well, i'm currently sitting in the amsterdam airport, using the free wi-fi (wi-fi in kenya was nonexistent in most places), and eating my twelve dollar breakfast (do you realize how many chapatis i could have bought with twelve dollars?!)
so, a summary of my last week in kenya, and then some reflections on my experience.
sunday i took the bus back from mombasa to nairobi. of course it was more than an hour late, but i've just came to accept things like that. i didn't feel to sad saying goodbye to the heat of the coast. one of the girls on my program said that it was 95-100 degrees for many of the days we were there. we made it back to nairobi at about 7:00, which allowed us to see the christmas lights that decorated prestige plaza. christmas lights in kenya?!.. who would have thought?
we got a taxi to the methodist guest house, where we spent the next three days taking exams, sharing internship experiences, and participating in a wrap-up seminar. the hotel was much more than most of us expected, complete with buffet meals (no more ugali!) and a swimming pool.
wednesday morning we headed back to our nairobi homestay families for a few more days with them. a girl on the program was kicked out of her homestay (apparently she was supposed to call them while she was in mombasa, and she didn't, so they didn't want her to return) so she stayed with me.
i spent my last few days in kenya just simply enjoying myself-- eating at a swank indian restaurant with the rest of the students, handing in all of my term papers, chilling by the pool at the guest house again, going to markets, and eating multiple milkshakes.
saturday came, and it was time to leave kenya. it still all feels really surreal, it hasn't quite hit me that i'm really going home. my flight didn't leave until 11:00 at night. getting through security was a breeze and the flight went well. the flight was about eight hours. i have a seven hour layover and then another eight hour flight to chicago.
i do not know how to express my feelings on these last 3 1/2 months of my life. hands down, this has been the most amazing experience of my life. when the flight was taking off last night, i couldn't help but feel sad to think about never returning. what if i never ride in a matatu again? what if i never shop at the secondhand markets to buy 30 cent shirts? what if i never ride a pikipiki every again? these questions, plus multiple others, filled my mind. i feel like i experienced so many "firsts" on this trip, it makes me sad to think i could have also had my "lasts." i guess it's a good thing to feel this way-- it means i really enjoyed myself and want to come back.
one of the issues discussed in the wrap-up seminar was reverse culture shock. for many, coming back to the consumeristic and materialistic culture of the united states is worse than seeing the sheer poverty of kenya. i've lived a much simpler life these past few months than i have ever before. although there are certain conveniences of the united states i'm looking forward to coming back to, i do believe most americans live with too much, and they are not any happier than kenyans that live on next-to-nothing. one of the things i've learned is that material items will not make me happy. although not ever single second of these last 3 1/2 months have been the most joyous times of my life, my experiences and insight on the world that i've gained will make me happier than any material item would be able to.
another thing discussed in the seminar was enduring the hardships associated with explaining your experiences to people back home. living in a developing, third world, sub-saharan africa country for 3 1/2 months has made me realize the discrepancies in u.s. media coverage to kenya and other similar areas. to everyone reading this-- get educated. there are so many stereotypes associated with kenya and africa as a whole, and it's due to american ignorance.
i won't lie, i had no idea what i was getting myself into when i decided to come to kenya. but i do know i've grown so much as a person, being able to experience life through a different lens, being able to view the united states from the outside. i don't want to say i'm a whole different person though. i'm still me, just with some new views on the world, and some great stories to share. :)
one of the students on the program became slightly obsessed with steve jobs after his death in october. he shared a wonderful quote with us from him. i think the quote really envelopes my thoughts on not only the last 3 1/2 months of my life, but also on the rest of my life.
"When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you're life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money.
That's a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and other people can use.
Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."
future blog postings if i get back to the u.s. and feel the need to post. otherwise,
kwaheri kenya, kuona tena (goodbye kenya, see you again).
-emma
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
msambweni, the final week...
well, the internship portion of my study abroad program has officially came to an end. a week in review....
i decided to go back to MCH (maternal and child health) for the week, weighing and measuring babies and young kids. it keeps me busy, although i don't see as much as i might if i went to the wards. in the wards, a lot of time is just spent sitting around waiting for new admissions, which i did not want to do.
so monday, tuesday, and thursday i went to MCH. before this week, i felt like the internship had gone by so fast and i wished it was longer. but this week really made me believe that six weeks is just the right amount of time-- many of the doctors and other staff at the hospital are extremely rude to the patients, and also SO LAZY. i'm not even getting paid, and i often felt like i was doing the work of five of the staff in MCH. so it was about time to leave...
wednesday and friday i went to theatre. dr. stan (the orthopedic surgeon from germany) refused to operate last week, claiming that there were not adequate supplies to successfully or safely do any operations, but he was back in action this week. i saw an amputation of the lower leg of a diabetic woman. so cool. other operations were fixing a femur fracture, a surgical toilet, and a wound cleaning where they took the whole big toe off the foot. on friday i saw another c-section and some other minor procedures.
it was so weird thinking that i won't be in a hospital seeing the things i did the past six weeks for YEARS. interning at the hospital was such an amazing experience-- it really opened my eyes to the health disparities in this country, and helped me realize how great the healthcare in the united states is.
since i don't want to have to work on my term papers once i get back to nairobi, i finished those up, as well as studying for the final exams i have on monday. it's easy to forget i'm actually here for school sometimes....
saturday i woke up to watch a final sunrise over the indian ocean. then i said goodbye to my host family, and made my way to mombasa. i checked into my hotel and then met some other students to do some exploring/market shopping of mombasa, and then we headed to the beach for one final time.
tomorrow i take the bus back to nairobi (a long eight hour journey). then i have final exams and a final seminar, and then a few final days before my flight leaves next saturday. thinking of going home is very surreal for me right now. a part of me is ready to go home, but then another part of me feels like i just arrived yesterday, and that my time here shouldn't be over yet. i know i'm really going to miss kenya... this has hands-down been the most amazing experience of my life.
until next time,
emma
i decided to go back to MCH (maternal and child health) for the week, weighing and measuring babies and young kids. it keeps me busy, although i don't see as much as i might if i went to the wards. in the wards, a lot of time is just spent sitting around waiting for new admissions, which i did not want to do.
so monday, tuesday, and thursday i went to MCH. before this week, i felt like the internship had gone by so fast and i wished it was longer. but this week really made me believe that six weeks is just the right amount of time-- many of the doctors and other staff at the hospital are extremely rude to the patients, and also SO LAZY. i'm not even getting paid, and i often felt like i was doing the work of five of the staff in MCH. so it was about time to leave...
 |
| the hospital |
 |
| hospital hallway. the painted list on the wall is a list of a few of the services and their prices. |
 |
| hospital operating room |
 |
| anestesia room. more of a storage closet. |
it was so weird thinking that i won't be in a hospital seeing the things i did the past six weeks for YEARS. interning at the hospital was such an amazing experience-- it really opened my eyes to the health disparities in this country, and helped me realize how great the healthcare in the united states is.
since i don't want to have to work on my term papers once i get back to nairobi, i finished those up, as well as studying for the final exams i have on monday. it's easy to forget i'm actually here for school sometimes....
saturday i woke up to watch a final sunrise over the indian ocean. then i said goodbye to my host family, and made my way to mombasa. i checked into my hotel and then met some other students to do some exploring/market shopping of mombasa, and then we headed to the beach for one final time.
 |
| my house in msambweni |
 |
| final sunrise over the indian ocean. bittersweet. |
tomorrow i take the bus back to nairobi (a long eight hour journey). then i have final exams and a final seminar, and then a few final days before my flight leaves next saturday. thinking of going home is very surreal for me right now. a part of me is ready to go home, but then another part of me feels like i just arrived yesterday, and that my time here shouldn't be over yet. i know i'm really going to miss kenya... this has hands-down been the most amazing experience of my life.
until next time,
emma
 |
| pwani (coast) life, you'll be missed.... |
Thursday, December 1, 2011
top tens
hello everyone. only ten days until i'm stepping on american soil once again. so in keeping with the theme of 'ten', here are some "top ten" lists from my time in kenya....
top ten things i'll miss most about kenya...
10. the crazy ringtones kenyans have. the vibrate or silent setting is never used. personal favorite ringtones: jingle bells, and classic 1990's backstreet boys.
9. the outlets. they always say that if an electronic is plugged in, even if you aren't using it, it still uses electricity. solution: create an on/off switch on the outlet. genius.
8. the markets. goodwill is nice, but nothing beats thirty cent shirts.
7. chapati. mmm greasy, unleavened bread goodness. hands down my favorite kenyan food. personal record is five chapati in one day.
6. brick, old school cell phones. no people, we do not need cell phones with internet on them. no, we don't need a ridiculous amount of apps. let's all go back to a simpler time where cell phones were used just for calling people.
5. i've heard this song nonstop for the past three months. it always makes me smile when i hear it.. .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_lTHjpRkMM&noredirect=1
4. all the little kids screaming "how are you?" whenever you walk past them. for many, it's the only english they know, and it's so cute watching them wave and scream to you. :)
3. the transportation. although matatus are infamous for how dangerous they are, it is such a convenient form of transportation. many kenyans do not have vehicles, and there is absolutely no need for them. also, pikipikis (motorbikes) are one of my favorite things about kenya.
2. the fresh fruit. mmm the pineapples and bananas were my absolute favorite. you just can't get fruit like that in the united states.
1. soda in a glass jar, drank with a straw. i don't know why, but it just tastes better like this. also, i'm really going to miss krest, a bitter lemon soda.
top ten things i WON'T miss about kenya...
10. their "lazy" behavior. it's a cultural thing not to work very hard, but i hear "i'm so tired" so many times at the hospital, even though they hardly do any work.
9. their driving. blind overtakings by matatu drivers can be scary. and they drive way too fast.
8. beach boys. no i don't want to buy your bracelets. no i don't want to buy your keychains. no i don't want to buy your necklaces. don't tell me you love me, after speaking with me for five minutes. just let me enjoy the beach by myself.
7. the gender roles of men and women. it is extremely rare to see a father with a kid. the mother always takes care of the kids, and women do all the work around the house. gender roles are so stratified, it's nice to know i'm from a country that believes we should be treated equally.
6. the limited variety of foods. i've had a few staple foods in my diet for the past three months, and hardly anything else. chapati, ugali, rice, fish, beef stew, potato soup, spaghetti. i like variety. i also will not miss eating foods i don't like, but forcing myself to because i have no other choice.
