And another week has gone by- I can't believe it. Last week was mostly just computer and paperwork, nothing too exciting. We had our final term paper due, so I spent a couple of days working on that. It was quite possibly the worst prompt I've ever had to write on, so it took me almost a whole day just to decide what exactly I'd be writing about. Anyway, after that little torture test was over, it was time to start ISP!! But not until the election was over....
Because of the time difference, the election results started coming in around 3am Kenya time. So, the group of students who rented an apartment in Nairobi for their independent research time invited a few people over to watch and spend the night. So on Tuesday night, there were a few of us over there, and we cooked a big American meal to celebrate- cheeseburgers, coleslaw, potato salad, and apple crisp. After absolutely pigging out and watching a little tv, we all went to bed around 11 or midnight so we could get a couple hours of sleep before the results started coming in. I was sleeping on the couch, but there was a really annoying mosquito that kept buzzing in my ear, so I got up at about 1:30 and just messed around on my computer until 3am, when everybody else got up to watch. We turned on MSNBC and not much was happening yet, but we kept watching. We had some apple crisp, and watched as the results from the east coast started slowly coming in. Finally, at about 7:30am our time, they called Ohio for Obama, and therefore the election, and we all started running around the apartment out of excitement. We were just a little sleep-deprived, keep that in mind. Then we decided to open a beer and split it between the three of us that were still there (everyone else had to leave), even though it was 7:30 in the morning. But then there was the whole drama with Ohio being disputed, so we waited until about 9:30am our time when Obama gave his speech. Then we choked on the disgusting warm beer, and happily listened to Obama's wonderful speech. And the, in our state of exhaustion, it was time to get on with our day and start working- because Wednesday was our first official day of ISP!
I spent the last half of this week just reading articles. I needed to learn a little bit more about IDPs in general and the post-election violence of 2007-2008 that drove these particular IDPs from their homes. So I read, and I read, and I read. I also worked on my interview questions and consent form for my actual research. On Friday I met with Izzo from Marafiki to finalize the plans for when I'm out in Maai Mahiu, and we agreed that I would head out with them on Sunday to get settled in and meet my translators.
Saturday was a fun last day in Nairobi. I met one of the girls in my program at Java, and then our advisor, Donna, came and met us, and we went out to a place called Kitengela Glass, which is relevant to my friends ISP. I was really just along for the ride so I could talk to Donna about my project in the car. But the glass place was amazing- a little fairy land on the outskirts of Nairobi. There are mosaics covering every possible surface, blown glass things hanging from beams and trees, and all sorts of amazing creativity on display around every turn. So it was fun and productive because I did get to talk to Donna about my project (I hadn't yet- whoops). Then we headed back into Nairobi, and Donna dropped me off at my homestay for my last night with my family.
It was a pretty normal last night with them. I did a little packing before I went into the house and then I brought in their gifts- nothing big. I gave my brother a water bottle from the Olympics that my dad had given me before I left the states to use as a gift, a journal and some markers for my sister, and then a candle for my mama. We took a few pictures because only Jero and I had taken any pictures together before Saturday, and then we had dinner and watched tv like normal. I went to my room around 9 to finish packing and get to bed.
Sunday morning I got up early and showered and such and then packed up the last few things I'd left out and then said goodbye to my family. I promised I would come back and have dinner and visit after my ISP was done so I could tell them about it, which I will definitely do. Then a taxi picked me and my embarrassing amount of luggage up, and we stopped at my friends apartment and I dropped off two of my bags, since I don't need them out in Maai Mahiu. Then the taxi dropped me off and Gee from Marafiki picked me up and we headed out to Maai Mahiu. We picked up some volunteers on the way, and before I knew it, we were here. We stopped at a little grocery store and I bought a big jug of water and some crackers (I brought a huge jar of peanut butter with me) and then we went out to the camp for a couple of hours and walked around a bit to some parts I hadn't been to before. Then after Gee got some of the volunteers settled, he brought my to my hotel. It is way too expensive for what it is, but its much safer than the other one, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it. I'm spending my entire daily stipend on my room, so I have to pay for food, transportation and my translators out of my pocket now, which is really not ideal. Anyway. I got settled into my room and then went for a jog, which was really nice because my hotel is right on the edge of town, so the highway is right there and with it, some beautiful views of the Rift Valley. After that little excursion I went up and bought some fruit, and then settled into my room for the night. I did some ISP work and finished preparing for my first round of interviews, and then it was off to bed.
