10/02/2010 3:08am

I managed to fall asleep around 11, and now I'm just waiting for Andrea to log into Skype so we can talk. What a wonderful program that is! You have no idea how valuable it is from me to be able to see my family... it's truly a luxury. The video is choppy, but I don't care. That's mainly because the air card I have is a glorified dial up minus the turkey warble - if anyone reading this doesn't know what that means, ask your parents. They just came on, so I'll be back in a bit.

I actually just finished talking with them! You probably never even knew I left. My family makes my heart leap. I'll have a smile on my face for the remainder of the day, and the conversation I had with them will be the first topic as we walk to Mbaka Oromo this morning. I love them to death. I know I'm supposed to, but they make it very easy.

We got a text message last night that they changed the School Committee meeting to Thursday at 10. Hakuna matata. Yes, that's Kiswahili. In fact, if you've seen the Lion King, you probably know 1/2 dozen words and phrases, you just don't know that you know. I'll throw some common phrases up tomorrow. Katie's just signed onto Skype, so I'll try her, then get another couple hours of sleep before jumping in the HOT shower.

Note to self:

1. If I'm not going to read over my blog before I post it, I need an editor.

2. The bed bugs in Kenya bite. They don't hurt, which is nice, but you wake up with little red dots on your skin where they'be been nibbling. Quite attractive. The mosquitoes don't care for the way I taste... the bed bugs are apparently less discerning

Here's the latest critter at the Guest House... this guy was about 5" wide, and was hanging on the drapes. Cool. My search for the dung beetle continues... "Adventure is out there!"

09/02/2010

As this poor excuse for a beard continues to grow, it makes me wish that I had continued to shave while I was here. Instead, I went with the idea that the further I keep that bacteria-laden water away from my mouth, the better. I wasn't expecting the extreme heat that we're experiencing. This is the hottest I've ever experienced here. It had to be 90 degrees in the shade today. It didn't help that I gave myself a sunburn yesterday. Despite wearing sunscreen, the backs of my hands got severely burned. I know that I applied lotion, but I do notice that when we walk for along period of time, that my hands and wrists turn a rather stark white. I wonder if that had something to do with the burning... who knows?

We accomplished much today. We (Jim, Noel and I) started in Kisumu with the travel agent. We got a quote on the transportation for both St. John Fisher contingents - 2 groups from Kisumu to Maseno, then from Maseno to Masai Mara, then to Nairobi. Although we were hoping to use just one vehicle to transport 20 people each trip, we were informed that they only have buses that hold a maximum of 10 passengers. Two buses still worked out to be reasonable, so we moved onto our next agenda item - a vehicle for Jim to buy (we'll head back to Kisumu tomorrow to press the travel agent to find a larger bus).

Much like we tell Karen, "Don't swing at the first pitch," we should have told Jim, "Don't buy the first car you see." Too late. He's happy with it, so that's all that matters. It should be in his possession within 5 days, and he'll begin to try to sell his motorcycle. He liked riding it on the back roads, but it was very dangerous on the street.

We stayed in Kisumu to grab some supplies (mainly water) and lunch. Our favorite spot, Mon Ami, was closed for a private party, so we went to a place next to Tusky's. Tusky's is on of the two (the other being Nakumat) grocery/department stores in Kenya. There's a little restaurant located right next door that we've been to before. Noel and I, along with our driver, sat at a table drinking cold sodas while we waited for Jim to return from inspecting the car. We waited quite awhile. Joshua, our driver, had a Coke, Noel had an orange Fanta (the only kind of Fanta there is), and I had a Stoney. Stoney's made by Coca-Cola here. It's an opaque soda with an intense ginger flavor... nothing like ginger ale. If you inhale while you're drinking a Stoney, it will take your breath away, and you immediately begin coughing. Delicious. Jim finally showed up, so we put in our order. Jim decided to pass on dinner as his stomach continues to be uncooperative. Joshua and I ordered kuku (chicken), and Noel order a hamburger. We had to leave in 10 minutes, and the food hadn't arrived yet. Suddenly, up walked our waiter carrying 2 hamburgers and 1 chicken. Yup, I ate a hamburger. If a bun makes the burger better, this one needed a better bun. It had cucumbers instead of pickles, which was fine with me. The bun was the showstopper, though. I'm not sure how long it waited before the meat was place on it, but it was sometime before I arrived in Kenya. I was pretty hungry, though, so I devoured it anyway. I assumed that the nun who was eating one at the next table wouldn't stear me wrong. She did. My stomach was doing cartwheels for the remainder of the day.

We then started our 45 minute ride to Kumbaywa to see the Public Health Minister. Saw some great scenes along the way. When the trees are flowering, they are absolutely beautiful. These trees line the road out of Kisumu. They're quite striking. Most animals grazing along the road side are very well behaved. I don't know how, but they always seem to stay just ahead of their shepherd.

On the other hand, some apparently aren't as well behaved.

This is a typical marketplace in Kenya.... here you can buy anything you would need to survive.

