May 16, 2010

The medical screening is today, and when I woke up this morning, I was exhausted. The alarm went off at 5am to give me time to shower, then start waking up the group at 5:30 for a 6am/6:30am breakfast. The group eats at staggered times so that the staff here doesn’t get overwhelmed with people-both for cooking and seating. It worked out well, despite my falling back asleep. I rolled over, shut off my alarm, and took a deep breath. The next thing I knew, it was an hour later! No worries, everyone was ready at 7:15am.

Everyone was very excited for the day to begin. We couldn’t get to the Mbaka Oromo Primary School (MOPS) fast enough. Everyone was in constant motion gathering supplies that included not only medicine, but candy as well. They wisely brought some lollipops to help keep the attention of the younger students. We wouldn’t be walking the entire way this time, instead we hired matatus to make two trips that will get us within a couple miles of the school. The morning was once again overcast, so things were relatively cool. It was greatly appreciated because most of us were carrying 20 lbs in our packs. It doesn’t sound like much when you realize that most of the Kenyan women passing us have 70lbs of water on their head!

Jim had called, and was on his way to the Guest House after picking up Jessica and Steve, with additional medicine. The matatu had arrived, however, so we sent the first group to get dropped off. The matatu would return 15 minutes later to pick up the second group. Well, at least that’s what I thought. While we were waiting, I went across the street to get some more minutes for the internet and cell phone. When I got back, those that were remaining were walking toward the entrance to Maseno U. Jim had arrived, and instructed them to go there to save a little time. It took closer to 30 minutes for the matatu to return, and when it did, Noel emerged with muddy shoes. The van got stuck in the mud left behind from the heavy rains overnight. The only way to get unstuck is for everyone to get out and push. It happens all the time here, so it was another experience to talk about later.

We filled the matatu pretty quickly, and Tim and I ended up getting in Jim’s car to give them a little more space. The matatu got there quicker than we did, because when we arrived, sure enough, everyone was outside of the van walking ahead of it. They, too, got stuck in the mud, but this group didn’t have to push, the driver just kept manipulating the wheel until the back end freed itself. We managed to pass them on some harder ground, and soon after stopped. We got to a point where normal vehicle do not dare travel. Much to our surprise, the first group was nowhere in sight! Despite given strict instructions to wait for us, the other group was nowhere in sight. We knew that they didn’t know where they were going, so Jim and I were a bit nervous. Noel calmed us down by saying that some MBO students were there to help carry things, and they were the ones that took them the rest of the way. Because we were at a fork in the road, we asked some women in a small kiosk which way the mzungos went. She pointed left. Not good. Although both these roads intersected about ¾ of a mile later, the routes were vastly different. We followed here instructions, though, and 10 minutes later we were trying to traverse a 5’ wide stream. Steve and I tried to position rocks so that people wouldn’t get wet, and it worked well. This is part of everyday life here, and normally if you had to cross this water, you’d merely take of your shoes, and maybe even your pants if the water was deep enough, then walk through it. Thankfully we didn’t have to do either. Although the rocks we dropped in the water were a bit unsteady, we got everyone across without too much trouble. The path down to the stream and back up the other side was very steep, and everyone was sliding getting up and down. This path, as opposed to the other one, was badly damaged by water erosion due to the heavy rains. We forged ahead, passing small farms with children that would run out to greet us, while their parents who were working in the field would smile and wave. We finally got to the school where we learned that the first group didn’t take the path we were told they did. Perhaps the woman that gave us that direction had a sense of humor. I wondered if she followed us laughing as we struggled. Who knows? All that mattered was that we arrived.

Everyone was greeted by students in uniform shaking hands and slapping low 5’s (as opposed to high 5’s). The courtyard between the classrooms was a beehive of activity with groups of children scattered everywhere. We walked past the leaning basketball hoop, which made me smile as I thought about the prior day’s events. Then I saw Alex again, standing up by the administration block, still wearing his Spider-man sweater. I introduced Katie to some of the faculty and friends that came to greet us. Each one had the same reaction. “Why are you so small?” they would say as they hugged her and laughed.

I was greatful that Naomi was here. She is the head teacher at the school, and the secretary for a local Catholic church. When Andrea brought Katie back from school, they also brought 500 rosaries donated by the Peyton Center. It’s an organization on Stonehill’s campus that donates rosaries to countries all around the world. We had gone there one day while we were visiting Katie, and Andrea thought it would be neat if we could bring some over on our trip. We asked for 50, and got 500! I knew the perfect person to give them to… Naomi! She was elated as she looked into the box to see the different collors packaged into individual bags along with instructions on how to pray. Ashley and Harriett came over with excitement, and asked if they could have one. We obliged, and Katie told them the story of how the package made its way from Boston to Maseno. Naomi talked about how she would use them with the small Christian communities in their church, and the young people that they teach. She went on to talk about how new people are constantly joining the church. I got the hint. “Would you like me to bring more the next time I come?” “That would be wonderful!” she exclaimed, as she hugged me again. Katie got another one, too. After a photograph, she took the box back to her office, and I turned to see the three girls talking softly about their families and faith.

After a little bit, we went outside. It’s time to get organized. We sat in the hall, and discussed what would be happening today. William wanted to make some comments, and Jim insisted that he keep it short. William likes to talk, and although I love to listen to him, we had much to do.

Initial screening and triage would remain here, in the hall. The library would be used for teaching about malaria and handing out mosquito nets, while classroom 8 would be used for vision care and classroom 5 for teaching general health and nutrition. We set up a small table under a tree outside to handout toothbrushes and toothpaste. They started with the youngest children first, and we would work our way through to grade 4. A doctor from the University Hospital, who had today off, accompanied Jessica, and everyone was thankful for his presence. He, along with some other locals helped when there were translation problems. Jactun was one of those individuals. He is our painter, who draws the logos on the outside of the new classrooms built through the fundraising efforts back home. The Fairport Red Raider, and East Ridge Knight adorned the building we were currently working in. Marilyn, Nancy, Peter, and two Nurse Practitioners Denise and Karen, were handling the screening and triage. Also in the hall were Mark, Rick, Alex, Katie L, Ashley and Kara who were doing everything from handing out meds to checking heights and weights. It was running like a well oiled machine. Liz, Tim and Steve were handling the optical exams and giving out reading glasses when necessary. The Masco sisters and Lillian were handling the general health and nutrition, and Katie J, Brent and Allie were on malaria/mosquito net duty. Teachers from MOPS were scattered throughout, too. They were also here working on their day off.

