Ninapenda Kenya sana.

(I love Kenya very much.)

What an amazing country and experience so far, just a month into my program. Sorry I've been a little lacking in the blog department, but now I'm settled in Nairobi for a while and should be able to keep up.

So, our program began with an orientation-type week in two different locations in Nairobi. First we stayed in a hostel in Karen, a "suburb" of Nairobi named after Karen Blixen (author of Out of Africa). We learned about the program, toured Nairobi a bit, and had our first "drop-offs" in preparation for our independent study projects later on. I kid you not, just two days into my time in Kenya, I was dropped off with two girls in my program at Jomo Kenyatta National Hospital, the largest public hospital in Kenya. We just kind of walked around with our jaws dropped for a while, amazed at the lack of security or cleanliness, long lines into various wards, and the completely different atmosphere from anything that exists in the states. Finally we were able to talk to the Head of Public Relations for KNH, and he gave us a 2-hour tour of the hospital's Comprehensive Care Center for HIV+ patients. We saw waiting rooms full of people waiting for status checks, prisoners in shackles being tested, and playrooms for positive children. It was an eye-opener for sure, and also a confidence booster to see that we could use our limited Kiswahili to ask for help. The people at KNH were incredibly and unexpectedly welcoming to three American students.

The second part of orientation was in a different hostel called Tumaini ("Hope"), this time near the neighborhoods in which we'd soon enter our homestays. It was useful to get to know these neigborhoods before moving in.

A week into the program, I moved into my homestay in Nairobi. I live in a district called Jamhuri ("Freedom"). It is right near Kibera, the largest "slum" in Kenya and one of the largest in Africa. Jamhuri's not the safest place by night, but I feel perfectly comfortable walking around and striking up conversations with its residents by day.

My family here in Nairobi is awesome. My mama is Millicent, and she has three kids: Kevin (21), Roy (19), and Juliette (12). She also has an adopted daughter, Susan (18), who is a house-help, having moved away from her family in western Kenya to make some money and return later. Kevin is at university and Juliette boarding school...I have met both of them already, but both are currently back on their campuses. Roy is working part time and awaiting entry into university later this spring. Roy and I share a room and, to my surprise, he knows significantly more about American pop culture than I do. He's into soccer and the family lives to watch English Premier League games on TV Wednesday and Saturday nights. You're probably wondering if I'm in Kenya right now as I describe my family, and you're completely right in doing so...the Oketch family could be sent to the states right now and fit in perfectly. Not what I expected in Kenya, but loving, welcoming, and fun. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Just a week into our Nairobi homestays, we took off for the portion of our program on the coast. We took an overnight train from Nairobi to Mombasa (17 hours to go half the distance across Texas, reaching mind-boggling speeds of maybe 20 mph), which was definitely interesting! Once on the coast, we headed by bus on sandy roads to the village of Bodo, population 500ish. Thus began one of the most memorable periods of my life so far...

We stayed with families in Bodo, all of which were Muslim and Swahili people (creators of the national language and often of mixed Arab/Indian/African descent). My family consisted of Baba (father) Saidi (just 26 years old), Mama (no older than I am), my sisters Biti Auli (10) and Suomu (6), and my baby brother Saidi (1 and a half). Only my father spoke English, so it was a great experience trying to communicate with the rest of the family. Motivating, for sure. My home in Bodo is made of sticks and mud, with palm frawns woven together for the roof. The family insisted that I have my own room, while they shared the only other room in the house, my sisters (I think) sleeping on just a mat on the dirt floor. The weather in Bodo was intensely hot, probably mid-90's each day with high humidity, and it felt as though the sun were about 3 feet above our heads. I poured sweat like a madman, alllllllllllll 10-days.

