Kenya: Lake Nakuru and more photos

Greetings from Lake Nakuru National Park.  We are on a short safari weekend here before heading back to Nairobi tomorrow.  Here are some photos I didn't have time to upload before we left...

July 4th Field Day at Red Rose School

Feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Center (Nairobi)

 

Myself, Anna, and Ken leading patriotic songs on July 4

 

Face paint!

On July 4 we walked from the upper campus to the lower campus for a school-wide lunch.  It was my first time there and the kids were SO excited to show me their computer lab!

One of the performers at our lodge in Lake Nakuru National Park.  Before dinner there was a performances of traditional songs and dances from the many Kenyan tribes.

Kenya: July 4, Mind Boggling Experiences and Giraffes!

It is nearly impossible to put into to words what this experience is like and what it means to me.  I am so absolutely blown away by these kids, by this place, by these people.  How is it possible for such joy to come from people who live in such deplorable conditions?  

July fourth was a fun day at Red Rose School... we had an extended break in the morning followed by a school-wide lunch provided by the parents and school, then a field day on a patch of dirt adjacent the railroad tracks where we had face painting, sack races, relays, Kenyan tug of war (no rope!!) and a couple epic games of soccer (during the first game of Americans vs. Red Rose School faculty, I played goalie and blocked two shots!).  At the end of the afternoon we sang "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful," and the "Star Spangled Banner," all of which the Red Rose students learned.  The experience of staring into the beautiful faces of 250 Kenyan students with red white and blue face paint singing American patriotic songs was surreal to say the least.  I must say that the Red Rose kids sang the American national anthem way better than 75% of Americans ever will! 

These kids are SO eager to learn new things.  Even simple games I play with my American kids (who I'm sure think they're pretty lame) bring such joy to these kids.  During the extended break on July 4, I taught a group of students "Yonder Come Day," the song I always teach my choir kids on the first day of school.  Today all morning I heard it echoing through the walls of Red Rose.  They love singing.  They love dancing.  They are free and uninhibited.  They are wondrous.

We have also spent time at Kibra Academy (public, third tier) high school and Olympic High School (provincial, second tier).  We also visited Olympic Primary School, the largest public primary school in Kenya.  It has 3,300 students and 28 teachers.  Class sizes are as large as 110 students. 

Today we spent some time at the Giraffe Center and Kazuri bead factory after our morning at Red Rose.  Tomorrow we are off to Lake Nakuru to go on safari! 

Class 4- My class!

Meeting and greeting students from Kibra Academy

Leading an impromptu singing session on July 4

For me this picture sort of sums up what this trip is all about...

Kenya: first day at Red Rose School

I'll keep it brief here tonight.   I need to spend some time developing my thoughts in my written journal.  My head is spinning with questions and ideas.

Today was our first day at Red Rose School, a small school run by the Children of Kibera Foundation.  I have been assigned to Class 4 (ages 9-12, mostly 11 year olds... similar to American fifth grade).  Today we observed three classes (for us Kiswahili, English and Religion).  We'll do some more shadowing this week and then I hope to jump in and do some teaching starting later this week or early next week.

This is my new favorite picture.  All the kids in my class wanted to try taking pictures.  Clearly some of didn't know this was being taken.

Courtney is the high school student also assigned to Class 4. 

Teacher George -- English.  Today's lesson was on changing past tense sentences to present tense.

The school is amazing.  The KIDS are amazing.  Some students rise as early at 4:30 a.m. to get to school (on foot-- one boy in Class 4 walks 15 km one way).  They arrive at school by 6 a.m. and are in classes until 5 p.m.  There are two short breaks and a lunch period during the day.

The schools in Kenya are very much built on the traditional English system.  Students wear uniforms (for Red Rose students, red socks, khaki pants or shorts, a white and red striped undershirt and a red sweater).  Students in Class 4 sit in rows and are basically impeccably behaved.  I have never seen 10 and 11 year olds so focused in my life.  Tremendous.  They are very funny.  During the break they asked me a lot of questions, including:

• "What did you want to be when you were a little boy?" (explaining what an archaeologist is can be very tricky I found out today). 
• "What is your favourite football (Premiere League Soccer) team?"
• "How old are you?"

