Each day of our school week are essentially the same: wake up at 7 go to Swahili at 8, from there travel to Nairobi for a full day of classes, return home by 5:30. The schedule gets pretty monotonous but luckily, in total out of the entire four months we are here classes are crammed into seven weeks. These school weeks are spread out in the semester between field components. The benefit of this is that we only have 7 weeks of classes, however in those weeks we have a lot to accomplish. The Swahili class is located in Karen, about a fifteen minute drive from our compound and this class is from 8-10. At around 9ish all classes take a chai break and sit on our wooden benches in the shade of indigenous trees. We lounge around for about a half an hour before we make our way back to class for our final half hour of Swahili. I love having chai breaks because it makes the class go by so much faster. The teachers all love their chai- they usually have about 2 cups in our half our break, and take one back into class with them. Another option if one does like chai is uji or porridge. Chai is always accompanied by pure sugar cane to put in our tea which tastes delicious. After Swahili we travel to the UKC (United Kenya Club) for our regular classes. I don't exactly know what the UKC is- it is a apartment complex, outdoor/indoor dining, banquet hall, and mini gymnasium all located under the heading United Kenya Club. Our classes are held in an apartment building in the UKC. We have our own kitchen, bathroom, and lounge area and each class is held there at different times. Classes are not regular and are at random times throughout the week. I am taking biodiversity and conservation and critical issues in socio-economic Kenya that focuses on the post-2007 election violence. What I look forward to the most is our hour and a half lunch break where we are free to roam around Nairobi and look for places to eat or markets to browse through.
For lunch we all like to break into little groups so were not a huge heard of white people, and it is also easier to cross the congested streets when there are less people. Getting lunch in Nairobi is quite a process. Crossing the street is almost impossible because there are no road signs or street lights- we cross at our own discretion. We usually cross when we see a native crossing and we tuck in behind them quickly scampering. Our favorite places to go are the Java House, Nick's Grill, and Zaytoons. These places offer a mix of westernized foods and African foods which is nice to alternate. On average I spend about 2 USD or 150 kshs on food a day and the portion sizes are perfect for lunch. Each week we are allotted a food stipend of 1500 kshs which is more than enough to spend on food. The extra money I saved from my stipend went to buying traditional African fabric (kanga) to tailor into a skirt. Another problem with the process of getting food is the language barrier. Although English is included in Kenya's national languages- not everyone has the need for English unless conversing with a mzungu (European). (By the way, I have not heard that term in a while which shows that the people around Nairobi are getting used to our presence.) Anyway, I ordered a egg sandwich one day and he didn't understand what egg sandwich was even though it was written on the menu.
Going to local markets in Nairobi can be very tiresome. Upon entering into the market we are swarmed by owners heckling us to venture into their shop. They see that we are white and immediately assume that we are rich and have come to buy many things at ridiculously high prices. However, after being here a month we know that despite any "student discount" or "special American tourist sales" we are getting ripped off. It is impossible to slowly meander through shops at my own pace because people will grab my arm and insist that their shop is the best of them all. All of the shops essentially have the same items in them yet they all claim to be the artist, or jewelry maker, or weaver and that I should support their business. It is draining because I am constantly saying no thank you, I'm just looking- people will NOT leave you alone until you buy something. I tried to buy some post cards of African paintings but the man tried to charge me 400 kshs or $4.50ish. Hell no. Once I spoke to him in Kiswahili he immediately lowered his price.
Returning to the compound by our bus can be very frustrating. The traffic in Nairobi during the rush hour 4:30-6 is impossible to get through and we move at the pace of molasses. An 8ish mile drive from Nairobi back to Karen that should usually take 15 minutes take us an hour or more because of the traffic. What's worse is that the bus is very hot and there is obviously no air conditioning. Once arriving back on the compound I am usually too exhausted to even think about running but I force myself every day to run 4-5 miles with my usually running crew. I mostly run to avoid sickness, and to air my body out after being in the congested city. Also, it wouldn't be normal for me not to run- I don't remember when the last time I took a day off. This upcoming week I will not have the opportunity to run at all for the group is going on a week-long visit to Tanzania. Tomorrow we will travel 8 hours by our driver Njau and stay with the Hadza/ Maasi people.
These indigenous groups are one of the few that still practice traditional practices of hunter-gathering. Similar to the rural families in Meru we visited, the Hadza people have specific gender roles that require females to gather and men to hunt. However, what is different about this group is that the community depends largely on the gathering contributed by women which gives rise to women empowerment. We have a tentative schedule for this trip where we will largely stay with a Hadza community for a couple of nights- set up for us by Dorobo tourist company, and a couple days on a safari.
I am relieved that this week is over- I had a paper on the history of conservation in Kenya and had to decide three choices from my independent study that I will do at the end of the semester for one month. I was constantly busy doing work, exploring Nairobi, and researching what I wanted to do with my study. As of right now I am thinking of working with an organization called Soft Power Education Project located in Jinja Uganda. Jinja is situated right next to the Nile River so on my free time apart from working with school children and refurbishing infrastructure I will be able to swim and kayak. Other ideas include Heifer Project International, Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Africa Yoga Project, Study on Decline of Kenya Tourism Gede Ruins, Malindi Coral Reef Study, Kigio Wildlife Conservancy, and Ocean Road Cancer Institute. These options all vary and do not have any common theme but I choose these options because I want to visit another beautiful part of Africa that hold a lot of cultural significance and something what will be life changing. I do NOT want to work behind a desk. These options may not have any of my academic interests, but I can always turn it to cater my strengths. Now I have to narrow them down... I don't know where to begin.
I will post more on my trip to Tanzania when I return next Saturday. In the mean time Happy Valentines Day lots of love.
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