The students passed from room to room, and everyone marveled at how well they all behaved. They would emerge from the screening with a lollipop in their mouths, then they’d get a mosquito net as they left the library. Some of the packaged nets were bigger than the children! Then they’d get their eyes checked, and move on for some additional learning before being rewarded with a toothbrush * toothpaste. I’ll add that the majority of these supplies were donated. The only thing that we really paid for was the mosquito nets. Everything else (for the most part) was donated from dentists, doctors, stores and friends back home. I’m willing to bet that the nurses paid for the Dum Dums.

The children waited patiently in two lines outside of every room. Sprinkled among them were some other members of the community, like mothers with infants and toddlers. Slowly, some of the elderly also arrived, and they were given seats in front of the administration block. Many of these people waited 6 hours to be seen, and not one complaint about the waiting time was raised.

Jessica, Jim and I moved from room to room taking pictures and helping in whatever capacity was necessary. Sometimes it was crowd control because students wanted to cut in the line or too many were crowding the staff. Other times it was handing out items, but most of it was being a gopher… “Can you take this over to Monica,” “Can you get me a power bar out of my backpack?” “We need a translator?” Dan and Erin moved about filming and taking still pictures for the video.

It rained on and off most of the day, but the children weren’t bothered by it. This is Kenya. We worked from 9 until 3 without much of a break. Some people paused for a moment for tea and peanuts, but that was about it. When we did finally stop for the day, although we don’t have an exact count yet, I would bet that we saw over 500 children/students/adults. The only time anyone stopped was to move to a different station to break up the monotony. The only ones who were unable to switch were those doing the screenings. For the most part, they stood/sat in a 3’x3’ area the entire time. Amazing.

Everyone that was still in line waiting returned home with instructions to come back next week when the second group of nurses/students/faculty arrived. Again, nobody griped about it, they just left. We cleaned up, and entered the Administration Block for lunch. Two long table accommodated the group, and it time to eat. Kuku, ugali, skumawiki, stewed bananas, rice, chipati, beefm and dengu was passed around until everyone had their fill. William brought the cooks in to have them recognized for the work they had done. There’s no school on Sunday, so not only did the children put on their uniforms, but these women came in to cook for 3 hours! The conversation was lively and quite humorous as people talked about what they saw during the day. After lunch, and yes, it was a late one, we went back to the hall for a brief review. Suggestions were thrown out on how to make it easier on the group coming next week, as well as improvements for coming years. That was wonderful to hear. Just about everyone had something to say, and it was interesting to listen to everyone’s perspectives… both here and during lunch. Four very young boys sat quietly between Monica and Jim. Monica handed them some stickers that they immediately stuck on their foreheads. They didn’t make a sound as people spoke. Jim then began, thanking everyone for their participation, and reiterating how this group has changed the lives of these children. His voice began to crack, and he sought refuge in directing his attention to the four little boys as he fought back tears. “You’ve greatly enriched these children’s lives, and we can’t thank you enough for doing it. These kids are better because you are here. Isn’t that right?” he said, as he rubbed the head of one of the boys. He then gently hugged one of them. You could hear a pin drop. Marilyn broke the silence with some comments, then Jim had everyone move into another room. Charles, the choir director, had a special treat for everyone.

Even though he was missing many of the older students, the choir performed two songs, and I watched as everyone stood spellbound in front of the classroom. These kids have angelic voices, and it’s easy to see how they are able to win 1^st place in national competitions. Listening to them, while birds are chirping in the trees and the local farm animals are making their customary moo’s and baaah’s is always moving for me. Looking over the landscape as their voices fill the air is absolutely breathtaking. This is Kenya.

We the walk home, then split into two groups. The majority went the long way – a walk all the way back to Maseno. The others went with Jim and took the shorter route to Chuolembo, then got a matatu back to the Guest House. Somehow, we got their first. When it’s just Jim and I, we talk the entire way. Larger groups did the same thing. Tim, Kara, Karen, Jessica & Steven, Alex, Nancy and Mark, Allie, Brent and I talked about a myriad of subjects, and we laughed most of the 1+ hour walk. The only time we stopped was because Karen really needed to go to the bathroom. She asked, “Is there a long drop close?” A “long drop” is another name for a latrine… it means exactly what it sounds like. Tim gave her some toilet paper, and I informed her that there isn’t one on this path, at least not until we get to Maseno University in a mile or so. She’d grin and bear it, because she just couldn’t bring herself to go into the bush. We laughed a lot for that next mile. Who knew you could talk about bladder control for that long? We made it to the university, and I pointed her toward some outhouses. “Can you please check to make sure there are no animals in there?” she said. “Seriously?” “You have to! Please?” I looked in the first one, but it was no longer usable. The second one was the same. Now Karen was really in trouble, and she began walking somewhat awkwardly as she tried to keep it together. We moved to the next set of shelters, but they were shower stalls. “Oh no! Come on!” she shouted. I was laughing my ass off. We finally found one, and after peering in I told her it was all clear. We waited outside for her to emerge. She came out with a big smile and a heavy sigh. She then perked up and said, “There was a huge lizard in there!” I said, “Oh please! Was it a huge 5” lizard?” She laughed we continued on. Her next question was, “Are we going to stop for a beer?” That made everyone laugh. She just emptied her tank, now she wants to fill it up again.