5. the smell of body odor. this is more just focused on msambweni, because it's so hot and everyone sweats so much. deodorant/antiperspirant were amazing inventions, use them.
4. the word "mzungu". heard multiple times a day. i have an actual name, you don't need to say "the mzungu" all the time instead.
3. the inappropriate times people think it's acceptable to answer their cell phones. while teaching class? why not. when working with patients? sure. during the middle of major surgery? i hope it's an extremely important call...
2. being taken advantaged of because of the color of my skin. don't charge me more just because i'm white, which makes you assume i have a ton of money.
1. ugali. tasteless white crap on a plate? no thank you. and it looks so much like mashed potatoes, i might be scarred for life thinking that my mashed potatoes are ugali.
top ten things i missed most about home... (this list excludes family and friends, those go without saying!)
10. air conditioning. so hot and humid here in msambweni all the time.
9. trashy television shows. seriously, where's keeping up with the kardashians when you just want to watch some awful television?
8. the food. specifically, the fast food. culver's, come back into my life.
7. water. always having water for a shower. being able to drink the water without sterilizing it first. having cold water, with ice cubes, when its 90 degrees out.
6. my sonicare toothbrush. i just love that thing so much, i definitely regret not bringing it with. my teeth just haven't felt as clean the past three months.
5. a washing machine. my clothes just haven't felt very clean. and in msambweni, they lay them on the ground to dry. doesn't the defeat the purpose of washing them?
4. the changing seasons. although the sun has been nice for my tan, i honestly miss the changing weather. summer year round is not as great as you might think (maybe i just love winter too much).
3. set prices for everything. i don't enjoy bargaining for items (because i know i'm not a good bargainer), and it's hard knowing that i'm probably paying much more for an item than a kenyan would.
2. english. there is no way of feeling more alone and isolated that hearing a foreign language all the time, and knowing most people don't know how to speak english. the language barrier has also been hard for me to get as much out of my internship experience, because all the doctor-patient contact is done in swahili.
1. the food (again). easily the single thing i miss most about home. i'll for sure be gaining those 15 pounds i lost here as soon as i get back home. christmas cookies and taco bell are calling my name...
top ten things i'll miss most about kenya...
10. the crazy ringtones kenyans have. the vibrate or silent setting is never used. personal favorite ringtones: jingle bells, and classic 1990's backstreet boys.
9. the outlets. they always say that if an electronic is plugged in, even if you aren't using it, it still uses electricity. solution: create an on/off switch on the outlet. genius.
8. the markets. goodwill is nice, but nothing beats thirty cent shirts.
7. chapati. mmm greasy, unleavened bread goodness. hands down my favorite kenyan food. personal record is five chapati in one day.
6. brick, old school cell phones. no people, we do not need cell phones with internet on them. no, we don't need a ridiculous amount of apps. let's all go back to a simpler time where cell phones were used just for calling people.
5. i've heard this song nonstop for the past three months. it always makes me smile when i hear it.. .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_lTHjpRkMM&noredirect=1
4. all the little kids screaming "how are you?" whenever you walk past them. for many, it's the only english they know, and it's so cute watching them wave and scream to you. :)
3. the transportation. although matatus are infamous for how dangerous they are, it is such a convenient form of transportation. many kenyans do not have vehicles, and there is absolutely no need for them. also, pikipikis (motorbikes) are one of my favorite things about kenya.
2. the fresh fruit. mmm the pineapples and bananas were my absolute favorite. you just can't get fruit like that in the united states.
1. soda in a glass jar, drank with a straw. i don't know why, but it just tastes better like this. also, i'm really going to miss krest, a bitter lemon soda.
top ten things i WON'T miss about kenya...
10. their "lazy" behavior. it's a cultural thing not to work very hard, but i hear "i'm so tired" so many times at the hospital, even though they hardly do any work.
9. their driving. blind overtakings by matatu drivers can be scary. and they drive way too fast.
8. beach boys. no i don't want to buy your bracelets. no i don't want to buy your keychains. no i don't want to buy your necklaces. don't tell me you love me, after speaking with me for five minutes. just let me enjoy the beach by myself.
7. the gender roles of men and women. it is extremely rare to see a father with a kid. the mother always takes care of the kids, and women do all the work around the house. gender roles are so stratified, it's nice to know i'm from a country that believes we should be treated equally.
6. the limited variety of foods. i've had a few staple foods in my diet for the past three months, and hardly anything else. chapati, ugali, rice, fish, beef stew, potato soup, spaghetti. i like variety. i also will not miss eating foods i don't like, but forcing myself to because i have no other choice.
5. the smell of body odor. this is more just focused on msambweni, because it's so hot and everyone sweats so much. deodorant/antiperspirant were amazing inventions, use them.
4. the word "mzungu". heard multiple times a day. i have an actual name, you don't need to say "the mzungu" all the time instead.
3. the inappropriate times people think it's acceptable to answer their cell phones. while teaching class? why not. when working with patients? sure. during the middle of major surgery? i hope it's an extremely important call...
2. being taken advantaged of because of the color of my skin. don't charge me more just because i'm white, which makes you assume i have a ton of money.
1. ugali. tasteless white crap on a plate? no thank you. and it looks so much like mashed potatoes, i might be scarred for life thinking that my mashed potatoes are ugali.
top ten things i missed most about home... (this list excludes family and friends, those go without saying!)
10. air conditioning. so hot and humid here in msambweni all the time.
9. trashy television shows. seriously, where's keeping up with the kardashians when you just want to watch some awful television?
8. the food. specifically, the fast food. culver's, come back into my life.
7. water. always having water for a shower. being able to drink the water without sterilizing it first. having cold water, with ice cubes, when its 90 degrees out.
6. my sonicare toothbrush. i just love that thing so much, i definitely regret not bringing it with. my teeth just haven't felt as clean the past three months.
5. a washing machine. my clothes just haven't felt very clean. and in msambweni, they lay them on the ground to dry. doesn't the defeat the purpose of washing them?
4. the changing seasons. although the sun has been nice for my tan, i honestly miss the changing weather. summer year round is not as great as you might think (maybe i just love winter too much).
3. set prices for everything. i don't enjoy bargaining for items (because i know i'm not a good bargainer), and it's hard knowing that i'm probably paying much more for an item than a kenyan would.
2. english. there is no way of feeling more alone and isolated that hearing a foreign language all the time, and knowing most people don't know how to speak english. the language barrier has also been hard for me to get as much out of my internship experience, because all the doctor-patient contact is done in swahili.
1. the food (again). easily the single thing i miss most about home. i'll for sure be gaining those 15 pounds i lost here as soon as i get back home. christmas cookies and taco bell are calling my name...
Sunday, November 27, 2011
msambweni, week five
hello everyone. i hope you are all recovering from a food-filled thanksgiving holiday. this past week in msambweni has been pretty low-key and uneventful, but here's a recap of my week.
i stayed in the pediatric ward for another week, as i was only there for two days last week. so monday and tuesday were spent there, and i saw similar cases as last week. the saddest case i saw was a little seven year old boy in the hospital by himself. he was burned with a hot metal rod by his father after his stepmom accused him of raping one of her kids (he's seven years old! seriously?!?). they took him to the hospital, and after the hospital staff told them the police were going to come, they ran off, and now he is left at the hospital to recover by himself.
thursday i went on an mch (maternal and child health) outreach program to funzi island, an island off the coast just south of here. after a twenty minute car ride and a fifteen minute boat ride, we made it to the island. we mainly just had to record a lot of the information for the government. then we went back to the mainland, and had a vaccination outreach at the village there. it definitely was not a traditional thanksgiving by any means, but it was surely a memorable one.
friday night, the msid students planned on getting together for our own thanksgiving meal. i left work early and headed to mombasa. we originally planned to go to an ethiopian restaurant (it's more of a communal eating thing), but we weren't sure if the restaurant actually existed, so we decided to go to an indian restaurant instead. i ordered butter chicken, and almost immediately after finishing my meal, i started to feel sick. i planned on staying the night at a friend's house just north of mombasa. we found a matatu, and i found a plastic bag. i won't go into details, but i'll just say it was an extremely unpleasant ride to her house. once i got everything out of my system, i felt much better, but let's just say that that will probably be my first and only time eating at an indian restaurant.
i was originally planning on going to shimoni and wasini island for the weekend, but after friday night, i thought it'd be better to keep it low-key and rest. so on saturday i just went to the beach with a few other students and headed back home to msambweni saturday afternoon.
in one week, i'll be on a bus heading back to nairobi, and in exactly two weeks, my plane will be touching down in chicago. i'm looking forward to going back to nairobi just to escape the heat-- it's getting so hot here, it's almost becoming unbearable (even the fan isn't helping much). i'm going to try to finish up most of my papers this week and study for my final exams.
until next time,
emma
:)
i stayed in the pediatric ward for another week, as i was only there for two days last week. so monday and tuesday were spent there, and i saw similar cases as last week. the saddest case i saw was a little seven year old boy in the hospital by himself. he was burned with a hot metal rod by his father after his stepmom accused him of raping one of her kids (he's seven years old! seriously?!?). they took him to the hospital, and after the hospital staff told them the police were going to come, they ran off, and now he is left at the hospital to recover by himself.
thursday i went on an mch (maternal and child health) outreach program to funzi island, an island off the coast just south of here. after a twenty minute car ride and a fifteen minute boat ride, we made it to the island. we mainly just had to record a lot of the information for the government. then we went back to the mainland, and had a vaccination outreach at the village there. it definitely was not a traditional thanksgiving by any means, but it was surely a memorable one.
friday night, the msid students planned on getting together for our own thanksgiving meal. i left work early and headed to mombasa. we originally planned to go to an ethiopian restaurant (it's more of a communal eating thing), but we weren't sure if the restaurant actually existed, so we decided to go to an indian restaurant instead. i ordered butter chicken, and almost immediately after finishing my meal, i started to feel sick. i planned on staying the night at a friend's house just north of mombasa. we found a matatu, and i found a plastic bag. i won't go into details, but i'll just say it was an extremely unpleasant ride to her house. once i got everything out of my system, i felt much better, but let's just say that that will probably be my first and only time eating at an indian restaurant.
i was originally planning on going to shimoni and wasini island for the weekend, but after friday night, i thought it'd be better to keep it low-key and rest. so on saturday i just went to the beach with a few other students and headed back home to msambweni saturday afternoon.
