Passports, Safari and Fertility Beads

Things have worked out with immigration and the embassy. It took a few days of back and fourth and phone calls, misinformation and traveling around but in the end Kris and I were given back our passports along with a letter from immigration saying that we can stay and continue our projects. Although the letters state we are medical students, we are going to go along with it. The “typo” is just going to have to be tagged onto the long list of unexplainable things that go on here. Encouraging words from EAC employees telling us that our services are needed and that were praying for us to be able to stay were really nice to hear.

Before coming to Kenya I knew a safari was something that I couldn’t leave before doing. Upon being told that I’d be able to stay I booked one right away. I was traveling by myself so had to link up with a group of tourists to avoid paying a personal driver for two days. I set off Wednesday morning at 5 am by way of piki to catch a matatu to meet the group. When we got to the meeting point I was greeted by Salim, our driver, a British couple and two women from Germany, ironically traveling by themselves as well. “What hotel are you staying in?” was the topic of conversation. I explained that I stay in a village with a family which made for an interesting discussion, it was my first time chatting with tourists since being here. After giving our brief backgrounds we set out for Tsavo East and West. It took a few hours to reach but almost immediately we started seeing animals, our first being ostriches, then elephants. Herds and herds of them. Our first lodge was positioned around a watering hole where 20 or 30 of them were marching, splashing, trumpeting, mating, eating and just being elephants. It was amazing. Exotic birds whirled overhead and neon lizards scattered about. For the next few days we drove around observing lions, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, an array of antelope, crocs, hippos, baboons and one leopard. The only thing missing was the rhino, which in this part of Kenya lives only in Tsavo West, there are only about 50 of them so we would have had to be extremely lucky to see one. We already were extremely lucky with everything else we saw. By the end our group was like a little family.

Now it’s back to Takaungu. It’s funny, when I’m away for a few days it feels good to come back to my host family and room, I feel like I’m coming home. Ecstatic energy has filled the house; Saadiya traveled to Nairobi while I was on safari and was given a visa for her and Awadh to move to England to be with her husband. I think she may actually leave before me. It will be strange to live in her house with her mother after she’s moved away but I’m so excited for her, she’s only 27 and has such an exciting life ahead of her.

Now it’s Saturday morning and I just woke up and finished “A Hundred and One Days”, a Norwegian journalists account of being at the very beginning and heart of the American Iraqi War. I recommend it, as it’s interesting to get a completely different perspective of how things started there, and unfortunately how they continue. I took a break half way through “Wizard of the Crow” to read it but will pick it back up today. I am anxiously waiting for Kris to finish “The Time Travelers Wife” so hopefully I can read that while I’m here as well. Otherwise the only other book on my list at the moment is Jared Diamonds “Collapse”. I have been picking up and putting that book down for almost a year now and would really like to tackle it once and for all. I think the best book I’ve read this year, and possibly my favorite ever is Tom Robbins “Jitterbug Perfume”, I’m actually looking forward to reading it again when I get home, and above all recommend it to everyone. So tomorrow I will venture to Vuma Beach with Kris, Mohamed and possibly Saade. Hopefully, we will ride bikes as it’s a really long walk, that is if we can find enough.

My goal in the coming week is to learn more about fertility, or cycle beads. I remember learning about them in school and just recently a light bulb went off and I thought, “This would be the perfect place for them!” I don’t know everything about them, but I do know that they were developed for women in developing countries with very little resources. It’s a strand of beads, some of them different colors. You move one bead each day and it helps you monitor when you’re most fertile, to avoid getting pregnant. After watching Mohamed’s most recent adult ed class, which was detailed in family planning methods I think this might be an effective means for a lot of the women in the village, and for the girls in primary school. Mohamed explained in detail the pill, copper T and other methods and while many of the women agreed that they would like to practice family planning all of them agreed that their husbands wouldn’t let them. The husbands want lots of children they explained. If they take the pill and gain weight their husbands will know, most of them dare not take home a condom. So, if I can learn more about these fertility beads, and find an organization to send a bunch to Takaungu I think it could be quite effective. World Aids Day is quickly approaching (December 1). The district is celebrating in the village Choni so we will go there and see what it’s all about. As for Takaungu we will organize something most likely on December 4. We have some kids from Vutakaka Primary who have organized and rehearsed a skit and hopefully we can get some kids from nearby schools to perform a dance. We will be providing testing, counseling and lots of information. It will be a really cool time to be in Kenya. So for all of you at home, get tested! Why not?

"The Truth Will Set You Free"

I’ve read quite a few books since being in Kenya about government corruption in Kenya, Nigeria, Iraq and various other countries. I have been thinking, “I wonder what I would do in a shady situation?” Well, this morning I found out.