We got back to the Guest House before the other group. We were walking pretty briskly, but I didn’t think we’d get there first. I’m only just now realizing that Jess and Steve must have made a turn to go back to their home when we went through the gate towards the dormitories. I feel bad that we didn’t say, “See you tomorrow.” Most of us showered, and when everyone was finally together, we wandered over to the Green Park for a light snack and something to drink. One group went first, and a smaller one followed. I was hoping to get some more 5liter bottles of water, but the petrol station was closed. When we arrived at the restaurant, we placed our order. Shortly thereafter, the other group received two huge plates of chips (fries). When they brought us some dengu and kuku, they informed us that they were out of chips. Alex went to the other table to ask them if they’d share, and although they said no, they relented after she shipped out the “guilt” card. We laughed and told stories long after the other table left. I’m still laughing about some of them.

I think we’ve made a good impression on everyone. Many of them want to go back to the school, and I believe many will. It’s going to be a busy day today (yes, now it’s 6am Monday). I woke up at 3am, tried to skype Andrea and Karen, but the connection was terrible. It’s frustrating when it doesn’t work well, so we’ll have to try again tomorrow. The nurses are going to make rounds at a Hospital, while the “other” venture back to MOPS. In the morning we’ll stop to help a partially disable teacher with some construction at his home. That should give them some time to get the bricks delivered at MOPS. They were supposed to be there yesterday, but they didn’t make it. In any event, it’s time to get up and get everyone going.

Talk to you soon.

Oh, I almost forgot. When we got back to the Guest House, I needed a shower. The water in the morning's been cold for the last two days, so I thought maybe there'd be some at night. There wasn't. That wasn't the funny part though. Outside the shower, there's a window sill that you can set your items on... there's just no other place to put them. Above the sill is an iron grate for additional safety. Anyway, I finished washing my hair and reached through the curtain to put the travel sized shampoo away. I would normally balance on the iron gate and lean it against the window. This time it fell. I heard thud... thud... ploink! "Oh my God," was the only thing I could say. I finished my shower, and, "Holy crap!" was the only thing I could say. "What's wrong?" Katie asked. "Nothing," I said, and started to giggle. Every thirty seconds, I couldn't help but laugh, and every time I did, Katie would ask, "What's going on? Is everything ok?" "Yes," I would reply, accompanied by a snicker. "Did something fall in the toilet?" "Don't worry," I said, "everything will be ok." "Did my toothbrush fall in the toilet?" she asked. "Yes, it did." This time I just burst out laughing. Katie went screaming out of the room. Everyone in the hall wanted to know what the comotion was. So I showed them this picture. If you get grossed out with gross things,don't scroll down. I'm purposely posting this picture well below this paragraph to protect the feint of heart. I still think it's funny, and yes, I had extra tooth brushes. Yes, it's gross, but it's not like I didn't tell her... ok, now that would have been gross! I still think it was funny...

May 15, 2010

Another beautiful day. Katie and I had breakfast at about 8am, and we started off toward the school at 9. Although we like to leave by 7am to avoid walking in the heat, the weather is cooperating by providing overcast skies, and a gentle breeze. It wouldn't stay like that for the entire day, but much like when this journey began, Someone's watching over us.

The group was made up of the following members: Katie and me, Rick & Tim, Mark, Brent, Dan, Erin, the other Katie, Harriet and Jim. As always, the walk was filled with some short stories, some not so short stories, and much laughter. Despite the cloud cover and breeze, it was still hot, and when we all removed our backpacks, a damp sweat mark was left wherever the pack touched your body. the walk was constantly ineterupted by friends, and strangers, who came out to greet us, and thank us for our return. Katie, Brent and Tim learned quickly that if you take a child's picture, then show it to them on your camera, you make a friend for life. It was wonderful watching there faces light up as much as the children's did.

The children would run up to us, and call out in english, "How ah you?" The "you" went up an entire octave, and always made us smile. Then came the hand-shakes or hand slaps. It was also nice to see everyone trying out a little Kiswahili. Rick, Katie and Brent were become comfortable in asking, "Habari?" (how are you) Dan has been here before on a previous video making trip, so his voice was heard as well.

At about the halfway point, we saw Samuel. This is the man that first called me "my height." He's about 6' 3", and strong as an ox. I yelled his name, and he dropped is bike, threw his arms around me and proceeded to crush every rib and vertebrae in my body. As he hugged me and pounded on my back, Katie let out a high pitched, "Oh!" It definitely wasn't something she was expecting. I introduced him to Katie, "My first born." More gently, yet still pretty firm, he gave her a great big hug, and welcomed her to Kenya. He then slowly moved through the crowd doing the same. He was kind enough to bring it down a notch for the women, but he was merely storing up the power for then next guy he grabbed. Although they felt a bit awkward to them, and they stiffened up a bit, I'm sure it will give them a lasting impression. Samuel always does. He continued on to Maseno to have his "car" repaired. Samuel has this wonderful way of referring to his possessions. His "car" is really a bicycle. When he asks you to come to see his "office," he really means his shamba (garden). His office is right next to the school, and we saw his corn before we saw the classrooms. The stalks had to be 7-8' in the air! We passed a lot of corn on the way to the school, and this, by far, was the biggest and healthiest maise we saw. Once he was done welcoming us, he continued on his way. Katie took a lot of pictures of the greeting, so I'll get them from her to post. On we marched.

We came up over the ridge, and Jim and I were behind the group due our obligatory "hello" to Mama Helen who lives about 100 yards from the school grounds. When the group came up over the ridge, they were in awe at the beauty of the school. Much of it is due to it's location. It is literally in the middle of nowhere, and the off white walls and blue trim is a stark contrast to the lush greens of this countryside. Three young female students immediately came out to greet them with smiles and hand shakes. We entered the compound and stopped to say hello to some of the faces peering through the windows. Kenyans are very soft spoken, so you get used to listening for them. I heard the occasional, "Ahdahm," (which is how they pronounce my name) so I would walk over to say "Jambo" or do the equivalent of an American childs "knucks." They call it "gota" pronounced "goat-ah." I warned them all to make sure they turn their knuckles down when they hold them out because some boys try to drive their knuckles into your hand, and if it isn't positioned right, it can hurt a little.

