So I'll just skip talking about Saturday and Sunday because they involved a lot of sleeping and making Swahili flashcards. Exciting, I know.
But yesterday actually was exciting. Yesterday morning I got up bright and early and met Izzo, the director of Marafiki at a mall called Junction at 8am. Well, actually he didn't get there until about 8:30, but thats ok. I was under the impression we were going to be taking a matatu, but I was wrong- Izzo pulled up in an SUV. In the front seat was another girl, an American, who just graduated college this spring and has been in Kenya for about six months working with Marafiki. Without the faintest idea what the agenda for the day was, we started driving. After about 20 minutes of driving through a slum on the edge of Nairobi, we pulled into a neighborhood where the volunteers from Marafiki were staying. Three of them climbed into the car to come out to Maai Mahiu with us so they could work for the day. George also met up with us, he is the field coordinator for Marafiki, and as Izzo put it, "he will be my new best friend". So the seven of us started driving, but we didn't make it very far because everyone wanted to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things for lunch. Then, we finally all piled back in the car and headed for Maai Mahiu.
We hadn't been driving for very long when we drove around a bend, and I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the ground. All of a sudden, there was the Rift Valley. I couldn't take in the whole view, it was so stunning. What was interesting is that you could tell it was very dry, but at the same time there were a lot of colors- reds, browns, greens, blues, everything. There were hills, and right out in front of us was Mt. Longonot- the highest point in the Rift Valley. After I recovered from the initial shock of the view, I got my camera out and rolled down the window and started to take a few pictures. Izzo laughed at me, apparently he'd forgotten I'd never been there before, and he pulled over so me and the other new volunteer could take a few pictures. When we got back in the car, we immediately started descending down into the valley. Nairobi is a mile above sea level, and within about 20 minutes, we were at the bottom of the valley, which is close to sea-level. We drove through the town of Maai Mahiu, which is a small but still very busy little town. And then about a 10 minute drive past the town is the Maai Mahiu IDP camp.
When we pulled into the camp, all of the kids ran out of the school and swarmed the car, all of them shouting "Izzo, Izzo, Izzo!" It took us all several minutes to get out of the car because they were climbing all over us, giving us high fives and shaking our hands. When we finally all made it out, we split up- the volunteers who had been there before went off to work on their projects with Izzo, and the new volunteer and I went with George for a little orientation.
We just started walking around. There are 9 smaller camps within the larger camp, and a couple of them have permanent brick houses that were built by Habitat for Humanity. But a majority of the people still live in tents, five years after being displaced. Eventually, we met a woman who lives in a tent and went into her home for a few minutes so George could talk to us a bit. He just gave us background information on the post-election violence, told us about the origins of Marafiki, and told us a little bit about the woman who's house we were in. She is a single mother of seven, has lived in her tent in the camp for 5 years, and is HIV positive. Her home was so poorly constructed that all the walls and the ceiling swayed as the wind blew. While she had a fair amount of pots and pans and blankets and such, the physical structure she and her children are living in is astounding. We didn't talk to her too much, and we didn't stay long, but we thanked her, and then George kept walking us around a bit.
As we were walking, a swarm of children that aren't enrolled in school came up to us, and they were all really surprised and excited when I could ask them their names and say a few basic things in Swahili. That then of course led to them saying really complicated sentences really quickly and me being really confused, but oh well, it was still fun!
We also went and saw the classrooms at the school, the clinic that is currently under construction, and the humungous ravine that has been carved out by the flash floods that come down from the hills. After our little tour, we had a little break and sat and chatted with the other volunteers, and then once all the kids were out of school, we played with them a bunch. A huge group of kids attacked my hair with sticks, creating a complete rats nest- but they had fun, and I had a hairtie to pull it all back after they were done, so it was ok.
After playing with the kids, a delivery of lumber came for the clinic, which we then helped count and move around. Then we spent a little more time talking and baking in the sun (yes, my face has blistered once again- all the other volunteers were laughing at me- oh well!), and then we headed back into Maai Mahiu town. They quickly drove me by two possible hotels that I can stay at, both of which looked completely fine, and then we headed back into Nairobi. It was a very long day- the heat is sooo exhausting, and the heat there is way more extreme than in Nairobi because we aren't a mile above sea level- but it was a great day, too.
A few things stood out to me. I felt very safe in Maai Mahiu. Nairobi is a little sketchy at times, but everyone in Maai Mahiu was very friendly and I felt completely comfortable. Everyone is happy to help and answer any questions I had, which was great. The area is beautiful- I know there are a couple of nearby national parks that I can visit on the weekends if I have time. I guess the bottom line is, I am excited to get to go back and spend a few weeks there soon!!
But for now, I have to focus on our Swahili exam which is the day after tomorrow, and then we head to Uganda this weekend!