in one week, i'll be on a bus heading back to nairobi, and in exactly two weeks, my plane will be touching down in chicago. i'm looking forward to going back to nairobi just to escape the heat-- it's getting so hot here, it's almost becoming unbearable (even the fan isn't helping much). i'm going to try to finish up most of my papers this week and study for my final exams.
until next time,
emma
:)
Monday, November 21, 2011
msambweni, week four
hello to everyone back home. :)
last weekend (november 12/13) was a lazy weekend. on saturday, i went to diani beach to soak up some sun. sunday, i wasn't feeling well, so i laid around doing nothing all day. don't worry, it wasn't anything serious and i felt better by midday.
this past week i went to the pediatric ward (although i did not spend much time there). monday was my first day. i was showed around, and followed one of the doctors around the rest of the day. the ward is full of crying, screaming kids, and similar conditions are seen over and over again-- malaria, anemia (caused by the malaria), pneumonia, and malnutrition. many of the children with pneumonia need careful supervision, as they often contracted HIV through their mother. for many of the patients, blood samples need to be taken. this seems to be the most tedious part of the pediatric ward, as their veins are so hard to find and they kick, scream, and squirm the entire time. on thursday, i also went to the pediatric ward, and saw similar cases.
tuesday, i headed to ramisi, a small village just south of msambweni. there was a four-day polio vaccination outreach going on, and i went with my host father for the day. all children under five years old should get the vaccine. it's just two drops taken orally, and then a mark is put on their finger nail to show they got the vaccine. first we went to the primary school, then the nursery, and then door to door, looking for kids. i was the designated "marker", so that is what i did for a few hours. it was nice to get out of the hospital and see an even more rural area than msambweni (think of an entire village of mud huts).
wednesday and friday i went to theatre (surgery). the cases varied, but i saw a few cyst removals, a c-section, and a man that needed the wound in his foot cleaned, but eventually he will just have to have it amputated, because it is not healing.
the weekend was spent at malindi, a large tourist area about two hours north of mombasa. historical significance: after portuguese explorer vasco da gama sailed around the cape of good hope, malindi is where he erected a coral pillar and turned east to head towards india.
i left msambweni friday afternoon, with plans of staying with an msid friend in bamburi, a town just north of mombasa for the night. it took 2 1/2 hours to get there-- a 1 1/2 hour matatu ride to likoni, a ride on the ferry, and another 45 minutes out of mombasa to bamburi. i made it around 4:30. we went to the beach for awhile, where we met up with a couple other msid students, and then went to her house for the night.
saturday morning we met up with two other msid students to find a matatu to malindi. after being hassled by the matatu conductors (as usual), we found one and were on our way. we stopped in gedi to visit the gedi ruins, which is a 14th-17th century swahili village.
afterwards, we ate lunch and headed to malindi. we got to our hotel, and decided to explore the town/beach the rest of the day. we ate supper at a restaurant called "i love pizza", as malindi has a large italian influence, and most of the tourists are from italy. i got a calzone, hands down the best thing i've eaten in four weeks since moving to msambweni.
that night, we decided to go out and see what the nightlife is like in malindi. prostitution is a huge problem on the coast, and mainly what we saw was old (50-70 years old) white men, with young kenyan prostitutes. it's so sad to see how many women exploit themselves for little money, and to see men who think what they're doing is acceptable.
sunday, we ate breakfast and headed to marafa depression, aka hell's kitchen. after an hour's drive on a bumpy, noisy, gravel road, we finally made it to our destination. marafa depression is sometimes called "the grand canyon of kenya"-- it's a large canyon as a result of wind erosion. it was very neat to see, although there's really no comparison to the actual grand canyon. ;)
after making it back to malindi, we went to malindi marine park to go snorkeling. malindi is supposed to have some of the best snorkeling along the coast, and we couldn't pass up hiring a boat for two hours and having snorkeling gear provided for us, all for six dollars. the snorkeling was absolutely amazing-- so much coral, so many cool colored fish, it is indescribable.
we left malindi around 5:00, and i still had a 4 1/2 hours journey home. i knew i was in for a long evening. we found an "express" matatu to mombasa-- one that doesn't make any stops, so it was much quicker. we ran into some traffic issues near mombasa which slowed us down, but i made it across the ferry to likoni around 8:15. i knew i might run into problems if matatus stopped running, but i thought it was still early enough.
this is where my weekend went sour. me and an msid student that lives in likoni walked off the ferry, and we tried to find a matatu to msambweni. we were told by another matatui'd have to take a taxi, around $15. just great. so he told us he'd ask his taxi driver "friend" to take us. we were told to stand on the opposite side of the street while they talked. they both came over to us, we tried to negotiate a price, but the taxi driver wanted more money. the taxi driver walked back to his car with the matatu driver. the matatu driver came back to us, and told me to give him 1500 ($15), so i assumed they had agreed on a price. about five minutes later, the matatu driver came back and asked for 200 more ($2), and that would be final. i only had a 1000Ksh bill, so he said he'd find change for me. he walked off, with 2500 ($25) of my money, and was never seen again! i still needed to get home, so i ended up paying 2000 ($20) to the taxi driver to get me home. on the way home, the taxi driver said that he wasn't friends with the matatu driver and had never seen him before in his life.
this event is one of the hardest things to deal with in kenya. you want to trust people, as most kenyans are sincere, friendly people, that just want to help you. but this is an example of the "rotten eggs" you can sometimes find. the matatu driver seemed friendly, and in no way led us to believe otherwise. it is hard because if i am skeptical of all kenyans, my experience with them won't be very good, but at the same time, if i trust them, i could end up in bad situations, like i was.
overall though, i still had a great weekend. there is no point in "crying over spilled milk"-- this experience is just about living and learning, life will go on and i learned my lesson (and i guess it makes for a good story, too).
i hope everyone enjoys their thanksgiving holiday. :)
emma
last weekend (november 12/13) was a lazy weekend. on saturday, i went to diani beach to soak up some sun. sunday, i wasn't feeling well, so i laid around doing nothing all day. don't worry, it wasn't anything serious and i felt better by midday.
this past week i went to the pediatric ward (although i did not spend much time there). monday was my first day. i was showed around, and followed one of the doctors around the rest of the day. the ward is full of crying, screaming kids, and similar conditions are seen over and over again-- malaria, anemia (caused by the malaria), pneumonia, and malnutrition. many of the children with pneumonia need careful supervision, as they often contracted HIV through their mother. for many of the patients, blood samples need to be taken. this seems to be the most tedious part of the pediatric ward, as their veins are so hard to find and they kick, scream, and squirm the entire time. on thursday, i also went to the pediatric ward, and saw similar cases.
tuesday, i headed to ramisi, a small village just south of msambweni. there was a four-day polio vaccination outreach going on, and i went with my host father for the day. all children under five years old should get the vaccine. it's just two drops taken orally, and then a mark is put on their finger nail to show they got the vaccine. first we went to the primary school, then the nursery, and then door to door, looking for kids. i was the designated "marker", so that is what i did for a few hours. it was nice to get out of the hospital and see an even more rural area than msambweni (think of an entire village of mud huts).
wednesday and friday i went to theatre (surgery). the cases varied, but i saw a few cyst removals, a c-section, and a man that needed the wound in his foot cleaned, but eventually he will just have to have it amputated, because it is not healing.
the weekend was spent at malindi, a large tourist area about two hours north of mombasa. historical significance: after portuguese explorer vasco da gama sailed around the cape of good hope, malindi is where he erected a coral pillar and turned east to head towards india.
i left msambweni friday afternoon, with plans of staying with an msid friend in bamburi, a town just north of mombasa for the night. it took 2 1/2 hours to get there-- a 1 1/2 hour matatu ride to likoni, a ride on the ferry, and another 45 minutes out of mombasa to bamburi. i made it around 4:30. we went to the beach for awhile, where we met up with a couple other msid students, and then went to her house for the night.
saturday morning we met up with two other msid students to find a matatu to malindi. after being hassled by the matatu conductors (as usual), we found one and were on our way. we stopped in gedi to visit the gedi ruins, which is a 14th-17th century swahili village.
afterwards, we ate lunch and headed to malindi. we got to our hotel, and decided to explore the town/beach the rest of the day. we ate supper at a restaurant called "i love pizza", as malindi has a large italian influence, and most of the tourists are from italy. i got a calzone, hands down the best thing i've eaten in four weeks since moving to msambweni.
 |
| the view of the ocean from our hotel balcony. |
that night, we decided to go out and see what the nightlife is like in malindi. prostitution is a huge problem on the coast, and mainly what we saw was old (50-70 years old) white men, with young kenyan prostitutes. it's so sad to see how many women exploit themselves for little money, and to see men who think what they're doing is acceptable.
sunday, we ate breakfast and headed to marafa depression, aka hell's kitchen. after an hour's drive on a bumpy, noisy, gravel road, we finally made it to our destination. marafa depression is sometimes called "the grand canyon of kenya"-- it's a large canyon as a result of wind erosion. it was very neat to see, although there's really no comparison to the actual grand canyon. ;)
after making it back to malindi, we went to malindi marine park to go snorkeling. malindi is supposed to have some of the best snorkeling along the coast, and we couldn't pass up hiring a boat for two hours and having snorkeling gear provided for us, all for six dollars. the snorkeling was absolutely amazing-- so much coral, so many cool colored fish, it is indescribable.
we left malindi around 5:00, and i still had a 4 1/2 hours journey home. i knew i was in for a long evening. we found an "express" matatu to mombasa-- one that doesn't make any stops, so it was much quicker. we ran into some traffic issues near mombasa which slowed us down, but i made it across the ferry to likoni around 8:15. i knew i might run into problems if matatus stopped running, but i thought it was still early enough.
this is where my weekend went sour. me and an msid student that lives in likoni walked off the ferry, and we tried to find a matatu to msambweni. we were told by another matatui'd have to take a taxi, around $15. just great. so he told us he'd ask his taxi driver "friend" to take us. we were told to stand on the opposite side of the street while they talked. they both came over to us, we tried to negotiate a price, but the taxi driver wanted more money. the taxi driver walked back to his car with the matatu driver. the matatu driver came back to us, and told me to give him 1500 ($15), so i assumed they had agreed on a price. about five minutes later, the matatu driver came back and asked for 200 more ($2), and that would be final. i only had a 1000Ksh bill, so he said he'd find change for me. he walked off, with 2500 ($25) of my money, and was never seen again! i still needed to get home, so i ended up paying 2000 ($20) to the taxi driver to get me home. on the way home, the taxi driver said that he wasn't friends with the matatu driver and had never seen him before in his life.