So, our time in Bodo consisted of intensive Kiswahili classes in the mornings (while the heat was still survivable), then afternoons to hang out with our families, fail miserably while competing against the village teams in soccer and volleyball, and work on our village research projects, mine consisting of interviewing villagers and fishermen about food production for the village. We helped the village with their ongoing construction project of a health clinic, and many villagers crowded around to watch as the wazungu ("white people") formed an assembly line to transfer an enormous pile of coral blocks from one location to another closer to the clinic site. My nights consisted of eating with my family, sitting on the ground and using our hands to share a gigantic platter. Erin, a girl on my program, and I always ate dinner together, because her parents in Bodo were my grandparents. They spoke NO English, so it was nice for her to have a break with some English. After dinner we'd hang out for a while and learn Kiswahili from our families, compare the hilarious differences with which our cultures interpret animal noises (I still laugh thinking about Baba Saidi making a pig noise), and listening to Kiswahili news on the radio. I'd return to my room every night and battle scorpions (kill count for the 10-day trip = 12, if you ever have problems you know who to ask) to the point that I had sweat through my minimal clothing. Despite how ridiculously tired I was each night, the heat was a formidable opponent in my quest for sleep. No complaints about Bodo, though...I can't believe how welcoming the village was to our group and I feel as though I'm now a member of the village and, especially, a family there. It was very difficult to leave the wonderful people and place. I wish I could post pictures from Bodo from the Nairobi internet cafes, especially those of my baby brother Saidi, but these computers make that difficult! You'll just have to wait.

After our time in Bodo we had four days in Mombasa, kind of the "happenin" place in Kenya. It's a huge port city, subjecting it to the same coastal climate as Bodo. The Muslim people of the coast are much friendlier than the busy mix of people in Nairobi, so it was a pleasant stay for sure. We had some interesting visits while in Mombasa, too...we went to Kemri, a medical research center and hospital in the rural district of Kilifi, where they are doing lots of HIV/AIDS and malaria research. On our last day we visited the Mboya School for the Cerebral Palsied (maybe not the most politically correct wording for such a center), which is a great organization that reminded me lots of Best Buddies in its mission and work. The kids at Mboya were excited to have visitors, and the teachers were passionate about their work and eager to explain everything to us. Most of the kids couldn't speak, but we helped them eat their snacks and encouraged them to do math problems and name-writing on their chalk slates. It was uplifting to see a program for children with mental and physical disabilities in Kenya, as I (perhaps ignorantly) didn't expect to see a whole lot of compassion for the differently abled here in Kenya.

So now, after a 24-hour train/bus ride (6 hours of standstill after the cargo train ahead of us went off the tracks), we're back in Nairobi. I moved back in to my home in Jamhuri with the Oketch's last night, and told them all my tales from Bodo (surprisingly, life in rural villages is about as foreign to them as it is to you or me). Now it's back to Kiswahili classes and lectures from various University professors and experts about development and health, with some Nairobi fun on the side. The pubs here are great, often with live African music and cheap African beer (Tusker and Pilsner are most popular native Kenyan brews).

A big surprise came while I was in Bodo when I found out that I'm a finalist for the Truman scholarship. This Friday I'll be flying home for the weekend, interviewing on Monday, then flying right back to Nairobi. I'm a little nervous for how much this is going to mess up my mind and body (8 hours difference and probably about 70 degrees difference between the two places), but I can't pass up the opportunity!

The rest of the semester is shaping up nicely. Late in March we embark on our educational tours. I hope to go to Uganda (with a side visit to Rwanda) with one of our two academic directors, but that trip is more limited than the one to Tanzania due to excessive traveling. But Kyle and I plan to travel to Tanzania after our SIT programs, so I feel as though I have a legitimate claim to a spot on the Uganda trip. Plus, who ever gets to go to Uganda???? This guy.

The last part of the semester will be organizing my own accommodations for my Independent Stuy project. I'm planning to study cultural barriers to effective malaria prevention/treatment in a rural district, most like with the Luo people near the western city of Kisumu. I can't wait for the research experience or to get to know another rural people.

So, that's all for now. Sorry it's long, but now you have something to satisfy that insatiable desire you have each and every day (maybe hour) you check my blog.

Kwaheri (for now) from Kenya.
Nate