Matt Goes To Africa

Nothing Much

2007-10-14T03:32:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update:

I'm down to less than two months! I've been away from 'the states' for over two years and I'm starting to get a little nervous as to how that place will seem to me after all this time. How have people changed since I left or how have my perceptions changed during these months away? But now is not the time for a lengthy reflective exposition on my experience. That will come after all is said and done. But I will make a suggestion to everyone:

Transition/Readjustment Tip #1:

Please, please, PLEASE do not ask me "How was Kenya?" or "How's Africa?" How do you answer a question like that? How would you answer the question "How is America?" Ummm...fine...ok...good. Please ask me a more specific question, one that is not so broad.

I'm halfway through my last term and things are crazy busy. I'm going in early to teach at 6:30 and I try to be there every Saturday to assist those who come. Exams are just around the corner and our Form 4's are going slightly crazy with exam fever. I'm looking around my house and trying to decide what exactly I need and what I want to keep and what I can give away. Also, I still don't know if I'll be replaced by another volunteer at my site. I'll know by the end of the month. The last month and a half will be busy busy, but it will be worth it. See everyone soon!

EXTRA:
My favorite Kikamba translation of late (literal translation of Kikamba to English):

"You think you're very sharp putting me a stomach? Well, my father says if you don't drive me, you'll pay him cows without mathematics."

Which means:

"You think you're something, getting me knocked up? Well, my dad says if you don't marry me, you'll pay us cows up the wazoo."

EXTRA 2:
As a reminder, don't forget to check out the picture gallery if you haven't lately!

When Water Turns White

2007-08-29T05:41:00.000-04:00

Hello again. As an update, my 3rd degree chafing that I received from my camel marathon has healed. Yeah, it was difficult but I'm pretty tough. For my pain I was rewarded with a quote in one of the major Kenyan newspapers. It turns out that a woman who was traveling with us is a travel writer in the weekend edition of the newspaper. She got a quote from me and two other volunteers. Not bad.

After the derby I went back to my site and taught for a week. The Form 3's and 4's were required to come for two weeks for extra lessons and revision to prepare them for the exams. It's also a time for teachers to cover more ground in the extensive and expansive syllabus that the exams glean questions from. Following that week of teaching I decided to visit my friend Eric and see his neck of the woods. He stays up around Eldoret, which is a part of the rift valley and a highland area. It was quite a bit cooler and wetter than my place. We relaxed around his place, made burritos, watched movies, played pinball on his laptop, tossed the frisbee, learned to stand on our heads, and Eric tried to prepare me for rafting.

You see, in just a few short days we would be rafting the River Nile. This is a pretty common activity for most volunteers in this area of Africa. Usually each training group plans a trip and raft together. My group had planned one last year, but I was attending a training at the same time. It always sounded like fun. I had never rafted before, and it seemed like the Nile would be amazing as a first rafting experience. Its THE NILE. The longest river in the world. I somehow was able to forget that I'm uncomfortable in water. But as the rafting day drew nigh I thought about it more and I kept having images of this activity being the last living thing I would ever do. It would be something like my swan song here on earth. I was encouraged by the scientifical fact that the human brain can survive for 5 minutes without oxygen. You could say that I was 'scared out of my gourd'.

But I had one more stop on my funeral march. After leaving Eric's site we joined up with a few others and spent a couple days in the Kakamega rain forest. We hiked around, explored a bat cave, and whiled away the hours in tranquil luxury.

The following day we set out for Uganda, crossed the border without much difficulty and spent the night in Jinja at Nile River Explorers campsite which overlooks the Nile. I awoke with some anxiety the next morning. Some explanation on rafting: A raft is just an inflatable boat powered and steered by oars. Our raft carried 6 people and 1 guide. Everyone is equipped with a life jacket and a helmet. Along the sides of the raft is rope that you can hold onto in case the raft flips. The raft is steered down the river over a series of rapids. The rapids are classified according to their degree of danger or difficulty. According to Wikipedia:

Class 1: Very small rough areas, requires no maneuvering. (Skill Level: None)
Class 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Class 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Class 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Class 5: Whitewater, large waves, maybe large rocks and hazards, maybe a large drop, precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Class 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of most all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of luck)

So needless to say, rafting companies never take people along a Class 6 rapid.

Here's what I was facing, including the name of the rapid and its classification:

Rib Cage - 4
Bujagali Falls - 5
50/50 - 3
Total Gunga - 5
Surf City - 3
Silverback - 5
Jaws - 3
Pyramid - 2
Overtime - 5
Retrospect - 4
Bubogo - 4
Itanda Falls - 6
The Bad Place - 5

So that is five Class 5's, and three Class 4's. You notice that one is a Class 6. We actually had to get out of the river and carry the raft over land to pass that rapid. Then we got back in the river and finished with a Class 5. Our raft flipped by far the most times. We flipped on five of the rapids, often on purpose. Before we began the told everyone to get into a group of the same mentality and find a guide of similar mentality. So in my group we were like 'Lets go crazy!' 'We want the wildest experience money can buy!' So we found a guide who was determined to do that. On the very first one we didn't flip out, but we got rocked pretty hard and I fell in and wasn't able to hold on to the rope. We were still passing through the rapid so I was hit left and right by huge amounts of water and was getting tossed like a rag doll. The sound of the water is deafening, you don't know which way is up, and I just reminded myself the current would eventually carry me out of the rapid. In the meantime my swimming trunks have been almost ripped from my body. Luckily an experienced rafter warned us this may happen so I had tied the front to my life preserver. So I'm disoriented, got my bare behind exposed, gasping for air, I've swallowed a bunch of water, and I'm generally "freakin' out". There are rescue kayaks that continually circle the rafts so I cling on to one of those and he carries me back to my raft. That was my first rapid, so I was assuming that all rapids were going to be like that. That ended up being the scariest and craziest one, so at least I got it out the way early, although it made me pretty paranoid of what the other rapids had in store for me.

All in all, nobody died, nobody was really injured, and there was sweet relief and sense of accomplishment after it was all said and done. The rafting company sent a raft full of their trainees over the Class 6 rapid. That was crazy to watch, but they made it. One guy lost his trunks in the process. We were exhausted and they drove us back to the campsite for a BBQ buffet and in the evening we watched a DVD of our adventure they had shot that day. I bought a copy so I could prove to people I really did it. I'm not really sure if I would do it again or not. I think I need some time to forget how it felt to be staring at a large wall of water, the ominous thundering of approaching waves, and the ferocity at which the waves crashed.

I wanted to go bungee jumping the next day overlooking the Nile, but they were closed that day, so I'll have to try that another time.

Now its back to school next week as I finish my last term in Kenya. 3 months to go! See ya soon.

The Camel Whisperer

2007-08-07T11:14:00.000-04:00

Family, friends, acquaintances, and accidental visitors:

It's August (as if you didn't already know that). The second term finished in a flurry of activity. With one of our teachers on maternity leave the responsibility of Exams/Curriculum Department fell to me. I was in charge of making sure that exams were set in enough time to be typed and duplicated, that records of work were updated, that a suitable exam time table was created, and that Science practicals (experiments) were organized and successfully conducted. Things actually went pretty smoothly and the practicals took place at our school for the first time in school history (we used to travel to the nearest school - 8 kilometres away, over a river). I wish I could say the results of the exam were encouraging. Sometimes I think that the people reading this and supporting me assume that the work we do here as volunteers is like a movie (Dangerous Minds comes to mind). You know, where the teacher makes the amazing breakthrough were no one was able to before, student's lives are transformed, and they become the future doctors, lawyers, and presidents of the world. There also is some swelling music as their transformation is complete and they thank their teacher for saving them from a life of drugs, poverty, and complacency. In reality 28% of the students at my school got a mean grade of an E for the term. An E means they averaged less than 35% in their classes. Not so great. I wish I could say that after almost 2 years here I've discovered the secret, but alas. Well I have one more term to get it right! That's right I'm down to my last term. Time is drawing nigh.

2007 Maralal International Camel Derby

After school closed I headed West to seek fortune and fame in the above mentioned Camel Derby. But before setting out on my journey I had time for a romantic morning with Eric and the boys at Thomson Falls just outside of Nyahururu.

After seeing the falls we returned to Nyahururu and attempted to find transportation to Maralal, a town in the upper rift valley. No vehicles were willing to leave for Maralal because there had been rains and the road was said to be 'bad'. After some hours of waiting and calling a vehicle showed up that surprisingly carried some other Peace Corps Volunteers and some friendly Brits, a Canadian, and some hip Kenyans. We squeezed in and took off. And then we got stuck in the mud. So we got out and pushed and became unstuck and then got stuck again. And that process continued for a few hours. We were pushing, we were pulling (pulled the bumper off), we were rocking and almost rolling. At times we were in our bare feet up to our knees in mud. It was lovely. It got later and later, but finally after losing the spare tire, changing a flat, and getting almost charged by an elephant we arrived safely, albeit dirty.

The Camel Derby was the next day. This is an annual event that has been happening for the last 15 years or so. It consists of an Amateur race, Semi-Professional race, Professional race, and the Camel-athalon (running, biking, and camel riding). Due to the road situation the field was not as large as past years (I won't tell you the number of participants so you'll be more impressed at my performance). Below you'll see some pictures from the race. You'll notice I was going for a turbaned look, sort of 'Lawrence of Arabia-esque'. Also you'll see my friend Adam falling off his camel spectacularly. Also some of the participants at the starting line (I had the pole position due to my qualifying time), and Eric and I celebrating our successful completion of the race.

Funny thing about camels, they don't really like to be raced. They are more the slow and steady type. You have to plead and beg and encourage and cajole and bribe and threaten them to move faster than a walk. The moment the race started half of the camels started turning the other way. There I am sitting 7 or 8 feet in the air sitting on a blanket and clutching a piece of wood as my camel takes off at a most ungraceful trot. Every time a camel in front of mine slowed down my camel took that as a cue that he could also slow down. As we passed through the town the local people lined the street and encouraged us. It was also at this point that my camel got fed up and decided to abruptly sit down. But he got back up and we finished. The Amateur race was 10 kilometers and I completed it in about one hour, good enough for 6th place. Camel racing is not without its scandals. There was no doping this year but a Semi-Professional racer had entered and won the Amateur race, so I got bumped up to 5th place. Top 5! Still not a podium finish, but alas.

One of the Brits we were with took first and another Peace Corps Volunteer took third. As for the Camel-athalon, our fellow PCV successfully defended his title and is the two time reigning champion. Some of you may wonder how it feels to race a camel. I can say that I received third degree chafing from that ride and had a serious open wound on my behind that smarted every time I sat down. No pain, no gain.