this event is one of the hardest things to deal with in kenya. you want to trust people, as most kenyans are sincere, friendly people, that just want to help you. but this is an example of the "rotten eggs" you can sometimes find. the matatu driver seemed friendly, and in no way led us to believe otherwise. it is hard because if i am skeptical of all kenyans, my experience with them won't be very good, but at the same time, if i trust them, i could end up in bad situations, like i was.
overall though, i still had a great weekend. there is no point in "crying over spilled milk"-- this experience is just about living and learning, life will go on and i learned my lesson (and i guess it makes for a good story, too).
i hope everyone enjoys their thanksgiving holiday. :)
emma
Saturday, November 12, 2011
oh, baby! msambweni week three
hello everyone. many of you reading this may have experienced the first snowfall of the season. HA. i'm sitting here sweating in the 85 degree heat.
anyway, last saturday (november 5), i headed to tiwi beach, a beautiful beach about 45 minutes north of msambweni. i was meeting most of the other students on the program that are also interning along the coast. it was so wonderful to see them, as it can get lonely not seeing familiar faces. many talked about being homesick and lonely, so i wasn't the only one feeling that way the first week i was here, which made me feel better. we stayed at twiga lodge, a hotel with cheap rooms and a nice restaurant, and a picturesque beach.
everyone else came together from the north, so i met them at the beach around 10:00 saturday morning. we swam for a while (the waves were huge!), ate lunch, and headed out snorkeling. i wasn't expecting much from the snorkeling, as it only cost around five dollars, but it was very cool. the first reef was in the shape of africa, and the second one, named "australia", was actually a cave, with an opening in the roof with long vines hanging down, and the sun shining through. after we snorkeled for a few hours, we headed back to the beach to soak up a few more rays. we all took showers and then headed to supper. after supper, we had a bonfire on the beach, which was a lot of fun.
the next morning a few of us woke up early for the sunrise. i live close enough to the beach that i could watch the sunrise any morning, but 5:30 just isn't an ideal wake-up time...
we stayed by the beach for a few more hours, then everyone headed their seperate ways to head home. i stopped at nakumatt for some food, then headed the rest of the way home to msambweni. it was a wonderful weekend.
this week at the hospital i was in the maternity ward. this was the first week i was in an inpatient service, so it was interesting to see the daily ward schedule. at 8:30, the ward round begins. the doctors go around to each patient, asking how they're feeling, if their condition is improving, take vitals, and write a plan for additional treatment. there were about 25 women in the maternity ward while i was there, and many of those were mothers waiting to be discharged after having a c-section. others were antenatal mothers having preganacy problems. the ward round took about three hours. the rest of the day was spent waiting for new admissions or deliveries.
i saw quite a few deliveries throughout the week. one day, a woman gave birth to premature (28 weeks) triplets, each not weighing much over two pounds.
my time in maternity was very good. i became much more competent in my blood pressure skills, and i also was able to administer drugs both through IV and intramuscular. i did not actually help in the delivery of any babies, but the last week of my internship i might go back to the maternity ward.
on friday, i headed to theatre. there were four orthopedic operations. the orthopedic surgeon is a european man, so it was very interesting to see the dynamic between him and the other theatre staff (the surgeon pretty much acted like they were completely incompetent in everything, which is sadly partially true.) there were two broken legs where the surgeon had to insert screws, a surgical toilet (flushing the wound with water-- "dilution is the solution for pollution" is what i was told), and a little girl with a swollen knee, which the surgeon just thought was fluid, but there is something else wrong with it.
the surgeon told me that the theatre fee for any operation is 3000 Ksh (30 dollars), and the screws are provided by an NGO in the united states that replaces the used screws for free, otherwise the patients would not be able to afford them. throughout my time in the ward, i learned that most of the doctors that work at the hospital are just interns, finishing up their medical school requirements. in kenya, to become a doctor, it is only a 4 1/2 year program total. there are also many student nurses, as there is a medical teaching facility in msambweni. so, fees at the hospital are very minimal, which is all many can afford, but the services are provided by medical students or student nurses, so nobody is well trained. after seeing much of the stuff that goes on at the hospital, i would NOT want to get sick and have to go there.
sunday to tuesday was a large muslim holiday. my host family is muslim, so there were many people in and out of the house all those days. many of my host cousins did not go to school, and instead stayed home to dance and sing to islamic prayer videos. many people here seem very ignorant about how important getting an education is. although i understand that for many muslims, their religion is their life, i don't know how it can be more important than school.
another aspect of education ignorance is my house help. she is 12 or 13 years old, and does not go to school. she is one of my host mom's daughters, from a different father other than my host dad. she knows only a limited amount of english, so i'm assuming she stopped going to school after my host brother (age 2 1/2) was born, so she could stay home to care for him. i don't know how anyone could tell their child that they could no longer go to school, and instead had to stay home to cook, clean, and babysit. she will have such a hard life, probably just being a housewife for the rest of her life, an occupation that many women here seem to have.
the following are some pictures of my homestay...
well, that's all for now. in exactly four weeks, i'll be boarding a plane back home. time is flying by.
anyway, last saturday (november 5), i headed to tiwi beach, a beautiful beach about 45 minutes north of msambweni. i was meeting most of the other students on the program that are also interning along the coast. it was so wonderful to see them, as it can get lonely not seeing familiar faces. many talked about being homesick and lonely, so i wasn't the only one feeling that way the first week i was here, which made me feel better. we stayed at twiga lodge, a hotel with cheap rooms and a nice restaurant, and a picturesque beach.
 |
| tiwi beach |
everyone else came together from the north, so i met them at the beach around 10:00 saturday morning. we swam for a while (the waves were huge!), ate lunch, and headed out snorkeling. i wasn't expecting much from the snorkeling, as it only cost around five dollars, but it was very cool. the first reef was in the shape of africa, and the second one, named "australia", was actually a cave, with an opening in the roof with long vines hanging down, and the sun shining through. after we snorkeled for a few hours, we headed back to the beach to soak up a few more rays. we all took showers and then headed to supper. after supper, we had a bonfire on the beach, which was a lot of fun.
the next morning a few of us woke up early for the sunrise. i live close enough to the beach that i could watch the sunrise any morning, but 5:30 just isn't an ideal wake-up time...
 |
| tiwi beach sunrise |
we stayed by the beach for a few more hours, then everyone headed their seperate ways to head home. i stopped at nakumatt for some food, then headed the rest of the way home to msambweni. it was a wonderful weekend.
this week at the hospital i was in the maternity ward. this was the first week i was in an inpatient service, so it was interesting to see the daily ward schedule. at 8:30, the ward round begins. the doctors go around to each patient, asking how they're feeling, if their condition is improving, take vitals, and write a plan for additional treatment. there were about 25 women in the maternity ward while i was there, and many of those were mothers waiting to be discharged after having a c-section. others were antenatal mothers having preganacy problems. the ward round took about three hours. the rest of the day was spent waiting for new admissions or deliveries.
i saw quite a few deliveries throughout the week. one day, a woman gave birth to premature (28 weeks) triplets, each not weighing much over two pounds.
my time in maternity was very good. i became much more competent in my blood pressure skills, and i also was able to administer drugs both through IV and intramuscular. i did not actually help in the delivery of any babies, but the last week of my internship i might go back to the maternity ward.
on friday, i headed to theatre. there were four orthopedic operations. the orthopedic surgeon is a european man, so it was very interesting to see the dynamic between him and the other theatre staff (the surgeon pretty much acted like they were completely incompetent in everything, which is sadly partially true.) there were two broken legs where the surgeon had to insert screws, a surgical toilet (flushing the wound with water-- "dilution is the solution for pollution" is what i was told), and a little girl with a swollen knee, which the surgeon just thought was fluid, but there is something else wrong with it.
the surgeon told me that the theatre fee for any operation is 3000 Ksh (30 dollars), and the screws are provided by an NGO in the united states that replaces the used screws for free, otherwise the patients would not be able to afford them. throughout my time in the ward, i learned that most of the doctors that work at the hospital are just interns, finishing up their medical school requirements. in kenya, to become a doctor, it is only a 4 1/2 year program total. there are also many student nurses, as there is a medical teaching facility in msambweni. so, fees at the hospital are very minimal, which is all many can afford, but the services are provided by medical students or student nurses, so nobody is well trained. after seeing much of the stuff that goes on at the hospital, i would NOT want to get sick and have to go there.
sunday to tuesday was a large muslim holiday. my host family is muslim, so there were many people in and out of the house all those days. many of my host cousins did not go to school, and instead stayed home to dance and sing to islamic prayer videos. many people here seem very ignorant about how important getting an education is. although i understand that for many muslims, their religion is their life, i don't know how it can be more important than school.
another aspect of education ignorance is my house help. she is 12 or 13 years old, and does not go to school. she is one of my host mom's daughters, from a different father other than my host dad. she knows only a limited amount of english, so i'm assuming she stopped going to school after my host brother (age 2 1/2) was born, so she could stay home to care for him. i don't know how anyone could tell their child that they could no longer go to school, and instead had to stay home to cook, clean, and babysit. she will have such a hard life, probably just being a housewife for the rest of her life, an occupation that many women here seem to have.
the following are some pictures of my homestay...
 |
| the shower. |
 |
| living room |
 |
| the bathroom, complete with a porclain squatter. ;) |
 |
| my room. thank god for that fan. |
 |
living room with baby tv that blasts islamic prayer videos almost nonstop. |
well, that's all for now. in exactly four weeks, i'll be boarding a plane back home. time is flying by.