The Public Health Minister was very helpful. She provided us with some information that we weren't aware of... apparently, once the Health Ministry approves the dispensary, THEY will be responsible for staffing it. That's a huge burden off of our shoulders. The only bit of bad news was that we will probably be unable to do the health screening in May. It's not a definite "no," but it sure looks like one. We have to play by their rules in order for this to be successful and self-sustaining, so we may have to wait. The meeting only lasted 30 minutes, and we were off to see the administrators at the mission hospital.

This, too, was very encouraging. The head of the Maseno Mission Hospital nursing school was looking for the same answers that the faculty from SJF were looking for. They are very excited about the exchange of ideas, ans are eager to make this program a success. The staff is pictured below. I'll add names later, as I'm utterly exhausted, and need to get some shut-eye before waking up 2:30am to call my family

.

We talked about getting the faculty/staff from both countries together for a "meet and greet" lunch upon their arrival, and how each group could help their counterparts. Marilyn Dollinger and Nancy Wilk (Wegmans School of Nursing at SJF) should be hearing from the chief administrator shortly. "It sounds like the ball's in our court," he said as we finished. If I'm not mistaken, there are 120 nurses enrolled in the school (year 1-4), and all of them learn out of ONE classroom. They began to build a second one, but ran out of funds. You can barely make out the slab off to the left of the building. Most of it is covered with grass now.

Lastly, we found some of the more common locals. These little guys are in abundant supply. Although their usually pretty skittish, this group was happy to let us get within 10' of them before scurrying away.

As we were leaving, we met a missionary worker from Martha's Vineyard who's been a faculty member at the University for years. She was a vibrant and charismatic woman who is anxious to hear more about the joining of these two schools. It might be a good idea to have her correspond with Marilyn and Nancy as well... but we'll leave that up to them.

Ok, that's it for now. We did eat dinner... I finally got my kuku... I just hope it was cooked enough. I'll be sure to let you know tomorrow.

Some additional pics of people places & things

These photos are of people we see as we travel. Most of them tell their story without me having to add anything.

I'd like to point out what this woman is carrying. Yes, it's an iron... and a cordless one at that. She'll heat up coals, and place them in the chamber above the base. Necessity is the mother of invention.

The pictures below are included because I like them. The plant on the right (whose name I can't remember) grows extremely tall (the ones pictured here are about 16' tall). It's used as a boundary marker, but is periodically cut down for more practical use. It has fibers that run the entire length of the shute. The plant's cut at the base and then pounded with a mallet from end to end. The result is these incredibly long fibers that can be removed and braided to become rope. I've never seen the process, but it sounds pretty interesting.

8/2/2010 6:56pm

The day started out cool... it wouldn't last.

After a short debate inside my own head, I decided I'd try to have some breakfast. It's fairly constant here at the Guest House: fried eggs, toast, bananas and tea. The fried egg didn't agree with me, so I gave up. My stomach made the decision for me. It was apparently Jim's turn to be sick today. Although at the time, he just said his stomach was upset.

We took a matatu to Layla station, then walked to Huma Secondary School. When we got to Layla, I got out first, then Jim followed. We walked past a line of men waiting to get on. Jim started laughing, and when I turned around, he told me the as I passed them, one of the older men turned to his friend and said, "kubwa." That means "big." It gave us both a chuckle. Huma is an all girls high school about 2.5 miles off the main road. It was a nice walk. The road to Huma was nothing like the road to Mbaka Oromo - very flat and very smooth. The rich color of the soil contrasted nicely with lush surroundings.

As you can see by the sky, it was shaping up to be a beautiful day, and I was glad that I put sunscreen on before we left. The headmaster is a woman named Mareb. She's a wonderful woman who looks after these students as if they were her own children. Jim had to stop several times on the way there to deal with his upset stomach. I gave him a gift to further aid him in his battle. See photo below.

Yes, probably too much information, but it's still funny. We decided we'd do some work with Mareb for several reasons. 1. In the 1+ years that Jim has known her, she's never asked our organization for anything. 2. She lives on the school grounds, so she can easily supervise any project. 3. She's honest. The latter is probably the most important. The majority of student must be from at least middle-class families, as not only is their tuition paid, but the parents have also help apy for the construction of 2 new classrooms and pay for their bus. We've sent several girls from Mbaka Oromo to Huma, and she always been very welcoming. They've also started their own baseball team, and I'm told that they're quite impressive. We'll have a game between them and the Mbaka Oromo Secondary School on Friday. that should be a great finish to this trip. They have a beautiful field where they play. It's perfectly flat and wide open, unlike Mbaka Oromo. They've also agreed to provide a bus to bring everyone from Mbaka Oromo to Huma. The bus can't make it all the way to MBPS (Mbaka Oromo Primary School), but it will save them from walking the full 7 miles each way. I'll be distributing t-shirts from the Rochester Lady Lions and Fairport Girls Softball on Wednesday.

We followed the road back to Layla, then proceeded to walk another 5 miles to Mbaka Oromo. The sun was rising quickly, and so was the temperature. To pass the time, Jim and I had a quick board meeting. Steve wasn't there (nor was he notified), but the two of us constituted a quorum, so we forged ahead. The first resolution we passed was to work on a project (of thier choosing) at Huma. This was also the last resolution we passed, as the conversation began to drift off to other topics, like how the road to MOPS is much different from the road to Huma.