Yesterday. Ohhh, yesterday. It was quite the day. I woke up pretty early, so I got ready and took my time, and then when I was supposed to call someone at the camp to figure out a meeting place and time, I realized my phone was out of minutes. Oops. So I quickly walked up the road to a shop that sells airtime, and on the way had a little run in with a donkey cart. Literally. I was walking on the shoulder of the road, and then all of a sudden this donkey cart was right in front of me, the busy highway was on one side, and a 10 foot drop off was on the other side. So I was kind of able to jump over part of the cart, but then one of the wheels ran over one of my feet and I got hit in the leg with some rebar that the cart was carrying. Then I heard the explosive laughter of the locals that had just watched that happen. Oh goody. But I was totally fine, aside from a sore foot and some welts from the rebar, so I got my phone minutes and then called Babu, a new contact in the camp..
Babu wanted to meet pretty quickly, so I gathered up everything I needed and then asked around about how matatus work here (matatus are minibuses that are used as public transportation in Kenya) and then caught a matatu out to the camp, which is about 3 miles away. I met Babu there, and he introduced me to my translator for the day, Ann. Ann is only 18, and we had a blast yesterday going around and interviewing people. She's lived in the camp since 2008, and has finished high school and is now trying to go to school to become a counselor. But to do that she needs money, which no one in the camp has. Anyway, we were able to interview 5 people yesterday, and each interview lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. The first interview of the day I got to conduct while holding the woman's two week old baby. Oh goodness, I was in heaven. In the middle of the day, Ann made me come have lunch with her, and several of the people I interviewed also made me have some chai or a little porridge or something- so I was pretty stuffed when Ann said her mom needed us to run a quick errand for her. Sure! So Ann and I started walking to tell her mom's friend about Ann's sister's wedding which is next week. It turns out this friend lives almost to the top of the mountain on the other side of town... so with my bookbag and flip flops on, we walked up the mountain in the 1pm scorching sun. But Ann's friend Jen came with us, and we talked the whole way, so it was still a lot of fun. I knew this before I came to Maai Mahiu, but Sam is a mans name here, so they started joking around and Jen became known as John and Ann became Anthony- it gave us all a good laugh. We reached the friend's house, which was a simple house, but she gave us yet more chai and chapati and Ann relayed the message about the wedding. Then we went into the lady's shamba, or small farm, and picked some avocados. Yum!! Then it was time to go back down to the camp. So we went. When we got back, I did two more interviews and then chatted with "John" and "Anthony" for a while, then they walked me back to the matatu stop and I came back to my hotel. On the way I stopped and bought some oranges and yogurt (I was so happy when I found a shop that has refrigerated yogurt- most of it is just out in the open here, and I just don't want to risk that), and then I settled into my room for the night.
I spent several hours transcribing all of my interviews from the day- I was audiorecording them- and then I had some peanut butter and crackers and an orange, watched part of a movie on my laptop, and went to bed!
This morning I'm headed to a different sub-camp to do more interviews-- and so day two begins!
Because of the time difference, the election results started coming in around 3am Kenya time. So, the group of students who rented an apartment in Nairobi for their independent research time invited a few people over to watch and spend the night. So on Tuesday night, there were a few of us over there, and we cooked a big American meal to celebrate- cheeseburgers, coleslaw, potato salad, and apple crisp. After absolutely pigging out and watching a little tv, we all went to bed around 11 or midnight so we could get a couple hours of sleep before the results started coming in. I was sleeping on the couch, but there was a really annoying mosquito that kept buzzing in my ear, so I got up at about 1:30 and just messed around on my computer until 3am, when everybody else got up to watch. We turned on MSNBC and not much was happening yet, but we kept watching. We had some apple crisp, and watched as the results from the east coast started slowly coming in. Finally, at about 7:30am our time, they called Ohio for Obama, and therefore the election, and we all started running around the apartment out of excitement. We were just a little sleep-deprived, keep that in mind. Then we decided to open a beer and split it between the three of us that were still there (everyone else had to leave), even though it was 7:30 in the morning. But then there was the whole drama with Ohio being disputed, so we waited until about 9:30am our time when Obama gave his speech. Then we choked on the disgusting warm beer, and happily listened to Obama's wonderful speech. And the, in our state of exhaustion, it was time to get on with our day and start working- because Wednesday was our first official day of ISP!
I spent the last half of this week just reading articles. I needed to learn a little bit more about IDPs in general and the post-election violence of 2007-2008 that drove these particular IDPs from their homes. So I read, and I read, and I read. I also worked on my interview questions and consent form for my actual research. On Friday I met with Izzo from Marafiki to finalize the plans for when I'm out in Maai Mahiu, and we agreed that I would head out with them on Sunday to get settled in and meet my translators.
Saturday was a fun last day in Nairobi. I met one of the girls in my program at Java, and then our advisor, Donna, came and met us, and we went out to a place called Kitengela Glass, which is relevant to my friends ISP. I was really just along for the ride so I could talk to Donna about my project in the car. But the glass place was amazing- a little fairy land on the outskirts of Nairobi. There are mosaics covering every possible surface, blown glass things hanging from beams and trees, and all sorts of amazing creativity on display around every turn. So it was fun and productive because I did get to talk to Donna about my project (I hadn't yet- whoops). Then we headed back into Nairobi, and Donna dropped me off at my homestay for my last night with my family.