Friday, November 4, 2011
week two in msambweni
hello everyone!
i have concluded the second out of six weeks at the hospital. time is flying by-- i've already completed 1/3 of my time at my internship, and i'm already 2/3 of the way done with the semester. it's crazy to think that in just over a month, i'll be on a plane flying home, looking back on an amazing few months.
last sunday (oct 30) i headed to ukunda, a small town about 25 minutes north of msambweni. it is very close to diani beach, a large tourist area, with many expensive hotels lining the coast. my host dad has a motorbike instead of a car, and he was going to take me there, but he decided not to at the last minute, so i boarded a matatu instead. i made it to ukunda, then got on a different matatu to head towards the beach. destination: nakumatt (kenyan walmart). my host family does not feel the need to provide me with toilet paper, so i was on a mission to buy some. in addition to that, i wanted to buy some "real"food-- ice cream, peanut butter, cookies-- to eat for the day, as at home, my diet consists of six foods: ugali, fish, chapati, coconut rice, potato soup, and black tea. after buying a few items, i headed to the beach to check it out.
as a single white woman, i knew i was going to be hassled by "beach boys"-- kenyan guys that try to sell you things, or just converse with you. throughout my 3 hours i was at the beach, there was not one time i was there sitting alone by myself, as someone was always talking to me. at about 3:00, i decided to head home, after realizing i probably just got the worse sunburn of my entire life. not only is the sun much stronger since i'm practically on the equator, but one of the side effects of my anti-malarial medication is sun sensitivity. needless to say, i learned my lesson: if i think i've applied enough sunscreen, apply more.
on the way home, the matatu driver decided it would be okay to pack 22 people into the 14 passenger matatu. most of the extra people were hanging outside the vehicle, holding on for their life. oh kenya.
this week at the hospital, i was in MCH-- maternal and child health. it is an outpatient clinic where children under five come for regular checkups and see a doctor if they're sick, as well as where antenatal mothers come for checkups throughout their pregnancy. on monday, tuesday, and thursday, i did a lot of weighing kids, measuring their height, taking their temperature, and giving vitamin a supplements. kids are supposed to come once every month for the first five years of their life, but many stop coming after they've received most of their immunizations. i don't blame them-- i think coming that often is excessive, even by american standards. on wednesday, i worked with the antenatal mothers. the nurses estimate how old the fetus is, check for a heartbeat, are given counseling in delivering the baby (doing it in a health facility, not a home delivery), and are tested for hiv. they do not use an ultrasound, and the way they estimate how old the fetus is seems very unreliable.
friday was theatre (surgery) day. i had been looking forward to this day all week. although working in mch was nice, theatre is really my opportunity to see stuff i'm unable to in the united states. at the hospital, major surgeries are done on wednesdays, and gynecological surgeries are done on fridays, so now i'll go every wednesday and friday to theatre. i had to wear the scrubs, along with the hair net and face mask. although i only observed today, as i go there more often, i'm sure the nurses will gain confidence in me in doing some of their work. there were two small cervical surgeries, removal of warts, and a woman getting her tubes tied. The tube tying procedure was the coolest to watch-- cutting down to the fallopian tubes, watching the surgeon tie them, and suturing the cut back up. seriously, it's like real life grey's anatomy.
life here has became much more comfortable. not having a toilet doesn't even phase me anymore, and my house doesn't having running water about half the time, so i'm getting good at the whole "bucket bath". my host mom realized how much i love chapati (fried flat bread) and i have it all the time-- usually for two meals of the day. i'm not getting used the heat/humidity, but i usually go swimming every afternoon after work.
the beach boys that hassle me here are probably my biggest pet peeve about this place. i go swimming around the same time every day, so many of them know my name and feel the need to wait for me to talk to me every day. one day, a guy was sitting by my towel, and he told me he was watching it so no one stole it, even though i know my stuff is very safe here. he proceeds to ask me if i can help him with his "problems"-- when have i became a psychologist?! when i told him no, he asked when we could meet. gahhhhhi'm not angry, i just wish there was one day i could go swimming and not be harassed by anyone." maybe he'll leave me alone now...
one of my other pet peeves that's been growing on me is the work ethic i see a lot at the hospital. from an american perspective, i see people as very lazy. they don't do a very good job on their work, show up late, take extremely long lunch breaks, and are rude to patients. i understand that this is part of their culture (more relaxed, not concerned about the time), but i definitely feel that it is one of the reasons kenya is in the situation it is in-- if they want any progress to be made with reducing the amount of poverty in their country, they need to start working a lot harder than they are.
well, that's all for this week! i'm heading to tiwi beach for the weekend to meet up with the other msid students, and next week i'm headed to the maternity ward (delivering babies, anyone?!).
stay warm wisconsin!
emma
:)
i have concluded the second out of six weeks at the hospital. time is flying by-- i've already completed 1/3 of my time at my internship, and i'm already 2/3 of the way done with the semester. it's crazy to think that in just over a month, i'll be on a plane flying home, looking back on an amazing few months.
last sunday (oct 30) i headed to ukunda, a small town about 25 minutes north of msambweni. it is very close to diani beach, a large tourist area, with many expensive hotels lining the coast. my host dad has a motorbike instead of a car, and he was going to take me there, but he decided not to at the last minute, so i boarded a matatu instead. i made it to ukunda, then got on a different matatu to head towards the beach. destination: nakumatt (kenyan walmart). my host family does not feel the need to provide me with toilet paper, so i was on a mission to buy some. in addition to that, i wanted to buy some "real"food-- ice cream, peanut butter, cookies-- to eat for the day, as at home, my diet consists of six foods: ugali, fish, chapati, coconut rice, potato soup, and black tea. after buying a few items, i headed to the beach to check it out.
as a single white woman, i knew i was going to be hassled by "beach boys"-- kenyan guys that try to sell you things, or just converse with you. throughout my 3 hours i was at the beach, there was not one time i was there sitting alone by myself, as someone was always talking to me. at about 3:00, i decided to head home, after realizing i probably just got the worse sunburn of my entire life. not only is the sun much stronger since i'm practically on the equator, but one of the side effects of my anti-malarial medication is sun sensitivity. needless to say, i learned my lesson: if i think i've applied enough sunscreen, apply more.
on the way home, the matatu driver decided it would be okay to pack 22 people into the 14 passenger matatu. most of the extra people were hanging outside the vehicle, holding on for their life. oh kenya.
this week at the hospital, i was in MCH-- maternal and child health. it is an outpatient clinic where children under five come for regular checkups and see a doctor if they're sick, as well as where antenatal mothers come for checkups throughout their pregnancy. on monday, tuesday, and thursday, i did a lot of weighing kids, measuring their height, taking their temperature, and giving vitamin a supplements. kids are supposed to come once every month for the first five years of their life, but many stop coming after they've received most of their immunizations. i don't blame them-- i think coming that often is excessive, even by american standards. on wednesday, i worked with the antenatal mothers. the nurses estimate how old the fetus is, check for a heartbeat, are given counseling in delivering the baby (doing it in a health facility, not a home delivery), and are tested for hiv. they do not use an ultrasound, and the way they estimate how old the fetus is seems very unreliable.
friday was theatre (surgery) day. i had been looking forward to this day all week. although working in mch was nice, theatre is really my opportunity to see stuff i'm unable to in the united states. at the hospital, major surgeries are done on wednesdays, and gynecological surgeries are done on fridays, so now i'll go every wednesday and friday to theatre. i had to wear the scrubs, along with the hair net and face mask. although i only observed today, as i go there more often, i'm sure the nurses will gain confidence in me in doing some of their work. there were two small cervical surgeries, removal of warts, and a woman getting her tubes tied. The tube tying procedure was the coolest to watch-- cutting down to the fallopian tubes, watching the surgeon tie them, and suturing the cut back up. seriously, it's like real life grey's anatomy.
life here has became much more comfortable. not having a toilet doesn't even phase me anymore, and my house doesn't having running water about half the time, so i'm getting good at the whole "bucket bath". my host mom realized how much i love chapati (fried flat bread) and i have it all the time-- usually for two meals of the day. i'm not getting used the heat/humidity, but i usually go swimming every afternoon after work.
the beach boys that hassle me here are probably my biggest pet peeve about this place. i go swimming around the same time every day, so many of them know my name and feel the need to wait for me to talk to me every day. one day, a guy was sitting by my towel, and he told me he was watching it so no one stole it, even though i know my stuff is very safe here. he proceeds to ask me if i can help him with his "problems"-- when have i became a psychologist?! when i told him no, he asked when we could meet. gahhhhhi'm not angry, i just wish there was one day i could go swimming and not be harassed by anyone." maybe he'll leave me alone now...
one of my other pet peeves that's been growing on me is the work ethic i see a lot at the hospital. from an american perspective, i see people as very lazy. they don't do a very good job on their work, show up late, take extremely long lunch breaks, and are rude to patients. i understand that this is part of their culture (more relaxed, not concerned about the time), but i definitely feel that it is one of the reasons kenya is in the situation it is in-- if they want any progress to be made with reducing the amount of poverty in their country, they need to start working a lot harder than they are.
well, that's all for this week! i'm heading to tiwi beach for the weekend to meet up with the other msid students, and next week i'm headed to the maternity ward (delivering babies, anyone?!).
stay warm wisconsin!
emma
:)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
msambweni: week one
i have made it to my new home in msambweni, complete with a beautiful beach view. it's been a rough week, filled with disappointments in my internship and homesickness (i've officially reached the two month mark), but i'm taking this new environment in strides, and things will get better with time.
on sunday, october 23, i left nairobi. i was surprised that i was somewhat sad to leave my host family, but i was probably just sad to leave a "comfortable" place for the unknown. the msid group split in half-- half going to the coast, and half going to the kisumu area (western kenya near lake victoria). our bus left at 9:30, and headed on its way for the 8 hour journey to mombasa. we were quite impressed with the bus service-- pillows, curtains, and even drinks and snacks! things like this really impress all of us, as it's not common in kenya to receive much more than the basics. along the way, we heard from the kisumu group-- crazy drivers, large chunks of the bus floor falling out creating a huge hole in the floor, and blown out tires. needless to say, i was glad i was going to the coast.
we arrived in mombasa around 6:00. not much for first impressions-- the city is obviously much smaller (but still the 2nd largest city in kenya), not as much pollution, very hot, and humid. the host parents arrived at the bus station to pick up their students. since msambweni is an hour and a half south of mombasa, i would be staying in mombasa with one other student for the night before heading to our homestays the next day.
we checked in to coast safari hotel, ate supper, and went to bed early. we had to get up at 5:00 to leave for our internships. the other student lived about 45 minutes south of mombasa, so he was dropped off, and then we headed to msambweni. for all of the drive there, the road was too far away from the shore to see the ocean. once we arrived near msambweni, we turned on to a road that headed towards the ocean. we turned into my driveway, and there was the indian ocean! so gorgeous, and i get to see it from my bedroom window.
i met my host family, was shown my room, and then we conversed a little. then my host dad, who works at the msambweni district hospital, where i am interning, took me to the hospital. he works as the "customer care" person/greeter. he introduced me to all the important clinical officers that i'd probably be working with throughout the 6 weeks, and then i went home. the house help showed me the beach, i unpacked my stuff, and relaxed the rest of the day.