Maralal is also home to the Samburu people who are quite similar to the famous Maasai. Here are some snaps:

Well that's what I've been doing. At the end of the month I'm rafting the Nile and I'd rather not die. Everyone who does it says there's at least one moment when it seems that way. Wish me luck.

By the by, I've noticed that my brother has updated the photo gallery so click on the link to the right to see more! Thanks Brother Dearest.

Happy August!

Matt Goes To Africa: Full Throttle

2007-06-14T19:55:00.000-04:00

Don't get too excited.
Notice how the date is in June. Surprising? That's because you (the reader) are most likely viewing this in July ... when it was written. And it isn't even being composed by Matt, but by me, the poor man's Matt. His grand scheme included at least a post a month, and, well, that's just not happening. The last post is evidence to that statement, as it clearly has been constantly altered and lengthened over the past month(s).

So where does that bring us? To this writing, of course ... clearly just meant for posterity's sake. Embedded is the last video that I uploaded on YouTube. It's Matt at his best and brightest. Soon to come will be an entirely new photo album, which will be a complete overhaul on the current one ... plus (dare I say it?) over a hundred new pictures.

Once again, don't get too excited. It's still a few weeks away. As Matt felt that it was quite cool to update a post more than once, I will come back to this one later when the new pictures are ready to be viewed ... and edit it to say exactly that. Who knows how long this paragraph will stay intact ... it has already been changed since the first time it was published for clarity in this very paragraph.

Matt will finish the current term of school around the end of July, so expect a less sardonic, and more informational, update around that time.

Oh, and why that specific date? I would like to think that Matt would care enough to wish me happy birthday on the very day. This is to keep my respect for him alive.

So, Happy Birthday Dan!

Love, ~~Matt~~ Dan

Gorillas in the Mist

2007-05-02T09:40:00.000-04:00

At the end of April I visited the fair country of Rwanda. It was my first time leaving the country since arriving in Kenya in September of '05. To get to Rwanda we had to travel through Uganda. For a lot of people in America, I think their view of Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda are the movies The Constant Gardener, The Last King of Scotland, and Hotel Rwanda. These movies do not paint these countries in an especially good light and focus on a major blackeye in the nation's history (note: I've never seen The Constant Gardener - I don't know what its about. A guy how gardens all the time? Does that reflect negatively on Kenya?). But, these things happened in the past and Uganda and Rwanda have made huge strides since the time of genocide and brutal dictatorship.

So this trip was a couple months ago, so let me just highlight: Uganda and Rwanda are beautiful with many terraced hills and winding roads. They are much cleaner than Kenya and have better road systems. While in Rwanda I visited some genocide museums and went to the bamboo forest to see the mountain gorillas. We were SO close! I could have reached out and touched them, but thought better of it. I also left my gorilla costume at home. It was such a great experience. Check out the pictures and if possible some of the videos from that trip.

I plan to go back to Uganda in August to go rafting on the Nile River. Should be fun... and life-threatening.

Pictures from Rwanda:

Those are gorillas, although from the back they could be my Uncle Mike. C'mon Mike, I'm only joking ... a little.

So my school term is half over. I'm crazy busy, but I'm seeing positive results. My time is winding down: less than 6 months!

PS: A new group of Peace Corps Volunteers came to the country last month and I met them at the airport and did a short orientation for them for a couple days. I felt like a celebrity when a few of them recognized me as the Matt from the popular website mattgoestoafrica.com

People actually read this thing!

Norther, Souther, Wester, Easter!

2007-04-10T10:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny found my house this year, after getting lost last year. I think the fact that some other PCV's were visiting me at the time helped him find the place. He left 5 brown eggs around the house which we promptly decorated (traditional Easter egg designs, Kenyan flag, Jesus). It was enjoyable.

It's been a while, let's rewind...

Once upon a time (2007) a school year began. It continued. Around the end of February a Peace Corps meeting was planned on the coast which I attended. Honestly, the training wasn't so spectacular, but it was a good excuse to see many people I haven't seen for a while and get to know the new group a bit better. It also meant I got to wear my coast skirt again. We visited my favorite south coast island again: Wasini. We cleaned up the coral reef garden and offered business advice to the operators of the slave caves in Shimoni. And then it was back to school...

A few weeks before school ended I saw an advertisement in the newspaper about a theatre production in Nairobi. I decided I wasn't getting my theatre fix so I went for the weekend and saw the play 'An Inspector Calls'. It was well done, I am happy to report. We have some actors in Kenya! I think I might have to go see more in the future. The same weekend I went to the movies and saw Dreamgirls (a musical movie) so I had a theatre overdose. It's a good overdose.

The school term ended in a flurry of activity. There were exams to write, exams to mark, exam results to compile. Now in America, most teachers just make photocopies of tests and quizzes provided by the publishing company with the textbook. Not the case here in Kenya. I have to create my own questions or take them from past exams, and assign them point values. I really overanalyze this task: 'Is this a fair question?' 'Does it demonstrate their understanding of the chapter?' 'Would this exam encourage or discourage them?'... But I always get it done. Then they need to be typed (by a typewriter) and copied (by a duplicator, not a photocopier). Its a lot of work for the secretary. After marking the exam they must be entered in the record books, and comments need to written for each subject for every student. Also, since I am a class teacher I need to write an overall comment for each student in Form 3. Some sample comments from other teachers: 'Wake up!' 'Pull up your socks!' 'Get serious!' 'Put in more efforts!' 'A trial' ... And the term ended.

As I mentioned earlier, after closing I had some visitors. They had both visited me previously so they knew the lay of the land, the hotspots, the wazee. We had a good time, we climbed Ulilinzi rock which apparently is the home of a gigantic serpent and we were lucky we didn't die. We defied all odds. A guy in my village also announced to us that he is running for Member of Parliament (MP) this year and is likely to be Vice President of the country by the year 2012. He oozes confidence, which you gotta have to be a politician. You think John Dingell even considers the possibility of losing? He's only been in Congress for like 50 years, why should he start losing now?

So I'm just hanging out this month. Next week I have DPS training to help facilitate. After that our school starts the remedial teaching for the Form 3's and 4's. And then the second term (my second to last) begins in early May. Time is running.

I want to rhetorically (metaphorically? proverbially?) tip my hat to my brother for his work on this site. It's beautiful, it inspires shock and awe, it takes my breath. He's imported all my previous posts from the old website to this one. So you can start at the beginning if you have arrived to this site late. I was reading through my old posts and I realized I never answere a question I had posed: 'What famous rock group members are all dead including one that was assassinated?' Answer: Mt. Rushmore. Aww, snap! I got ya good! Which one was assassinated? Ask my brother, the assassination expert (back, and to the left).

Also check out the pictures. They are back, I don't think there's anything new, but its good to refresh your memory.

Hope wherever you are you are doing something you enjoy!

And I am living happily ever after

You Gotta Test Yourself

2007-03-04T03:36:00.000-05:00

Thought this would be fun.

In Kenya, at the completion of secondary school, every student sits for the KCSE or Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam. It's sort of like a high stakes SAT or ACT in the US. The exam takes place over the course of about a month and students sit for one or two papers a day. Every student takes English, Kiswahili, and Mathematics. They usually take 2 or 3 sciences: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. And they take 1 or 2 Humanities/Applied: Geography, Agriculture, History, Business Studies, or Christian Religious Education. At the bigger schools they offer other languages, music, computers, and a few other random subjects. Each subject includes two or three papers that take between 2-3 hours. Example: they will sit for "Biology Paper 1 - Theory" on a Monday, "Biology Paper 2 - Technical" on a Friday, and "Biology Paper 3 - Practical" the following Thursday.

What's at stake? Admission to a university. Their future. Their life. There are only a handful of universities in the country so competition is fierce. Last year something like 55,000 students achieved a grade high enough to be considered, but there were only 9,000 spots available. Their options for post-secondary education are few and far between. The students study like crazy, trying to memorize so much information from 4 years of education.

Anyways, I've included selected questions from this past year's exam. And my question is: 'How would YOU do?'

English

Imaginative Composition:

Write a composition ending with the words: "It then dawned on me that perhaps this is why I had been born."

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences with the most appropriate word(s).
(i) If we had gone to bed early last night, we __________ rested enough.
(ii) If I ___________ the recruiting officer, I would not take bribes.
(iii) Every one of the students now ____________ a role to play in keeping the school compound clean.

Fill in each of the blank spaces in the passage below with the most appropriate word.
There was a time when telecommunication ___________ Africa was nearly non-existent. With the ____________ of one or two more developed nations, most African countries ____________ infrastructure and telephony was out of reach for ___________ of the population. But mobile telephony has ____________ a lot of that and has demonstrated Africa's _____________ to leap-frog older technologies with new ones more ___________ to the environment.

You are the Chairperson of your school's Wildlife Conservation Association (WICA). Your group has just come back from a visit to a national park in a neighboring country. Write a report to the Patron of WICA about the trip. In your report indicate what you accomplished, the problems you experienced and what cautionary measures you would take during future trips.

Mathematics

Three quantities t, x, and y are such that t varies directly as x and inversely as the square root of y. Find the percentage decrease in t if x decreases by 4% when y increases by 44%.

Two places P and Q are at (36 degrees N, 125 degrees W) and (36 degrees N, 55 degrees E) respectively. Calculate the distance in nautical miles between P and Q measured along the great circle through the North Pole.

The product of the first three terms of a geometric progression is 64.
If the first term is a and the common ratio is r,
(a) Express r in terms of a
(b) Given that the sum of the three terms is 14,
(i) Find the values of a and r and hence write down two possible sequences each up to the 4th term.
(ii) Find the product of the 50th terms of the two sequences.

Given that q i +1/3 j + 2/3 k is a unit vector, find q.

Chemistry

(a) What is meant by isomerism?
(b) Draw and name two isomers of butene.

When 94.5g of hydrated barium hydroxide, Ba(OH)2. nH2O were heated to constant mass, 51.3g of anhydrous barium hydroxide were obtained. Determine the empirical formula of the hydrated barium hydroxide (Ba = 137.0; O = 16.0; H = 1.0)

State how the following substances conduct electricity:
(i) molten calcium chloride
(ii) graphite

Biology

Name two tissues in plants which are thickened with lignin.

State the function of each of the following parts of human ear.
(a) Ear ossicles
(b) Cochlea
(c) Semi-circular canals
(d) Eustachian tube

Name the substance that is responsible for the transmission of an impulse across the synapse

State the importance of tactic response among some members of kingdom Protista.

State two physiological processes that are brought about by the application of gibberellic acid on plants.

