This week has been a whilrwind of emotions!(I feel like I say that in every post lol) But really I wish I was a robot sometimes so I could stop feeling for a while or at least stop thinking about how I should be feeling because sometimes I simply don't know. Ill begin with last Friday, the 12th. My last night with my Kenyan Family.Never in a million years would I have believed that I would be so attached to people after 9 short weeks.
That night my mom came home with a chicken(a dead one she said she wanted a live one to kill at home in front of me but there were none at the market-thank goodness!) which is a big deal because we only had chicken one other time since Ive been there(chicken is a little more expensive so usually its beef or goat 2x a week). She butchered the chicken in front of me, laughing as I flinched and let out little moans of pain for the dead chicken as she ripped it apart. She proceeded to make all my favorites here-rice, cabbage, avocado, and passionfruit. So good...I ate wayyy to much but by Kenyan standards it still wasnt enough- I hear at least once a day about how I don't eat enough or drink enough tea blah blah blah. Kenyans insist on making me gain 5000lbs while here and then marrying one of their sons.Ha! So that night my baba(dad) stopped by-I'm not sure if I said this before but I rarely see him because he works in Nairobi which is about an hour away then comes to Machakos to be an herbal doctor during the night so usually by the time he arrives home Im in bed which is sad because he is a great man and I enjoy the time weve spent together. He says Kenyans work a lot, make a little and save nothing-def true and so sad. Anyways he stops by and says that he has to go back out but he wanted to see me just in case he wasnt able to see me before I left the next morning and that was that.
The next morning I get up around 730 to pack the remainder of my things and put my bags outside for the PC vehicle to pick them up. My mama comes in and tells me that they are going to slaughter a goat for me this morning, I lose it! haha I'm like no mama that's ok I dont really like goat, I don't want to see anything killed esp not for me and all that jazzed. She's like no no its part of our tradition and Im like crap what do I do? Shortly after my baba comes out the room talking about how he woke up late and has to go very soon:( So I start to take my tea and breakfast and in walks a photogapher. I was so confused. And my mama tells me they had a man come over to take photos of me killing the goat. I tell her ill be right back and I go into my room to collect myself and I hear "Wikia we are just joking come out of there." Out I come with everyone laughing at me and my mama and baba tell me that they hired a photogapher to take pics of us taking tea and out in front of the house. I was relieved and really shocked that they would do such a thing for me. They had us take pics in the house, outside the house, with the dog(which is really funny because I loved the dog but Kenyans don't see pets as we do so I know they love me to put him in a pic with us lol- they were rubbing his belly and petting him the dog was confused Im sure he was thinking 'this never happens'). Then they took photos of them giving me gifts which I totally didn't expect- we are told to give our host family gifts of appreciation but they are not expected to give us anything and my family gave me so many useful and thoughtful things it was amazing. After all the photo excitement was over we finished our breakfast and my baba told me how much I meant to the family as well as if I ever have any problems to give him a call-which meant so much to me because Kenyan men don't say much about their feelings. I gave them the gifts I purchased for them including a tie for my dad which he said he would wear on Monday to work...so cute! Shortly afterwards I was off to school to practice our skit for the family appreciation and then to my hotel to rest for the remainder of the day which means I had tons of time to reflect and just think about how much those people meant to me. Such an amazing family. I am truly blessed.
On Sunday we had a family appreciation ceremony and then we are off to Nairobi to for our last few training sessions and to meet our supervisors. We joined our other half(the science and math group) at the place where we all started-cute how things come full circle many times. The short time in Nairobi was filled with many hot showers, a mall that was very similar to an American mall(talk about culture shock if this is a taste of what I will feel like after 2 years I dont want it lol) and some yummy food including pizza with REAL CHEESE and smoothies yum yum! On Tues I met my counterpart(my supervisor is working towards his masters so he was unable to come). My counterpart was very down to earth and she wore pants(they call them trousers here) which I know doesnt mean much to you but in Kenya if a woman is wearing trousers its a big deal(esp from a village) it let me know that my village is at least a little progressive in women's rights. She was very chill and we hit it off well. On weds the 14th we swore in but honestly its nothing to talk about because unlike all the other PC swear ins it was not at the ambassadors house because he had a Christmas Party and instead of the ambassador speaking we had his 2nd man and instead of having catered american food(aka a bbq) we got cheetos and doritios which was nice but just doesn't compare. Oh we did get pretty nice hats and shirts with the 50th anniversary symbol on it since we are the last to swear-in during PC 50th anniversary. But after swear in we treated ourselves to sushi and drinks which made everything 100x better.This was our last night together so many of us went out dancing well until our 10pm curfew(another bummer on swear in right now thanks al shabaab!). This was our final night together.
The next day we were off to our new sites and new lives. I was one of the last to leave so I got to say goodbye to many of my buddies. Traveling to Mogotio was my 1st time traveling without PC taking care of everything but my counterpart took great care of me and all of my luggage so things were pretty smooth. Mogotio is about 4hrs away from Nairobi so its not that bad. Its in the rift valley so my scenery is absloutley amazing and luckly im in the lower rift so the weather isnt cold-everyday is about 75 or 80...can you say perfect?!?! Since Ive arrived Ive been living with my counterparts family because my home is not quite ready yet(so basically Im still staying with a homestay). I desperatley wanting my privacy/quiet time but they have been very welcoming to me and I have my own room and Ive even watched the top 20 american videos of 2011 and cartoons from nick because they have cable crazy right. Middle of nowhere watching Bruno Mars sing Lazy song.
I did get a chance to visit my school and meet the local education officials. They were very welcoming even had a little ceremony for me. The school is new, as I mentioned in a previous post, which means it is extremely small and the money flow is low. Each class has 2 grades per room but the max in a grade is 12. There is also a preschool, so the youngest child here is 2-they all board at the school...could you imagine being 2 years old livng at a school?!? My house was everything they said it would be-2 rooms.Yup 2 seperate rooms because they were expecting 2 volunteers so now I have to exit my bedroom to enter my kitchen/living room. The rooms are extremely small but it is all mine and honestly much better than what the supporting staff is living in so I feel very fortunate. I do have a cold shower and electricity so I can't complain. They are working on building a little fence to give me some privacy bc the girls dorm is on one side and the girls on the other....So yeah thats how Im living for the next 2 years of my life. Oh there is a hearing school next door with 700 yes 700 students...up to 100 kids in some classes..crazy right? We have a lot of land so my goal is to run in the mornings around the schools, thats until the other kids see me do it then want to join-Kenyans are born runners so these kids will put me to shame. Anywho thats been my last few days of life. Peace Corps just got real.
Once again I tried to post photos but my computer hates me so thats that
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