Happy Holidays from Africa!

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

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

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.