Geography

(a) What is soil catena
(b) Draw a labelled diagram to show a well developed soil profile
(c) Describe how laterization occurs

History/Government

Give one reason why Homo Habilis was referred to as 'able man'.

Give one reason why United States of America (U.S.A.) did not join the First World War until 1917.

Give 3 factors that should be considered when sending a message.
Explain the effects of Telecommunications on modern society.

What were the physical changes which occurred in early human beings as they evolved from ape-like creatures to modern people?

Soooooo......

Would you be going to university?

Happy Holidays from Africa!

2007-01-24T02:12:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas in January!
Congratulations year on making it another 365 days. We all knew you could do it. Keep up the good work. I think this year you'll keep pace, but the following year you might drag by a day. It's okay, its just fatigue. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger is what I hear. Let's raise our glasses to 2007. Clink.

Christmas has come and gone without any word from yours truly. December was nice. I had two lovely visitors: Morgan and Annie. They got to see my home in a completely different color than any previous visitors: green. Twas wonderful.

Just before Christmas we made our way to the coast, to the island town of Lamu. It's along the northern coast of Kenya, closer to the Somali border. It's one of the most traditional places in Kenya because it's quite remote. It's just now becoming more of a tourist place, but it still has a peaceful, laid-back atmosphere. There are two cars on the entire island, no public transportation (other than boats and mules). The streets are narrow and lined with 3-4 story buildings. We rented a house for a week, and filled it with around 25 people. Miraculously, there were beds for everyone and we had a great time.

I spent my days wearing a skirt (called a kikoi, all the guys where theym here. It's hot, you need some ventilation!), wandering around and getting lost in alleys, eating outrageous amounts of street food (it was awesome! bhajias for 1 shilling?! Street meat for 10?! And these pastries that looked and tasted like Krispy Kreme donut holes), jumping off the old pier with the local kids (until we got in trouble), and window shopping.

We also took a couple dhow trips (basically sail boats) around the island. One trip we went fishing. Not with rods and reels. Just the line and a hook. Throw it in, feel the tug, pull it in with your hands. I was a champion and caught four. I hadn't caught anything for like 10 or 15 minutes and had lost my bait MANY times. Finally I deemed my next bait 'lucky' and announced it to the group. Lo and behold, instantly I caught one...and another...and another...and another! All with THE SAME 'lucky' bait. The fish somehow bit the hook but not the bait. Wonderful. Then we went out to some random island and our captains cooked our haul. They kept telling us that if we didn't catch something we weren't eating. Lucky for us.

The other dhow trip we went snorkeling. It is supposedly the best place in Kenya to go snorkeling. That's great. What's not great was the fact that the boat didn't have any life preservers. Those who know me, know that I learned to swim a bit later in life and didn't have a very good teacher: myself. In an ocean, where I can't touch the bottom, I MUST have a life preserver. I freak out. So I spent my time clinging to the rope between the anchor and the boat, with my one flipper (the other was broken), and when I felt confident would swim off quite a few meters until I managed to get salt water in my snorkel (and from there to my lungs), at which point I would come spluttering up out of the water spitting and thrashing and generally freaking out. Then I would make a frantic dash (crawl) back to the rope, where I would breath heavily and watch enviously at everyone else having nary a qualm with this whole snorkeling business. And then I had to climb back in the boat. I don't want to go into it, but Eric has a nice long couple minute video of me trying to get back in the boat, in which none of the 5 or 6 people in the boat attempt to help me. Brian, you're sitting 3 inches from my hand! These 'friends' were content to sit back and watch the show.

Christmas eve was nice. We had a dance party, recreated the birth of Jesus (I was Mary), and sung some Christmas carols with accompaniement from my roll-up piano. Christmas came, Santa found me and gave me some gum and candy. For dinner we had seafood: lobster, crab, fish, and prawns. We had decorations up around the house: confetti, a Christmas tree, some lights. I wore a hat with a picture of a mistletoe in it.

Lamu was a wonderful place, I had a great time, enjoyed my friends and fellow volunteers immensely, and would recommend the place to anyone coming to Kenya.

From there we went back to Mombasa and Eric and I spent New Years in Nairobi and watched as many movies as possible. In the states I rarely saw movies in the theater, but here I see at least one every time I come to the city.

Anyways, those were a very condensed version of my holidays. Now school is back in session. My schedule has changed a bit: Math Form 3, Pysics Form 1 & 2, Geography Form 1 & 3. No more Biology, which is good for them. I've also become a class teacher in Form 3 and the Staff Room Monitor. Responsibility! It'll be a good year. It's an election year so people expect those running for office to be doling out some money this year. Maybe some will find its way to the school. Here's hoping!

Anyways, I hope everyone's holidays were wonderful and that the new year is treating you right! I'm coming home this year! Not so long. Take it easy!

P.S. The Choo Report: its been over two months and I still am without a toilet. I'm still walking across the market to the public one. The hole is dug as deep as they want I think, so construction should be taking place. Shouldn't be so long. There's nothing like relieving yourself at home, right?

Requiem for a Choo

2006-11-26T08:46:00.002-05:00

I awoke two weeks ago to this scene:

Yep, that's my choo (toilet). I heard my principal shout to another teacher, 'Bwana Nzembei, are you aware that we don't have a toilet?' It had been a long night of rain, and in an area that normally does not receive a lot of rain the buildings are not constructed with that possibility in mind. It's now like a choo recliner, which would be great if you were sitting down, but not so much when you squat. My neighbor's choo had gone down in the previous rain, and another neighbor's went down the day after mine. They're dropping like flies! Or maybe they dropped on flies... and cockroaches. So now I have to travel across the market to use the public choo, which is wonderful first thing in the morning, or when you have 'an emergency' in the middle of the night.

With the rains come the return of my old nemesis: the scorpion. Here's a picture of one pre-death:

I thought they had given up, but in reality they were just regrouping. They had been hibernating for the dry months, just biding their time until they thought I had relaxed and let my guard down. But they always attack like villains in kung fu movies: one at a time. If they want my house why don't they surround me and take me from all sides? But they can't have my house!

So the school year is over. My first full year as a teacher wrapped up last week. There was a lot of work to be done at the end of the year and it was intensely busy. We said goodbye to our Form 4 class and announced next years prefects and head boy and girl.

Immediately following the closing of school I made my way to Nairobi to celebrate Thanksgiving with some American families. The house we ate at had a piano. Let me repeat: the house we ate at had a piano! A grand piano. And a full size keyboard. And excellent jazz music. The man of the house is in a jazz band and he gave me a few informal lessons on improvisation. Before eating we all made pilgrim or indian hats and then ate some marvellous food. Wow.

The next day, of course, was the Moustache Party. There were many truck drivers, used car salesmen, and pedophiles. I'd like to think of mine as a cross between an old civil war general and a modern day truck driver. We were supposed to play 'Pin the Moustache on the Donkey' but the donkey turned up missing. Maybe it knew what was coming. Awards were handed out. I received toothpaste.

I leave you with a few random shots from around the village:

Picture No. 1: We have Ndaa (a name that means lice and one of my favorite guys in my village), Gordon (a guy who is a hard core Rastafarian which apparently affects his tongue. I can't understand his 'American' accent), and Stephen (a guy who washed my clothes for me once, because I truly dispise washing my clothes).

Picture No. 2: It's me and Nzembei celebrating my birthday a month late thanks to Catie Lenaway's 'Birthday in a Box'. She's a wonderful person, who is extremely thoughtful.

Picture No. 3: It's Mary (the doctor's wife), the Doctor, and Pastor (also known as Muthonzwa - a very talkative noisy bird. He doesn't like this name). Notice that Pastor has his Bible on the table in front of him.

Man, the weather is nice isn't it?

Let's call it a day.

Matt is Still in Africa

2006-09-26T04:57:00.000-04:00

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I heard something like that once.

Have you missed me? I hope everything is in order now, and you should be able to reach this site by the original www.mattgoestoafrica.com link. I think my brother did a superb job on this Blog, it looks sharp, it looks smart.

Its been a busy two months (!) since I last updated. The highlights:

The 'rents come to visit

Dear old mom and dad spent about 10 days in this fair country and by the end of it they couldn't leave the country...fast enough. No, they enjoyed themselves, but they were anxious and happy to get back to things more familiar, comforting (and for dad, tastier). I've talked to some other volunteers about what it was like to have family and friends come visit them. We see it this way: when you sign up for the Peace Corps it is something you want to do, you desire to do it, you go into it with a mindset of flexibility, and adaptability. As a tourist, your aim is more to survive and deal with the discomfort of food, transportation, communication for the days you are there. I know mom and dad learned a lot and can understand my tales much better now. But they like living with a microwave. They find it convenient to sit down (as opposed to squat down) while in the bathroom. Dad likes smooth roads and driving on the right. Can I blame them for desiring reliable electricity and plumbing? Nope. It was great to see them, and to share some of my experience with them in more detail. So when are the rest of you coming?

Senator Barrack Obama visits Kenya

About a week after mom and dad left the aforementioned senator arrived in Kenya. His father was a Kenyan and he still has a lot of family in the country. This was his first time visiting since winning office. The country was all abuzz about his visit and they called him 'Africa's Son'. I was one of a group of 30 volunteers who heard him speak at the U.S. Embassy. We arrived early and were just entering the main embassy building when we noticed important, official looking vehicles pull up outside the building. It was the Dalai Obama himself. So of course we just stopped what we were doing and stood in a strategic location. After he entered the building he shook hands with the Kenyan in the 'Obama in the House' shirt, and then he shook my hand. (By the way, at the time of this function I was sporting some very beautiful cornrows and a nice 2 inch beard. I was told I looked like some one known as Sean Paul. He must be beautiful) We did some chitchat, we rubbed elbows, and he took a picture with about 5 of us volunteers and our country director. He thought we were 'special' volunteers, or volunteer 'leaders'. But we weren't. We were just in the right spot at the right time. Anyways, he gave a nice speech, answered a few questions and then was off for a meeting with the Kenyan president. I tend to like this Obama guy.

New School Year

The third and final term of the year started at the beginning of September. Nothing too exciting to report, but everyone seems a bit more focused this term. The students are focused, the teachers are focused, even the cook is taking his skills to the next level. When my parents came they brought some school supplies that are coming in handy. Math classes are going well. I like that subject.