One of the things we like about our "jobs" here is the walking. It gives us the opportunity to meet several people including the families of students that attend the schools we've built/rebuilt. It's a part of who we are. As we walk ("tutambaya"), we'll here people yell from their shambas (gardens) "Jamo Jemo!" Many will come running towards us to shake our hands and welcome us back. We ran into Lawrence as we walked. He was actually on his way to Huma to enroll his neice. Lawrence's brother and wife died, and Kenyan tradition puts the daughters welfare in Lawrence's hands. This is very common, and I've never heard anyone complain about the certain financial burden that accompanies such an "adoption." As always, things are, "Nzuri sana." (Very Good) He's the head of the school committee at MOPS. It's always amazing to see men dressed suits in this heat. Lawrence is no exception. If the suit wasn't enough, he also wore a hat, one that I've never seen him without. I believe that might be his trademark. We're having a meeting with the school committee on Wednesday at 10am. If we can keep William Kabis from talking too much, it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

Also along the walk, Daniel was driving by with some women from the local church of Israel. Daniel is Samuel's ("My height")brother, and another member of the school board. He stopped to say "Jambo, karibu!" (Hello, welcome). I couple of quick handshakes and he was on his way.

We arrived at Mbaka Oromo, and things were very quiet. When the students are in their classrooms, the only thing you hear are the birds chirping and the occasional cow or goat. A bell will be rung periodically for what amounts to recess, but shortly after we arrived, the bell was rung for lunch. Children spilled out of their classrooms, and the majority headed home. Many, however, stayed. It could be due to the lengthy walk, or it could be because they are orphans whose caretakers now work at the school. Either way, it was a chance for some photos.

William was busy enrolling additional student for the new secondary school, so when he came out of his office we informed him of our school committee meeting. As always, he wanted us to stay for tea and ground nuts (peanuts), but Jim was still feeling ill, so we started back home.

Samuel was working outside, so we stopped to say, “Jambo.” Once again, we were greeted with strong hugs. This time, however, I was smart enough to keep my backpack on to lessen the blows. Mission accomplished. We talked for a short while, told him we’d be back on Wednesday, and, “tutaonana” (see ya later). We were off again. Samuel pulled me back for a moment to tell me something terrible had happened. William had already informed me of the situation, but I let Samuel tell me anyway. The phone I had given him 3 years ago got wet. Water = the global kill switch for cell phones. At a whopping $30, I told him I’d take care of his problem in May when I return. He was very excited to hear that my “first born” might be coming with me. Everyone expects our children to be tall. Won’t they be surprised! She’s going to be a hit here! Here are some pictures of Samuel… he’s rather tall for a Luo. You can see why he calls me, “My height.”

Samuel's an interesting man. He refers to his garden as his office. When he's in his front office, he's growing corn and avocados. In his back office it's potatoes. He's the only one that I know of that refers to his shamba that way. It's funny to hear him say that he's been, "working hard in my office."

We were back on our way again. This time, shortly before we reached Chulambo, another Matatu stop, we saw John Ogongo. John was the previous headmanster at MOPS, and is just a wonderful man. He’s got to be at least 65, although he looks like he’s 50. He acts like he’s 20! He’s always willing to help building by carrying bricks. He once accompanied me to the top of the mountain behind MOPS. Yes, it’s a mountain, and don’t let anyone tell you different. After the 3^rd false peak, I was forced to try hard at not showing my fatigue simply because John looked like he could make the same trek 5 times before breaking a sweat. And all this while wearing a pair of torn rubber boots. The guy’s just amazing. Here’s a picture of him with his son.

He, too, is on the school board, and he laughed when we told him that we were going to try and keep William Kabis to a minimum. “He is not very direct, that one,” he said, and threw his head back laughing.

It was a quick matatu ride back to Maseno, where stopped briefly for a soda in the hopes of not only cooling us down, but perhaps helping with our upset stomachs. I’m happy to report that Jim didn’t need to make a pit stop the entire way back from MOPS. We got back to the guest house at about 3:30, and both laid down for a nap. Andrea will tell you that my naps tend to be a bit long. That, happily, is not affected by which hemisphere I’m in. I woke up at 6:30.

Neither of us were hungry, so we decided to go across the street to have another soda. We stopped a new place this time. It was located on the second floor of a building, and was obviously under new ownership. In the past, they only served sodas and liquor, and drunk students would yell at some of our friends as they walked by. Three years ago, I was here with a young man named Sidney who was accosted every time he passed by. It stopped when I accompanied him, and he was thankful for that. Again, it’s apparently universal that big guys are more apt to pick on little guys. I’ve never had that problem here. Anyway, when we entered the restaurant, they were still very busy with Maseno University students, but it was a very peaceful place. The walls were pained a bright green on the top half, and white on the bottom. The tables were spaced far apart, both inside and on the balcony, to accommodate additional chairs. It’s quite common to see a table of 2 or 3 grow to a table of 7 in the span of 15 minutes. All we really wanted was Coca-cola baridi (cold Coke), but they brought us a menu, too. They are definitely under new ownership! The front of the menu had a little caricature of a stereotypical Italian cook. Once opened, it was easy to see why. Spaghetti and meatballs! And that was just the beginning. They served breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it was a full menu. We’ll definitely be back for a meal. We sat on the balcony while we drank our sodas. We could feel the cool soda travel the entire route to our stomachs. It tasted great! Despite the lack of light, the area was a beehive of activity. Women were sitting on the ground and it small makeshift shelters selling everything from ground nuts to popcorn to mangos. There was a constant flow of people, too. Another city that never sleeps perhaps… but this one does it in the dark. While we sat, Jim sent a text to hire a car for tomorrow, and I people watched. It was then that I noticed there was a huge ice cream delivery truck sitting outside the restaurant. 10 minutes later we were eating vanilla and strawberry ice cream. It’s no Turkey Hill, but it did the trick. Karen, who is something of a gelato-spoon collector, will love the ones they gave us. They were blue plastic, and looked like a 3” shovel. It’s already packed.

