weekend we will be in Nairobi, and then we're off to visit our future sites for a few days. I will have a lot to report on when I get back from seeing where I'll be for the next two years (and roughly what I'll be doing). For now, I'm just excited to find out.

If anyone is interested in sending me packages, feel free-- I love getting mail. I am allowed to recieve packages duty free for the first 90 business days that I'm here (that gets me to September sometime)... just know that things you send may get opened (to be inspected) and or opened (to be jacked). I have heard that writing things like "Jesus is watching you", and drawing crosses, etc. and writing in RED ink helps deter people (Kenya is a pretty religious country), but don't send anything that you'd be really sad about me not getting.

Hope to hear more from you all soon! I've been able to check my email pretty regularly, so feel free that way, too. Miss and love you all,

H :)

At long last...

Ah! I have 17 minutes to tell you all about everything that is my life. Um.... wow.

So, I'm sitting in the Kitui P.O.... I've found that this is the easiest place to access the i-net... but you never know how many people will be in line if/or the internet will be up and running. I guess I should start by saying that I am GREAT... and loving Kenya. I have already had my share of ups and downs.... it feels like I've been here forEVER.... not just three weeks. It's insane when every day brings hundreds of experiences unlike any you've had EVER before in your life... it makes every day seem like an eternity. In a surreal, but good way (usually).

I'm living in Kitui at the moment... actually in a nearby village (about 6 K from town). I live on a farm (shamba) with a Mama a Baba and one sister (she's 9). Both my parents are teachers at nearby schools... it's not common that both parents work, but I think it is awesome. My Mama and Baba are the hardest working people I've ever met... they cultivate land in their SPARE time. It is inspiring and just... exausting, even to watch. I take bucket baths, cook with charcoal and wood and gas sometimes... use electricity that is solar powered and absolutely love it. My Mama says that her life (in Africa) is primitive compared to life in "my place" (the US)... but I can't help but appreciate the way I'm living here. It is different. SO different... but very involved. Raw. I can't even explain it or put my finger on it (yet)...

We have language and culture training sessions pretty much every day M-F in a small group (there are 4 of us who live in the same village)... twice a week all 50 volunteers in my training group get together near town for big sessions. Kiswahili is coming along... pole pole, as we say. It's hard because everyone here speaks Kikamba primarily. Everyone understands Kiswahili, but around the house, all I hear is Kikamba.

Ah! Two minutes.

I promise I will be better about updating this thing, now that I know I can get internet (maybe). Don't be strangers! Post, write, email... call (I have a cell phone, don't ask me how)... incoming calls are free... so... 254-723-061-235. Call me!!!

I am thinking of all of you and hoping that life in the fast lane is treating you well. More to come. Promise.

xoxoxoxoxo,
H