One Year Later, New Trainees Arrive

On Friday I was one of the volunteers who was invited to welcome the new training group at the airport. It was a very funny interesting experience, because it made me think back to how I felt when I stepped off that plane. We did the wave to welcome them. At that point I think a couple of them had to fight the urge to turn around and go back. But it was a really cool group, I enjoyed them and their questions. The following day we got to tell them all about the choo, how to take a bucket bath, washing clothes, food, matatus, homestay, everything! Oh it was great. Most importantly, I found that this new group contains some Frisbee players. It warmed my heart.

The group is really big: when you combine it with the deaf ed group that arrived last week they are at 54. My group was about 45 and then a bunch of people went home. They had to add a lot of homestay families and now there are people further out than I was. I got a call from my Baba to tell me they had received their new volunteer. 'Yeah, what is his name?' 'His name is Rude' 'Rude?' 'Yes, Rude' (it was Reid)

Mid-Service Medical

It was time for my 1 year checkup and everything seems to be in order. I had my physical yesterday, and was even shown how to check for certain types of cancer in certain intimate parts of my body. The only problem I had to share with them was that about two weeks ago I had a jigger. I won't go into too much detail but this is a worm that burrows under your skin (usually your foot) and lays eggs and then dies. Then the eggs hatch and burst forth painfully. I stopped the problem during the incubation stage so no bursting forth. I'll stop there with the details. And look, it's me when I had "malaria/amoebas" back in June.

I also had a dental exam. I had my teeth cleaned and checked by the most beautiful dentist I think exists in the world. This won't make any sense to anybody except me but she reminded me of Fievel Mousekewitz's girlfriend in An American Tale, only with blonde hair, a nose stud, and much less mousy. I couldn't even talk she was so stunning (that and the fact that I had to keep my mouth wide open the whole time). She told me I had excellent teeth (I like to call that flirting). And just like that it was over. The shortest dental exam of my life, it was seriously like 10 minutes. Glad to see my teeth are still in order.

Odd's and Ends

November is back as the month of the moustache. There's a 'Stache Party planned for the end of the month. Please submit any and all Great Moustaches Through History.

The other day I got a compliment...on my nose! Could this be a first for the Priest Family?! It cam from another volunteer and she was completely serious...or intoxicated, but I like to think it was sincere. She said it is her favorite shape for a nose. Ok, I'll take it.

The Blog Strikes Back

2006-09-19T10:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Matt’s new website! Since it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to get the old site back, Dan has set up this new space so Matt has a place to keep us up to date on his experiences. We’ve all come to look forward to those entries, written in his entertaining style.

August was a month off school for Matt, so he was able to meet us at the airport in Nairobi when Bill and I arrived on August 6. The three of us left the next day for a 3-day safari in Amboseli National Park near the Kenya/Tanzania border. Amboseli is known for its elephant population and we saw many family herds, along with a variety of other animals. We visited the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi on August 9 before taking an overnight train trip to Mombasa. We spent two nights there in a resort on the Indian Ocean, visiting some tourist sites. We also celebrated Matt’s birthday one night and Christmas another night while there. On August 12, we rented a car and Bill drove us to Matt’s village, several hours away. That was an experience—between the car with right-side steering, driving on the left side of the road, and the terrible road conditions—we won’t soon forget! Unfortunately, Matt is not allowed to drive while in the Peace Corps, so Bill had to master it—and quickly.

We stayed three nights in Ulilinzi, and that was enough for me! I was ready to get back to modern conveniences like running water, toilets, and electricity. We did enjoy meeting people who care about “Mumo,” and seeing the sights in person he has described to us. Everyone was very welcoming to Mumo’s mama and baba. The Ulilinzi Secondary School had a special program for us on August 14, asking students and staff to return during their holiday. After a tour of the school, students performed songs, recitations, and a skit to welcome us. The principal and deputy principal asked “Mr. Matthew” to introduce us so that we could present the school supplies we had brought with us. Our church had collected rulers, protractors, compasses, scientific calculators, pencils, pens, and erasers to donate to the school. We also had a few math textbooks and resource books which the teachers can use. On August 15, we drove back to Nairobi, and Bill and I flew out to London that night. He and I spent a couple of days in London seeing the sights before heading home on August 18. A very memorable two weeks!

Matt was one of a group of volunteers who got to meet Senator Barack Obama (Illinois) at the US Embassy when he visited Kenya about ten days after we left. Matt traveled the following week to meet with other Peace Corps volunteer teachers. He visited the western boundary of Kenya, along Lake Victoria, for the first time. You’ll notice from the pictures we’ve included that his hair had gotten very long. After we left, he had his hair braided in corn rows; I’m looking forward to a picture of that. He eventually got it all cut off and also trimmed the crazy beard.

Well, it’s my birthday, so that means Matt has been gone for one year. I’m expecting a more cheerful birthday this year; anything’s got to be better than last year’s. People say that the time has gone really fast, and I guess it has in some ways. I think it helped that I spent about five months of that time planning and looking forward to our trip. I’ve heard that the second year goes faster; we’ll see about that! The first year was filled with so many new experiences for Matt; it’s been neat to live it through him. We’ve all learned so much! We’re halfway through the adventure, and November 30, 2007 doesn’t look so far away any more.

Tammy Priest

Even Peace Corps Volunteers Get the Blues

2006-06-22T01:44:00.000-04:00

2 posts within a week?!?! What is the special occassion? Lets start from the beginning.

Monday afternoon, after I gave a Geography exam, I started to feel not so hot to trot. I was feeling somewhat achy, headache, and it kept getting worse. In the evening I was quite cold, and somewhat light-headed. Then came the night. In between frequent trips to the choo with diarrhea I was suffering from chills, fever, and all the aforementioned symptoms. It was a pretty rough night, which included some pretty rough dreams...nothing horrible and scary, just annoying and persistent and boring. The kind of dreams that make you more tired when you are done.

So morning finally dawned and I had decided that school was out of the question, at least for the morning, and I would go visit the local doctor. But before I visited him I told a fellow teacher the situation...just as my fever broke, so I was drenched with perspiration. He looked somewhat alarmed.

So I visited the doctor, he took a blood sample, and luckily I had saved a stool sample (you never know when those things can come in handy). He checked them under the microscope and said he found malaria in the blood sample and amoebas in the stool sample. Yes!! I've hit the jackpot!

Peace Corps was called and a vehicle came to pick me up.

So anyways, I got to Nairobi, PC checked me out and sent me to Nairobi Hospital. They put me on a 'drip' to fill me with fluids because apparently I was pretty dehydrated. Eventually they ruled out malaria and blamed it on something else that causes really high fever and lots of diarrhea. Official diagnosis: gastroenteritis. Not as exotic as malaria, but I'll take it.

So I spent two nights at the hospital, had women waiting on me at the push of a button (they had to unhook me from the 'drip' so I could use the toilet...every couple hours), enjoyed hospital food, and watched some television (Sleepless in Seattle and Big! They love Tom Hanks...though not as much as Chuck Norris).

So I've been released. Now Mom, don't worry about me. Like I always say 'No Woman, No Cry'. It happens to everyone.

Now its back to school after missing basically the entire week. Too much work. O-bla-di o-bla-da

PS:

On my second day in the hospital my door was open and this elderly British woman saunters up and asks me "Anything off the trolley, dear?" True. This may not be amusing to some of you, but I had to chuckle.

Standing Tall ... on the Wings of My Dream

2006-06-16T21:23:00.000-04:00

Hello after a long silence! I think maybe some of you are forgetting the sound of my typed voice. So let’s get down to it.

The school term started and I did most of the student-teacher conferences I had planned on doing. I wasn't able to do it with Form 3 due to time constraints, but I received very positive feedback from the Form 1's and 2's. Some of them thanked me for the opportunity to talk one on one without the others hearing them. I squeezed those meetings into the first week of school and also went over the Term 1 exams.

I no longer teach Form 1 Chemistry, instead I teach Form 1 Geography. This is ok since the teacher that replaced me is, in my opinion, much better in the subject than me. However, I was just starting to possibly like it. I had learned all about separating mixtures. Who knew there could be so many ways?!?! We've got decantation, filtration, evaporation, fractional distillation, solvent extraction, chromatography, crystallization ... and you use the different methods depending on miscible/immiscible liquids, soluble/insoluble solids in a liquid, ... I never knew these things...really. I think I'm going to miss it. Now I'm teaching a geography class that hasn't had a teacher for over a month and are quite a bit behind. I spent my first couple lessons talking about winds: katabatic winds, anabatic winds, berg winds, khamsin winds, fohn winds... and many more.

My question: who in Kenya decided that these topics were essential to teach Form 1 students? I didn't learn this in college, but three years down the road in the national exam a student could find a question such as: 'differentiate between khamsin, fohn, and berg winds and explain how they are formed.' I think most of them can answer the question now, but it is just one nugget of knowledge in a sea of possibilities.

Two teachers have left the school this term which means that two more joined the family. The first teacher slot was vacant for about one month, which created some trouble for the students and the teachers. Luckily the second slot was filled quickly. Also new to the school is a new principal, Mr. Kisilu Philip. He seems like a happenin' guy.

I've taken some time on the weekends to visit some of my fellow teachers who live in the surrounding area. Some of them live a half hour or more away by bicycle, but it is good to see more of the area and visit someone's home. Also on the weekends, the school has begun to teach Form 3's and 4's on Saturday. So some Saturdays I spend at the school teaching geography and preparing for the week.

A few weeks ago I had a visitor. Not just any visitor, but another American. Not just any American, but a female. And as I had to explain to my villagers she is/was not my wife. Yes, Amanda, my sister's roommate in college stopped by to visit on her way from Ukraine to the states. She was welcomed, told to feel at home, welcomed some more, told to feel free, and welcomed again. I think she felt welcome. We biked to the river (like an hour away), saw some crocodiles, and got some free food from some farmers after I endeared them with my prodigious Kikamba skills. Good times.

I was teacher on duty last week and it was a bit tiring. It was especially tiring since my midterm exams were due by the end of the week. Also, this week I have been at training and so before leaving I had to prepare some lessons for the students to do while I was gone. It kept me busy, but it was nice to relax a little bit this week in the presence of some other volunteers, share some ideas, swim in a pool, watch the World Cup (it’s a serious thing all over the world, but I wonder how it affects those of you in the U.S. Do you even care?), etc.

Spare change:

What famous rock group members are all dead including one that was assassinated? (Answer to come later)

We all love John Williams. There's no debate there, but if we had to choose a film score that we thought was his weakest what would it be? And let’s say, what has been his weakest/sub par score in the last 10 years?

I saw a clip of Perfect Strangers on Kenyan television two days ago. Balki Bartokomous and Cousin Larry Appleton...with so many old television shows being made into movies, why can't they bring you back?

