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| Callie, Lucy, and Annie |
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| Annie, Lucy, Michael (driver), Joseph, Callie |
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| Kakamega Forest view |
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pictures: Weekend in Kakamega
A Weekend in Kakamega
Hello!
We decided to just combine the whole weekend into one blog entry since the internet is being so finicky. We did A LOT over the past three days. So here it goes:
I’ll start from the very beginning. On Friday morning we went over to the Okuya’s house to learn how to cook mandazi. Mandazi is a donut-like food, except without all the unhealthy stuff. Lucy is in charge of the kitchen. At first she was very tentative to let us get involved. Callie got to sit next to the fire and I was kept at an even safer distance; in the kitchen with Valerie and Olivia. Eventually Lucy had to leave her post to go get dressed. Callie and I were left in charge! Lucy may have regretted this decision later. Callie and I grew bored with the traditional circular shaped mandazis and began created Mandazi stars, hearts, and people. I made a bracelet and we made mandazi letters to represent all of our names. I’m pretty sure that these shapes tasted better than circles.
In the afternoon we went to a really beautiful resort called Rondo. We started off on what we thought was going to be a nice relaxing nature hike. We saw some monkeys and pretty birds. We started to notice the path getting steadily steeper. We were all panting when we came to a resting place. It was here that our guide informed us that the real climb had not yet started. The eight of us climbed under the hot sun until we could see for miles around. We paused on our way up to venture into a cave that had been created by miners a long time ago. It was narrow and we were terrified to discover that it was filled with bats. Some of us (cough cough mom) were not very happy to see them. The hike took about 3 ½ hours. It was hard, but the view was worth it.
The next day was a Saturday. Since the Okuyas are Seventh Day Adventists, Saturday is when they go to church. We were a little late, but it didn’t really matter because the classes could not really start without Joseph and Lucy. Lucy led her Pathfinder group (kind of like boy scouts but with the main focus on religion) in English so we could understand. Most of the church service, however, was in Swahili. I didn’t really know what they were talking about, but the choir was beautiful and Joseph made the congregation laugh a lot. The sermon was in both Swahili and English. Joseph translated for the preacher for which we were very grateful.
After church we went home and had another meal of hotdogs. Joseph loves dogs and thinks that Americans eat them all the time, so we’ve now had them twice in the last three days. Lunch was followed with a walk to town. Callie and I went with Lucy and Olivia and Mom went with Michael (we didn’t really want to go with them because Mom is always surrounded by people who want her to take their picture). After walking for a bit we took a matatu (a crowded van) to Olivia’s house. We hung out there for awhile chatting and learning about the differences in our cultures. Her family members were all really nice. When it was time to go we got on a matatu back to town and then took boda bodas (bicycles with seats on the back) back to the resort. I discovered that I really like riding on them.
Today was a pretty relaxed day. The girls came over at around 10 and we walked into town to try and find internet minutes. After we finally found them, we came back to Sheywe and got ready to go swimming. Lucy, Olivia, Valerie, and Nancy (a new addition to our group) did not know how to swim so Callie and I tried to teach them as best as we could. We must have been semi-good at it because by the end of our pool time both Lucy and Olivia could get around pretty well on the inner tubes. Lucy could even go a few feet all by herself. We came back and had a nice lunner (lunch/dinner) at Sheywe, dropped the girls off at their houses, and are now in our room preparing to go to Eldoret tomorrow morning.
We’ll try not to wait so long to blog next time. It’s hard to cram everything into one entry!
We decided to just combine the whole weekend into one blog entry since the internet is being so finicky. We did A LOT over the past three days. So here it goes:
I’ll start from the very beginning. On Friday morning we went over to the Okuya’s house to learn how to cook mandazi. Mandazi is a donut-like food, except without all the unhealthy stuff. Lucy is in charge of the kitchen. At first she was very tentative to let us get involved. Callie got to sit next to the fire and I was kept at an even safer distance; in the kitchen with Valerie and Olivia. Eventually Lucy had to leave her post to go get dressed. Callie and I were left in charge! Lucy may have regretted this decision later. Callie and I grew bored with the traditional circular shaped mandazis and began created Mandazi stars, hearts, and people. I made a bracelet and we made mandazi letters to represent all of our names. I’m pretty sure that these shapes tasted better than circles.