I was amazed by their knowledge of current events.  They wanted to know if I'd heard the story about the death of Kenyan minister George Saitoti a few weeks back.

After lunch, we spent some time with the Power Women of Kibera group.  This group of ~20 women started as a group of HIV/AIDS infected mothers who started to save a small amount of money to help each other buy medicine for themselves and their children (between the 20 of them, they are raising 72 children-- their biological children and others).  They have expanded their business and sell beautiful homemade beaded jewelry and handbags.  They taught us how they make their wares and we were able to make something.  I made a great necklace.  They are expanding and adding a salon onto their existing shop in Kibera.  What an amazing group of women!  I grew quite attached two my two "Kibera moms," Doreena & Caro. SUPPORT THESE WOMEN!  Click here!

 

Upon arrival back at Shalom House the students had a journal prompt and we had some very interesting discussions about their impressions of Kenya/Kibera/Red Rose School/etc. so far.  It so cool getting to experience this trip but also to see it through their eyes.

Kenya: days 1 & 2

Saturday

In the afternoon I was picked up by Ken Okoth, founder and executive director of Children of Kibera Foundation, who was touring with one of the young ladies joining the trip I'm a chaperone on, and her father.  Ken took us into Kibera.  In many ways it was what I was expecting and in many ways it wasn't.  First of all, driving in Nairobi (Kibera or otherwise) is insane.  People in the street, cars/matatus/busses/mopeds/bikes/wild animals coming into your lane, pot holes and an alarmingly small number of traffic signs/signals (after two days I've yet to see a stop sign). 

There are a lot of shocking things to see in Kibera-- and we were in one of the nicer sections.  We visited two homes-- that of Ken's brother Jeff (who picked me up from the airport) and the house Ken grew up in.  The small nursery school is the place in Kibera President Obama visited in 2006 when he was still a Senator (they showed us the guest book where he signed).  The director of the school, Hamza, is a woman I'll never forget.  I'm going to make a point to go back and get my picture taken with her later this week.

Ken told us that there was a wedding going on down the street and took the three mzungu's ("English speaking" in Swahili).  Kibera started as a settlement for Nubians from Sudan after the first world war and most Nubians in Kenya are Muslim.  Ken explained that the Muslim wedding is a three day affair.  On the first day, the women in the wedding party decorate their bodies with elaborate designs in henna.  On the second day, the groom and a male representing the bride (her father, uncle or brother) meet to officially seal the union and sign the marriage certificate (the bride signs it later).  On the third day, there is a party!  There must have been 300+ people at the wedding, with the women decked out in the most amazing traditional dresses.  Dress for the men ranged from very casual to some very fancy suits.  There was A LOT of traditional food (men were served first, then the women).  Below is a picture of the procession of the bridal party.  The bride veiled in red-- can you find her?  Ken and his brother explained this was a very progressive party-- usually the bride is kept in a secluded location.  To have her walk in hand-in-hand with her new husband is apparently very "modern."

After the wedding, Ken drove us around downtown Nairobi.  We saw the President's home, Parliament (which he's currently running for a seat in), the Nairobi convention center and other major downtown landmarks.  Here's a slightly blurry view of the skyline.

After a lovely dinner downtown with the family of another young lady joining the trip Ken, the two girls and I headed to the airport to meet the bulk of the group coming from Washington via Amsterdam.  We hit major traffic on the way and were a bit late.  The group arrived a bit bleary eyed but mostly happy and in good spirits.  We stopped for some Kenyan fast food chicken and then headed to Shalom House (pictured below) for lights out.