We finished our sodas and exited. The walk through the dark was a bit unnerving. Although my eyes quickly adjusted to accommodate the dark, I didn’t rest easy until we stood in the shadows of the lights from the university. It’s very difficult to see the rocks in the soil, and they’re everywhere. It’s hard to not stumble, and I can’t imagine what it’s like doing it in bare feet.

We’re both feeling better despite not eating much (except for ice cream) for the last 36 hours. I may try an egg tomorrow, although they aren’t always easy to take. I learned today that they’re cooked in corn oil. I thought it was a margarine-like substance dripping off the eggs. I’m sorry I was wrong. I’ll be happy with some bananas.

Lastly, while talking to Katie the other day, she mentioned how I was living in the lap of luxury. i thought I'd share that lap with you.

There happens to be a mosquito inside my net, and he's driving me insane... part of it's from the buzzing, part of it's because I know he's biding his time, waiting for me to fall asleep so it can take a bite. No thanks.

Tutaonana kecho. (see you tomorrow)

8/2/2010 7:46am

I FEEL GREAT!

... don't know what I had yesterday, but thankfully it's gone today. There's quite a bit of walking in my very near future. We'll spend a lot of time at Mbaka Oromo today. I should have plenty of pictures to post when I return. The children there make it look like I know what I'm doing with my camera.

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints! I'm happy for the city, even though I never saw a play. I woke up at 3:30am, and hopped online to see that they were losing 16-17... would have loved to see the remainder of the game. Moments ago, when I went to espn.com, the picture was of Drew Brees holding the trophy above his head and looking up to the heavens. Nice.

See you soon.

7/2/2010 7:15pm

Just case people are worried, I'm feeling much better. Jim's been calling in checking on me periodically throughout the day. It's a good thing I didn't try to tough it out this morning. Mass was a little over 3 hours (the homily was 1 1/2), and there's no way I would have made it through.

The rain started up again, and the power's been cutting out, so I just wanted to drop a note letting you know I'm feeling better. I need to get under the mosquito net now, as this is the time when those little critters start to get active. Haven't seen my roommate yet today, although there's a lizard hanging outside my room. I can hear his sticky feet as he runs along the wall.

The other picture is a Dr. Seuss-like plant that has these bulbs growing off it's stalk. This one was about 6' tall with 4-5 of these flowering bulbs on them. Not pretty at all, but certainly interesting.

Talk to you all soon.

07/02/2010 3:45pm

Well, yesterday was a bit of a wash. The meetings we had set up in Kisumu never panned out. We were supposed to see the travel agent about the trip in May - they were closed. We were supposed to see a vehicle for Jim to buy - I wish they were closed. We ended up having to drive to where the vehicle was. When we got there, we were told it was someplace else. We gave up.

I did forget to tell you about one of the car dealers that we saw. His name was Mohammed, and was a friend of the family from Mirtha Electric (the company we use for the solar panels). Most businesses are owned by Eastern Indians or Pakistanis... that's just the way it works. Anyway, we get to this guys shop, and it's been completely gutted. Completely. The fundis (laborers) are pouring concrete and soldering rebar... as we enter, they just keep sending us up flights of concrete stairs. On the next floor, same thing. On the next floor, which thankfully was the roof, we found Mohammed. This guy was the equivalent of a Pakistani Will Farrell. I had a hard time not laughing. He actually looked like Will Farrell. While we're talking, his phone rings. "Sama George Bush." ("Talk to me George Bush"). Jim and I immediately started laughing out loud. As it turns out, his cousin has always been called George... they added Bush after a year. He owns about 10 Matatus (those were the vans I was telling you about), and they spent a fortune having them donned with "George Bush." It was funny, but in the end, Jim decided to go with the African Musungu. He happened to be the one that gave us the runaround today.

We had lunch at Mon Ami (a little restaurant behind the big Nakumat) with Feena, and then headed back to Maseno. Don't get the wrong idea, the closest Italian dish on the menu was pizza. We've eaten there before, and it's always been good. The best part about the place is that it's open air, so the breeze blows through constantly, keeping you cool. There's a german family sitting in the restaurant, and their lack of conversation and miserable expressions remind me how most of the white people in this country are not very friendly. I was reminded about how friendly the Kenyan people are, though. Jim was walking into the restaurant, and he bumped into a potted plant, causing him to stumble. Immediately, the waitress (who was 15' away) said, "Sorry." I've told the story about my surgery several times (basically because people want me to have a 2nd beer), and I can't get 1/2 way through without someone saying, "So sorry." It's more common for women to say it than men, but it's a beautiful practice.

