A Rose in a Thorn Bush

Hey guys :) Sorry I hadn't gotten to internet sooner, I've been super busy! Right now I'm in Kisumu, which is Kenya's third largest city after Nairobi and Mombasa. (It's kinda like Montreal lol)

I'm blogging things that have happened to me from a few weeks back because I don't want to skip too much. So, if you've read on Mayan's blog that we've gone somewhere, don't worry. I've got you covered. My post will just come a little later. I'm currently blogging things from 3 weeks back :( Today, my first post will be about one of my best friends in Kenya, Madam Rose. As you know, with Mayan, Papa, Leslie and the other boys that live across the way, the house is full of testosterone. Madam Rose is my escape house :) She is the first teacher in the primary section pursuing a degree. The other teachers have just finished highschool and attended teacher's college.

I identify with Rose because though she is from a very rural area, she has a broad perspective and I'm able to talk to her about many unconventional, even radical, concepts. She is 32 years old and unwed because she wants to be a learned woman. This is a huge deal in an area when girls are being married as young as 9 years old and I really respect her tenacity. In fact, she counsels the girls of primary to become strong women, and she is a fine example herself. Many girls in primary end up dropping out to work or get married because their families need the bride price. This is a stark contrast from Canada, where I find most of the drop outs to be male. Females here bear the brunt of a household's work.

I really value these conversations with Rose because as a foreigner, the children are reluctant to tell me too much. There is a Luo saying that goes, "One should only show their nakedness to their blood". so, the children dislike showing us their weaknesses or their need. Even when visiting our home, they will borrow their friends' nicer clothing so it does not reveal their true needs. They are resourceful and resilient beyond my imagination.

The photos in this post are of Rose and I cooking some sukumawiki (greens), rice and dhal (beans). This is the food that I eat on a regular basis!

Weapon of mass destruction

Wanna know the deadliest substance in Kenya?

Lemon Cordial aka Drank. Its florescent color and charming happy lemon speaks for itself. I've spent many days unsuccessfully trying to resist its charm. *dilute to taste* lol I'm just going to add random pictures of home life. I gots some time before heading back to the shamba for some lunch.

This is me and Asuke, one of Papa's workers. I came home from school one day to find cute little quails. So i decided to take a picture! Right after this, Asuke asked to also hold the quail and when i handed it to him, he was very helpful and showed me how to break their wings :(
...later he cooked them. I told Mayan I couldn't wait... but i actually didn't have the guts to eat them hahaha! He totally called my bluff on that one.


This is me with some of my students. Yeah, I know, they look older than me. Strangely enough some of the teachers are younger than the students and they still command the same respect. The youngest teacher at Wikondiek is Madame Winfred born in 1990! Its pretty nuts but in a very rural area, as long as you've gotten good grades in secondary school, you may be qualified to teach it. She is just teaching to save up money for her admission to University of Nairobi in September! Kudos to her. Side note : I look gross here but you get the idea. I feel when I have impromptu conversations with the students about Canada and University life, it provides them with way more information compared to when I'm in the classroom teaching.

This is me and the preschool kids. Their parents pay 60 ksh a month for their children to attend. $1 CAD = 66 ksh. The poverty this area experiences does not allow many parents to pay this amount. The teacher here tells me many parents owe them. Also, there are many orphans in this area that may be in child-headed families. In this case, its hard even to be fed. The Asiyo family sponsors alot of children through school :) but there is always a need there. The classroom is a forested area with no chalkboard. It's really tough to teach. These children are really young (maybe 4 years old) and don't know English yet so they mostly just run after me and stare. Some are scared. Actually, last week I made a small child cry beacuse i stopped to say hello. But they mostly get really excited when i'm around... they like to pinch my skin, shake my hand and pull my hair hahaha. I'm different *yay*

Okay i'm being booted off.
till next time TO <3

Creativity is Universal

So I have the time to blog more than once today *hi5*

This next post is about my students and the national music festival in Kenya. Those who know me, know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE poetry and spoken word. Well, Kenya's National Music Festival is a yearly competition between secondary schools where students from all corners of the country come out and showcase original poems, songs and musical compositions and compete for the top. There is also some bomb traditional dancing that goes on. I will upload videos of said dancing when I get home. When I went with my students as they competed for provincials I was blown by the delivers of some of these pieces. Pieces about AIDS, School, Orphans, the temptation of unprotected sex... etc. It really didn't have to be in English; the raw emotion was enough.




