We then went to see William, who, as always, was full of smiles. William met our son Kevin when he was in the states last year, and today he met Katie. He was very excited, and told us that his wife Priscilla is anxious to meet her. Although we make it a point to see Williams family on each trip, I didn't have time to see them in February, so I really must stop by on this trip. We entered the library next, and a young classroom had recently entered and were all reading colorful books. Tim and Katie sat right down and started talking to the children. I got some nice photos.

A tour followed meeting all the visitors, and the tour began at the dispensary site.

The concrete slab was quite large, and trenches were dug around it to accommodative the water flowwing down from the hills behind the school. It was a great opportunity for photographs. Dan was intermittently taking video to be used for our short fundraising clip. The younger travelers found their way to some enormous stones that are heavily peppered throughout this region. It was here, while standing on the slab, that Katie declared that she had her own version of "my height."

Don't let his size fool you. William is a formidable individual. He took us over to the secondary school (high school) and we toured some of the buildings. The entire group kept repeating the same phrase. "This is really cool."

We then returned to the primary school for some chai, gound nuts (peanuts) and ndizi (bananas). This would be enough to hold us over until we got back to the guest house. After we had finished, but before we left, William had all the students come out for an assembly. They formed a large square in the courtyard, and began to sing and clap. While everyone waited for William to come out.

He said some words thanking our return, and welcoming the new visitors. William then started to introduce everyone to the children. Katie was first. Of course, a joke had to be made. "Do you believe that this girl is the first born of the Tallman?" That got everyone laughing. He then proceeded to give Katie her Kenyan name. She can now introduce herself as Katie Akinyi, and she can tell people that she's a Luo. Everone clapped and cheered, while Katie simply grinned from ear to ear. It took me 3 years before I got my Luo name, and she managed to do it in 3 days. Katie was the only one who was singled out for that honor. William then went on to introduce everyone else. Although they could have, no one spoke after they were introduced. Then Rick was introduced, and he couldn't help himself. I've spent a lot of time with Rick over the last couple days, and he will never turn down an opportunity to speak. I smiled when he began talking because although everyone in attendance speaks english, he was speaking as if they were all relatively deaf and slow. You know what I mean... when you see someone who speaks broken english, you can't help but get louder when you talk back to them, and you slow down your speech whether they need you to or not. His words were kind and compassionate, commenting on the work that we've accomplished here, as well as how much the students and faculty have done. I have no doubt that this experience, although only two days into it, has deeply moved him. William then called Jim and I to say some words. We kept it short, and told everyone that we'd see them tomorrow when we return with the nurses.

Then we began the walk home.

As we left, I stopped to take a picture of the basketball hoops we purchased on behalf of Sean Shortlseeve. Our families are friends for many years. Sadly, the Shortsleeves lost their son Sean when he was just 7 years old. They wanted to do something for the elementary school children at Mbaka Oromo, and that's when a basketball court was decided upon. Sean loved sports, and although ice hockey was his passion, this seemed a bit easier to attain... or so I thought. I've been trying to get this built for the last 3 years, and I was quite angry that metal poles had still not been fastened to the backboards, so the rim was tilting to the left. Little did I know that in a couple minutes, anger would be the furthest thing from my mind. I stopped and spoke to the children gathered around the hoop and explained to them who Sean was, and how special he was, and how he brought them this basketball net. Just then, Katie, who was standing next to me, said, "Oh my God, Dad, look down." Standing underneath the basketball hoop was a 10 year old boy named Alex. Alex is a kind and handsome boy and I've been taking his picture every year for the past 5 years. He participates in most sports, and plays the drum when the choir sings. Something about him has always struck me, and this time was no different. Alex was wearing Spider-man sweater. Spider-man was Sean's favorite super-hero. I wouldn't be surprised if tears were rolling down your cheeks as you read this, because they're certainly rolling down mine as I write it. The next time I return with a photo album, these pictures will be in it... along with a picture of Sean.

The sun had burned away the clouds, and although the breeze remained, it wasn't enough to prevent us sweating on the return trip. Similarly to our walk in, our walk out was full of strangers stopping us to say hi. We took a shorter route back to the main road, where we had matatus take us the rest of the way to the guest house. Now, although Jim and I have been walking this path for years, we still come across people we haven't met. And occasionally, we come across young children who have never seen a white person. To a toddler, this can be pretty scare. Case in point: Katie. Not very intimidating, but we came across to very young little girls walking together. I don't imagine they could have been more than 4 or 5. The older one is pictured below. In any event, much like the trip this morning, Katie greeted them with a huge smile and bent down saying, "Hi!" This poor little girl starting screaming immediately and recoiled. I was laughing hysterically, and Katie just stood up and said, "Oh. Oopsie!" and continued walking, which obviously made me laugh even more. It's happened to Jim, it's happened to me, and now it's happened to Katie.