They were digging up the road, and fixing potholes, so the traffic back was terrible. Interestingly enough, here's how they fix the potholes. The dig until they hit dirt, pour a binder on the dirt, then they add asphalt. They pound it down with a metal tamper, and that's it. I bet if it lasts a week, they're lucky. We were supposed to meet Job & Sam at the Maseno Club for dinner. Job is an incredibly intelligent and self motivated Luo (the local tribe). Sam Slaughter is a recent Harvard grad that Jim met last year. He graduated, then went to Africa. The young man is incredibly intelligent, and apparently an all-american lacrosse player. He worked at Mbaka Oromo while Jim was in the US, helping to get the solar array set up. Jim got Sam and Job together, and now they are best of friends. In the last week or so, they've started their own NGO. They're providing solar energy to middle class families here via micro-loans. Their work is really amazing. We sat at the Maseno club and talked for several hours. We were also joined by Noel Shinali and Asha and Reena. It was only after 3 hours that we said, "Where's the food?" The Maseno Club is notorious for very slow service. That was when we realized that we never ordered any. It was very dark by this point, so Sam left with Job, and Asha & Reena hopped on motorcycles to get back home. Jim, Noel and I stopped at the restaurant across from the Guest House. Beans and rice for me, Beans and chipati for Jim, and Noel had something beefy looking. We were exceptionally hungry, so our plates were cleared pretty quickly. It didn't take long for me to fall sound asleep.

When I got into my room, though, I learned that I had a roommate.

He's about 4" long (with the tail), and he was quiet enough, so I let him stay. The lizards are noisy, so I try to shoo them into the hall.

Once again, I didn't get a very peaceful sleep. I was tossing and turning, pulling the covers up, pushing them off... not good at all. When I finally woke up this morning, I felt horrible. My joints ached, my stomach hurt, and I was still having hot and cold flashes. Although I am feeling better now, I missed mass and lunch at Kiboko Bay. I decided it was best to stay in and get some rest, so that's exactly what I did. If I have another rough night, I'll go see a doctor tomorrow. Jim said we'd go back to Kiboko on Friday. It's a marvelous little restaurant where we've eaten before. The food is delicious, and more importantly, they have ice cream! Jim tried to bring one home, but they don't do "to-go". The last time we were there, a hippo calf came right out of the water, and was grazing about 10' away from us. I was a bit concerned, because hippos are very protective of their young, but the waiter told us that he was an orphaned calf. He ate his fill of the lush grass, and sauntered back into the water. Here's a picture of him... it was taken about 3 1/2 years ago, so I can only imagine how big he is now.

He was little then, probably tipping the scales at 500lbs +.

I have to remember to remind the nurses to bring flip-flops in May. I forget mine this time, and when you walk around your room in socks, it takes about 3 steps before the bottoms turn an earthy red. I'll have to complain to the management. There are a set of flip-flops in every room, but mine are about 2" too short. I make do with them, though.

Ok, that should do it for now. I hope to have more pix and stories after tomorrow.

First Pictures from this Trip

Well, I tried to go back and add pictures, but that didn't work very well. Instead, I will just add pictures that I should have used in the first three blogs, and add them to future ones.

Here's what the school looked like when we started. Although they're obscured by the trees on the left, there are 2 classroom that were teetering on the edge of a rather steep revine.

Here's a picture of the completed Mbaka Oromo Primary School. I never would have imagined that this school would have looked like this after 5 years. The school continues to grow, and that is why we committed to building the Secondary School. Most of the families in this area are subsistence farmers, and boarding schools are too costly. The Mbaka Oromo Secondary School gives these eager students an otherwise unavailable opportunity to further their education.

Below, Jim And William Kabis discuss the of placement remaining buildings.

It's always encouraging to see the students behaving like kids. These 4 girls were just clowning around during recess.

This was the first set of completed classrooms at the secondary school. The funds for this building came from Indian Landing School in Penfield, NY, and the F.H. Reid School in Leesburg, VA. Their school logos accompany each classroom.

05/02/2010 7:52am

Now we're talkin! I'm up to four followers. pretty soon I'll have to start counting you on TWO hands!

Jim made it back safely. My concern began to rise as the rain began to fall last night. He strolled in after 11pm with a smile on his face. These were the first words out of his mouth - "Have you ever pushed a motorcycle for a mile?" Apparently, he hadn't gone very far before the motor cut out. The petrol here is obviously not very stable... or at least that's what we believe. So, in the pitch black, and in the rain, Jim pushed this motorcycle back to the guest house. Did I mention it's uphill the entire way? To make matters worse, although he received the text message I sent, as he was responding the battery died. Perfect. He laughed through the entire story. I'm jealous that he's still sleeping. I've been up since about 5am. Had some freaky dreams, and couldn't get back to sleep. We'll probably start our day in an hour or so. Most of our time will be spent in Kisumu. We'll be searching for desks, looking at trucks, and picking up more supplies. We'll also probably stop by the market to pick up those "huge prizes" I referred to earlier. I'd like to get a rosewood elephant to match the rhino I got last year... the items that these artisans make are beautiful... I wish I could pack a suitcase with just "stuff."