The Detroit Tigers are the best team in ALL of baseball?!?! What? How does this happen? Or more importantly why is this happening? Why is this happening after I've supported them loyally for at least the past 12 years (all losing seasons), only to see them succeed in my absence? It fills me with agony and ecstasy. The bitter and the sweet.

Until next time: stay safe, and have your goats spayed or neutered.

Lean on Me

2006-04-29T12:09:00.000-04:00

Quick update:

I've been enjoying my break from school by hanging with other volunteers at some training sessions. First, was back in Kitui (where it all began) for the Diversity and Peer Support (DPS) group training. It was basically a training in counseling. Volunteers that are DPS trained are invited to Pre-Service Training to be an ear if any of the new volunteers have any issues they need to talk about. They also might visit volunteers when they first arrive at their site to kind of check in with them. It was a good training and by the end of it I found myself on the Core Committee. There are five members on this Core Committee and my official title is 'The Lean-On Guy', which means I do whatever the Chair tells me to do. I can do this.

It was also nice being back in Kitui, because I'm so much more comfortable with Kenya at this point. I walked around confidently, throwing out my Kikamba phrases, not a care in the world, feeling safe and at home. I also got to see my home-stay family again. It was a surprise meeting, but it didn't take long for Mama to whip up more than enough food. I was stuffed and had food to carry with me after my time was up. Just like old times.

Following that, it was off to Nairobi for my training group's In-Service Training (IST). It was a time to get the group back together again, share frustrations and ideas and get ready to go back to site feeling more confident. I'm not sure if all objectives got met, but it was nice to see everyone again and have some good times. I won't go into any more specifics.

Well, school starts again in a couple weeks, and I hope to have some student-teacher conferences at the beginning of the term to get some one-on-one time with the students. I hope it helps.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more adventures!

It's Bah-ngladesh, not Bang-ladesh!

2006-04-13T12:10:00.000-04:00

My first term as a Kenyan teacher has come to close. Exams were last week and we compiled the results and officially closed the school two days ago on Tuesday. How were the results you might ask? Chemistry - great. Biology - not so bad. Physics - the students did well considering the class. Geography - not as good as expected. Math - well, it's math...it's never what you want.

I think this term was somewhat of a crashcourse in the Kenyan education system and I feel more prepared heading into next term. I also have a better comraderie with the students and know their strengths and weaknesses.

The end of the term also marked possibly the last time the principal would be with the students and staff. Believe it or not I don't really enjoy change (I know, I know, yes I basically changed everything in my life by coming to Kenya, but I like stability and tradition). The principal was the person that brought me to the school, filled out the paperwork for the Peace Corps, was my supervisor. I will miss him.

Last weekend, inbetween giving exams and grading them, I ventured to Nairobi to take the Foreign Service Exam. This is the exam all Foreign Service Officers (those hip cats that work at the embassies all over the world) must take and pass. I was taking the first part, the written exam. If you pass you move on to the oral exam which is only offered in the U.S. If I pass I am not flying back to the U.S. Why did I take it knowing that I would go no further than the written exam? Honestly, I just wanted to take a test. I haven't been tested like that since college and I was missing it somewhat. I enjoy knowledge and I enjoy being tested. Keeps me sharp. It's also supposed to be one of the hardest tests in the world. I read that somewhere. I don't know if I agree. By taking the test I am also gaining familiarity in case I ever decide to do something like the Foreign Service in the future.

While in Nairobi for the exam I stayed the night in the homes of embassy workers. Yet another reason why joining the foreign service might not be so bad. I was offered Doritos, Hershey's Kisses, fresh-brewed coffee, Cracklin Oat Bran (with cold milk! from a refrigerator!), home-made pizza (HOME-MADE!). I watched a brief amount of SportsCenter and MTV on the tube. I took hot showers, bounced on a trampoline, played basketball (we didn't play h-o-r-s-e, we played j-a-m-b-o), played the accordian, used a microwave, basically lived a different life. Also these embassy workers were married and had children so I felt like part of the family, just one of the kids. Good times, yet life isn't so green on the other side of the razor-wire fence.

So school is on break until May 9. During the break I have a couple trainings and conferences to attend and some relaxation to attend to. I hope life is splendid on the other side of the 'pond'.

As a reminder my current information is as follows:

P.O. Box 163
Nzeeka, Kenya

phone:
011-254-736-543-139

I will be in places with excellent phone reception from April 16-26 so if you want to call that would be a good time. Those of you in Michigan there is a 7 hour difference. 12 noon there is 7 PM here.

Word

Peace

hizi na zile (this and that ... maybe)

2006-03-26T12:13:00.000-05:00

I wonder... to all the teachers out there, how often do you chase goats out of your staff room? Is it a daily occurrence, weekly, monthly, or never? My experience is it is a weekly happenstance.

Also the 'scorpion entering my house and being crushed by a heavy object' tally is now up to three.

The end of the term is approaching and so I have one week to prepare the students for end of term exams. Boy, I hope they learned something.

I feel more and more like a character from a Harry Potter book. Our school has been 'sorted' into 4 houses. I am an assistant master to Kimathi house. There is also Mandela House, Wangari House, and Ngilu House. We are having and inter-house competition so I need to prepare my students physically and academically to win. Good times

I'll be updating in a couple weeks with a bit more information.

This was just a quickie as I was in town (Nairobi) celebrating the Peace Corps 45th anniversary. I was able to eat a hamburger, play softball (I made a spectacular game-saving catch), attend the Peace Corps Prom...the usual.

Hope things are swell in your neck of the woods!

neno juu (word up)

2006-03-04T12:14:00.000-05:00

Let's talk schools (Kenyan style).

Secondary Education is divided into 4 years much like America but instead of the usual Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior we say Form I, Form II, Form III, and Form IV.

The day begins for the students at 6:30. They are expected to be at school for morning preps, completing homework and studying. At about 7:30 They clean the school grounds: sweeping classrooms, sweeping the pathways, dusting, picking up trash, and the like.

At about 7:45 the students assemble for the morning assembly. They stand in rows by Form with the prefects to one side. Usually on Monday and Fridays the flag is raised by the Scouts and the national anthem is sung. Following the flag raising is the singing of two hymns and a prayer. Following this, the students are addressed on certain issues. They are addressed by the following people in this order: the prefects, then the teachers, then the teacher on duty, then the deputy, and finally the principal.

The first lesson of the day begins at 8:00. Each lesson is 40 minutes long. The schedule is as follows: 3 lessons then a 20 minute break, 2 lessons, 10 minute break, 2 lessons, 50 minute lunch break, 3 lessons. The lessons end at 4:00.

After lessons the schedule is MondayWednesdayFriday - Games, Tuesday - Clubs, and Thursday - Debate. This lasts for one hour. The day ends at 5:00.

As i have noted before it is the students who remain in the classroom and the teachers who move from class to class. This makes things interesting especially since there is no break inbetween classes. When the bell rings (manually rung by a Form II student) that is the teachers cue to wrap things up and move out so the next teacher can enter. But you find that teachers don't really mind taking your class time and will continue the lesson for another 20 minutes. It can be frustrating.

Also staff meetings are usually planned during class time, so you miss lessons. Students are punished during class time. When they should be in class they are out digging a hole or something and missing the information. The teachers seem unfazed by this saying that the Kenyan government allows punishment during class time. I try to explain my disagreement with the policy as it creates more work for the teacher in reteaching concepts.

Enough about structure for now.

Lately this is what has been happening:

I had a friend come visit from another part of Kenya. He couldn't believe how hot is was and he said he's never leaving his mesa again. Yes, his mesa.

My principal is planning his retirement party. Which meant he had a meeting in which he attended and we had to elect a chairman and co-chair for the party, also three secretaries, a treasurer and about 10 members. It was all in Kikamba and so I mostly zoned out and raised my hand when it appeared we were voting on something.

I attended a games competition yesterday for my school. It was basically a track meet only very less organized. I was able to see the high jump, shot put, and 100 metre dash before I had to go. Our students were actually doing quite good. I'm anxious to know the results.

Most people are not happy with the principal right now because he has not gotten the results of the national exam yet. He is the only person who can do it and everybody is so anxious. So people are not speaking to him until the results are in.

National exam fever has swept the nation. This year a record number of students, 57000, have qualified for admission to the university. This is good news. However, there are only 9000 spots available. This is bad news. There are not enough options for Kenyans after secondary school.

I must end there.

Peace out

isyitwa yakwa ni Mumo (my name is Mumo)

2006-02-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

The title is actually in Kikamba not Kiswahili and Mumo is my Kamba name. Everybody calls me Mumo.

Well, its been a long time hasn't it. And how have you been? This appears to be the new schedule, updating about once a month. The nearest internet is at the Post Office which is not open on the weekends. Since I teach during the week its impossible to come when it is open. Today, I happen to be picking up some medication...for malaria...prevention. My ammount ran out so I was allowed the day off to go pick my supplies. But enough of that. What's been happening?

The school year has been in full swing for 4 weeks now. The first week or two were spent waiting for students to scrape together school fees and come to school. This is no easy feat since there is a drought happening in Kenya. School fees are hard to come by. Also, the first year students did not arrive until last week, because they were waiting to see if they would be excepted into the more distinguished, reputable secondary schools. There is a trickle down effect: the best students to national schools, then provincial, then district. I am at a district school, and a very new and rural one at that.

I am now teaching Biology and Chemistry Form 1, Math and Physics and P.E. Form 2, and Goegraphy Form 3. It is quite an assortment and some I haven't taken since I was in secondary school.

Last week, during our morning assembly an animal entered the grounds. The principal stopped the assembly and said to the students, "Can anybody tell me what that is? Is it a...hyena?" And the students took off running after the animal to stone it to death. Just another day in Kenya.

Also last week, 3 teachers quit. They were disgruntled over their pay, which is admittedly very low. The end of last week was very bleak. But the teachers were enticed to return this week with a modest increase in salary and they were told to 'think about the students'.

Kenya has been all abuzz lately with football. It's in the newspapers, on television, much as it was in America. Except I'm talking about soccer. It is the African Nation's Cup. Two places in the market area have generators that they run at night to power televisions to watch the games. When there are no games the watch cheesy action movies starring Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Arnold Schwarzenneger. It's good fun.

A scorpion entered my house. I jumped up on my chair. Then I dropped a roll of duct tape on it. Then I swept it out of the house.

The following day I found a scorpion in the toilet area. I should have knocked before entering. It's so embarassing to walk in on somebody in the bathroom. I thought of relieving myself on it, but decided not to provoke it, plus I would have had to clean up the mess. Instead, I did my business and allowed it to continue its own business.

I think I shall climb Mt. Kenya in April.