So there is this house in Takaungu, the biggest house there. It’s owned by an Italian man named Tony who only spends a few months out of the year Kenya. The Takaungu sub chief started building a house so close to Tony’s house he literally could step from his front door into her front door. Tony’s house is beside mine so I’ve been watching the back breaking construction go on for over a month. One day while walking somewhere I met Tony for the first time. He looked upset. He said, without introducing himself, “They can’t build here! This is my property! I’m going to my lawyer.” That was that.

I was laying in bed reading early this morning and Katana, one of the EAC’s groundskeepers came to my house and told me that there were some men and Tony waiting for me at the primary school, and I should head over there. So I went there, and was greeted by two men from immigration, Tony, and the head teacher. I was confused but not yet scared. The immigration officials told me to go back home and get my documentation, and my “colleague” (Kris). Kris and I went back to the school with passports in hand. They snatched them from us and started asking us questions. “What do you do with the EAC? What does your work in Kenya entail?” We tried to explain to them that we don’t exactly work, we volunteer. The officials then showed us our visas and said, “this is a holiday visa, it isn’t for working or volunteering”, which is true. We explained that we weren’t advised otherwise when it came to getting a visa, but it was in vein. A copy of the Kenyan Immigration Act was opened up and we were told to read a few confusing clauses. They then shoved a piece of paper and pen under our noses and told us to write statements declaring what exactly we do with the EAC and in Takaungu. Simon looked me square in the eye and said, “The truth will set you free.” He was messing with us, my stomach turned and thoughts of prosecution and Locked Up Abroad came to mind. They turned to the head teacher and tried to pigeon hole her into admitting that she was our boss and that she allows us to teach at the primary school. She insisted, and truthfully that she is not our boss, and that we do not teach at the school but again, it fell on deaf ears. Simon looked at the head teacher and exclaimed, “this is what’s wrong with Africans! They don’t tell the truth!” To hear that from one African to another was unsettling. The head teacher took in stride. Our boss is in the states, she’ll be there until the end of this month. We made the mistake of putting the word “work” in our written statements. I shot Tony a, “what should we do glare” and we rubbed his fingers together for the international sign of $. No way was I going to risk it with a bribe, everything was too shaky. The officials handed us our passports for a brief moment so we could write the passport numbers on our statement sheets and then took them back. I asked why but it didn’t matter. Kris insisted that they not take it, as the one official, Simon was prying it from her fingers he saying, "I am not taking it by force”, clearly he was. The whole thing was so surreal. Simon and his sidekick told us to report to the immigration office in Kilifi in 1 hour, and off they went with Tony and our passports.

Kris and I quickly sent out a few important emails and called the US embassy, who advised not to go to the immigration office and that they were launching a fraud investigation. Quickly word got out that Tony had gotten the building of the sub chief’s home stopped and she was so angered that she called immigration claiming that Tony was housing volunteers, which is illegal and untrue. So after a day of “what ifs” we decided to come to Kilifi and spend the night with a friend Peace Corps volunteer to wait things out. It looks like the embassy frightened the immigration office because one of its minions called us and told us we could come by and pick up our passports at 8:30 Saturday morning and they would issue us a volunteer pass no problem. We’ve been advised against this so things will have to wait until Monday.

To lighten the mood we went to Mombasa, to a state of the art movie theater and indulged in Fame, which was quite entertaining and distracting. Tomorrow we plan to spend the afternoon in Malindi to blow off some steam and prepare for whatever Monday may bring. Either we will get passes to stay, or I will be seeing JFK airport a lot sooner than I thought I would, however my time here is not done.

I am not superstitious but upon reflection, I just realized that yesterday was Friday the 13^th. When it comes to superstitions if there ever were a time and place to believe it would be here and now.

Reggae and Swahili Ritual VS Cipro

It’s been a slow week. Mohamed has taken 3 days off so in turn that means I have a few days off. No home visits or village talks this week. I spent time in Kilifi and Takaungu last weekend and just hung out with my host family, and their families. I went into Mombasa on Monday, which has been getting easier and easier. It’s only about an hour bus ride south of Takaungu but it’s busy, so busy. The streets are crammed with matatus and tuk tuk’s (little motorized carts with 3 wheels that act as taxis) and people swarming. Street vendors are among the most aggressive I’ve ever seen and I feel like I have to watch my back every second. When I first started going there it really gave me a lot of anxiety, but now I’m able to appreciate some of the shopping and places to eat a little more, plus it’s where I have to go receive mail. P.s. I don’t suggest sending me anything at this point as it may take longer than I have here to get. The Kenyan postal system is confusing and honestly quite inefficient. So while in Mombasa I figured it was the best place to pick up some Kenyan music. Little stands with speakers blaring always have the best picks. I went in and told the man, “I want the best Swahili and Reggae CD’s, your favorites, ya know, the stuff they play in the matatus.” He hooked me up with 2 discs (one ended up being a music video DVD which is just awesome.)

