Part Deux

So...training ended and we were off to Nairobi. After two months of ugali& cabbage, my tastebuds immediately went into sensory overload. Everything is at least 5x more expensive in Nairobi but that didn't stop us from immediately gorging on pizza, chinese food, cocktails, sushi, tacos, and anything else we were craving. We also spent way too many hours in Nakumatt, a mix between a Wal-mart and a Target. On Wednesday July 21, we were sworn in at the ambassador's house and feasted on Doritos and mini pizzas to celebrate becoming official volunteers. Classy & yummy. Then on Thursday we all split in our separate directions to our new homes for the next two years.

In the previous post I stated that there is no stereotypical "Peace Corps" experience. Only a handful of the 36 in our group have what people think of when they think Peace Corps: mud huts, no running water or electricity, small villages. Most have nicer accomodations than they had in the US and I would say the majority of our group has access to electricity and water. My town, Narok, is a legit town of about 40,000 people. It is the last stop to get fuel or food before heading 100km into Maasai Mara- the great wildlife reserve which stretches to the Serengeti in Tanzana.
As far as work, I have a few primary projects. As I said in a previous post, the house that I live in is a safehouse for girls that have escaped early marriage and/or female circumcision. Most students in Kenya attend boarding school in secondary (high) school, so the girls are only here when school is out. Also, the school system here is a rotation of 3 months of school followed by a 2-4 week break. August is a break month so the girls are here now, taking the total to about 22 in the house. The head of the organization, who is my supervisor, also lives in the house with his 2 year old daughter and wife. They have been extremely welcoming and I'm excited for our work together the next two years. My actual "house" is a 12x12 room outside of the main house. I will post a video but I have managed to fit into this small space a kitchen, living room, bedroom, office, and occasional bathroom. Thankfully I haven't had any issues with wild animals or creepy crawlers but we do have two guard dogs who are only out at night and one of them got into my room yesterday and chewed through my mosquito net. Fun.

So far I haven't done much with the girls, partly because there is a significant language barrier. I was taught Maasai in training but since this is a town with many different tribes, most people speak KiSwahili. I'm working on it though. We play a lot of card games and I'm going to try to make a Kenyan version of the game of LIFE. Also, any suggestions on activities and games for high school age girls are most welcome.

My other projects so far are working with a woman's group on microcredit and helping with trainings for women on rights, family planning, health and business. I have my first training tomorrow and I was supposed to meet the woman's group on Tuesday but I will be going to Nairobi. They are voting on a new constitution next Wednesday so as a precaution my area (Lower Rift Valley) is being consolidated to Nairobi for one week. Bring on the pizza!!!

OK, now that I have caught up on the blog I will try to post more frequently so I can give better experiences instead of just a recap. Tutaoana! (see you later)