Mwalimu Kristin

I've now been in my village for about two weeks, and I've really started to enjoy village life. It's comforting and very friendly...you can't possibly walk even 10 feet without having to greet someone and say hello. The little kids are the cutest with their few token phrases of English, and I am still dumbfounded by the amount of stuff these people can carry on their heads!!

There's a rhythm to life in the village, and I've started to look for certain people at certain times, and expect to see one thing or the other, and get a little thrown off if anything's out of place. It's strange being a "mzungu" (white person) in the village, because not only do people point you out in the first place, but both children and adults alike have no qualms about coming up to you and asking you for money or things, even if you're just passing them on the road. You can't really explain to them that, "no, I don't have money to give you, I'm just a student" when it's possible that the stuff I have in my backpack is worth more money than some of them would make in a year. In that sense, life in the village is a bit disheartening. But I still can't help but laugh when an old masai woman looks at me and then says "GIVE YOU MY MONEY!!"...clearly she needed a little more guidance on her english translation.

Teaching has been my favorite part so far. I'm fortunate enough to be in the only village that is teaching secondary school (high school) aged kids. These kids are probably anywhere from 14-22 years old, depending on how old they were when they started school, and how long it's taken them to complete each year. The school itself isn't in the best shape...they do have a computer lab, equipped with probably about 20 or so computers, but they don't have the electricity to power them. The classrooms have concrete floors that are so worn that they're practically dirt now. Some of the classrooms have windows that shut, while others are basically holes in the wall. There aren't enough desks for all the kids, and each classroom has about 50 or so students in it. It's a bit overwhelming. There are four forms in the school (grades, essentially) and two streams for each form, so we get to teach forms 1-3, streams A and B in each form.

Each form has a different colored uniform: Form 1 is green, 2 is brown, 3 is purple and 4 is gray. Because my school is a public government school, tuition is free, but the kids have to supply their uniform to come to school. I have this picture in my mind of one of the Form 1 students who was trying so hard to look distinguished and dignified while sporting this green sweater that has so many holes in it that it would barely stay on him. I will say though, that despite the resources offered at their school, these kids are sharp. We are only scheduled for 40 minute class periods at a time, and half the time, we get held in the class for another 40 minutes while the kids grill us with questions about HIV and AIDS.

They already know a lot, and are so interested in knowing more...The first day of class, their teacher announced why we were there and mentioned that we would be teaching about HIV, and they didn't groan or roll their eyes-they actually clapped and cheered. I don't think anything like that would ever take place in the states. Most of the questions they ask are sincere and intended to clear up misinformation about what they've heard or believe about HIV, but then there are also the kids who like to prod and ask questions about condoms or masterbation, etc., just to try and embarrass us or get a rise out of their classmates. Either way though, they learn a little something, and I think we're really hitting home with these kids. Two of my homestay kids are in secondary school, and I get to teach both of them. I like coming home and hearing what else that have to say about class, and continue to answer their questions. I can't wait to get some more community teaching started in our village, and teach some of the older members.

A few of us taught the village leaders last Tuesday, and did an overview of our whole curriculum...some of these men are quite old, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone laugh as much as these men did when we did the condom demonstration...it was hilarious. The village leaders are great...they definitely work on a different time table than we do, but they've got a great sense of humor. One of the older members is a Masai tribe leader, who has the traditional stretched-out earlobes, stubs for fingers on his right hand, and apparently the hots for me. He keeps asking if I'd be his wife, and if I would take him back to America with me. Too bad he's got about 5 other wives and a bunch of cows to attend to here...I didn't take him up on his offer.

I probably going to stay in my village next weekend, and won't make it into town to use the internet, so I'll post some pictures now and write more in about two weeks. Thanks for all the notes and emails from everyone...it really makes me happy to hear from all of you!

Here are some pics:














This is a lake nearby where we had orientation...Beautiful!!















A typical layout of food in my homestay.















Look!! I'm on Safari!! It's a Tembo!!!!


The view from outside of my homestay: the now-dormant Mt. Meru


Zebra!!! So awesome!



Me with my mama and one of my dadas (sister), and some of the other volunteers.

I'll post more pics next time I'm online!!