In the afternoon we went to a really beautiful resort called Rondo. We started off on what we thought was going to be a nice relaxing nature hike. We saw some monkeys and pretty birds. We started to notice the path getting steadily steeper. We were all panting when we came to a resting place. It was here that our guide informed us that the real climb had not yet started. The eight of us climbed under the hot sun until we could see for miles around. We paused on our way up to venture into a cave that had been created by miners a long time ago. It was narrow and we were terrified to discover that it was filled with bats. Some of us (cough cough mom) were not very happy to see them. The hike took about 3 ½ hours. It was hard, but the view was worth it.
The next day was a Saturday. Since the Okuyas are Seventh Day Adventists, Saturday is when they go to church. We were a little late, but it didn’t really matter because the classes could not really start without Joseph and Lucy. Lucy led her Pathfinder group (kind of like boy scouts but with the main focus on religion) in English so we could understand. Most of the church service, however, was in Swahili. I didn’t really know what they were talking about, but the choir was beautiful and Joseph made the congregation laugh a lot. The sermon was in both Swahili and English. Joseph translated for the preacher for which we were very grateful.
After church we went home and had another meal of hotdogs. Joseph loves dogs and thinks that Americans eat them all the time, so we’ve now had them twice in the last three days. Lunch was followed with a walk to town. Callie and I went with Lucy and Olivia and Mom went with Michael (we didn’t really want to go with them because Mom is always surrounded by people who want her to take their picture). After walking for a bit we took a matatu (a crowded van) to Olivia’s house. We hung out there for awhile chatting and learning about the differences in our cultures. Her family members were all really nice. When it was time to go we got on a matatu back to town and then took boda bodas (bicycles with seats on the back) back to the resort. I discovered that I really like riding on them.
Today was a pretty relaxed day. The girls came over at around 10 and we walked into town to try and find internet minutes. After we finally found them, we came back to Sheywe and got ready to go swimming. Lucy, Olivia, Valerie, and Nancy (a new addition to our group) did not know how to swim so Callie and I tried to teach them as best as we could. We must have been semi-good at it because by the end of our pool time both Lucy and Olivia could get around pretty well on the inner tubes. Lucy could even go a few feet all by herself. We came back and had a nice lunner (lunch/dinner) at Sheywe, dropped the girls off at their houses, and are now in our room preparing to go to Eldoret tomorrow morning.
We’ll try not to wait so long to blog next time. It’s hard to cram everything into one entry!
People to Meet
Written August 20, 2010
Hi! Sorry these blog posts are a little late; we’ve had some issues with the internet. The big reason that Callie and I came to Kenya was to get more fully immersed in the culture and actually get to build relationships with some of the amazing people who live here. Here is a list of some of the people who we’ve gotten to know so far.
Margaret: We will be living with Margaret for the whole month of October. She is such a nice woman and has a huge influence on her entire community. Margaret is the founder and leader of Hope Woman’s Group. This group helps support the needy people in the community in any way they can. It has grown to include about sixty members who are currently busying themselves with home visits to the sick, helping orphans, and assisting with a water project that will provide water for three major parts of the community.
George: Margaret’s son has some very exciting stories to tell. At the age of 23, George recently returned home from a university in Uganda. While we were talking to him we discovered that attending this university was the action that George chose instead of accepting a career as a professional basketball player. When he was in high school George’s team first won the division basketball tournament. They then went on to win the provincial, national, East African, and finally continental games. George said that the national team has continuously asked him to join their roster, but he preferred to continue with his studies because he believes that learning is much more important.
Winnie: Ahh Winnie! So far we have spent three days with Winnie and she is already one of our favorite people in the world. She was part of the second class of graduating Umoja students and she is now the project’s administrative assistant. Sometimes, because of Winnie’s professional look, excellent English, and constant joking, it is hard to remember that she shares the struggles that we often hear about of the other Umoja students. Having lost her father and sister, Winnie now lives with her mother and younger brother Stephen (age 17). She is continuously facing obstacles that most of us can’t even imagine going through. I admire her so much for her optimistic outlook, her faith, and her willingness to help her family and community.
Meshak: While at Margaret’s house, Winnie set aside some time in which we could meet with a group of volunteers in the community. The group that we met with consisted of four young men who spend their time meeting with visiting volunteers and teaching them about the culture and people. The men go on home-visits and help with any project in the area that is in need of more assistance. During the discussion, a lot of the guys seemed reluctant to talk. Meshak definitely took the lead. He told us about the group and how it was difficult to be involved because the members had to work for no pay. We later learned why not being paid would be especially difficult for him. Meshak has lost both of his parents; his other siblings have moved away and the only relative he has left is his very sick uncle who he has taken responsibility for. Even with these terrible experiences, Meshak continues to count his blessings and give so much to people who have even less by choosing to volunteer instead of working.