life here is much more rural and rustic than in nairobi. my host dad's father is our neighbor, along with many of his children, so there kids running around everywhere. i have a three year old host brother, sulemon, and two older host siblings that aren't around much. there are five or six kids that are under five years old around here, so it's always a good time. i have running water and electricity, but there is just a "squatter" for the toilet, and there's no hot water (although it's so hot here, i never want to take anything but cold showers). my family does not have a kitchen table, we just sit on the floor and eat our meals. usually the food is just served on one large platter, and you just eat what you want (this is without silverware, of course). i can tell that my family is not as accommodating to my food preferences, so i'm sucking it up and eating ugali (which we have at least once a day, if not more). we have fish almost every single day, but i guess that's too be expected considering where i live. there are bugs everywhere-- the flies are especially bad, and ants are crawling around everywhere.
the hospital is about what i expected, given the fact that kenya is a developing country. it was probably a beautiful facility when it was build 40+ years ago (just my guess) but there have obviously been no improvements since then, and the medical facilities are not up to date. some things i've noticed are how limited many of the supplies are, and how old everything looks, as nothing has been changed since it was built.
there are no scheduled doctors appointments; patients just show up if they need treatment. they all must buy a small notebook, where the doctors write all their notes. this, of course, would be done on a computer in the united states. all the services must be paid up-front, and prices vary by what service is being done.
this past week, i was just in outpatient services at the hospital, which was extremely boring. not many patients that come in have that severe of illnesses, and just need to be prescribed drugs or have a small test done (malaria testing, for example, is about half of the cases). the language barrier has been especially hard to deal with, as the doctor/patient conversation is spoken in swahili, and if the doctor is feeling nice, he might explain it to me in englishmsid staff reassured me that the past six students that have came here have absolutely loved the hospital and have been able to do so much, as i am going to stick with it. next week i'm moving to the pediatric ward, so hopefully i'll be able to see more and participate more.
so far, the internship phase of the program has been disappointing, but i hope it will get better. i'm realizing how quickly the semester is going to fly by, as i only have five weeks left here, and one week in nairobi before i go home. life here can be difficult at times, but that will make coming home that much more enjoyable, and i know i'm going to look back on this experience and have lifelong memories.
on sunday, october 23, i left nairobi. i was surprised that i was somewhat sad to leave my host family, but i was probably just sad to leave a "comfortable" place for the unknown. the msid group split in half-- half going to the coast, and half going to the kisumu area (western kenya near lake victoria). our bus left at 9:30, and headed on its way for the 8 hour journey to mombasa. we were quite impressed with the bus service-- pillows, curtains, and even drinks and snacks! things like this really impress all of us, as it's not common in kenya to receive much more than the basics. along the way, we heard from the kisumu group-- crazy drivers, large chunks of the bus floor falling out creating a huge hole in the floor, and blown out tires. needless to say, i was glad i was going to the coast.
we arrived in mombasa around 6:00. not much for first impressions-- the city is obviously much smaller (but still the 2nd largest city in kenya), not as much pollution, very hot, and humid. the host parents arrived at the bus station to pick up their students. since msambweni is an hour and a half south of mombasa, i would be staying in mombasa with one other student for the night before heading to our homestays the next day.
we checked in to coast safari hotel, ate supper, and went to bed early. we had to get up at 5:00 to leave for our internships. the other student lived about 45 minutes south of mombasa, so he was dropped off, and then we headed to msambweni. for all of the drive there, the road was too far away from the shore to see the ocean. once we arrived near msambweni, we turned on to a road that headed towards the ocean. we turned into my driveway, and there was the indian ocean! so gorgeous, and i get to see it from my bedroom window.
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| the view of the indian ocean from my home. |
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| host cousins and i at the beach. the first day, my host mom made me wear what all the women here wear. no, i did not wear that outfit by choice. ;) |
the hospital is about what i expected, given the fact that kenya is a developing country. it was probably a beautiful facility when it was build 40+ years ago (just my guess) but there have obviously been no improvements since then, and the medical facilities are not up to date. some things i've noticed are how limited many of the supplies are, and how old everything looks, as nothing has been changed since it was built.
there are no scheduled doctors appointments; patients just show up if they need treatment. they all must buy a small notebook, where the doctors write all their notes. this, of course, would be done on a computer in the united states. all the services must be paid up-front, and prices vary by what service is being done.
this past week, i was just in outpatient services at the hospital, which was extremely boring. not many patients that come in have that severe of illnesses, and just need to be prescribed drugs or have a small test done (malaria testing, for example, is about half of the cases). the language barrier has been especially hard to deal with, as the doctor/patient conversation is spoken in swahili, and if the doctor is feeling nice, he might explain it to me in englishmsid staff reassured me that the past six students that have came here have absolutely loved the hospital and have been able to do so much, as i am going to stick with it. next week i'm moving to the pediatric ward, so hopefully i'll be able to see more and participate more.
so far, the internship phase of the program has been disappointing, but i hope it will get better. i'm realizing how quickly the semester is going to fly by, as i only have five weeks left here, and one week in nairobi before i go home. life here can be difficult at times, but that will make coming home that much more enjoyable, and i know i'm going to look back on this experience and have lifelong memories.
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| the beach that is a two minute walk from my house. it doesn't look that great, but it was at low tide, so that's why it's so weedy, and not as sandy. |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
saying goodbye to nairobi
hello friends!
well today marks the halfway point of my program, but more exciting than that, the last day of classes for the rest of the semester! i just had to take my final exam for swahili, which i studied about two hours for. i'm not sure how i'm ever going to go back to "real" college and actual studying next semester...
anyway, this past week and a half has been pretty low-key and uneventful, so i'll just fill you in on some of the highlights.
-- since my phone got stolen the weekend i went to uganda, i had to buy a new one.. (there's 20 dollars down the drain..) i went to nakumatt (kenyan equivalent to super walmart). i bought a phone, then had to go to a different shop to buy a new SIM card (all phones are pre-paid and you can put in different SIM cards for different cellular providers). after standing in line for 15 minutes, they said i had to go back to where i bought my phone from to buy the SIM card. what a hassle. so i went back and buy the SIM card and airtime. i got home, loaded airtime on my phone, and shut my phone off, only to realize i didn't have the PIN number to unlock my phone. so the next day i had to go back to nakumatt. luckily they remembered me, and gave me the PIN number. they made it very clear to me that it was MY FAULT for forgetting the PIN number, not theirs, even though that is THEIR job. oh kenyans....
-- field trip! last wednesday (october 12) my public health track class took a field trip to KEMRI-- kenya medical research institute. it was pretty boring, as i didn't really understand what kind of research they were doing-- something with malaria. the institute seemed to be largely funded by a university in japan, which i found interesting. we also went into another research institute where they do testing on the nutritional value of foods from across kenya. we all received three or four job offers in a period of 3 hours, so if i'm ever in need of a job, i guess i know where i can look...
--chinese! although this is not exciting at all, last thursday a few of us went to a chinese restaurant for lunch. sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and a chocolate milkshake. one thing i've notice in kenya is that there isn't a ton of restaurants serving specific ethnic dishes (italian, mexican, etc.) but chinese food is quite prevalent. i'm not exactly sure what the reasoning behind this is, but the chinese are starting to become a much larger presence in kenya. unlike the united states and many other european countries, the chinese are practically handing over money and working on large infrastructure projects, no strings attached, and they are not asking to be repaid. according to my country analysis teacher, "kenyans love the chinese."
--blackouts. the rainy season is now upon us, and this means more power outages. i've become accustomed to not having power, although i never like having to break out my flashlight at 7:00 at night to see. my host dad told me that there is only one power company in nairobi, so there is no competition. the power company stopped paying overtime to its employees, so if the power goes off after working hours, it just stays off until the next morning, because none of the workers are willing to work at night without additional pay.
--kuona trust. on tuesday a few of us went to kuona trust, which is an art center where artists can rent out studios, and the public can go in, see the work in their studio, interact with the artists, etc. i'm not much of an art person and don't have a ton of appreciation for any of it, but it was still neat to see a lot of the work.
--after seeing kuona trust, we went to toi market, which is a market located on the edge of kibera (one of the largest slums in the world). i think this has become my favorite place in nairobi. they have so much stuff-- everything you can think of-- shirts, pants, skirts, backpacks, socks, scarves, dresses, pirated movies-- all at ridiculous prices. i ended up buying 3 skirts, each for 100 shillings (less than $1) and a shirt for 30 shillings (30 cents). most of the clothing is in huge mounds and you really have to dig to find good stuff, which makes it a fun experience. i also bought 5 books to take with me to read in msambweni-- i know i'll have a lot of extra free time since i'm done with all my term papers.
-- on sunday, the kenyan government officially declared war on al shabaab, the militant group that controls somalia, as they are blamed for the many kidnappings in lamu, and the government feels they are threatening kenya's tourism industry. i don't really know much about this, but the msid coordinators have assured us the coast is still safe. more information at this link:
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenyan+troops+off+to+war/-/1056/1256044/-/jxj2dg/-/index.html
i leave on sunday at 9:00 in the morning to head to mombasa, an eight hour bus ride from nairobi. monday morning i will head to msambweni, another 1 1/2 hours south of mombasa, where i will be staying the next 6 weeks. more about this once i move..
it has been an amazing 7 weeks in nairobi, but i'm ready to leave. i've had enough of the smog, the black exhaust coming out of all the vehicles, and all the garbage. it was interesting to be in a large city to see the contrast between the modern areas and the slums, but i'm looking forward to being in a more rural setting, away from all the other msid students, as i think my understanding and appreciation for kenya will grow immensely.
my next post will be from msambweni. see picture below. it's okay to be jealous. ;)
well today marks the halfway point of my program, but more exciting than that, the last day of classes for the rest of the semester! i just had to take my final exam for swahili, which i studied about two hours for. i'm not sure how i'm ever going to go back to "real" college and actual studying next semester...
anyway, this past week and a half has been pretty low-key and uneventful, so i'll just fill you in on some of the highlights.
