While I’m all for the occasional salacious story, this post is that which is farthest from that topic. However, I am glad to have caught your attention.
It has been rather cloudy here in Loitokitok for the last five or so days which is definitely the last thing I expected to experience in Africa, then again very little of Kenya has been what I was expecting. To top the overcast weather, the mood has become one of listlessness and solemnity. I can’t put my finger on it but I can sense its drag on nearly all of the volunteers; each being weighed down by a different burdens.
For me it is taking the form of feeling as if all I am doing now is taking up space, time, and resources. After shadowing and witnessing how volunteers are able to be active within their community, being back at PST makes me feel useless. I am not learning much at this point because more than half of what we are going through I have significant experience in. I am not able to do much work at my host home because we have a house technician who is paid to do everything and I don’t feel as if I am able to help here in Loitokitok because I am here temporarily and do not have many opportunities to engage within the community leaving me to be little more than a walking dollar sign.
The expectation that, because I am white, I have money with which I can freely hand out continues to weigh heavy on my mind. Since I am in community development, it is on the forefront of my mind that to achieve progress and change the best measures are assisting others to acquire necessary skills, knowledge, and behaviours to advance their well-being, not simply giving handouts. It is tough to feel like I have to walk the fine line between directly assisting a fellow human being in need and knowing that that action will probably do more harm than good, especially to the community’s view of my presence here if others see that I am giving out money.
Oddly enough, I stumbled upon Ecclesiastes 3 v. 1-8 which reminded me of the lack of Black and Whiteness in life but that most everything falls into the field grey and sometimes G-d directly calls us to stand in that middle ground and struggle with it. Sometimes there is no solid answer but the one that you discover through living it out.
Thoughts?
-N
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Half-Way Through. 23 Favourites
Since I have successfully made it through 6 weeks of Pre-Service Training it is time to offer 23 of my favourite things so far.
1. Real, delicious Chai
2. Purple plants
3. HERDS OF GIRAFFES!
4. Having one of the trainers tell us that we must “give head” (meaning bow) to elders because it is respectful
5. Guys I’m in AFRICA, I get to see Mt. Kilamonjaro and acacia trees all the time
6. Other PCT’s host sister pooped in the living room because she was too terrified to go past the PCT’s room to go to the Choo.
7. Maasai man putting his extremely gagged ear lobes up over the top of his ear to get them outta the way
8. Helping birth a baby cow
9. Mama’s ambiguity about what kind of “greens” were in the Mukimo (potato, corn, bean, “greens”dish)
10. Bursting out into moving renditions of Disney songs, esp. “Circle of life”
11. Dinner/Chai making attempt fails. You live, you learn.
12. Frisbee: Frozen Round Inuit Soaring Bowel Excrement Experience (Fake history lesson on Frisbee)
13. Starting new trends for the kids: Poa Punda - “Cool donkey” (long story)
14. Colombus Monkeys! / Waterfall hike
15. PC assult avoidance techniques: Throw things, yell for help, run away, soil yourself…
16. Kids in “face hole” hats/parkas (not joking)
17. Letters from home
18. Baobab trees
19. Baba always trying me to drink. Recent attempt while having an upset stomach; “just a little gin, it will do wonders.”
20. Getting our sites (especially mine’s temps rarely exceed 75 degrees!)
21. The silence. Non-city Africa is quite (except on Sunday, church is so loud)
22. Finger painting!
23. Sikh Temple in Makindu
More great moments to come I am sure. -N
1. Real, delicious Chai
2. Purple plants
3. HERDS OF GIRAFFES!
4. Having one of the trainers tell us that we must “give head” (meaning bow) to elders because it is respectful
5. Guys I’m in AFRICA, I get to see Mt. Kilamonjaro and acacia trees all the time
6. Other PCT’s host sister pooped in the living room because she was too terrified to go past the PCT’s room to go to the Choo.
7. Maasai man putting his extremely gagged ear lobes up over the top of his ear to get them outta the way
8. Helping birth a baby cow
9. Mama’s ambiguity about what kind of “greens” were in the Mukimo (potato, corn, bean, “greens”dish)
10. Bursting out into moving renditions of Disney songs, esp. “Circle of life”
11. Dinner/Chai making attempt fails. You live, you learn.
12. Frisbee: Frozen Round Inuit Soaring Bowel Excrement Experience (Fake history lesson on Frisbee)
13. Starting new trends for the kids: Poa Punda - “Cool donkey” (long story)
14. Colombus Monkeys! / Waterfall hike
15. PC assult avoidance techniques: Throw things, yell for help, run away, soil yourself…
16. Kids in “face hole” hats/parkas (not joking)
17. Letters from home
18. Baobab trees
19. Baba always trying me to drink. Recent attempt while having an upset stomach; “just a little gin, it will do wonders.”