Sunday

This morning we got up, had breakfast and headed an hour outside Nairobi for a tour of the Kiambethu Tea Farm, a small operation. We were early so stopped in for the end of the service at All Souls Church near the tea farm.  From the farm's brochure: "Situated at 2,200 metres (7,000 feet).... Kiambethu has been the family home of one of the earliest tea growers in Kenya.  The farm dates back to 1910 and the present house, set amidst colourful gardens, has been home to four generations."  We heard an explanation of how tea is planted, grown, harvested, and processed.  Fascinating!  We took a walk through the grounds with a Kikuyu guide (pictured below) who pointed out the interesting wildlife and plants.  We had a lovely lunch there then headed to the Ngong hills for a lovely photo op.

This evening it was a trip the Junction mall and a trip to the Nakumatt and dinner at the Nairobi Java House.  The students are about to settle in for bed.  Our first day at Red Rose School is tomorrow.... can't wait!  G'night.

Kenya: first morning and Simple Gifts

Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya. 

It was a long time coming here, but I am feeling good and extremely optimistic about this trip!

I flew Turkish Air.  Washington Dulles - Istanbul (9.5 hours) and Istanbul to Nairobi (6 hours).  I slept very little on the flights.  I arrived at Shalom House, my home base for the next month, around 4 am this morning.  I slept a couple hours, and then had breakfast with some American students from Concordia University in Irvine, California.  Today I will head to the local shopping center to buy water and other essentials for the trip.  Tonight I will have dinner with Ken Okoth, founder and executive director of Children of Kibera Foundation as well as some parents from the DC area.  Then Ken and I will head to the airport to meet the fifteen high school students and two other chaperones I will be with the next two weeks.

My American upbringing has really colored my expectations.  I feel a little strange about having such deluxe accommodation when my charge is to serve children in Kibera who have no permanent structure to live in.  I have a large bed and a TV in my room-- and my own washroom as well.  Then this morning when my shower was luke-warm I found myself annoyed.  For me, this is one of the main reasons I'm here-- to learn to live more simply.  I don't need so much stuff.  I've begun to realize that since moving into my *tiny* room at my new house in D.C.

It's no coincidence that one of the songs the highs school students and I are prepared to sing when called upon here is "Simple Gifts."  The lyrics will be my mantra.

'Tis the gift to be simple 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn 'twill be our delight,
'till be turning, turning we come 'round right. 

 

Kenya: pre-departure

I dreamed of Kenya all night last night. 

I am standing on a precipice.  It's strange knowing that in two short days your life will be forever changed.  It's strange leaving on a trip you know will be so life-altering. 

I am excited for this trip for a lot of reasons.  I feel like my first trip to Africa (South Africa, 2010) showed us mostly the Westernized and tourist parts of that country.  Now I'm going to see how real Africans live.  1 Billion people on this planet live in poverty.  1 billion.  I am going to meet them, and see how they live, and teach their kids.

I am going to do my best to blog as much as possible while abroad, and to post pictures.  Please keep in touch! See you on the flip side.

No more excuses

Well it has once again been far too long since I updated this blog.  A lot has happened since I last posted.  A Cliff's Notes version follows:

-I completed my first year of teaching at Norwood School.  I learned a lot about myself as a teacher and about private school education.
-I moved into DC!  No more suburbia.  I live in Shaw-- near Howard University.  I love living in the city. I can't believe it took me so long to move into a truly urban environment.
-My parents visited for just shy of a week from Michigan.  It was great to have them here.
-I have finalized plans for my Kenya trip.  I leave a week from Thursday!  I will spend the first 2.5 weeks chaperoning fourteen high school students, then will be on my own the last week.  I can't believe this is actually happening.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to go to Kenya and to teach music. This is such a dream come true in so many ways.

I want to blog more.  I want to live my creativity more and more.  I get so bogged down during the school year in to-do lists, e-mail, errands.... and I let that get in the way of my creative output.  I want to sing.  I want to write and arrange music.  I want to conduct.  I want to start a non-profit.  I want to live my creativity more every day.  And I will.  No more excuses.  Just truth.

I will be blogging in Kenya and posting pictures here and on Facebook.  You can follow the official blog for the beginning of my trip (with the Children of Kibera foundation) at http://kenyaservicelearningadventure.wordpress.com/.