-- since my phone got stolen the weekend i went to uganda, i had to buy a new one.. (there's 20 dollars down the drain..) i went to nakumatt (kenyan equivalent to super walmart). i bought a phone, then had to go to a different shop to buy a new SIM card (all phones are pre-paid and you can put in different SIM cards for different cellular providers). after standing in line for 15 minutes, they said i had to go back to where i bought my phone from to buy the SIM card. what a hassle. so i went back and buy the SIM card and airtime. i got home, loaded airtime on my phone, and shut my phone off, only to realize i didn't have the PIN number to unlock my phone. so the next day i had to go back to nakumatt. luckily they remembered me, and gave me the PIN number. they made it very clear to me that it was MY FAULT for forgetting the PIN number, not theirs, even though that is THEIR job. oh kenyans....
-- field trip! last wednesday (october 12) my public health track class took a field trip to KEMRI-- kenya medical research institute. it was pretty boring, as i didn't really understand what kind of research they were doing-- something with malaria. the institute seemed to be largely funded by a university in japan, which i found interesting. we also went into another research institute where they do testing on the nutritional value of foods from across kenya. we all received three or four job offers in a period of 3 hours, so if i'm ever in need of a job, i guess i know where i can look...
--chinese! although this is not exciting at all, last thursday a few of us went to a chinese restaurant for lunch. sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and a chocolate milkshake. one thing i've notice in kenya is that there isn't a ton of restaurants serving specific ethnic dishes (italian, mexican, etc.) but chinese food is quite prevalent. i'm not exactly sure what the reasoning behind this is, but the chinese are starting to become a much larger presence in kenya. unlike the united states and many other european countries, the chinese are practically handing over money and working on large infrastructure projects, no strings attached, and they are not asking to be repaid. according to my country analysis teacher, "kenyans love the chinese."
--blackouts. the rainy season is now upon us, and this means more power outages. i've become accustomed to not having power, although i never like having to break out my flashlight at 7:00 at night to see. my host dad told me that there is only one power company in nairobi, so there is no competition. the power company stopped paying overtime to its employees, so if the power goes off after working hours, it just stays off until the next morning, because none of the workers are willing to work at night without additional pay.
--kuona trust. on tuesday a few of us went to kuona trust, which is an art center where artists can rent out studios, and the public can go in, see the work in their studio, interact with the artists, etc. i'm not much of an art person and don't have a ton of appreciation for any of it, but it was still neat to see a lot of the work.
--after seeing kuona trust, we went to toi market, which is a market located on the edge of kibera (one of the largest slums in the world). i think this has become my favorite place in nairobi. they have so much stuff-- everything you can think of-- shirts, pants, skirts, backpacks, socks, scarves, dresses, pirated movies-- all at ridiculous prices. i ended up buying 3 skirts, each for 100 shillings (less than $1) and a shirt for 30 shillings (30 cents). most of the clothing is in huge mounds and you really have to dig to find good stuff, which makes it a fun experience. i also bought 5 books to take with me to read in msambweni-- i know i'll have a lot of extra free time since i'm done with all my term papers.
-- on sunday, the kenyan government officially declared war on al shabaab, the militant group that controls somalia, as they are blamed for the many kidnappings in lamu, and the government feels they are threatening kenya's tourism industry. i don't really know much about this, but the msid coordinators have assured us the coast is still safe. more information at this link:
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenyan+troops+off+to+war/-/1056/1256044/-/jxj2dg/-/index.html
i leave on sunday at 9:00 in the morning to head to mombasa, an eight hour bus ride from nairobi. monday morning i will head to msambweni, another 1 1/2 hours south of mombasa, where i will be staying the next 6 weeks. more about this once i move..
it has been an amazing 7 weeks in nairobi, but i'm ready to leave. i've had enough of the smog, the black exhaust coming out of all the vehicles, and all the garbage. it was interesting to be in a large city to see the contrast between the modern areas and the slums, but i'm looking forward to being in a more rural setting, away from all the other msid students, as i think my understanding and appreciation for kenya will grow immensely.
my next post will be from msambweni. see picture below. it's okay to be jealous. ;)
Monday, October 10, 2011
uganda
this past weekend (october 6-9) a group of six msid students traveled to uganda. it was by far the best weekend i have had while in africa, full of new experiences and exciting adventures.
thursday after school, i packed my bags and prepared to leave. we decided to take the overnight bus from nairobi to kampala, uganda, the capital of that country. it is about a 13 hour bus ride. at 5:30, 4 of us met at school to take a bus to downtown nairobi. when we got downtown, we had to wait for the other 2 students to arrive. while waiting, we walked around the block, as businesses do not appreciate loitering. i had my cell phone in the outside zipped, mesh pocket of my suitcase. bad idea.
once all of us were together, we headed to the bus station, about a ten minute walk. one of the guys said something about the pocket being open. i checked the pocket, and my cell phone was gone. somebody had stolen it while we were walking around the block. in hindsight, i realize is should have been more careful about not having it so visible, but i thought it'd be safe since the pocket was zipped and we were always walking around. i guess that's why they call it nairobbery...
once we got to the bus station, we had to buy tickets, $23. it was around 6:30, and the bus wasn't scheduled to board until 8:00 and leave at 8:30. we decided to try to find a place to eat, as we knew we wouldn't have a chance to eat for awhile. we found a restaurant about a block away, and judging by the menu, it looked like a good place to eat. well when we started ordering, the waiter would often reply "sorry, we don't have that."
"do you have fruit salad?"
"no."
"how about pancakes?"
"pancakes? no."
"WHAT DO YOU HAVE?!?"
after this went on for awhile, we finally all ended up ordering something (an omelette for me-- it's always a safe bet to assume they have eggs here). we got our food, ate, and headed back to the bus station around 8:00. we waited outside... 8:15, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00... still no bus. this is what you call "kenyan time". the bus FINALLY arrived at 10:30, and by the time the pushing and shoving ceased, we got on the bus and it left right around 11:00.
we drove through the night. it was a bumpy, noisy ride, filled with limited amounts of sleep. the roads are very bad. around 7:00 friday morning, we made it to the kenya-uganda border, an interesting experience on its own.
everyone is required to get of the bus and walk across. we had to have our passports stamped to exit kenya, then walk about a half mile to get to uganda's immigration office to have our bags checked and buy our visas. we never had any idea where we were going, and there were no signs at all. we finally made it across and we were back on the road after 9:00.
we made it to kampala around 1:00, three hours past schedule. we met a pair of british men that were going to kampala for a business meeting. they had thought that the bus was going to arrive at 7:00 in the morning, and their flight back home left the following day, so they were going to have to make the 14 hour bus ride back to nairobi again that night. rough.
we found boda-bodas (what the piki-piki motorbikes are called in uganda) and they took us to red chillies, the hostel we stayed at for the night. we took amazing hot showers-- the first time i've actually been able to adjust the temperature of the shower since i've been in africa. afterwards, we took a matatu to downtown kampala, just to see what it was like. kampala has a population of about one million people, compared to nairobi's four million, so it's a much smaller city. there are not as many high rise buildings, and it seemed to cleaner and much less of an informal sector than in nairobi. we ate supper at a chinese restaurant, and walked around a bit more.
one of the girls has a friend in uganda, and she suggested we go to a cultural sing/dance performance at the ndere center, which was on the outskirts of town. traffic was awful and we knew the fastest way to get there would be by boda-bodas. it was CRAZY. we were weaving through traffic, getting way to close to other cars, driving down the middle of the road, and driving on sidewalks.
"no."
"how about pancakes?"
"pancakes? no."
"WHAT DO YOU HAVE?!?"
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| kampala, uganda |
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| boda bodas everywhere! |
the performance was actually really cool, except for the fact that we felt like it was a VIP performance and we were uninvited guests. the show was supposed to start at 7:00, and there was no one else there until about 8:30, when 20-30 military colonels from all around africa showed up in their fancy suits, and the show finally began. we stayed until around 9:30, when we caught a cab back to red chillies.
the next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and then adrift, the rafting company, picked us up from the hostel. we had to take their bus to jinja, about 1 1/2 hours away. jinja is the source of the nile, where lake victoria flows out. (remember geography?... the nile river is the only river to flow north). we got to the rafting site, had more breakfast, put on our lifejackets and helmets, and headed out to the river. our guide showed us a few different important tips for going through the rapids, what to do if we flip, etc.
it was then time for our first rapids. we ended up flipping our raft, and all i remember is trying to get to the surface of the water. i ended up coming up underneath the raft, where there is a small pocket of air. we made it throught the rapids, got back on the raft, and headed down-river. there were three more rapids before our lunch stop, and most of us fell out again on the last rapids.
after lunch there were four more rapids. we didn't flip, and didn't fall out, except for the last rapids, when our guide told us to jump out, so we just swam through the last rapids. how many people can say they've whitewater rafted and swam in the nile river? such an awesome experience.
we got to adrift camp, where we'd stay the night. the big soccer match-- kenya vs uganda was on. people are so crazy about soccer here, even more than for the super bowl. the final score of the game was 0-0, which meant that neither team would move on in the tournament. you could feel the disappoinment in the restaurant at the camp. the rest of the night we played cards and socialized, and went to bed after an exhausting day out in the sun (all of us had pretty good sunburns).
sunday, it was time to bungee jump. i woke up dreading the whole experience, but i knew this would be the only time i'd ever do it, so i might as well. we were weighed, signed waivers, and then it was time to jump. i was so nervous, but free-falling is one of the coolest feelings ever. the four of us all made it out alive, with plenty of pictures to prove our jumps.
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| nile high bungee |
after everyone was done jumping, we rode boda-bodas to the city of jinja. we were dropped off at the tourist center, but of course, since it was sunday, it was closed. a man came up to us and we asked him where to get tickets, and at first he said it was "impossible and that we had to wait until monday" but he was just confused, and we had to walk across town (2-3 miles with my heavy suitcase-- i should have packed lighter) to get to the bus station. once there, we found out we had to pay in ugandan shillings, even though everyone only had kenyan shillings. two members of the group went back into town to exchange money, and then we bought our tickets.
we still had about 4 hours before the bus would come, so we decided we wanted to go down by the lake. some of us hadn't eaten breakfast and it was almost 2:00, so we were starving and just wanted to find somewhere to eat. the boda-boda drivers took us to a private golf course with a restaurant, where we ate. the food took almost an hour to make, and some people ordered chips marsala, which was apparently a bad life choice, as they described it as "eating fire". good thing i stuck with an omelette again..
the bus was supposed to arrive in jinja at 4:30, but it didn't come until 5:45, but we expected this after the bus ride to uganda anyway. we loaded up, and it was a good ride back to nairobi. the border crossing went much smoother, and we made it back in nairobi around 6:00, then got a taxi home, and then had to go to class at 8:00. needless to say, it was a long day at school. i told my swahili teacher i was in class physically, but not mentally. good thing we ended class early.