20. Getting our sites (especially mine’s temps rarely exceed 75 degrees!)
21. The silence. Non-city Africa is quite (except on Sunday, church is so loud)
22. Finger painting!
23. Sikh Temple in Makindu
More great moments to come I am sure. -N
Week of Shadowing
Now under regular circumstances when someone informs you that it is time for a road trip you of course get naturally excited. When you’re a PCT(rainee) these words are like water in the desert, a hot cup of coffee when you’re on hour 9 of a 15 hour shift, or the after pee shivers when you’ve been holding it for like 10 hours. Needless to say the chance to see how currently serving PCVs are getting along on their own and get out of Loitokitok and relentless training for a few days was a breath of fresh air (after you were just forcibly dutch-ovened… sorry couldn’t resist).
Three of my fellows and myself were headed to the bustling desert communities of the African bush (though we didn’t know it yet), to shadow who ended up to be the greatest pairing of PCV’s you could have (who were only slightly on the crazy train after 9 months of solitude =P) Julia and Peter. They are Education volunteers working in two secondary schools and, let me just say, they have been on one heck of a ride.
Being the visiting mzungus that we are, it was a declared must that we be introduced to each grade level (Form 1-4 equivalent to Fresh-Senior) at both schools. To give you a small taste of what we were getting into, here is a direct quote one of the students told Peter; “we will touch them”. For each classroom we were bombarded with a series of serious, goofy, and (to us) down right hilarious questions, as well as being told that we must “give them a song”. Therefore there as a lot of singing, including my gripping rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner”, given that it was the 4th of July.
Here are a few of my favourite received questions/incidents:
As I am spelling my name on the chalkboard: NA- Student: SODIUM!!
Spelling in a different classroom: Hatch Student: From where!? Me: I’m not answering that question…
Other PCT writing his last name: Sexton Student: Does that mean you do a lot of sex?
To other PCT: Why do you have earrings? Other student: She is overloading her ears.
Student: Where does a Tsunami come from and how do I avoid it? (We’re in the desert BTW)
What is the origin of Teneasha, Nathan, and Jennifer (leaving out Connor the only other white guy)
And those were the tame ones (they had a lot of lifeskills/sex ed questions because we’re health volunteers.) It was a wonderful week to live and learn outside of our little training island of Loitokitok. I am ready to get to my site and began working. Five more weeks and counting! -N
Three of my fellows and myself were headed to the bustling desert communities of the African bush (though we didn’t know it yet), to shadow who ended up to be the greatest pairing of PCV’s you could have (who were only slightly on the crazy train after 9 months of solitude =P) Julia and Peter. They are Education volunteers working in two secondary schools and, let me just say, they have been on one heck of a ride.
Being the visiting mzungus that we are, it was a declared must that we be introduced to each grade level (Form 1-4 equivalent to Fresh-Senior) at both schools. To give you a small taste of what we were getting into, here is a direct quote one of the students told Peter; “we will touch them”. For each classroom we were bombarded with a series of serious, goofy, and (to us) down right hilarious questions, as well as being told that we must “give them a song”. Therefore there as a lot of singing, including my gripping rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner”, given that it was the 4th of July.
Here are a few of my favourite received questions/incidents:
As I am spelling my name on the chalkboard: NA- Student: SODIUM!!
Spelling in a different classroom: Hatch Student: From where!? Me: I’m not answering that question…
Other PCT writing his last name: Sexton Student: Does that mean you do a lot of sex?
To other PCT: Why do you have earrings? Other student: She is overloading her ears.
Student: Where does a Tsunami come from and how do I avoid it? (We’re in the desert BTW)
What is the origin of Teneasha, Nathan, and Jennifer (leaving out Connor the only other white guy)
And those were the tame ones (they had a lot of lifeskills/sex ed questions because we’re health volunteers.) It was a wonderful week to live and learn outside of our little training island of Loitokitok. I am ready to get to my site and began working. Five more weeks and counting! -N
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