We finally made it to Chuolembo, where we grabbed cold sodas and waited for a matatu. Jim and I try to do everything possible to avoid these things like the plague. They're mini vans that are suppose to carry a maximum of 14 passengers, but I've been in some that have had over 22. It's absolutely crazy, but they can all now say, "I've done it." I don't think they'll be eager to do it again. They were crammed in pretty tight. Luckily, it was only a 10 minute drive. We spilled out of the matatu, now only minutes from home. Nobody was at the front desk, so some people waited in the foyer while others went outside. I laid down in the shade on the cool concrete. Yes, I started to dose. I woke up when overheard everyone saying goodbye to Brent who began walking back to the Maseno Club alone. I jumped up, not very gracefully, and called to him to wait. I made sure he got back safely, checked out their accommodations, and returned home. While I would not have expected Brent to have any trouble finding the club, it can sometimes be unnerving to have people speaking to you in kiswahili as you're walking along a path. It was no big deal, and occurred without incident. I then sought refuge with pillow (Katie asked if they were filled with sand), and fell asleep for about 2 hours. Nice. I woke up when people were talking about going to dinner. Everyone was going this time, so despite an early decision to stay in, Katie and I joined them. And I'm glad we did, because we sat at a small table of 8, and the conversation was about world travel, politics, history, and culture. Katie was in heaven. She was making commentary and asking questions. At one point one of the grad students said, "Tell us if this is boring you." When they were reminded that she was a history major, the conversation continued. Rick's wife was constantly trying to get rick to stop talking to give someone else a chance, and he kept responding with, "OK, this is my last story about Vietnam." He didn't finish the story because Marilyn protested again. I said, "OK, I have question. Can you tell me your story about Vietnam." Everyone sighed except me, Rick and Katie. It was pretty funny. Marilyn asked that I not encourage him... too late.

We finished a wonderful meal, and headed home to prepare for tomorrow. We have a long day ahead of us, and I'm already falling asleep intermittently while I write this, so I'll see you all tomorrow. Tutaonana kecho

May 14, 2010

Wow! What a day! It started early with a trip to the Kisumu airport to pick everyone up. Katie and I drove down with Jim and Noel. Here’s a news flash – driving is easier in the daylight. It was a much faster trip, and we arrived at the airport in about 30 minutes. Jim’s quite adept at negotiating the potholes, and because it’s his car, he’s a little less concerned if we nail a few on the way. Katie and I stayed and waited for the arriving nurses while the other two went into Kisumu to sign some papers for the remainder of the trip. They would then meet us back at the guest house.

Katie and I wandered into the café next to the terminal and sat down for breakfast that consisted of a western omelet, a sausage, some sliced ham and beans. We were both pretty hungry by the time we got there, so we didn’t waste time in cleaning our plates. The nurses had to split up their flights, but it wasn’t problematic in the least. 4 of them would come over first, and the remainder would follow on the next flight about 25 minutes later.

The first plane arrived, but it was unmarked so I wasn’t sure of the airline… it was, however, most likely Jetlink. We flew that airline yesterday, and that plane didn’t have a logo on the tail either. I stepped up to the fence with my camera to snap some photos of them stepping off the plane, but I didn’t see any wzungos (white people). The fence was about 40 yards from our table, in an area shaded by a couple of tall trees with good size canopies. As you got closer to them you could hear the birds chirping incessantly. It didn’t take long to notice that they were full of weavers bouncing from branch to branch, flapping their wings and calling to one another. I wandered back to my seat with Katie. “No luck?” she said. “Nope, I guess they’ll be on the next plane.”

My seat was in a position that had my back to the area where passengers come around after collecting their bags. Katie’s view was better, and she said, “This looks promising.” I turned around, and saw a couple of Kenyan women walking towards us. They were dressed very well, in colorful wraps and head-dresses. “Yeah,” I said, “… that’s just some Kenyan women probably waiting for a flight.” Katie didn’t say another word. What I failed to notice was the group of 4 white women just beyond the Kenyans, because a couple minutes after I initially turned around, a women came up next to the table and said, “Adam?” Suffice to say that I’ve never been accused of having great powers of observation. Who couldn’t see a group of white women standing together in the middle of Kenya? Me.

I’ve also never been accused of being able to remember names, but I should be able to make it up later in the blog. It doesn’t help that it’s actually 3am. I was exhausted last night, and fell asleep around 11. I knew everyone back home was busy, so just relied on the fact that I would Skype them at 3:30am Kenya time, which is 8:30pm US time. Although I was excited to see that the family was online, there was no answer. Bummer. I tried a couple more time over the last 30 minutes, but no luck. I checked back 30 minutes later to try again, but this time, they were signed off. No I’m just sitting hoping they sign back on, and I’m killing time by posting today’s, rather, yesterday’s blog. Ok, back to the blog.

Katie and I had finished, so we moved into the area under the weavers. It’s a nice setting for newcomers. They started looking up in the trees and taking pictures. It was a pair of sisters (one nurse, one teacher) and their mother (an RN), and another nurse. We chatted about the weather, what we were doing in Kenya, how their travels to Nairobi were, as well as their thoughts on the YMCA where they stayed the night before. They all seemed pretty easy going, and that’s the way their stories flowed. Sure enough, 25 minutes later, the remainder of the crew showed up. This time, I got some pictures of their arrival! This was a group of 12, so I guess they were easier for me to spot. A rattled off some photos, and we wandered around to the baggage area to greet them.

It was especially nice to see the Dollingers. Rick was my attorney before he became a Supreme Court Judge in Rochester. It was that relationship that brought this entire situation about. Shortly before he left the firm, I had mention Building Futures, and the work we do in Kenya. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?” I told him, “I don’t need a litigator in Kenya.” Well, as luck would have it, his wife Marilyn is the associate Dean of Students at the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher. She and her team were looking for someone in Kenya who could help them bring a team of nursing students over. Since then, the word “serendipity” has been used quite often. I believe that things happen for a reason. This trip was destined to happen. Every obstacle, even ones that seemed quite insurmountable, had been passed. Not without the efforts of the faculty and Jim and I, but they all got passed. During our trip in February while we were setting things up, Jim met Jessica Thompsen and her husband. I told you the story about Jessica in yesterday’s blog. What are the odds of finding a passionate nurse in Kenya, who has experience bringing nurses over from the states? Serendipity.