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| the nile sunset |
Saturday, October 1, 2011
field trips, birthday, and term papers
another week has passed, and i have officially been here for over a month. i've been here for five weeks, which means i'm 1/3 of the way through the semester. it's crazy how fast time is flying by.
on monday, we went on a field trip for my country analysis. i can honestly say that it was the most pointless field trip i have ever been on. we went to ngong, where i went a couple of weekends ago. we stopped at an agricultural teaching center, where farmers from the nairobi area come to learn how to better manage their crops and animals. pretty much all we did was see cows, rabbits, chickens, and a goat. then we went to the top of one of the hills (we rode the bus this time instead of hiking) and saw some wind turbines. wooo. then we came back to nairobi and the field trip was over.
wednesday was my 20th birthday. i'm not much of a birthday celebrator, and wasn't expecting this one to be any different. a few girls on the program got me flowers, and the msid staff got me a cake, which i shared during tea break. after class, i went to creamy inn for ice cream. the night before, i reminded my host parents that it was my birthday, and they kind of forgot, but said they'd plan something and i was not to worry. so that night i was expecting to go out to eat, being prepared a special meal, or doing something to celebrate. well, my host father and brother came into my room, sang happy birthday to me, gave me a chocolate bar, and walked out. that was the extent of my birthday celebration.
thursday we had another field trip, this time for my development class. we boarded the bus and got a tour of nairobi-- seeing the industrial portion of nairobi, a major informal sector where they make many things out of recycled materials, and then an upper-class area, where many of the country ambassadors live. it was nice to see a different part of nairobi, as i usually stay in about a 2 mile radius of school.
friday night, i celebrated my birthday "msid style" at smart village, an ethiopian restaurant. i was nervous that no one would show up, but people did, and it was a lot of fun.
on monday, we went on a field trip for my country analysis. i can honestly say that it was the most pointless field trip i have ever been on. we went to ngong, where i went a couple of weekends ago. we stopped at an agricultural teaching center, where farmers from the nairobi area come to learn how to better manage their crops and animals. pretty much all we did was see cows, rabbits, chickens, and a goat. then we went to the top of one of the hills (we rode the bus this time instead of hiking) and saw some wind turbines. wooo. then we came back to nairobi and the field trip was over.
wednesday was my 20th birthday. i'm not much of a birthday celebrator, and wasn't expecting this one to be any different. a few girls on the program got me flowers, and the msid staff got me a cake, which i shared during tea break. after class, i went to creamy inn for ice cream. the night before, i reminded my host parents that it was my birthday, and they kind of forgot, but said they'd plan something and i was not to worry. so that night i was expecting to go out to eat, being prepared a special meal, or doing something to celebrate. well, my host father and brother came into my room, sang happy birthday to me, gave me a chocolate bar, and walked out. that was the extent of my birthday celebration.
thursday we had another field trip, this time for my development class. we boarded the bus and got a tour of nairobi-- seeing the industrial portion of nairobi, a major informal sector where they make many things out of recycled materials, and then an upper-class area, where many of the country ambassadors live. it was nice to see a different part of nairobi, as i usually stay in about a 2 mile radius of school.
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| tin shack |
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| garbage disposal is a huge problem in nairobi |
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| nairobi skyline |
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Saturday, September 24, 2011
hell's gate
the past two days were spent near naivasha, about an hour's drive from nairobi. we didn't have class on friday, so a few of us decided to head to hell's gate national park.
we met at 7:00 friday morning, and took a matatu downtown. it was my first matatu ride, and i successfully made it out alive and with nothing stolen. when we got dropped off, we had to walk to a different matatu station, where the matatus heading to naivasha and nakuru leave. we had a hand-written map, but we still didn't know where to go. a matatu driver offered us to show us how to get there. as a mzungu in nairobi, you're always kind of suspicious of these sorts of offers-- it's very hard to tell if someone is genuinely being nice, or if they have alterior motives. luckily, this guy was just being nice and he got us to the station, which is good, since we probably wouldn't have been able to find it ourselves. we bought our ticket and boarded the matatu. we had to wait for it to fill, but we left the city by 10:00.
when we got to naivasha, we asked the matatu driver how to get to fisherman's camp, where we were going to stay for the night. immediately, swarms of guys come up to us, telling us that they will take us there. it was really crazy, but we just told them "no" and walked away. we decided that we would take pikipikis to the camp. we didn't think it was too far away, but it ended up being almost a 25 minute ride. we checked into our banda, where we stayed for the night. the camp had a restaurant on-site, so we ate lunch there. i ordered penne pasta with what tasted like spaghetti sauce. it was probably the best food i've had since i've been here. then we rented bikes and made our way to hell's gate, about a 3 mile ride.
when we got there, i realized i didn't have my pupil's pass, which is a slip of paper that says i am a resident of kenya for this semester. resident prices at the national parks are much cheaper if you're a resident, so i ended up paying 2500 Ksh ($25) instead of 600 Ksh ($6), which was a real bummer. but then we rode our bikes into the park, and it was absolutely beautiful.
we then wanted to go see the gorge, which was the other site that's really popular at hell's gate. danielle wasn't feeling well, and doug's bike broke, so chris and i went on by ourselves. when we got there, we had to park our bikes and walk down to it. we didn't really know where to go, so we thought we'd just follow a school group. but they were going extremely slow (think high school girls not wanting to get their clothes or shoes dirty...) so we walked off by ourselves. we were obviously going the wrong direction when a man approached us, telling us that he'd show us the way. so he ended up being our guide. we were able to walk through the gorge, which is sometimes filled with quite a bit of water. then we climbed to the top of the ridge, and the view was spectacular.
we had to pay him for guiding us, which we really didn't want to do, but felt obligated. then we biked back, saw random giraffes, and waited for a buffalo crossing. when we got back to camp, we ate supper and had a campfire. we had to pay 250 Ksh for the camp guard to start a fire for us, but it went out about 20 minutes later. we all tried restarting it for over an hour, but with no luck. then two guys came and helped us out and got it started, but it went out again about 10 minutes later. none of us wanted to try to start the fire again, so we just stared at the hot coals. i think we were all embarassed and ashamed that we couldn't start a fire. then the guard walked by and started it up for us again, and it kept burning for another 45 minutes until we decided to go to bed.
the next morning, we ate fruit for breakfast and the pikipikis came to pick us up at 10:00. when we got back into the town of naivasha, we were again swarmed by people, trying to get us on their matatu. it was crazy, there was some pushing and shoving involved by some people, but we made it on a matatu. we had to wait for the bus to fill again, and then we headed back to nairobi.
the trip was really great... the park was definitely one of the most beautiful places i have ever been to. it was nice to travel in a much smaller group, but even the four of us attracted as much attention as it is. and now the rest of my weekend will be filled with researching information for my public health term paper-- disease eradication. i guess i am on a STUDY abroad trip...
we met at 7:00 friday morning, and took a matatu downtown. it was my first matatu ride, and i successfully made it out alive and with nothing stolen. when we got dropped off, we had to walk to a different matatu station, where the matatus heading to naivasha and nakuru leave. we had a hand-written map, but we still didn't know where to go. a matatu driver offered us to show us how to get there. as a mzungu in nairobi, you're always kind of suspicious of these sorts of offers-- it's very hard to tell if someone is genuinely being nice, or if they have alterior motives. luckily, this guy was just being nice and he got us to the station, which is good, since we probably wouldn't have been able to find it ourselves. we bought our ticket and boarded the matatu. we had to wait for it to fill, but we left the city by 10:00.
when we got to naivasha, we asked the matatu driver how to get to fisherman's camp, where we were going to stay for the night. immediately, swarms of guys come up to us, telling us that they will take us there. it was really crazy, but we just told them "no" and walked away. we decided that we would take pikipikis to the camp. we didn't think it was too far away, but it ended up being almost a 25 minute ride. we checked into our banda, where we stayed for the night. the camp had a restaurant on-site, so we ate lunch there. i ordered penne pasta with what tasted like spaghetti sauce. it was probably the best food i've had since i've been here. then we rented bikes and made our way to hell's gate, about a 3 mile ride.
when we got there, i realized i didn't have my pupil's pass, which is a slip of paper that says i am a resident of kenya for this semester. resident prices at the national parks are much cheaper if you're a resident, so i ended up paying 2500 Ksh ($25) instead of 600 Ksh ($6), which was a real bummer. but then we rode our bikes into the park, and it was absolutely beautiful.
we then wanted to go see the gorge, which was the other site that's really popular at hell's gate. danielle wasn't feeling well, and doug's bike broke, so chris and i went on by ourselves. when we got there, we had to park our bikes and walk down to it. we didn't really know where to go, so we thought we'd just follow a school group. but they were going extremely slow (think high school girls not wanting to get their clothes or shoes dirty...) so we walked off by ourselves. we were obviously going the wrong direction when a man approached us, telling us that he'd show us the way. so he ended up being our guide. we were able to walk through the gorge, which is sometimes filled with quite a bit of water. then we climbed to the top of the ridge, and the view was spectacular.
we had to pay him for guiding us, which we really didn't want to do, but felt obligated. then we biked back, saw random giraffes, and waited for a buffalo crossing. when we got back to camp, we ate supper and had a campfire. we had to pay 250 Ksh for the camp guard to start a fire for us, but it went out about 20 minutes later. we all tried restarting it for over an hour, but with no luck. then two guys came and helped us out and got it started, but it went out again about 10 minutes later. none of us wanted to try to start the fire again, so we just stared at the hot coals. i think we were all embarassed and ashamed that we couldn't start a fire. then the guard walked by and started it up for us again, and it kept burning for another 45 minutes until we decided to go to bed.
the next morning, we ate fruit for breakfast and the pikipikis came to pick us up at 10:00. when we got back into the town of naivasha, we were again swarmed by people, trying to get us on their matatu. it was crazy, there was some pushing and shoving involved by some people, but we made it on a matatu. we had to wait for the bus to fill again, and then we headed back to nairobi.
the trip was really great... the park was definitely one of the most beautiful places i have ever been to. it was nice to travel in a much smaller group, but even the four of us attracted as much attention as it is. and now the rest of my weekend will be filled with researching information for my public health term paper-- disease eradication. i guess i am on a STUDY abroad trip...
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