It was a pretty normal last night with them. I did a little packing before I went into the house and then I brought in their gifts- nothing big. I gave my brother a water bottle from the Olympics that my dad had given me before I left the states to use as a gift, a journal and some markers for my sister, and then a candle for my mama. We took a few pictures because only Jero and I had taken any pictures together before Saturday, and then we had dinner and watched tv like normal. I went to my room around 9 to finish packing and get to bed.
Sunday morning I got up early and showered and such and then packed up the last few things I'd left out and then said goodbye to my family. I promised I would come back and have dinner and visit after my ISP was done so I could tell them about it, which I will definitely do. Then a taxi picked me and my embarrassing amount of luggage up, and we stopped at my friends apartment and I dropped off two of my bags, since I don't need them out in Maai Mahiu. Then the taxi dropped me off and Gee from Marafiki picked me up and we headed out to Maai Mahiu. We picked up some volunteers on the way, and before I knew it, we were here. We stopped at a little grocery store and I bought a big jug of water and some crackers (I brought a huge jar of peanut butter with me) and then we went out to the camp for a couple of hours and walked around a bit to some parts I hadn't been to before. Then after Gee got some of the volunteers settled, he brought my to my hotel. It is way too expensive for what it is, but its much safer than the other one, so I guess I'll just have to deal with it. I'm spending my entire daily stipend on my room, so I have to pay for food, transportation and my translators out of my pocket now, which is really not ideal. Anyway. I got settled into my room and then went for a jog, which was really nice because my hotel is right on the edge of town, so the highway is right there and with it, some beautiful views of the Rift Valley. After that little excursion I went up and bought some fruit, and then settled into my room for the night. I did some ISP work and finished preparing for my first round of interviews, and then it was off to bed.
Yesterday. Ohhh, yesterday. It was quite the day. I woke up pretty early, so I got ready and took my time, and then when I was supposed to call someone at the camp to figure out a meeting place and time, I realized my phone was out of minutes. Oops. So I quickly walked up the road to a shop that sells airtime, and on the way had a little run in with a donkey cart. Literally. I was walking on the shoulder of the road, and then all of a sudden this donkey cart was right in front of me, the busy highway was on one side, and a 10 foot drop off was on the other side. So I was kind of able to jump over part of the cart, but then one of the wheels ran over one of my feet and I got hit in the leg with some rebar that the cart was carrying. Then I heard the explosive laughter of the locals that had just watched that happen. Oh goody. But I was totally fine, aside from a sore foot and some welts from the rebar, so I got my phone minutes and then called Babu, a new contact in the camp..
Babu wanted to meet pretty quickly, so I gathered up everything I needed and then asked around about how matatus work here (matatus are minibuses that are used as public transportation in Kenya) and then caught a matatu out to the camp, which is about 3 miles away. I met Babu there, and he introduced me to my translator for the day, Ann. Ann is only 18, and we had a blast yesterday going around and interviewing people. She's lived in the camp since 2008, and has finished high school and is now trying to go to school to become a counselor. But to do that she needs money, which no one in the camp has. Anyway, we were able to interview 5 people yesterday, and each interview lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. The first interview of the day I got to conduct while holding the woman's two week old baby. Oh goodness, I was in heaven. In the middle of the day, Ann made me come have lunch with her, and several of the people I interviewed also made me have some chai or a little porridge or something- so I was pretty stuffed when Ann said her mom needed us to run a quick errand for her. Sure! So Ann and I started walking to tell her mom's friend about Ann's sister's wedding which is next week. It turns out this friend lives almost to the top of the mountain on the other side of town... so with my bookbag and flip flops on, we walked up the mountain in the 1pm scorching sun. But Ann's friend Jen came with us, and we talked the whole way, so it was still a lot of fun. I knew this before I came to Maai Mahiu, but Sam is a mans name here, so they started joking around and Jen became known as John and Ann became Anthony- it gave us all a good laugh. We reached the friend's house, which was a simple house, but she gave us yet more chai and chapati and Ann relayed the message about the wedding. Then we went into the lady's shamba, or small farm, and picked some avocados. Yum!! Then it was time to go back down to the camp. So we went. When we got back, I did two more interviews and then chatted with "John" and "Anthony" for a while, then they walked me back to the matatu stop and I came back to my hotel. On the way I stopped and bought some oranges and yogurt (I was so happy when I found a shop that has refrigerated yogurt- most of it is just out in the open here, and I just don't want to risk that), and then I settled into my room for the night.
I spent several hours transcribing all of my interviews from the day- I was audiorecording them- and then I had some peanut butter and crackers and an orange, watched part of a movie on my laptop, and went to bed!
This morning I'm headed to a different sub-camp to do more interviews-- and so day two begins!
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