I hope all of you are doing well, too!
But yesterday actually was exciting. Yesterday morning I got up bright and early and met Izzo, the director of Marafiki at a mall called Junction at 8am. Well, actually he didn't get there until about 8:30, but thats ok. I was under the impression we were going to be taking a matatu, but I was wrong- Izzo pulled up in an SUV. In the front seat was another girl, an American, who just graduated college this spring and has been in Kenya for about six months working with Marafiki. Without the faintest idea what the agenda for the day was, we started driving. After about 20 minutes of driving through a slum on the edge of Nairobi, we pulled into a neighborhood where the volunteers from Marafiki were staying. Three of them climbed into the car to come out to Maai Mahiu with us so they could work for the day. George also met up with us, he is the field coordinator for Marafiki, and as Izzo put it, "he will be my new best friend". So the seven of us started driving, but we didn't make it very far because everyone wanted to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things for lunch. Then, we finally all piled back in the car and headed for Maai Mahiu.
We hadn't been driving for very long when we drove around a bend, and I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the ground. All of a sudden, there was the Rift Valley. I couldn't take in the whole view, it was so stunning. What was interesting is that you could tell it was very dry, but at the same time there were a lot of colors- reds, browns, greens, blues, everything. There were hills, and right out in front of us was Mt. Longonot- the highest point in the Rift Valley. After I recovered from the initial shock of the view, I got my camera out and rolled down the window and started to take a few pictures. Izzo laughed at me, apparently he'd forgotten I'd never been there before, and he pulled over so me and the other new volunteer could take a few pictures. When we got back in the car, we immediately started descending down into the valley. Nairobi is a mile above sea level, and within about 20 minutes, we were at the bottom of the valley, which is close to sea-level. We drove through the town of Maai Mahiu, which is a small but still very busy little town. And then about a 10 minute drive past the town is the Maai Mahiu IDP camp.
When we pulled into the camp, all of the kids ran out of the school and swarmed the car, all of them shouting "Izzo, Izzo, Izzo!" It took us all several minutes to get out of the car because they were climbing all over us, giving us high fives and shaking our hands. When we finally all made it out, we split up- the volunteers who had been there before went off to work on their projects with Izzo, and the new volunteer and I went with George for a little orientation.
We just started walking around. There are 9 smaller camps within the larger camp, and a couple of them have permanent brick houses that were built by Habitat for Humanity. But a majority of the people still live in tents, five years after being displaced. Eventually, we met a woman who lives in a tent and went into her home for a few minutes so George could talk to us a bit. He just gave us background information on the post-election violence, told us about the origins of Marafiki, and told us a little bit about the woman who's house we were in. She is a single mother of seven, has lived in her tent in the camp for 5 years, and is HIV positive. Her home was so poorly constructed that all the walls and the ceiling swayed as the wind blew. While she had a fair amount of pots and pans and blankets and such, the physical structure she and her children are living in is astounding. We didn't talk to her too much, and we didn't stay long, but we thanked her, and then George kept walking us around a bit.
As we were walking, a swarm of children that aren't enrolled in school came up to us, and they were all really surprised and excited when I could ask them their names and say a few basic things in Swahili. That then of course led to them saying really complicated sentences really quickly and me being really confused, but oh well, it was still fun!
We also went and saw the classrooms at the school, the clinic that is currently under construction, and the humungous ravine that has been carved out by the flash floods that come down from the hills. After our little tour, we had a little break and sat and chatted with the other volunteers, and then once all the kids were out of school, we played with them a bunch. A huge group of kids attacked my hair with sticks, creating a complete rats nest- but they had fun, and I had a hairtie to pull it all back after they were done, so it was ok.
After playing with the kids, a delivery of lumber came for the clinic, which we then helped count and move around. Then we spent a little more time talking and baking in the sun (yes, my face has blistered once again- all the other volunteers were laughing at me- oh well!), and then we headed back into Maai Mahiu town. They quickly drove me by two possible hotels that I can stay at, both of which looked completely fine, and then we headed back into Nairobi. It was a very long day- the heat is sooo exhausting, and the heat there is way more extreme than in Nairobi because we aren't a mile above sea level- but it was a great day, too.
A few things stood out to me. I felt very safe in Maai Mahiu. Nairobi is a little sketchy at times, but everyone in Maai Mahiu was very friendly and I felt completely comfortable. Everyone is happy to help and answer any questions I had, which was great. The area is beautiful- I know there are a couple of nearby national parks that I can visit on the weekends if I have time. I guess the bottom line is, I am excited to get to go back and spend a few weeks there soon!!
But for now, I have to focus on our Swahili exam which is the day after tomorrow, and then we head to Uganda this weekend!
I hope all of you are doing well, too!
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