That's it for now, but next time I want to shed a little light on the structure of Kenyan secondary schools.

Until then, peace out.

P.S. You can thank my brother for the updates to the pictures and the captions that describe them.

A Year in Review

2006-01-02T12:18:00.000-05:00

What can we say about 2005? It lasted about a year.

The year started off with me anxiously awaiting the start of my internship at Delton-Kellogg High School (Go Panthers...maybe, I can't remember the mascot, but Panthers sounds like a winner). It was my first opportunity to spend an extended period of time in a classroom in the capacity of a teacher. I definately learned a lot and taught some pretty sweet students who even still drop me a line here in Kenya.

It was during my internship that I was told I was nominated for an assignment in Africa with the Peace Corps. I had to go through the lengthy process of having a physical exam, dental exam, bloodwork, and lots of paperwork.

Oh, and then I graduated. It was a bit surreal to realize that my time at WMU had come to an end. Man, I really love WMU. I have such great memories and friends there. I could go on and on about that place and its people...but I won't, not today.

Following graduation I searched for a job for about a month, to no avail. So I had to exercise my backup plan: buildings & grounds at Bedford Public Schools. (Sigh) Back to exhaust fans. I got to hang with Chris again, which was fun. But during this time I was filled with longing. I desperately wanted to know when I was leaving and where I was going in Africa.

My answer finally came. Kenya. September 19th. My mom's birthday.

Also during the summer we had my Grandma and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary and my friend Nathan married his bride Jessica who may or may not have been blushing.

And then, it was time to leave. Just like that. It happened fast. My birthday seemed strange, my farewell visit to WMU didn't seem like it, and my goodbye party just seemed like a fun time to see people from all aspects of my life. But then I was at the airport with my parents on my Mom's birthday saying goodbye. Goodbye for over two years. It didn't completely set in, but it was emotional. I was leaving into the unknown. Everything that was familiar would be challenged. I didn't know what to expect from the moment I stepped on that plane.

It was exciting. I love being in new situations and experiences and meeting new people. My group of volunteers were/are pretty sweet.

I was amazed at how fast I became accustomed to the Kenyan lifestyle. In a short amount of time it became natural. I felt relaxed and at ease. Sure there are some things that I miss (washing machines), but others are a welcome improvement (at most restaurants and homes they come around with a pitcher of water and basin to wash your hands before you eat).

Lets just fastforward to today (I've never been good at these self-reflective writings). I've been at my site for about a month as an official PCV. I'm starting to learn the local dialect Kikamba. It's a tonal language so its a bit difficult. I spent Christmas with a friend and after that I visited another friend on the coast for a few days. I went snorkeling for the first time. It was way harder than I thought it was going to be. For 23 years of my life my brain and lungs and body have been in agreement that it is not a good idea to try to breathe under water. So it took a little persuading for me to adjust. But I saw some sweet coral and fish. Got a lot of sun. Saw some slave caves.

After that we came to Mombasa, one of the largest cities in Kenya and a popular tourist destination because of its great beaches. A group of us spent New Years there. We went down to the water and saw some fireworks. There was no ball dropping or Dick Clark to let us know when it was officially 12:00 so different groups of people started celebrating at different times. Hakuna matata.

New Years day we relaxed, I ate some pizza and we watched King Kong. It is a really good movie. It was also long, especially with an intermission. And King Kong was played by the same guy who played Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Right? It's a story of friendship. A friendship that defies all odds. That's my review.

So I'm heading back to my site with school starting in about a week. I'm almost in the same position I was in at the beginning of 2005. Anxious about starting a new teaching experience. I've been brushing up on my Kenyan geography since I'm supposed to teach it. I'm excited to finally begin what I came here to do. Here's to a successful 2006 for everyone!

I love you all!

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P.S. Check out the 'Evidence' tab for new pictures!
P.S.S. I took off the Snapfish link, because all the pictures have been moved to the 'Evidence' tab. So check out the 26 new pictures that begin The AuntJanette Educational Series. -- Dan (or, as I like to use on blogs, PungentAroma)

tuko pamoja (we are together)

2005-12-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

"Goat meat roasting on an open fire
Sweat beads running down my nose
And though it's been said, many times, many ways
Nawatakia heri katika Christmasi na Mwaka Mpya!"

And so Christmas has come and gone.

Recap:

I visited another volunteer a few days before Christmas. We attended a wedding on Christmas eve. It was my first African wedding, but since it was a Christian wedding it wasn't very different. The photographer saw that I had a camera and suddenly I became his apprentice and he had me follow him and stand in the aisles and take pictures of everything. So hopefully I can get a few of those pictures up during this holiday season.

By the way, the wedding was about a 2 hour walk in the hot sun and so I got a pretty good sunburn. Its safe to say that this was my first Christmas with a sunburn. Christmas eve night almost looked like Michigan, because Kenyans were bundling up in heavy coats and hats because it dropped below 55 degrees F, and then they sang some African carols.

Christmas morning we got up bright and early for the goat slaughtering. I did not participate, I just took lots of pictures. After the slaughter the goat was hung from a tree and then butchered. I've got some beautiful shots of the goat in the foreground and some mountains in the background. Some sausages were made with the intestines and blood and no part went unused. That was really the highlight of the day.

Currently I'm on my way to the coast to spend New Years there ... on the beach! No Dick Clark for me this year, but I think it will still be rockin'.

How are you spending YOUR holidays?

... and the pickles.

2005-12-09T12:22:00.000-05:00

WARNING: The following post is best read under the influence of a full bottle of cough medicine.

I think it is not uncommon, when removed from a culture that is familiar, to have certain cravings for what you left behind. Family and friends is the obvious longing. But you also crave food, music, and entertainment. It starts out simply enough: you want pizza, the latest from Sanctus Real, and the new season of Lost. As time goes on your cravings start to change as drastically as a pregnant woman. Last week I desired chow mein noodles, the theme song from This Old House (Bob Vila was a Peace Corps Volunteer by the way), and an episode of Murder She Wrote. I would have been absolutely thrilled to receive any of these things. It does concern me though. I wonder what I'll crave a year from now?

A thought occurred to me the other day: how will I know if I have a fever? If I was perfectly healthy and somebody asked me if I had a fever I probably would say yes.

I wonder: are the mangoes and fruit that I'm eating really as good as they seem, or is it such a stark contrast to the mostly starchy, bland food that I usually eat?

I've learned recently that I prefer my water with a hint of chlorine more than a hint of smoke. This stems from the fact that I have two options for sterilizing my water: chlorine tablets or extreme boiling. I could always combine the two and get some smoky, chloriny water.

Breaking News: The other day, for the first time in my life, I went a whole day without socks or shoes. I know there is stunned silence with those reading this, but its true. It was just the virgin feet (which I'm not sure I can call them that anymore) and my brother's old sandals. I didn't really notice a difference, I only did it out of laziness.

I would suggest to anyone lacking in a sense of humor, but who has always dreamed of being a comedian, to come to Kenya. Normal conversation is extremely funny to Kenyans. They can't believe some of the stuff we have or do in America. Just mention snow or, if you're feeling really crazy, skiing and you'll have them on the floor in no time. However if you try to say something witty, a real side splitter, a pun, a play-on-words, you will get no reaction. It just doesn't translate over.

On a related topic, I cherish the moments when I pose a question or ask for an opinion of a Kenyan in English, and the response I get is, "Yes, I see, thank you sir." It always helps to start a question with the phrase, "I have a question," just to get them prepared. I wonder how many times this happened when I was talking to international students at WMU? Its interesting being on the other side.

I like my site. The people are great and friendly, but there is one glaring drawback I have decided. The biggest bummer is that I live sort of in a complex with other people. 'What's the big whoop, Matt?' you may be asking. The problem is not the people, my neighbors are great. The big whoop is that I don't have the freedom to go out to my backyard (I have no yard) and relieve myself if I have to without having an audience. That, as I see it, is the whoop kubwa.

A curious thing happened last week. Ever since we arrived in Kenya people have been on the lookout for animals. Anything. And finally place we ended up the closest to animals was in the heart of Nairobi at the Ambassador's house. There were monkeys climbing on his house and his trees right above our head. It was great. If I can ever get more pictures up I will show them.

The holiday season is upon us, and this is shaping up to be, not surprisingly, the most unique Christmas I have experienced. I actually forget that it is the season, because it goes contrary to what I'm used to: it's crazy hot, there is no snow, no decorations, no endless Christmas songs on the radio ... this goes back to the cravings I talked about earlier. I want to see Rudolph and Mickey's Christmas Carol on TV. I want to watch family videos of Christmas past (and watch the best parts over and over and over ... much to my mom's chagrin). It is very clear dreaming of a white christmas is as close as I will come to the real thing unless I visit Mount Kenya.

I hope you have enjoyed my random thoughts, observations, and questions. I blame having large amounts of time on my hands and Dave Barry (that lovable humorist, who writes things, dare I say 'stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from its crag and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora bourealis' [taken with liberty from the Philadelphia Tribune ... and the guy from Music Under the Stars]) as the catalyst.

Happy Holidays!!

Mwisho ni karibu (The end is near)

2005-11-25T12:27:00.000-05:00

Updated Contact Info:

Matt Priest, PCV
P.O. Box 163
Nzeeka, Kenya

Phone:

To call from the States dial:

011 254 736 543 139

For faster deliveries send it the address above. For safer deliveries send it to the Peace Corps address that can be found somewhere in a previous post. And since we are sort of on the subject (sort of a stretch) people have been asking me for gift ideas. Since the holiday season is approaching I thought I could shed a little light on this topic.

Ideas:

- a star map or two (you can see the stars pretty easily here)
- a popular English book that has been translated into Swahili (for practice)

Yeah, I can't really think of anything else I really want. Maybe easy Mac, beef jerky (I don't know, you just get cravings), twizzlers, a cheeseburger, rack of ribs, ... I'm making myself hungry. CD's with new music on them is another idea. With some work I can get them on my MP3 player.

An amazing present is a contact of a person or group that would like to help support a Kenyan school meet some needs. Such as my school which has no science lab and is expected to perform science experiments on its final exam. If anybody is interested I can send more information.

Swearing in

...has not happended yet. Less than a week away. We found out we will be swearing in at the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya's house. He's going to be there and hanging out. It should be a good time.