I guess that brings us back to the baggage claim area outside the Kisumu airport. As the last of the bags were gathered together, I saw the bus arrive, so we moved everything over and started loading. They had a lot of bags. No. Seriously, they had A LOT OF BAGS. The bus held 22, and thankfully had a large luggage rack on the roof. We filled the last two seats with luggage, then started adding things to the roof. Ben (our driver) scampered up the ladder on the side of the bus and began organizing the various bags as we passed them up to him. Tim (Rick & Marilyn’s son) and Brent (a Skidmore grad student) thankfully helped in accomplishing that task. We then tossed Ben some rope so he could tie everything down. Next, we loaded the bus and we were on our way. Ashley (who just finished her jr year at Fisher) was the only one upset. On top of suffering from motion sickness, she had left her camera on the bus from the YMCA to the Nairobi airport. Although we tried to locate it, it was lost. I usually carry two cameras, so I offered my small one to her. It was a present from her boyfriend, so although it took a little bit of the sting away, she was still melancholy.

That would soon change.

We finally arrived at the guest house following a bus ride that sounded like we were watching fireworks. With every pothole we entered the was an “OOOOOOOH,” and as we emerged there was an “AHHHHH.” If that wasn’t funny enough, Dolly Parton was playing over the loudspeakers. We think it started as a “best of” compilation, but half way to Maseno, it turned into Dolly Parton’s Christmas Album. Don’t ask me which one, but it was somewhat surreal to drive through Kenya, with a bus full of white people, listening to the Kenyan bus driver’s Dolly Parton Mix Tape. Yes, people were singing along.

We unloaded everything, and everyone went to their assigned rooms. The guest house, for some reason, rented out one of the rooms, so Jim and Brent went to stay a mile away at the Maseno Club. It’s a spot pretty centrally located within the area that makes up Maseno University, and they continue to build new guest house rooms that they began constructing in January. Jim drove their bags over while the nursing contingent got settled. Jessica was coming back for them later, to bring them up to the hospital grounds for a reception/lunch. Rick asked about the equator, so I took a small group there. Rick, Tim, Brent, Katie, Mark (Nancy Wilke’s husband), one of the Masco sisters (I’m still working on the names) and I were there in no time. It probably wasn’t much more than a half a mile away, and it was on the way to the Maseon Club. We took some great pictures of everyone, and included a picture of Katie and I with this trip’s mascot – a fluffy green frog. This was Karen’s choice for this trip. Quite honestly, I never even remembered seeing the frog in her room, but that’s who she wanted me to bring this trip. After the pics, we headed to the Maseno Club. We sat outside under one of their thatched roof gazebos and had a cold beverage. Most people had a Tusker. Katie had coke. It was a nice setting with a gentle breeze blowing by. A bunch of capuchin’s (the predominant monkey in the area) were carrying on about 30’ away. They would go from sitting at a resin table and chairs to playfully wrestling and jumping into and out of some low hanging branches. Yes, more pictures were taken. We sat and told stories and laughed. I’m happy to say that Katie continued to participate in conversations like she’d known these people for years. She impressed many of us with facts about Ireland and European ancestry… rugby stories, and unfortunately, a quiet comment about my inability to follow directions and read signs. Although this would be lost on most people, this crowd wasn’t most people. I was forced to tell the story of a drive back from Cape Cod while our children were quite young. Apparently, there are 7 signs for the Mass Pike after we get on the road, and I missed every one of them. The remainder of the car slept while I continued by not-so-focused driving. When Andrea woke up, we were in Vermont. No, it wasn’t pretty. At this point, Rick spoke up. I’m happy to report that there is a 10 year statute of limitations on events garnering family ridicule; therefore, I will never speak of that incident again. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the family. Jim came out of the Maseno club, showed Brent the rooms, and came out out to join us for a bit. He then drove back into Kisumu to pick up 3 more participants, while we went back to walking toward the Maseno Mission Hospital where the reception was going to be held. I’d like to point out that I directed everyone there without incident. If anyone tells you that I had to make a phone call to make sure we were headed in the right directions, don’t believe them. I was just calling Jim to say, “Hi.”

We got there before the nurses, so we sat on a low wall in the shade and waited. It was beginning to grow overcast, but nothing serious. As the clouds passed in front of the sun, there was a noticeable temperature change that everyone commented on. Welcome to the equator! The nurses soon arrived, and we moved into a large room where tables and chairs were set up. While everyone chatted in small groups, some students from the school arrived dressed in their navy/gray uniforms. We dispersed ourselves among the chairs, and the Kenyan students filled in the gaps. Soon, they were all telling stories to each other, talking about likes and dislikes, family members, what each does in their spare time. It was pretty neat to watch and listen to them all. Jim then arrived. He was important, because he had the food, and it was enough to feed an army. Ugali, skumawiki, kuku, beans, rice, denu, and on and on and on. Jim only stayed long enough to drop off the food. He had to return to Kisumu because Dan and his group hadn’t arrived yet. We wouldn’t see Jim until 6pm that night. Everyone ate until they were full, and there was still a lot of food left. Everyone then introduced themselves and said a few words on why they were here. Then came the customary “thank yous” from the Meseno University faculty, and some short words for the SJF faculty and me. We then went on a tour of the campus. We were wandering through open air hospital buildings, passing by patients suffering from ailments not often seen in the states. One man had chiggers… a nasty little but that enters the body through your feet. Don’t worry, I won’t post that picture, although it looked like what I imagine leprosy to look like. The students showed us their dormitory rooms, all the while chatting away with their counterparts from the US. At one point, I heard Katie say, “OK, I’m all set. I’ll friend you, then we can get everyone together.” One of the Kenyan nurses mentioned they had a Facebook page, and Katie jumped all over it. “I made more friends… and in Kenya!” She was just beaming with joy, and the Kenyan students were pretty excited about the prospect, too. We then wandered through the labor and delivery ward where we saw some newborns and expectant mothers. Katie was in the thick of it all. Again, it was really cool to see.