The rains last night mean that this morning will stay cool for a bit longer. Once the sun comes up, all bets are off.

... and yes, another hot shower this morning! Priceless.

05/02/2010 8:53pm

OK, I'll start by saying that I'm not deeply hurt that their are only two followers. Thank you both. Huge prizes await you upon my return!

Today started out like any other 1st day in Kenya. It followed an evening with 4 hours of sleep, and it caught up with me tonight. But I'll get back to that.

When you have to take cold showers, you just do it. After about 2-3 days, you get used to it. As I stood in the shower this morning, I turned on both valves. They have a HOT and COLD, but it's just for show. You need them both for water pressure. Nothing worse than a cold shower with no pressure. Anyway, I stood there trying to psyche myself up for it. I touched my hand to the water, and yup, cold. I counted, "1... 2... 3..." took a deep breath, and prepared myself for the icy... HOLY CRAP THE WATERS HOT! YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS! The first time ever! I was absolutely elated. I didn't want to waste it for the other guests, so I was still very brief, but if this was any indication as to how the day was going to be, it was going to be a great day!

During breakfast conversation, I looked at Jim and said, "Stop!" He looked at me puzzled, because he was in the middle of a story. I said, "Hot water." High fives immediately followed. Apparently he had a similar scenario play out. We finished breakfast, and began our walk to Mbaka Oromo around 7:30am. We walked through the Maseno University campus (it was the first time I walked this route), and it was nice. There was a cool breeze, and for the most part, we were walking under the canopy of huge trees. A lone monkey wandered across our path, but it quickly scurried into a thick pack of bushes. It's a pretty campus, and students are constantly walking to and from buildings. Along the way we pass many small kiosks selling everything from cell minutes (most Kenyans pay as they go) to mandazis (the Kenyan equivalent of a donut). They are small shops where you can make copies, or buy tomatoes. Many "Habari asabuhi"s were exchanged. As usual, every single "How's you morning?" was followed with, "Nzuri sana!" "Very good!"

The path to the front of the school is an incline, and the school is hidden behind a large hedge row. Well, at least it's hidden for anyone under 5'10". The school grounds looked amazing. The only children outside of the classrooms were the preschoolers, and as soon as they see us, they flooded into the doorway to peek. In the background of the elementary school, on land slightly higher, sat the beginning of the secondary school that began 6 months ago. The first block of classrooms was full of students, and the second block was unoccupied because the concrete floors and walls were still curing. We sat with the Headmaster, William Kabis, for quite some time, and exchanged stories-updating each other on our families. Teachers slowly came and went, and once again we were met with huge smiles and firm hand shakes. A traditional Kenyan greeting consists of a hand-shake, and while you're still holding the other persons hand, you lean toward them and touch heads on each side... it's almost as if your touching their temple with your temple. First the right side, then the left. After that, the hand shake releases. I had asked about my friend Samuel who's family donated most of the land for the primary school. He was a tall man, almost as tall as me, but built like a brick house. On my last trip, he was infirmed and was ill for quite some time. He had become a shadow of his former self, but I was happy to hear that he was back to about 80%. I didn't see him as we first walked up to the administration block, but while I was talking to Jim outside, I spotted him. I began walking toward him, and at about 50 yards, he realized it was me. "My height!" he shouted. He decided to forgo the traditional Kenyan greeting, and the bear hug that ensued lasted about 2 1/2 minutes, and may have cost me a rib or two as he pounded on my back. He's back to 100%. The smile never left his face as tears formed in his eyes. I hadn't seen him on my last trip, so seeing him healthy now was wonderful. He was heading out to pray, so I told him we would have tea very soon. One more hug and a back pounding and he was on his way. I think Jim may have taken some video because he expected this to be a special meeting as he watched me walk away. He was right. Samuel and I formed a pretty tight bond every since we met 5 years ago. I'm already looking forward to seeing him again.

Jim and I, along with William, went to look at the new secondary school classrooms, as well as the site for the dispensary. I was outside taking pictures while Jim and William spoke to the students. I entered the room just as they were finishing, and as Jim introduced me, they all began laughing. It was then that I realized that I was standing about 2" from William... he's about 5'4". I looked down at him and put my arm around his back. That got the teacher laughing, too. We surveyed the parcel of land that was purchased and discussed the additional buildings needed, as well as their priority. A kitchen will go up next so that the students don't have to walk back to the primary school to eat. They also need desks. They're currently using desks they borrowed from the elemetary school... that means upwards of 3 students to each desk. It's not appropriate for high school, though, so we'll be heading to Kisumu tomorrow to try to find as many as we can... they need between 100 and 120. The money's going to be diminishing rapidly at this pace.

We then inspected the plot of land that was purchased to support the dispensary. The brush had been cleared, and a couple men were working on burning out the stumps. The one they were working on today was from a huge tree that had about a 5' diameter. Can you imagine cutting down a tree that size with nothing but a machete. Well, they did it, and I've got the pictures to prove it. If I can figure out how to post pics, I'll add some tonight.