Political situation

Ever since we arrived in Kenya the news was consumed with Referendum. This was a vote yes/no on a new contitution. If it passed they rejected the old constitution and started immediately with the new one. The yes side was assigned the symbol of a banana, and the no side an orange. You really had to be careful what you were seen eating, because some people took it as a political statement. There was some rioting leading up to it and even some deaths. Kenyans are very passionate about their politics. In the end the government supported proposed constitution failed to pass. And so, the following day the President dissolved his cabinet and all ministers and assistant ministers. The next day he suspended parliament for at least three months. This happended two days ago. So Kenya basically doesn't really have a government right now. The president wants to start over from scratch, he wasn't happy with the advice and guidance he was being given. He's a brave man.

That's all for now, hope Thanksgiving was solid. Enjoy the snow!

piga barabara (hit the road)

2005-11-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

I made it back safely from my site visit, but I am finding that these last few weeks of training will be action-packed. That's right I'm down to two weeks. Two weeks from today I will be an official Peace Corps Volunteer and no longer a mere Trainee. Oh joy, oh rapture.

Future Site

It took a surprisingly long time to reach my site from Nairobi. If you don't know Kenyan roads are notorious throughout the world as being some of the worst. Large potholes are found frequently, but you really get used to it because you really can't go anywhere without it. So my site really isn't close to anything. Its hot and very dry. They haven't had enough rain for about five years. It is very flat and lacking in vegetation. So based on physical geography it is not much of a place to visit. But, the school seems like a great opportunity. And I really like my supervisor. And like I said last time, I have some pretty cool game reserves within a few hours. But it appears I will officially be sweating for two years.

Sooooo...

In the last week I have:
- chopped down a pretty big, dead tree
- helped butcher a chicken
- killed a chicken (yep, cut its head off)
- made pasta and tomato sauce (well, "made" isn't the right word. I watched Annie and Eric make it, mostly Annie)

I'm getting kicked out of the post office, so that's all for now. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Saa ni Pesa (Time is Money)

2005-11-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

Excitement lies behind every corner here in Kenya. It's been a busy week, chock full of bitter sweet endings and anxiety-filled beginnings.

Goodbye to the girls

I spent my last week at the girls school I was teaching at. The last day I was observed my our technical trainer and it went pretty well. I had them work in groups as a sort of assessment over all the material we covered. We took pictures and in Physics I was forced to sing the National Anthem in return for a little hip hop from them. Overall, it was a good experience that gave me an early perspective of what to expect from the Kenyan education system.

Nairobi

The following day we went to Nairobi to prepare for our future site visit (FSV). Nairobi has everything you could ever ask for. The first night there a group of us went to The Pizza Garden where we had excellent pizza and enjoyed live music (a Kenyan singing Enrique Iglesias, including others). Following that we went to the mall (yes, a mall ... it was amazing) and watched a movie. We saw The 40 Year-Old Virgin, ate some popcorn, saw the previews for Harry Potter, King Kong and others. Before the movie started a waving Kenyan flag appeared on the movie screen and the national anthem started playing. We looked around, noticed that everyone was standing and we jumped to our feet to show respect. You learn something new every day.

The following night we went to the mall again, I ate a cheeseburger, some fries, and a strawberry milkshake and we went and saw another movie. We figured we wouldn't get this chance too often so we should splurge a little. However the only other option that night for a movie was an Indian one. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to be the only Americans in an all-Indian crowd of movie-goers...in Kenya. We ended up walking out at intermission (Indian movies are so long that they require an intermission). Good times though.

Future Site

My home for the next two years was revealed the other day. I will be living in Machinery, Kenya. I have yet to discover the abundance or lack there of of machinery in Machinery. If you try to find it on a map look for Kibwezi, it is near there. I visit tomorrow for four days. It is located fairly close to the current training location. It is farther south, closer to the Tanzanian border. To my east is the spacious Tsavo Game Reserve. To the west is Amboseli Game Reserve. And to my South is another game reserve. I am also the closest volunteer in my group to Mt. Kilimanjaro. So, although my site is fairly arid like the training site, I have some great sights a short journey away. So when is everybody coming to visit?

I will be teaching in a school that is only 4 years old. Since it is so new the enrollment is relatively small so my class sizes will only be about 25. I know, pretty smooth. It looks like I will teach some math, maybe some physics, and it appears they might let me teach geography. This is a co-ed school that is a day school (non-boarding). My house will be about 400 meters from the school. I have no electricity or plumbing, though the piping is getting closer to the house. Maybe by the time I leave in 2 years it will have reached the house. I am going to visit the site tomorrow so we'll see what its really like. Pretty exciting.

The end of an era

Yesterday I made a purchase. One I did not expect to make for a long time, let alone in Kenya. I was one of the few, one of the proud. But no longer ... I have bought a cell phone. I feel like I have betrayed myself, but I was required to get one. So I have joined the ranks, I am just like everybody else now. But at least you can communicate with me if you want to. To call dial:

011 254 736 543 139

Yes it's long. Its pretty cheap to text message so that is what I recommend. Don't wait for me to call you because I'm living on a volunteer's salary. It will probably be expensive, but I hear Costco has some cheaper calling cards. Whatever.

----------------

So that's all for now. Oh, I am hoping to get some pictures up on this site so click on the evidence tab to see them. They take about 15 minutes it seems per photo so there won't be many.

Also, my friend in Kenya, Eric Chase (an extremely humorous individual who knows Nobel Prize winners and is really smart), wrote a song parody about organic chemistry so if you are interested listen to it here:

http://webpages.ull.es/users/afagan/organichem.mp3

It's for all the nerds out there.

Enjoy!

Shikamoo! (a greeting that literally means 'I hold your feet')

2005-10-19T12:35:00.000-04:00

Some questions have been brought to my attention. I would love to address some of them.

Homestay Family

Baba (Father) is a teacher and a pastor
Mama (Mother) is a teacher
Kaka's (Brothers) consist of Mumo who is 3 and extremely active and Steve who is about 13 or 14. He is finishing up primary school which is equivalent to the American 8th grade.
Dada's (Sisters) consist of Vivi who is 6, Reba who is 8, Kavila who is about 11, and two others who I haven't really met because they are at boarding school. They are both graduating this year and have an extremely important exam beginning now.

I have a room to my self. It contains one bed, a chair, and a small coffee table. It is pretty cramped, especially since I keep my bike in there. The room is basically the size of two beds put together. Due to the size I only took one bag of luggage plus my backpack to the home. The other piece of luggage stays at the training hub and is basically available one day a week in case I need anything.

Food

The typical foods consist of:

- chapati (like a thick tortilla)
- ugali (a think corn paste that is served almost daily ... it has basically no taste and you could probably build a house out of the stuff it is so dense)
- nyama (meat...usually goat, or chicken, or cow)
- sukuma wiki (some green vegetable)
- wali (rice)
- kabechi (cabbage)
- viazi (potatoes)

Those are the major players. It really doesn't vary from the foods mentioned above, but sometimes we mix it up by having ugali with sukumi wiki, or ugali with kabechi, or ugali with kuku (chicken).

As for drinks I probably drink about 10 cups of chai a day (hot tea with milk). Everybody drinks the stuff and loves it. Even kids. We also drink soda. We have Coca Cola, Fanta, and Sprite.

TV

People were curious as to what shows they have in Kenya. We only get one channel on our TV so we don't have too many options. Most of the shows we watch are about 10 years behind America. We watch:

Walker Texas Ranger
Oprah
The Bold and the Beautiful
WWF Wrestling
Makutano Junction (a Kenyan soap opera...its pretty bad)
Release the Lion (a game show)
Mind Your Language (a really old British show)
plus some other shows in Chinese, or from South Africa. Fun stuff.

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To close, I was peed on by a bat the other night. He stays right over my bed and I put 2 and 2 together. I also realized it wasn't the first time. So now I keep a towel on top of my mosquito net to keep any more drops from reaching me. You gotta love this place!

Asante, lakini hakuna asante (Thanks, but no thanks)

2005-10-15T12:37:00.000-04:00

I think I'll make the title an informal kiswahili language lesson.

Let me preface this entry by stating that the internet access in my area is tempermental. But today the internet is lovely, because I am in a different location entirely...

Sometimes you wanna go ...

... somewhere different, like Machakos. About 20 of us went about halfway between Nairobi and Kitui to this "bustling metropolis" (everything is relative). It has paved roads, cyber cafes, and electricity in the hotel rooms. I hadn't been able to listen to music in over a week, because I couldn't charge my battery to the MP3 player. Its been nice to be on our own, away from the family for a little bit, and just to see more of Kenya. I love the drives, because its just so picturesque everywhere you go.

Nzambani Rock

Last Saturday we went to the aforementioned rock. Its just this massive rock that is in the middle of no where and you can climb to the top and see an excellent view. Our little group decided to use our new bikes to get there. Due to the heat, hills, and the amount of food I've been consuming it was pretty difficult. I'm going to have thighs of steel by the time training is over, though.

The Monkey Forest

Last Sunday after church Eric, Annie, and I went to the Monkey Forest. It was great! There were so many of them, but they were quick to move as fast as they could from the humans. We were told to move slowly and quietly, but this was difficult since we were being escorted by about 20 kids. If you're white in Kenya children will follow you everywhere. Also in the forest we saw some bamboo trees. Not what I was expecting. They were massive! I mean massive. Super tall and with an enormous base. I took pictures of both Nzambani Rock and the monkey forest but I still haven't found a way to get them on the computer so I'm sorry about that. Hopefully I'll work it out in the near future.

-------

That's all for now. Peace out.

kidogo habari (a little news)

2005-10-07T12:40:00.000-04:00

First of all, thanks for all the enjoyable comments. Its nice to know that there are people who are interested in my happenings afar.

Secondly, I have to read through the comments extremely quickly because the internet is pretty sketchy. In my area there is only one location that has public computers and the internet access is moody. Its moody most of the time. For instance, I probably won't be able to check the e-mail this time around since it hasn't been able to sign on after the 10th time.

But that's not the kind of information you came here for...

Like Christmas

Today I received a bike. What a glorious day it is. Out of all 50 volunteers training in Kitui the cluster I was in had the longest walk. It took about and hour and a half to get to the training hub. Occasionally we would walk but usually we took taxis (4 in the back and 3 in the front) or matatus (sort of like vans where they would squeeze at least 4 more people than was legal into). The drivers are crazy. Its almost like they are playing a game: come as close to any object or person as possible no matter what side of the road they are on. The roads are pretty horrible so drivers are constantly moving from the left to right or right down the middle, just where ever the best piece of road is. But now I've got a bike...

Chuluni Secondary School for Girls

We were introduced to our practice teaching sites this week. I got to see the Kenyan school system and meet my mentor teachers. I'm teaching 3 days a week, 2 classes a day, 1 Math and 1 physics. Yeah, physics. First lesson: Rectilinear propagation something something something. That one is going to be a struggle. More on the school structure in another post.