Outside, the temperature was dropping and the breezes were picking up. Dark thunder clouds were rolling in pretty quickly. Rick sat out of ALL of the hospital room visits. There was obviously a reason why he became a lawyer rather than a doctor. He wasn’t ever alone, though, as a couple other people stayed outside the buildings that we entered. The group stayed in the Labor & Delivery unit for quite some time before emerging. As it turned out, 6 people stayed behind to take part in a c-section and a natural delivery, while I took the rest of them back to the guest house. I’m happy to say that we made it back before the rain. While some people took naps, other wandered through the campus in the rain, just doing a little exploring. On this side of the street, the campus is gated and guarded. The ground contains some housing and administrative buildings, and with the students on break, it was all, for the most part, empty. We reminded them to stay on the grounds, and they returned 40 minutes later. Jim arrived, still without Dan, but he did have Harriett. It was 6:30pm now, and people were getting hungry. We woke up the nappers, gathered everyone together, and walked across the street to the Green Park restaurant. The restaurant’s on the second floor of this building, and has outdoor seating with a nice view of Maseno. Shortly after we sat down, we had a good view (although it was pretty dark) of a fight that broke out further down the street. The employees and patrons, almost in unison, all said, “It’s alcohol.” The two men throwing punches were separated, and everyone went back to their routines. Conversation at the table was lively, and again, everyone participated. Everyone had a beer. When it came time for Katie to order something to drink, she was looking at me expressionless. After a short silence that hung in the air, I looked around at the other 11 people at the table who were all glaring at me. They knew what the unspoken question was. As I returned my gaze to Katie, and huge smile was beginning to develop, and everyone at the table, without saying a word, was screaming, “Come on dad, let her have a beer!” I told her she could have some of mine, and the entire table erupted into applause and laughter. They all have really taken a liking to Katie, and for good reason. Shortly before she fell asleep, she said, “I know I just met these people this morning, but I feel like I’ve known them for a really long time.” Small conversations that had broken out at the table were interrupted by a lunar moth that joined the party. It probably had a 6” wing span, and was a beautiful shade of yellow. That didn’t impress Marilyn and Katie who both proceeded to duck and cover as the moth was probably trying to do the same. Mark and I tried to catch it to move it away from the table, but no luck. It finally rested on a window grate as if to say, “OK, look at me. I’m just a moth.” I then flew inside the restaurant never to be seen again. Katie later told me that the Kenyan patrons got a good laugh out of the way we were carrying on. Shortly before our food came, Jim finally showed up with Dan, his sister, and his girlfriend. Once again, we went around introducing ourselves and why we were here. Dan and his sister own GoodEye Video in Brooklyn. They’ve done some videos for us, and they’re in Kenya to do some more. They make informational shorts for non-profit organizations. It’s another rather serendipitous relationship that led Jim to cross paths with Dan, and they’ve been friends ever since. 2 years ago, he even came up to run our 5k for Kenya. Dan’s sister is a sophomore at Skidmore College, and came along for the trip.

Eyelids were getting heavy by 9:30, so we returned to the guest house. The nurses who stayed behind had still not returned, so a couple of us waited for them. Ashley had to, because her roommates had the key to her room, so she sat and texted her boyfriend who thankfully told her not to worry about the camera. Brent was waiting for Jim to come get him to bring him to the Maseno Club, and when I called him, he was bringing back the nurses. 5 minutes after the nurses arrived, Jim left with Brent, I sat up and talked with some of the nurses who helped deliver a baby girl via c-section. The other baby wasn’t ready, so the mother didn’t deliver. We talked a little about some of the differences between similar procedures in the states, and one of them said, “Well, for one thing, the doctor was wearing sandles.” This made me laugh, and reminded me of a story that I related to the girls. My general practitioner had taken a couple of vials of blood from me, and dropped one of the tubes. One slipped from her hands and fell to the floor, so she kicked off her sandal and picked it up with her toes. The girl’s mouths didn’t close until I told them that she was no longer my doctor. A couple more laughs, and everyone was off to bed.

Tomorrow morning after breakfast, the nurses will go see an orphan feeding program, and the rest of us will make the 6 mile trek to Mbaka Oromo and do some building. We’re going to let them sleep in a bit, so we’ll shove off around 9.

Now it’s 5:15am, and I may as well stay awake. It’s too late to call home, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

OK, now it's almost 7... it's taken waaaay too long to upload images, but it needed to be done.

Here's pic of a hornbill that I've never seen here before... ugly little thing, but interesting. Not so little, really... probably had a 5' wing span.

Tomorrow (today) will be great. We'll see a lot of children on the way to school, and that's got Katie excited! Tutaonana

May 13, 2010

Well, we arrived! Finally! The trip started off pretty well... then we took off from JFK to Dubai. I never knew Katie got motion sickness, and I don't know if it could have been anything else. Katie doesn't handle nausea very well. There's usually very little (or insufficient) warning, followed by projectile vomiting. Sorry for the visual, but that's what this blog's all about. Thankfully, after a couple of trips to the restroom, she got it out of her system. Her headache started to subside, and the nausea passed. Then Katie began to show through.

It was this trip that I noticed that Katie has adopted many of Andrea’s facial expressions; and I love each one. No, really. We were about 3 hours into what turned out to be a 13 ½ hour flight, when she leaned over and said, “I wonder if I got my headache because I can only hear sound through one of the earpieces.” I said, “Oh. All you have to do is slowly pull out the jack until you hear the other earpiece turn on.” That’s when I got the first “look” of the trip. It was the, “You couldn’t have told me this 2 hours ago?” look. It was a perfectly blank stare with a bit of hostility behind the eyes. Priceless.

She slept much of that first leg, and we were both glad for that. She was much more chatty toward the end of the flight. There was a cute little Persian boy who insisted on doing whatever he wanted, despite his mother’s mild protesting. At one point he was wandering around with a small stuffed bear. It made Katie think of her stuffed bear, Mr. Bear, that she had since she was an infant. She recalled the story of how it got lost in Ireland 2 months ago. It actually made her a llittle sad. I said, “Maybe some little girl found him, and now Mr. Bear is making her happy.”Without skipping a beat, and completely dead-panned, she said. “Nope. He’s in the bottom of a dumpster somewhere.”

Thus ended the conversation about Mr. Bear.