As you can see, Callie and I have already met some truly amazing and inspiring people. I am so excited to get to know them better because I know that I have a lot to learn from them. Hopefully we will continue to meet friends and role models like these throughout our stay.
Hi! Sorry these blog posts are a little late; we’ve had some issues with the internet. The big reason that Callie and I came to Kenya was to get more fully immersed in the culture and actually get to build relationships with some of the amazing people who live here. Here is a list of some of the people who we’ve gotten to know so far.
Margaret: We will be living with Margaret for the whole month of October. She is such a nice woman and has a huge influence on her entire community. Margaret is the founder and leader of Hope Woman’s Group. This group helps support the needy people in the community in any way they can. It has grown to include about sixty members who are currently busying themselves with home visits to the sick, helping orphans, and assisting with a water project that will provide water for three major parts of the community.
George: Margaret’s son has some very exciting stories to tell. At the age of 23, George recently returned home from a university in Uganda. While we were talking to him we discovered that attending this university was the action that George chose instead of accepting a career as a professional basketball player. When he was in high school George’s team first won the division basketball tournament. They then went on to win the provincial, national, East African, and finally continental games. George said that the national team has continuously asked him to join their roster, but he preferred to continue with his studies because he believes that learning is much more important.
Winnie: Ahh Winnie! So far we have spent three days with Winnie and she is already one of our favorite people in the world. She was part of the second class of graduating Umoja students and she is now the project’s administrative assistant. Sometimes, because of Winnie’s professional look, excellent English, and constant joking, it is hard to remember that she shares the struggles that we often hear about of the other Umoja students. Having lost her father and sister, Winnie now lives with her mother and younger brother Stephen (age 17). She is continuously facing obstacles that most of us can’t even imagine going through. I admire her so much for her optimistic outlook, her faith, and her willingness to help her family and community.
Meshak: While at Margaret’s house, Winnie set aside some time in which we could meet with a group of volunteers in the community. The group that we met with consisted of four young men who spend their time meeting with visiting volunteers and teaching them about the culture and people. The men go on home-visits and help with any project in the area that is in need of more assistance. During the discussion, a lot of the guys seemed reluctant to talk. Meshak definitely took the lead. He told us about the group and how it was difficult to be involved because the members had to work for no pay. We later learned why not being paid would be especially difficult for him. Meshak has lost both of his parents; his other siblings have moved away and the only relative he has left is his very sick uncle who he has taken responsibility for. Even with these terrible experiences, Meshak continues to count his blessings and give so much to people who have even less by choosing to volunteer instead of working.
As you can see, Callie and I have already met some truly amazing and inspiring people. I am so excited to get to know them better because I know that I have a lot to learn from them. Hopefully we will continue to meet friends and role models like these throughout our stay.
The Cutest Blog Ever
Written August 19th, 2010
It has been a very busy, but wonderful, two days. Starting at 5:50 on Wednesday morning, we have gone almost non-stop visiting around the community and sharing time with friends.
Wednesday morning we went on a boat ride at Hippo point to do some hippo, bird, and wildlife viewing. We saw some cute and also terrifying hippos, as well as gorgeous scenes of Lake Victoria in the early morning. Annie and I were convinced Molly (Annie’s mom) would fall into the water and be eaten by hippos because she was so excited to take pictures that she sat on the very edge of the boat, halfway in the lake.
After a late breakfast, we headed to the market to visit Dickson, a local craft seller. After buying some treasures to bring home, something awesome happened. The Cutest Band Ever was created. We, The Cutest Band Ever, are composed of a guitarist, Joseph, two drummers, Annie and I, and a lead singer, Winnie. We have our band cover photo taken and our working on our first single which, as Joseph has said “will make you forget your food and fall to sleep because it sounds just like heaven. “
The band then traveled to Kit Mikayi, a huge stone for rock climbing. Annie, Joseph (or the honorable bat chicken orange man jose, as he likes to call himself) and I climbed, in a very Spiderman-like style, to great heights on the rock. This action not only scared Molly but also our guide who said she herself was too scared to follow us – oops! The view was spectacular the only problem came when we discovered that getting down from our perch was going to be much more difficult than actually climbing up; this oversight was rectified when Joseph decided to become a human bridge.
We then got to meet our pen pals, Miriam, Mary, Syrose, and Joyce. Though at first awkard, we pushed through and soon became friends. I was so happy when I realized that our goodbyes were in fact, only “see you laters” as we will get to see them often when we return to Chulaimbo in October. This is why I wanted to come to Kenya for so long, so that we could truly get to know people and build strong friendships.