After that, we said our goodbyes and began the walk to Chuolembo where we'd pick up a matatu and travel to the Grail Center. This was the place we stayed at the last time Jim and I were here. First, I should bring my other follower up to speed on a matatu... Andrea's the other follower, and she already knows. A matatu is a mini van that designed to hold 13 people uncomfortably. I've never been in one carrying less than 20. The most I've ever experienced was 23. That's precisely why we spent a portion of our time looking to buy a truck. The matatu is nice to get the local flavor, but like the Hubbab Bubba that my daughter snuck into my bag, it loses it's flavor after awhile.

We arrived at the Grail Center, and Margaret (the woman who runs it) was already preparing lunch for us. She makes a good kuku (chicken). We spoke briefly about their most recent projects, as well as family updates. The Grail Center is loosely (and somehow) affiliated with the catholic church. It's a women's empowerment comunity that teaches school to only women, and also helps them learn a trade. It's a beautiful compound. Maragaret went back to cooking, and 3 minutes later Jim was asleep sitting up on the couch. To his defense, the chairs were comfortable. He got a 20 minute power nap, and woke up to kuku, ugali and sakumawiki. We already covered the chicken. Ugali is a staple in Kenya. It's somewhat akin to the lumps you might find in cream of wheat... except it's made from corn. It's a hard substance that's used as both bread and a utensil. It's always served at a balmy 450 degrees, so if you're not careful, you'll burn your finger tips off. sakumawiki is a green leafy vegetable that's mixed with onions and sometimes tomatoes. It literally means, "to push through the week," so it's something like a poor man's greens and beans... minus the beans. And the greens are shredded. OK, it's nothing like greens and beans, but again, it's a Kenyan staple, and quite tasty.

We left Margaret and proceeded to visit some students that we have sponsors for. Both attempts were unsuccessful, so we'll have to try it again later in the week. We then headed for Kisumu to look for a used truck. We stopped at several "dealers," each of whom were not really sitting on much inventory. We saw a Pakistani man, a Hindu woman, but we felt the most comfortable with a Kenyan man who's grandfather was among the first settlers here. When we went to meet him, Jim was first and said, "Habari asabuhi." "Good morning." Seeing as it was 4pm, the man started to laugh and said, "Ajioni" "late afternoon." That got everyone laughing. I said, "Well, he did just recently wake up." The best part was his name. Most children will shout "Mzungu!" when they see us coming. It literally means "eastern european," but ostensibly it means "white man." Well this guy was Kenyan.... and a dark Kenyan at that. Ironically, his last name was Muzungu. That got us all laughing again. Although he was the most personable and informative, it was his name that we took as a sign to stick with him. We'll be going back later on to see what vehicles he has for Jim to choose from.

We then ran to the Nakomat to hit the cyber cafe. Jim went to get online, and I ducked into a safaricom store to see about a different modem in the hopes of utilizing Skype. I bought the modem, Jim got his emails, and we left to meet one of Jim's friends, Feena, and go to Mamba's for dinner. Mamba's has the best chicken in this province, and perhaps in all of Kenya. It tastes like barbecued chicken you'd get form your own back yard, and the chicken is plum and juicy. It's served with french fries, and goes very well with a Tusker (Kenyan brewed). As it turns out, Feena is short for Josephine. Her parents called her Feena, and it stuck. She actually was the woman that sold Jim his motorcycle last year. After dumping it about 20x including one broken ankle, he's moving on to four wheels.

With our bellies full we began our ride back to Maseno. We had the same driver all day, and he's been very good. Despite the fear as he drove us back, I still had trouble staying awake. Kenyan roads make our potholes look like a table top. They average anywhere from 3'-5' in diameter, and can be upwards of 10" deep. Once it gets dark here, it's pitch black. There is no ambient light. None! So we're driving back, passing vehicles, trying to avoid these enormous potholes. Then he started talking on his cellphone. It was an interesting ride. At times, my fatigue had me seeing double. We dropped Jim off at Darenja Mbile (where the Grail is... along with his motorcylce). He was going to bring it back to the guest house. Don't worry, there's no way in hell I'm getting on it. That was 30 minutes ago, however, and he still has not returned. I'll start getting nervous in another 30.

Despite the exhaustion, I wanted to see if this new modem was any better. It seems to be faster, but I'll have to wait for the weekend to test it out with Skype. Everyone's at school now. I'm happy to be able to talk to Andrea on the phone before falling asleep. If I'm lucky, Jim will return while we're talking, and I can go right to sleep.

We'll see.