Pic 1: A group of boys playing a self-composed song. peep the drum set and harmonica-keyboard.
Pic 2: Me and a group of girls I teach :) Their piece "Che Africa" (the wife of Africa/African Woman) made it to provincials
Pic 3: Students eager to see each other perform. *tear* Such a beautiful sight
Pic 4: Me and some dancers from another school. The feathers on their shoulders = some crazy shimmying. BELIEVE ME. One guy was on stilts during the whole performance.

Miss you lots!
xoxo

P.s. If you wanna follow Mayan's blog for comparison, check it out at subtlekey.blogspot.com

B is for Barry

Hey guys :)

I'm approaching my 6th week away from home trying to soak up everything around me. I suppose I will not know just how much I've learnt till I've come home. It always feels like I can learn more... but until then, I wanted to share a story with you all about my host mother, Mama Asiyo (or Honourable Dr Pheobe Asiyo). Mom is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Kenya (and much more) and was telling me the other night about Mr. Barack Obama. As you may or may not know, Barack Obama Sr. was born and raised in the province I am in and just so happens to be baptized by mom's father way back in the day.

So, at dinner mom tells us about her memories of Barack Sr. and how he used to tutor her son, and I asked about Barack Obama Jr. aka the current president. She says, "Oh Barry? Yes, he is a bright young boy"...... UM! how surreal was that? haha she continued to tell us of a time President Obama had visited in the 80s before him and Michelle were married and how they chose to sleep in his grandmother's mud floor for the night instead of returning to the comfy Asiyo home. She told me the next day, they invited Barack and then girlfriend Michelle to the home for dinner where Mr. Obama Jr. turned to Michelle and asked "Now that you've seen where I come from and the poverty of my origins, do you still want to marry this man?" Ofcourse, she replied with a jovial, "it was romantic". SERIOUSLY HEART WARMING. The above picture is of my and mom at a ceremony honouring her achievements and supposedly celebrating some funding for the area she has received from President Obama himself.

Once and Luo, always a Luo. If there is anything I've observed about the people around me, it's that they fiercely value the preservation of their culture and it has worked in their favour for the most part. The ceremony was also to celebrate the Luo culture without partaking in tribalism and disadvantaging women. Mom was also honoured that night by being named the first female Luo elder. Me and my students partied hard.

Happy Half-term!

Oyaore everybody! (that's good morning in Luo)

(pictured is George the fisherman and brown bear)

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to come to Kendu Bay for the internet connect again! It is half-term break for the students at Wikondiek. It's a celebration!

This is perfect because I was rushed last time and there were a few things I wanted to mention :) god loves me.

The first is Papa's shamba (farm). On this glorious plot of land, we've seen flower, chili, mango, pawpaw (papaya), avocado, maize and millet crops! It's great! We've even seen a family of hippos chillin' because the shamba is right on Lake Victoria. The first time I heard the sound they make, I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at Leslie with utter confusion and fear.

Leslie is like our brother. He maintains the shamba and lives in the home across from us! BFF foreverrr haha! okay enough with the teasing, here are some pics:

Pic 1: The shamba is located in a gulf at Victoria Lake. *pretty*

Pic 2: Leslie holding a little goat still so I can pet it

Pic 3: A woman harvesting chillies

Pic 4: Fishermen fishing with mosquito nets... its actually illegal to to this *yikes*

*note: Last time the computer crashed so the post was disorganized. my bad.

Ready for my close up

Jambo Salaam from mother Africa y'all!

I know, I will try to update more often and with smaller entries but I have to go to some lengths to get the net so bear with me. the good news is... your girl found a USB cord in the bush so this post will mostly be pics to make up for the text heavy post 2 weeks prior :)

First off, UPDATES


So, my personal goal was to make it to an internet connection every week but I have good reason for not making it last week: Malaria. After the vomitting, fever, *stomach* pains and some very scary convulsing Mayan and I experienced, we are back on our feet. SURVIVED (as always..with Hello Kitty)

Now, I'm gonna take you through our initial journey and introduction to Wikondiek. It was hard to describe without pics.

The 7 hour matatu ride:
















Pic 1: the definition of sketchy. we were led through an alley before we arrived and had to leave all our luggage at this place. The driver's baby son is named Barack.
Pic 2: we passed the Rift Valley.

There are other pictures of my journey but connection is ridiculously slow. Half way through the ride we stopped at a restaurant at the side of the road and I decided to use the washroom facilities. What I found was a metal hole in the ground with flies and a rank smell.. what do they use for leverage? Yeah. I held it for 7 hours. the conviction was THAT strong.