The flight took longer than expected due to the ash from the volcano in Iceland, so we only had an hour to wander around the Dubai airport. I took her to a sports store where they had some cool rugby shirts the last time I came through. We found a Kenya Rugby shirt that also said “Dubai Rugby” on it. She liked that one best.

We walked a little more, checking out the Starbucks and the other restaurants ant this particular end of the terminal. We slumped into the seats in the waiting area, and fatigue started catching up with me. It was my turn to sleep from Dubai to Nairobi. I’m sure my mouth was wide open, and I was snoring to beat the band! Katie slept, too, on-and-off between knitting and reading. As we left the plane, and were walking down through the terminal, she looked at me with a big rosy cheeked smile and said, “I’m in Kenya.” It’s wonderful to see that excitement in her eyes. She’s really excited about this trip, and I’m sure she’ll make the most of every single day.

Getting through customs was incredibly fast this time, and our bags came out in a timely fashion, too. Katie was able to watch a couple of dogs walking all over the luggage as it was put onto the belts. A springer spaniel and a golden lab were the bomb sniffing dogs today. Katie’s only comment about the baggage handlers was, “It’s a good thing there’s nothing fragile in those bags.”

We got our bags and proceeded to head outside. For the first time ever, a customs agent stopped us to look at our bags and papers. After explainging who we were, and what we did, he handed back our passports and said, “Thank you for coming to our country. And thank you for bringing your daughter to learn about us.” Nice.

Jim was waiting outside the doors with a small hand made sign that read, “Tallman and rugby girl.” He’s such a character. We grabbed all our luggage, and proceeded to the domestic terminal across the street. When we got to the entrance, Harriett Shinalli came up to greet us. She’s one of the women (along with her cousin Noel) who are helping with the ground work here, making sure that everyone gets to where they need to be. She’ll meet the arriving faculty/nurses/friends tonight, and fly to Kisumu with them tomorrow. Katie and I will meet them all at the airport. They have a pretty good breakfast there, so that should work out well.

When we landed in Kisumu, there was no way that all of our luggage was going to fit in Jim’s car.Jim vollunteered to take the luggage to Maseno in a Taxi while Katie, Steve and me went to the local Nakumat to get some new sim cards for our phones/modems. Steve Thompsen is Jessica Thompsens husband. They are the twenty-something couple who have been living in Maseno for the last several months. Jessica is an RN, and works closely with the Maseno University Mission Hospital. Steve is a Habitat for Humanity employee in the states… rather he was. While his wife was lucky enough to get a 7 month leave of absence to go to Kenya, Steve was not so lucky.“When we return to the states, I’m sure I’ll find something to do,” was his only remark. The ride back was interesting. The potholes can be anwhere from 6” to 16” deep, and they sometimes stretch across the entire road. This forces drives in both directions to constantly be moving back and forth between lanes to not furhter destroy their already horrible suspensions. The problem gets exacerbated when it gets dark. That’s when you mix cars with one headlight with motorcycles, bikes and pedestrians.

Although both of our headlights were working, neither of them were pointed to the ground, so while we had a clear view of the passing brush, the dilapitated road continued to be a mystery as we slowly kept moving forward. It took us twice as long as usual to get home, but we got there safely. It helped that I had pretty good halogen flashlight in my bag that I held above the roof to illuminate the road ahead of us. We tried calling home a couple of times, but there was no answer, so we left a message that we’d try later, and skype after everyone is home.

Steve and Jess invited us over for dinner, so after dropping off our packs and water at the guest house, we met up with Nancy and Mark Wilke (St. John Fisher faculty from the Wegmans School of Nursing – SJF). It took two trips to get everyone there, but we all made it. It was only 7 minutes away. Steve Thompsen is a lean smiling young man with brown hair and ice blue eyes, who seems to be comfortable in any situation. His wife Jessica has dark hair and brown eyes, and is eager to make everyone feel welcome and engaged. She quickly pointed out that the only portion of the meal that she made was the guacamole – it was quite good… not as good as Sam Slaughter’s from the last trip, but it was good (Sorry Jessica).

Dinner consisted of simosas (something akin to a filo stuffed with lentils), sakumawiki (kale), beans (beans), rice (rice) and pineapple (yeah, you get the picture). The food was good, and Katie enjoyed it. I’m not a big lentil fan, so I stuck with the rice and beans. Her favorite meal of the day, however, was the breakfast we were served from Dubai to Nairobi. Sausages that tasted like hotdogs, sliced ham, chicken pieces, diced potatoes and a fruit cup.

She learned that Nancy is a picky eater too, so they’ll each have some company in that regard.Nancy is very cautious about the food she eats, which will go further to help everyone avoid something that is easily avoidable. When the food and drink was spread out before us, she said, “OK. Is all this edible and drinkable by us?” Jess immediately responded with a pleasant smile, “Yes, it’s safe.” Dinner was accompanied with varied conversations from what our hobbies are to where we’ve been traveling, what we study, and, of course, the visiting nurses and the dispensary. Although it was a great and lively discussion, I was happy to return to the guest house by 9:30pm. As we walked toward the room, a millipede walked in front of her and got a reaction. “Ew! I hate wormy things.” This should be good fodder in the coming days. Upon entering the room, Katie immediately spotted a small gecko on the ceiling. She thought it was cool… until I told her that she’d hear them walking along the walls and ceiling because of their sticky feet. That, apparently, is not so cool. I got her situated in her bed, and pulled the mosquito net over her. She’s really just rolling with all of it. She rolled over to read her book, and was asleep within 5 minutes. We’re getting up at 6:30 tomorrow, so we should both het a good night’s sleep.

It’s 10:45pm now, and I’m exhausted. I’ll post this to the blog, then I’ll try to call one more time before throwing in the towel. Either way, I’ll wake up at 3am so I can skyp Andrea and the kids.Hopefully Katie will roll over long enough to say, “Hi!”

That will do for now. Love to all.