Tutaonana kecho

04.02.2010 1:54am

Well, I’m happy to say that I made it into Maseno safely. It was a bit close on the connecting flight, but we made it nonetheless. My flight to Dubai was uneventful. I like 12 hour flights that are uneventful. I did, however, realize that I failed to pack a section of my computer power cord, so I was greatly concerned that I’d be without a computer. Always the voice of reason, Andrea said, “Why don’t you just buy one in Dubai?” She was right. That occupied most of my thoughts until we arrived. I was so tired before take-off that I had the head-bobs before we even started to taxi. I was sitting in an exit row of 777, so the stewardess was sitting facing me. She was quite entertained. Getting an exit row in Dubai for the Nairobi flight was another story. Although I think Emirates is the best airline out there, once they’ve got you as a captive, they’re not as accommodating. They release the exit rows 3 hours before a flight, and if you’re on a connection, they send you to your gate to make any seating changes. Well, the gate doesn’t open until 1 hour before the flight. See the problem? It worked out fine. I slept most of the way again, anyway.
The Dubai airport changed drastically. It’s no longer 2 floors where gates are on the second floor, and shops/stores are on the first. It’s all one floor. If it will help give you an idea as to the size of this airport, I departed out of gate 201… I think it was somewhere near the middle of the airport. Anyway, the shops are now on the interior of the terminal, and the gates are on the outside of the terminal. Not, “outside” outside, but more like a rectangle within a rectangle. There was something I missed, though, about coming upon the escalator and seeing how expansive the terminal was. Now, you don’t get the same feel. There’s plenty of seating, now, and that’s a huge plus! Charging stations all over, and you don’t have to step over sleeping bodies to get a seat on the floor against the wall. Again, I thought that was part of its charm before. I must admit that it was nice not having to sit on the floor for 2 hours. On the other hand, I couldn’t find the Baskin Robbins. I don’t think they made the cut. Neither did the Coldstone. Bummer. Ice cream solves all problems.

Jim was waiting for me in Nairobi, and we were going to take the 5pm flight to Kisumu and avoid having to spend the night in Nairobi. We left Dubai late, and when you add the lethargy of Kenya to a late flight, that means although we landed at 3:15, I didn’t get my bags until 4:10. I scooped them up, found Jim standing just outside the terminal, and scurried across the street to the local terminal. The name of the airline was “540,” and the woman who checked us in was delightful. Her name was Caroline, and enjoyed our brief rendition of Sweet Caroline… we skipped the ‘BUM, BUM, BUM” part, but I think we got our point across. You may think we’re pathetic, but it saved us some money because we were well over the allotted 23kg/person. Altogether we had almost 95, and she only charged us for an additional 20kg.

It’s never a dull moment when you travel with Jim Nowak. While in flight, he informed me that Noel Shinali (a Kenyan grad student with a degree in Community Health who’ll be helping with the nursing students in May) would be meeting us at the airport. Well, she didn’t, and we couldn’t get her on the phone. No problem. We just hopped in another taxi. We were about a mile away when she called back. Jim said, “Where are you?” She was back at the airport with another taxi that brought her all the way from Kisumu. While their conversation continued, the taxi driver turned around nervously, wondering where he was going to put another passenger. We travelled another ½ mile before we realized that she wasn’t at the airport, but at the intersection before the entrance to the airport. Yes, we turned around again. Jim said, “Look for us when we pull up. There’s a big mazungo (white guy) in the front seat.” She told him she was wearing a white blouse. I spotted her as we waiting to cross the intersection. Not only was she wearing a white blouse, but she was the only woman there! We pulled up, and I rolled the window down. Apparently, white guys do that all the time, because she hesitated until I said, “It’s us Noel.” We all laughed about that later. Because she had hired a taxi to take her to the airport from Maseno (a 2000 Kenyan shilling drive), Jim stayed with her and headed back to Maseno while I went into Kisumu for some supplies. I grabbed a new sim card for my phone, a modem and a lot of water. I hopped back in the car, and immediately called home to let them know I arrived safely. The 8 hour time difference meant that I had already missed the children going to school, but I caught Ann. Thankfully. It was great to hear her voice, and she was happy to hear mine. I gave her the Reader’s Digest version, and told her I'd call her after everyone got home from school.

OK, brief interlude. I’m sitting on my bed under the mosquito net typing. It’s 2 in the morning, so although I hear the mosquitos buzzing around me, I can’t tell if they’re inside the net, or outside the net. It’s actually a bit un-nerving. Well, the loudest one was inside the net. I just sandwiched him between my hands. If he bit me before that, I certainly didn’t feel it. I’m glad that Kenyan mosquitos don’t like me much.

Okay, back to the story at hand. I just finished talking on the phone with Andrea and the kids (I somehow managed to skype Katie at 11:30pm while I was in Dubai). It was wonderful to hear their voices… always energizing on these trips. Althoough I purchased a modem so that I could Skype with everyone rather than call, it didn’t work out so well. Out of the two carriers in Kenya, I think I picked the slow one. It makes those 3g commercials from Verizon look very accurate. I apparently only have a 2g signal with Zane, so I’m going to try Safaricom when I get back into Kisumu on Saturday. It’s not like you can walk into any store in Maseno and buy a modem!
The Maseno Guest House has made some vast improvements. When I arrived, I was greeted by the smiling face of Daniel, who seems to be the biggest constant at this place… at least for the 5 years I’ve been coming here. Before you start thinking I’m living high on the hog, here are the improvements.

1. The shower has a curtain
2. The toilet has a seat
3. The toilet tank has a cover

Yup, it’s like the Taj Mahal here! I’ll have to let you know about the water later… hopefully we’ll have it, but I doubt it will be warm. We grabbed dinner with Noel across the street, and talked about our plans for the next couple days. She’ll come with us to Mbaka Oromo and the Maseno University Mission Hospital while we continue to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the students/faculty from the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher in May. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll fill everyone in on that rather serendipitous occasion that brought our two organizations together. Great story.

Tutaonana kecho (see ya tomorrow).