We then headed to Margaret’s home. We will be living with Margaret for all of October so we wanted to spend a night at her house during our orientation week. Margaret’s home is open to many people in the community and there are always teens and young adults filtering in and out. It was so nice to get to meet so many people around our age and know that we can get to know them even better in just a little while. Our first real “Kenyan life” adventure took place this morning during our trip to the cho (outhouse aka squatty potty). Good times.
After visiting a school in the community (Huma girls’ school) and visiting with some young adults who do a lot of volunteer work in the community, our team departed from Chulaimbo and made the trip to Kakamega to visit with Joseph’s family. Having stayed with them for a week last summer, this was like returning home for me. The Okuyas are such a wonderful family and we had a great time with them. I was declared the head of the kitchen and helped Lucy, 16, make lentils and potatoes for dinner. We laughed and played with Tanzy, 3, and Chesil, 7, for a long time and also got to know Lucy’s friends Valerie and Olivia who will be going to Kakamega rainforest with us tomorrow.
We are now exhausted and ready for a good night’s rest. Annie and I will wake up early in the morning to help Lucy make mandazis for our trek in the rainforest.
Kwaheri!
It has been a very busy, but wonderful, two days. Starting at 5:50 on Wednesday morning, we have gone almost non-stop visiting around the community and sharing time with friends.
Wednesday morning we went on a boat ride at Hippo point to do some hippo, bird, and wildlife viewing. We saw some cute and also terrifying hippos, as well as gorgeous scenes of Lake Victoria in the early morning. Annie and I were convinced Molly (Annie’s mom) would fall into the water and be eaten by hippos because she was so excited to take pictures that she sat on the very edge of the boat, halfway in the lake.
After a late breakfast, we headed to the market to visit Dickson, a local craft seller. After buying some treasures to bring home, something awesome happened. The Cutest Band Ever was created. We, The Cutest Band Ever, are composed of a guitarist, Joseph, two drummers, Annie and I, and a lead singer, Winnie. We have our band cover photo taken and our working on our first single which, as Joseph has said “will make you forget your food and fall to sleep because it sounds just like heaven. “
The band then traveled to Kit Mikayi, a huge stone for rock climbing. Annie, Joseph (or the honorable bat chicken orange man jose, as he likes to call himself) and I climbed, in a very Spiderman-like style, to great heights on the rock. This action not only scared Molly but also our guide who said she herself was too scared to follow us – oops! The view was spectacular the only problem came when we discovered that getting down from our perch was going to be much more difficult than actually climbing up; this oversight was rectified when Joseph decided to become a human bridge.
We then got to meet our pen pals, Miriam, Mary, Syrose, and Joyce. Though at first awkard, we pushed through and soon became friends. I was so happy when I realized that our goodbyes were in fact, only “see you laters” as we will get to see them often when we return to Chulaimbo in October. This is why I wanted to come to Kenya for so long, so that we could truly get to know people and build strong friendships.
We then headed to Margaret’s home. We will be living with Margaret for all of October so we wanted to spend a night at her house during our orientation week. Margaret’s home is open to many people in the community and there are always teens and young adults filtering in and out. It was so nice to get to meet so many people around our age and know that we can get to know them even better in just a little while. Our first real “Kenyan life” adventure took place this morning during our trip to the cho (outhouse aka squatty potty). Good times.
After visiting a school in the community (Huma girls’ school) and visiting with some young adults who do a lot of volunteer work in the community, our team departed from Chulaimbo and made the trip to Kakamega to visit with Joseph’s family. Having stayed with them for a week last summer, this was like returning home for me. The Okuyas are such a wonderful family and we had a great time with them. I was declared the head of the kitchen and helped Lucy, 16, make lentils and potatoes for dinner. We laughed and played with Tanzy, 3, and Chesil, 7, for a long time and also got to know Lucy’s friends Valerie and Olivia who will be going to Kakamega rainforest with us tomorrow.
We are now exhausted and ready for a good night’s rest. Annie and I will wake up early in the morning to help Lucy make mandazis for our trek in the rainforest.
Kwaheri!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday in Kisimu
Hi! Today was a semi-relaxed day. We had a nice breakfast at St. Anne’s and then just relaxed on the balcony outside our room waiting for Joseph. Joseph is the director of the Umoja project and had a large part in coordinating our. Joseph arrived at St. Anne’s at around 11:15. He was accompanied by Grace and Winnie. Winnie is on the Umoja staff. She is really friendly and we were happy to learn that she will be spending a lot of time with us throughout our trip. Grace is the principal of a school in Mawego. She came to ask us if we would like to come visit her school sometime in October. We are so excited!
