July Begins... "It's Official!" and "Dinner!" featured

6-24-09

It's Official!

I am now the sponsor of William Wambui in 4 Red at Joska :D I wrote him a letter so that he would receive his first ever sponsor letter Monday, when all of the students get their letters! I am so stoked! I can't wait to see him soon!

6-28-09

Dinner!

We ate dinner at Raphael's home Sunday night! I was delicious (sweet, as the Kenyans say). Kara, Stephen, Eric, Erich, Grace and I went over a little after three o'clock. We showed up at his flat to find Isaac and Rebecca also there, as well as Isaac's wife Christine, and Raphael's friend Sarah. I was so happy that Becky and Isaac were there too, a mini-social work party! We got there early so that we could help prepare the food with Rebecca (she definitely did all the cooking, Raphael helped a bit, hah). We ate fried chicken, mashed potatoes (woah, sounds American), pea stew, pine apple with carrots, chipotis, and fruit salad with mangoes, bananas and avocados. Helping prepare the food was almost as fun as eating it! I peeled potatoes, onions and fruits, as well as grated carrots and assisted, very momentarily, with making chipotis. Turns out, Becky is the only one with the hands to make chipotis. You poor oil onto a pan, then lay the dough on it, and spin. The spinning part starts to burn because Kenyans simply use their hands, no utensils! Peeling and cutting was also interesting as Kenyans dont use cutting boards, they just use their hands and a knife (and hopefully the two don't cross each-other's path...). I know that the fruit salad sounds interesting with avos, but it was my favorite thing, which is definitely saying something! It was so sweet! The avos actually gave the mango and banana a very interesting, delicious flavor. We took home left over salad to make smoothies with at home :) Going to Raphael's was awesome, I loved it, for the food, the company, and eating with my hands.

Speaking of smoothies... one little tid-bit about Kenyan culture: they drink HOT stuff ALL THE TIME. They practically refuse to drink anything cold. If you give them room-temp, or slightly cooler water (not iced, mind you) they act as though their tonsils will come out... some even say they will! They drink hot chai, hot coffee, hot cocoa, even hot water! They don't even acknowledge the existence of iced tea or frozen smoothies (smoothies, to them, means blended juice... as in, fresh juice made with a blender... hah).

6-29-09

Mathare North

Went to Mathare North with Vitalis today. We had a wonderful time. It was the first time that I actually felt like a real social worker. We went into a woman's home, named Susan, who lives with her 4 children and 4 grand-children. She knew enough English that I could fill out the papers and ask her the questions. She was such an amazing woman! I asked Vitalis if she was born-again (before I realized she knew English) and she nodded so much, smiley broadly, before explaining to me her love of Jesus Christ. I felt so blessed to be in that home to talk to her. One granddaughter, Cecilia, was there. I say beside her the entire time, holding my arm around her. She is 4 years old, with hearing and vision problems that are undiagnosed. Susan is HIV positive. It was really awesome to pray with her and to encourage her. After that visit, Vitalis said "You are so good" and to be honest, I felt really good about the visit... but not because I said anything particularly good or clever... but rather because God gave me the words to say, and Susan spoke English well enough for me to communicate with her, one on one. Also, I prayed for healing of Cecilia's eyes. Please pray for her, Susan, and all of the children there. I know they will be a light in Mathare if they have half the faith Susan does!

6-30-09

Kiamaiko Center

I went with Elser to Kiamaiko today. This school is less than 2 months old, with 180 students. We spent all morning trying to track down around 10 students who were recruited, but have never shown up. We found two girls from the area who showed us around and helped us find out where the children lived/ why they weren't at school yet. We must have gone into twenty or some odd homes. I know the area pretty well :) Kiamaiko is cleaner, with more irrigation, than Village 1. It also has a large Muslim/arab population for a slum, with many mosques, and a lot of goats. Apparently, herding is the main source of income for the area. Goats and sheep. Baaah! Anywho... it was cool to see a different center two days in a row. I really enjoyed Kiamaiko, and a Muslim woman asked me to pray for her, that God would provide. I think I said Jesus about 5 times in that prayer, and didn't know until afterwards that she was Muslim... but hey, she asked me to :)

I felt, walking from Kiamaiko to Madoya to get on a Matatu, like I wanted to just be a local. I want to walk around Mathare with everyone else, going in and out of shops, getting my hair done, buying a chipoti on the side of the road, hopping in and out of Matatus, visiting friends in their homes... as though I lived here. Yet, because of the color of my skin, I will never be looked at as anything but a rich, powerful mzungu... even if I am a broke college student with no connections to a lot of money, or power, or influence... I want to belong and I can't. Even if I lived here for years and years, I am different. They see me as different. Those I meet on the street get excited when I know very basic Kiswahili... even if all I can say is "habari ya kazi?" Anyway, it passes with time... for now, I can pretend like I'm becoming a knowledgeable visitor rather than simply a tourist. I can pretend like when I come back, I'll be fluent in Kiswahili. I can pretend that, with time, my whiteness won't be so apparent, or so strong a division. I can, to some degree, adapt and belong. I don't think kids will ever stop calling me "mzungu" and grabbing my hand to see if I feel different...

7-1-09

Worked at Pangani doing paperwork... STAYING THE NIGHT AT JOSKA!!!

Will DEFINITELY write more soon :D God bless!