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Published: June 13th 2007
At some point between using the internet and catching the bus back to Saikeri our cell phone was stolen. We bought a new one and here is the number (011 from the states, 001 from Ireland and England) +254 725 070 477. Sorry about that if anyone was trying to call that other number. We knew that something would get stolen at some point and at least it was only our cell phone and not anything super important.
I came into town today to update this and send out a few emails because there is a festival this weekend in Maasailand and we are both going to go to it... meaning that we won't make it into town. So, since the hospital is super slow on Wednesdays I came in to Nairobi to pick up some water and supplies that we'll need for the next couple of weeks. It is only 10.30am and already I've taken a 2 hour truck ride from Saikeri to Ngong, been to three internet cafes (the first two were so slow I had to come into this one), had a cup of tea, and taken a matatu into Nairobi...
I am not sure where to start. I have a lot of time today so I can give you a pretty full update. I'll start with general things about the place where we are living, I suppose.
In the Maasai culture the children bow their heads to their elders and the elders touch the top of the heads in greeting. This is done until the boys are circumcised (around 13) and the girls do it always when an elder is present, even through adulthood. So, sometimes I bow to have my head touched and Al just shakes hands... most times the elders shake my hand as well. We are both getting used to the kids bowing for us to touch their heads. There were a couple of times that I forgot and thought that the kids were looking at my shoes... then a couple of minutes later Al reminded me or I remembered... I wondered why my shoes were that interesting...
Al and I both have Maasai names. Mine is Mimusi and Alan's is Olasurwoa (I know that I didn't spell that right.) So most of the people in town call us by those names. We both got used to it pretty fast. Although, learning how to pronounce Al's was a task. I still don't know if I am pronouncing it right. Last Saturday when we were on the truck coming into Ngong we went through a town call Oloshorobo (where the festival is going to be this weekend). There are a couple of other volunteers staying there and as we passed through it Al went, "Oh, here we are going through that town Oloshobowa.... wait... no... that's my name. Is it? No... Oloshorbowa. What's my name?" Myself, Alan and a couple of the Maasai sitting next to us starting laughing... love it.
I'll tell you about those truck rides just so you can get a mental image of what they are like. There are these things called Matatus. They are a sort of public transport system here. From Saikeri to Ngong the Matatus are small (I mean the small- like tiny Toyota or Nissan) trucks. They have steel bars going over the top of it and they pack as many people as they can on it. People are really hanging off in all directions. This morning I counted 26... but I was in such a position that I couldn't see everyone in the truck. And by 'such a position' I mean I was straddling the tailgate... one leg squeezed in and the other hanging out and holding onto the bars above me. This may sound slightly dangerous but it's not... considering the truck is so weighed down and the road is so bad that it rarely goes faster than 15mph. The Matatus in town are small Nissan mini-vans meant to fit about 15. Most of them have names... like Soul Patrol (the one Al and I took last week), J-lo, The Grace, Playa Hater, or the one I took today named Bling. Most of them have coloured lights inside or blacklights and play super loud music... Soul Patrol had video screens and had the bass so loud that it was hard to breathe with our lungs rattling so much. Needless to say, riding in the Matatus is always an adventure.
The electricity here just went out (a common occurrence) and somehow my computer was one of two that didn't go off... that would have been a pain if I would have lost this blog now...
I woke up a couple of days ago with a rash/bug bites/bumps covering most of my arms, legs and back... they are getting better now but I don't know what they are from. They are pretty itchy. I am using a bug net and wearing bug spray at night... it may be from the rain water that we are using to bathe and so I am going to get some stuff to treat it before I use it tomorrow and see if that helps. Our stomachs are holding up for the most part... although there have been a few dodgy moments. I don't have an appetite, though. I think that it may be because I am drinking so much unpasteurized milk. I am going to mess with the diet and see what works and doesn’t. We are still learning... On a more positive note I am getting a killer tan.
You may have heard about some commotion going on in Nairobi the other day... there was a bombing. We weren’t affected and it shouldn't affect us for our future travels. I think that it was a guy trying to blow up police and the grenade went off in his pocket... and I think that he was the only one killed. So... we are safe and sound.
In two weekends we are going on Safari to the Masai Mara. It will be a camping safari. Alan can't wait. He loves the big animals and is really looking forward to seeing them all... I am going out to buy some running shoes this afternoon so that I can comfortably outrun anything that comes after me... just in case. Then in July we are going to Lake Navisha and Nukuru to look at the pink flamingoes. Other than that we are going to stay in Saikeri and head to Ngong or Nairobi for internet on the weekends.
As far as all the donations we got go... we are still figuring it all out. We haven't told anyone that we have any money. People are so poor... it's not that they are shifty but they are trying to survive so sometimes things regarding money are a bit shady. It seems that we will be able to help fix the town fresh water well. It is broken at the moment and people are drinking out of a small pond... the same one that animals drink out of... and they are getting sick. The Ministry of Health came out and said that if the well doesn’t get fixed they will have to close down the school because the kids can't drink that dirty water. So they need help there and it seems like we'll be able to donate. Also, the hospital is setting up a maternity room so that women can safely deliver babies under doctor supervision. This would really help the community... so many women die in childbirth. They need a bed and a few other things that I think we can help out with. Also, the school is adding on a new classroom (some of the classrooms are really full) and I think they are trying to get a library going as well... many of the kids don't have books to read. So... there are some of the projects we are looking at. We will let you know what comes of it. We want to give money to sustainable things... like what if we fix the well and then it breaks again a few months later... we want to help the people set up a sustainable production so that they will be able to fix it when it does break again... that is what we are looking at now. I talked to one of the town leaders about a town fundraiser so community members can put money into fixing it so that there is ownership within the community and we talked about opening an account and having people pay 10shillings to fill up their water jugs and such so that they can fix it themselves in the future... we might have some of the kids from school paint it as well. Anything so that the town feels like it is their well and they take ownership and responsibility all together...
I guess that's about it for us. We are settling in really well here and love it. Thanks to everyone who messaged and we can't wait to see everyone at the end of the summer. Feel free to text us on the new number. We are +8 hours from Chicago and +2 from Ireland/England.
Much love,
Brooke and Al
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Ginny Webb
non-member comment
Milk and water
Brooke, I think, but am not sure, there may be a pill that you can drop into the milk to make it healthier for you. I will check on it. Do you need pills to drop in your water, I know we have those. Eventhough, we haven't gotten to meet yet, I am very proud of you. This is not an easy thing that you and Alan are doing, giving up all the comforts of home. Take care. Ginny