Home sweet home





























Pic 1: The front of Papa Asiyo's house.
Pic 2: The back. My room faces the back so the turkeys, chickens, roosters, dogs, goats and cows def. provide and interesting soundtrack
Pic 3: Our washroom. You are correct. I bathe with a basin. theres only one faucet-handle-thing because theres only one temperature offered haha!
Pic 4: My boudoir.

Not bad at all right? (Keep in mind this is the biggest house in the area. It's weird because we live beside mud houses. no lie.)

The food:

I know my family is dying to see what I'm eating for fear i'm not keeping up my impeccable figure *model pose*. The food is seriously HEARTY. and full of LOVE. hahaha

We eat lots and lots of fruits: Avocadoes the size of your head, Pawpaws (papayas), watermelons, mangoes and bananas usually.

lots of fish and chicken and grainy foods.

On a more serious note, I was chatting with my mom the other day about all the foods I miss (my little coping mechanism) and she said she felt the same way when she left Vietnam. It dawned on me: the woman left her home forever with nothing but uncertainty about the journey ahead of her. what do I have to worry about? I am my mother's daughter and I refuse to whine about what I'm missing. (but I have crazy love for my home nonetheless)

Going to enjoy LIFE instead of waiting for it to begin ;)

With love from Kenya,

Maggie

Today it is my birthday!

...and my treat is internet.. haha am I wired or what?

So after spending a few days in the luxurious home of Caesar, I have now arrived and spent a week and a half in my REAL destination. Wikondiek. (try looking for it on a map. you won't find it.) hahaha right now i'm sitting in Kendu Bay, a relatively close destination with internet. God is good :)

Side note: I tried to find icecream today. I settled for a popsicle in a sandwich bag held together with a twig. Tomorrow with be interesting :(

For those of you well wishers (mo and TT) who expected me to be living in the jungle wearing furs and killing wild boars with a spear while perfecting the coyote call, I'm sorry. But I will ease your minds by telling you that my current living situation has come much closer to that fantasy! haha

The home I'm currently staying in is solar powered and occasionally assisted by a generator. So don't you worry! I am taking lots of pics!.... I just can't load them because the internet is slow and I brought the USB cord for my BB, not my camera. What is a city girl to do?

I know I was having some predeparture jitters but me and Mayan are closing on our 3rd week soon and I am really enjoying myself! We're trying to pick up some Kiswahili and Luo (tribal language) but I'm afraid we just can make it to Stacey's level haha! (Stacey, if you are reading, you are a hero here and everyone cherishes the memories they've shared with you, please come back).

Last year when I was away for the summer I was SERIOUSLY in TO withdrawl. Now, I'm even farther but it gives me a calming effect. The Toronto ego is something that i'll never lose though, don't you worry ;) Me and Mayan are like the brother and sister that have to go to school together and travel everywhere together to please our parents haha! I don't know how else to put it but he keeps me grounded. He's there when I need him and he's also there when don't feel like I need him and viceversa. *everyone please take a moment to remember the petty sibling disputes you used to have as a child* ... yeah. that's us. More than anything he keeps me grounded and gives me more perspective. In fact, the other day he told me he judges the people (mostly men) that we meet by how they treat me. Isn't he cuddly? haha! On a more serious note, his comment resonates with me because the society is very patriarchal and the male creeper population is rampant. Thank god I have brown bear on my side :)

In other news, the first days of school were rough...apparently my take on English is odd and my Americanized English sounds alot like "raw-raw-raw" to my students. We laughed about it and hopefully we're over it haha. There are alot of challenges here I did not anticipate but the students generally want to learn from me, it will just take time to get over the hilarity that is a Chinese English teacher :) *putting on a brave face*

The food continues to be delicious and the home I am staying at does have workers that cook gigantic meals. Mom, get ready to let out some seams on my clothes when I get back. The hospitality of my Mama and Papa Asiyo makes refusing food almost impossible. (yeah I think that sounds like an adequate excuse too haha.)

Random thoughts: I have an uneven tan, showing leg is a little risque here. Mosquitoes are ruining my life. On the bright side, I have perfected the art of getting into my moquito-netted bed. The sounds of hippos are surprisingly similar to the man sitting infront of us during our flight. And finally, I miss night life...

You can take the girl out of the city but...... well, I found internet didn't I? So, you know ;)

Staying savy, I miss you TO <3