After talking for a bit we went to visit Joseph’s friend Charles and his wife, Mary. They have a really cool house that is surrounded by massive boulders that are fun to climb on. They made a humongous lunch for us (once again Callie and I heroically devoured meat) and invited us to visit whenever we liked. After lunch we got back in the car to go to Margaret’s house. Margaret is the woman we will be staying with in October. She has a really beautiful house. My mom was really happy to see where and with whom we will be living. We ended the day with a visit to Winnie’s family (they are all really nice) and a trip to the lake to see the sunset (it was mostly covered by clouds…but still pretty!).
We are having a great time so far. We’re eating super healthy food (Dad you will be so proud of me!), Mom is taking A LOT of pictures (but it’s okay because Joseph says that he “basks in the glow of the camera flash”), and meeting a lot of really nice people.
Love,
Annie and Callie
After talking for a bit we went to visit Joseph’s friend Charles and his wife, Mary. They have a really cool house that is surrounded by massive boulders that are fun to climb on. They made a humongous lunch for us (once again Callie and I heroically devoured meat) and invited us to visit whenever we liked. After lunch we got back in the car to go to Margaret’s house. Margaret is the woman we will be staying with in October. She has a really beautiful house. My mom was really happy to see where and with whom we will be living. We ended the day with a visit to Winnie’s family (they are all really nice) and a trip to the lake to see the sunset (it was mostly covered by clouds…but still pretty!).
We are having a great time so far. We’re eating super healthy food (Dad you will be so proud of me!), Mom is taking A LOT of pictures (but it’s okay because Joseph says that he “basks in the glow of the camera flash”), and meeting a lot of really nice people.
Love,
Annie and Callie
Monday, August 16, 2010
We're here!
Jambo!
We made it to Kenya!
After a wonderful 25 hour trip on 4 different flights, we made it to Nairobi around 11:30 on Sunday night, Kenyan time. After about 4 hours of sleep at the Methodist Guest House (so far, Callie has slept 10 hours in the last 3 days and Annie has slept 16) we ate our first Kenyan meal (toast and pineapple) and headed out to Kazuri beads. Kazuri is a bead and pottery workshop for single mothers. The workshop provides them with employment and a free clinic for their families. We had a mini panic attack when we went to the shop because neither of us could decide what jewelry we wanted to buy – it was all so pretty!
Then we went to Lake Naivasha and took a boat ride/walking safari. On the boat we saw lots and lots of hippos – one popped up in front of the boat out of nowhere, we thought we were going to die. The boat then took us to an island where a guide walked us around amongst the animals. We were 20 feet away from giraffes, zebras, and wildebeests. It was very cool!
After lunch at the lake (we conquered our first Kenyan chicken – we’ll be pros at this meat eating stuff in no time!) we hit the road for Kisimu. After eating a whole fish, head, fins, eyes, and all, we’re finally relaxing in our room at the guest house.
Tomorrow we’ll visit around Kisimu and meet Margaret, who we’ll be living with for the month of October.
Love and miss you all!
Kwaheri,
Callie and Annie
We made it to Kenya!
After a wonderful 25 hour trip on 4 different flights, we made it to Nairobi around 11:30 on Sunday night, Kenyan time. After about 4 hours of sleep at the Methodist Guest House (so far, Callie has slept 10 hours in the last 3 days and Annie has slept 16) we ate our first Kenyan meal (toast and pineapple) and headed out to Kazuri beads. Kazuri is a bead and pottery workshop for single mothers. The workshop provides them with employment and a free clinic for their families. We had a mini panic attack when we went to the shop because neither of us could decide what jewelry we wanted to buy – it was all so pretty!
Then we went to Lake Naivasha and took a boat ride/walking safari. On the boat we saw lots and lots of hippos – one popped up in front of the boat out of nowhere, we thought we were going to die. The boat then took us to an island where a guide walked us around amongst the animals. We were 20 feet away from giraffes, zebras, and wildebeests. It was very cool!
After lunch at the lake (we conquered our first Kenyan chicken – we’ll be pros at this meat eating stuff in no time!) we hit the road for Kisimu. After eating a whole fish, head, fins, eyes, and all, we’re finally relaxing in our room at the guest house.
Tomorrow we’ll visit around Kisimu and meet Margaret, who we’ll be living with for the month of October.
Love and miss you all!
Kwaheri,
Callie and Annie
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