Frisbee

You know me. I gotta represent the Frisbee. So far the frisbee has been given an overwhelming response. I held two lessons on Frisbeeology last weekend with the neighborhood kids. Advanced lessons soon to come. We busted out the Frisbee at Chuluni school and had about 200 girls surrounding us wanting to see what this thing was we were throwing. It was great. Its the sensation that will sweep the nation. I have a request for those reading this: can you find addresses to Frisbee companies such as Wham-O and Discraft and send them to my e-mail account or as a comment on this site. Due to my limited computer access I don't have the ability to look these up. I think I'll write to the companies and see if they can hook me up.

Odds and Ends

I'm feeling more and more comfortable in my home away from home. There is always something new and surprising. It is exhausting learning the language, culture, everything, but it is worth it. So just know that I am well, the shot tally is up to 9, I am still eating ridiculous ammounts of food, and life is good.

Peace out...

No Thanks, I'm Full.

2005-09-30T12:42:00.000-04:00

Week One

I'm not exactly sure where I left off last time, but I'm now at home. I am a part of the Wambua Justus Iluti Willy family. He is my Baba (father). I also have a Mama and 7 brothers and sisters. We've got a pretty sweet pad: 3 cows, a goat, a dog, lots of chickens. And we do have electricity; it is run off the car battery. We have a black and white TV. It really is a pretty swanky place compared to other places. Maybe I can get pictures some time.

The Choo

A.K.A. The Hole in the Ground A.K.A The Toilet. Apparently compared to all the other volunteers I am the choo master. I've got the squat down to a science already. It takes a little getting used to. Some time I'll show a picture and take people through the steps. Beware of going at night though, because the place is crawling with cockroaches. I call it the night club.

Food

The hardest part thus far has been the food. Not the taste, not the lack of food, but the abundance of food. Kenyans like people to be fat. It is a compliment to be called fat. It means you are healthy. So I get these ridiculously large portions of food and am expected to eat all of it or it would be considered rude. So every night I basically feel like I'm going to vomit because I'm trying to stuff so much food down my throat. It's the running joke that if you get in trouble in Kenya the punishment isn't going to bed without supper it is going to bed with double supper. The first night I thought my plate was the serving plate because there was so much food on it. So nobody needs to worry about me getting thin.

And the beat goes on...

Forget Norway ... Come to Kenya!!

2005-09-23T12:46:00.000-04:00

First off, sorry for the last post. I wanted to give you something. But moving on...

Detroit to Philadelphia and staging:

When I arrived in Philly I called a bus to take me to the airport. There was another girl waiting who appeared to have her whole life packed in bags sitting in front of her. It turns out she was another Peace Corps (PC) person and apparently we were on the same flight. She was from Ann Arbor and so we shared the bus to the hotel and had a grand old time.

Staging was fun. It reminded me of my days with the orientation program. Skits, easel boards and markers, meeting some impressive individuals, and lots of fun. I also got my first three shots (to my relief in my arm).

Flight to Kenya:

Agony. Our flight left JFK at 8:30 PM so basically everybody was planning on sleeping. That was my plan also. I can honestly say that I did not sleep for 1 minute. It was impossible. I tried every position in the book, some of them were pretty creative. But to no avail. However, even thought the movie selection was less than appealing, the radio choices were quality. My brother will like this: a radio station that played some of AFI's top movie themes. Lots of John Williams.

The flight to Kenya was better. I was so drained from the first flight that I was knocked out for a few hours. I also liked this flight because it was British. Ahhh, the Brits. They offered you tea constantly. And then we landed...

Kenya:

Jomo Kenyatta Airport was much nicer than JFK. We grabbed our bags and took a bus ride to our hotel. Everyone was glued to the windows during the ride. The trouble was that it was night so we really didn't get to see much of the city and Kenya at all. They had dinner waiting for us at the hotel and then we all crashed the night.

You might think that we had the next day to recover. Incorrect, I got up about 8:00 and we were greeted by the country director, met staff, and went over medical issues. We also received three more shots (running tally of shots: 6). We began language training and had some one on ones with the director of education. A pretty busy first day.

What's in store:

We leave tomorrow for Kitui. This is where I will be staying for training with my host family. It is a few hours east of Nairobi fairly close to the desert. Hot. Dry.

I'm having a great time, the people are solid, I'm diggin' the language, its good. The adventure is just beginning.

Not much, but...

2005-09-21T12:48:00.001-04:00

Yes, I'm safe, I'm leaving Philadelphia and heading to New York to head overseas.

They told us the internet connection is pretty limited so 'no news is good news'.

I have no time, but things are great, the people are incredible, I need to take my first malaria pill. Life is good.

More next time.

Matttttttt

Twas the Night Before Staging

2005-09-19T00:36:00.000-04:00

It was over two years ago that I first gave any thought to the Peace Corps. Good ol' John Johnstone mentioned it to me while we were having one of those deep 'What are your passions?' type of conversations (Yes John, it was you). After a year of learning about the Corps and a year of applications, interviews, and physicals it's unreal to believe that the day is finally here.

The buildup to the departure day has been crazy. It's been a summer of anticipation as I awaited each correspondence with the PC. Then came the goodbye party, the trip to Kalamazoo (where I wasn't able to see everyone, but had a nice relaxful time), and the endless goodbyes. Honestly, I can't wait to leave so I can stop saying the goodbyes. There's nothing fun in saying goodbye. And there is almost always a hint of guilt with each goodbye. You feel guilty for leaving, for wanting to have this adventure, for leaving your family for 2 years. It's hard to convey to someone why I would want to give up everything familiar and comfortable just because I want to and need to. Sometimes you just feel convicted to do something and you have the determination to see it through.

So tomorrow begins the journey, the adventure. Am I prepared? I have no idea. Probably not. Am I excited? Yes, in a laidback sort of way. We call it passive enthusiasm. Am I nervous? I probably will be. I can't wait to meet people.

The flight leaves for Philadelphia at 8:30 AM. That means we need to be in Detroit by 7:00, which means we need to leave home by 6:15, which means I'll get up at ... 6:00. Yippee.

And...

MUCH love to my family.

3-2-1 Contact ... Information

2005-09-15T12:54:00.000-04:00

Information people have been persistently requesting:

e-mail:

mwpriest@gmail.com

Address:

Matt Priest, Peace Corps Trainee
P.O. Box 30518
Nairobi, Kenya

The address is good for the first few months as I go through training and then I probably will have a new one as I move on. I do welcome letters, but I would not recomment putting anything important or valuable in with the letters. Its pretty common to find mail already opened by the time it gets to the intended recipient.

On a related note, I was reading the other day that Nairobi has a nickname: Nai-robbery. Yes, it has now surpassed Johannesburg as the most crime-ridden city in all of Africa. Yes, it is the winner in all the crime categories. It should be noted that most of these crimes take place in the 'shantytowns', but one should still be careful. Its alright, I'm a trained ninja. And by trained ninja I mean that I have seen a few Jackie Chan fims. But I digress...

As for the e-mail, go ahead and use this option to tell me what's going on with yourself. Chances are more likely you will get a personal response from me if you send an e-mail (no guarantees). I do enjoy reading the comments on the entries so keep those coming too.

Basically for the next two years I'm going to have to rely on these forms of communication to stay in touch with everybody, so if you don't correspond how will I know if you got that wart removed, received a new tattoo, or lowered your cholesterol? I need to know these things.

So I know this post was mostly technical and businessy so I promise a more emotion-filled, heart-tugging episode in the next couple days. 4 days and counting...

Just a few weeks away...

2005-08-28T12:55:00.000-04:00

The last couple days its really hit me just how fast the departure date is approaching. Only 3 weeks left! I honestly cannot wait to go, but I also am recognizing the enormity of it all. When I say 'see you later' to everybody its 2+ years til 'later'. Also, am I crazy? My first real teaching job and I'm going to do it in a completely foreign culture, possibly in a different language, with limited resources, and 50 students to a class?? Yes, I think you have to have a dose of insanity to join the Peace Corps.

I've been so preoccupied with my impending departure that I seriously forgot that my birthday is in just a few days. Normally you're aware of it and you at least look to see what day of the week it falls on, but I hadn't even thought about it til my mom said something about it. Kind of shows you where my mind has been. (Oh, it's Wednesday the 31st. The 23rd anniversary of my birth)

So I arranged my flight to get me to staging. I fly out of Detroit at 8:30 AM on the 19th and head to Philadelphia. I can't wait for staging. To be with people who have gone through the same process as I have, for as long as I have, should be a lot of fun. Staging basically consists of meeting the people you will go through training with and some pre-departure culture and safety training. Also the joy of receiving a buttload (literally?) of shots.

The final 3 weeks: I've got a farewell/birthday party, spend a week in Kalamazoo, and figure out how to pack for two years and still keep it under 80 pounds. That might prove challenging...

The country of brotherly love?

2005-08-20T12:56:00.000-04:00

My staging kit arrived in the mail today. I found out that my staging will be in Philadelphia so I need to call SATO Travel right away to arrange a plane ticket to get me there. The kit also included the itinerary for the few days I will be in Philly, and the flight plan that will get me to Kenya. It appears I will fly out of New York, make a pit stop in London, and then straight to Kenya.

I was sooooo glad, and very relieved to receive the staging kit. There's always that doubt at the back of your mind that you forgot to do something, or the Peace Corps doesn't like you anymore and they just decide to let you go. And you keep waiting and nothing happens. So getting this kit was comforting that everything is still a go.

I'd also like to thank all my loyal, diligent friends who have checked this site almost religiously all summer long waiting for it to be up and running. A special thanks to Bradley Morris aka "Boomer" aka "Biscuit" for somehow getting this site working even though he is in Cameroon, Africa.

Kenya Believe It!?

2005-08-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

It is official. I leave for Kenya September 19. Thus begins
my two year three month adventure. Am I nervous? Not really, just
really anxious. And I realize I have A LOT to do before I go. And
I'm a procrastinator.

Some specifics: I will be teaching high school math in a community
school. The first three months are training, including learning
Swahili and getting culture and safety training. Based on the
training the Peace Corps will pair me up with the assignment that
suits me best. Then it is two years of service.

I'll update this site as often as I can while I am over there, but
they made it clear that internet will not be nearly as accessible as
it is in the U.S.

Also, the site is still being worked on so such things as the
"evidence" tab (aka the photo gallery) and "misc" doesn't really give
you much. These should be remedied by the end of the month, as the maintainer is currently in Africa.

(A note from the future: the "misc" tab would forever be in a state of limbo ... but at least the evidence tab flourished.)