On Wednesday Kris decided to visit Mnarani club, which is a resort not far from Takaungu. You can pay a day rate and sit by the infinite pool that overlooks the beach and get a pretty decent buffet lunch. It’s a real treat. I wasn’t feeling 100% when I woke up Wednesday morning but it wasn’t bad enough to hold me back. After lunch however things took a turn for the worst. By the time we got back to Takaungu I was doubled over and the vomiting started, with no signs of stopping. Maybe it was the coconut fish, perhaps the water had finally caught up with me, or maybe I picked up a germ from one of the many kids who high-five me throughout the day. My house is usually bustling with family members, and their family’s family members but last night felt particularly busy. All eyes were on the mzungu dashing in and out of the bathroom. Fatima, Saadiya’s mom started speaking to me in Swahili, something about a curse. Saadiya translated that she was telling me that I must be ill because a person who didn’t have food probably had seen me eating and cursed me for it. All the older woman nodded in agreement. Saadiya is of a different generation, I don’t think she took the implication seriously. Either way, as I lay in my bed in total discomfort one of the women came into my room and said, “come, bring your water”. I mustered up some energy and went out to the kitchen area where everyone was sitting with klean kanteen in hand. Fatima pulled up a small bench and had me sit facing her. One of the children brought over a coffee mug, 1/4 full of something. I asked what it was, vegetable oil and a spoonful of salt. Fatima put the class in my hand, all I could think was “it’s hard enough for me to keep from vomiting just sitting here please don’t make me drink it.” She opened my kanteen and started splashing handfuls of water into the class. Her hand accidentally struck the class and I was too weak to hold onto it, it went crashing and shattering onto the concrete. I felt terrible. She summoned one of the kids to start over, more oil and salt. One of the other kids swept up the mess of greasy broken glass. This time she put the glass down before violently throwing water into it. She then took a knife, and as though cutting a pie into 8 pieces dragged it through the mixture. Then I saw a large flat ladle full of hot embers. I thought, “if she heats it up and dissolves it, maybe I can get it down”, her thoughts were not for me to drink it. She quickly grabbed one of the red embers and plunked it into the glass. The oil was sizzling and smoke was pouring from the glass, she shoved it under my nose, motioning for me to breath it in, quickly. I did as I was told over and over again. I could feel hot splashes of salty oil on my lips and the smoke tasted like a camp-fire. I looked at Saadiya with watery eyes, “it’s Swahili tradition,” she said. If it stopped the nausea I was all for it. Once most of the mixture was evaporated she pulled out the cold soggy embers and began rubbing them on my head, mixing them with my hair, it really couldn’t have been more bizarre, or could it? After all the embers were in my hair she motioned for me to pull up my shirt. I looked around for an explanation. “Your stomach”, one of the kids said. Again I did as I was told and exposed my stomach. She dipped the knife into the remaining liquid, now black from the soot, and gently drew a + across my stomach. Then I was fed a spoon full of the liquid. I wish I could say it stopped the illness, but unfortunately it continued through the night, however I was very appreciative for the ritualistic effort. Saadiya has been making me mild meals; free of the fried items I’m typically given. I had been prescribed cripro, a really strong antibiotic before leaving the states in case of situations like this, I wasn’t well enough to keep one down until the morning but think I’m on the upswing. I was even able to visit the juice man tonight.

Kris said her host family also immediately agreed that I must be ill because of someone less fortunate cursing my food and me. It’s interesting because the same people often will offer a tablet of an Imodium equivalent or suggest seeing a Dr. but many people will just wait it out, or seek the help of a medicine man. It begs the question, “how can someone who suggests modern medicine more readily blame witchcraft for an illness over a bacteria?” I’ve heard a few stories of people dying in the village of very treatable illnesses and I wonder how many of them are explained by witchcraft and never properly treated. There are 2 well equipped dispensaries (health clinics), one in Takaungu and the EAC dispensary in Vutakaka, not to mention the Kilifi hospital which is relatively close and from what I hear a very good hospital. I often reflect on things I learned while studying anthropology and compare them to my experiences here. It can be difficult to stay unbiased but also very interesting to witness first hand as modern ideals crash into ancient beliefs and rituals.

Tomorrow Kris and I are venturing to Malindi and Watamu for the weekend, 2 beach cities located north of Takaungu. There are some ruins in Watamu and you can rent bikes to visit them, cirpo willing it will be a great weekend. The rains have stopped and the weather has been nice. Although the heat is squelching there’s usually a nice breeze.

Tonight I’m going to enjoy some ginger tea and reggae and hunker down with a good book.

November, Matatu Culture, and Some Tid Bits

It’s November and the weekend is here already. Time is whizzing by! Last weekend Kris and I were in Diani in South Coast which was lovely. Our cottage Friday night was spectacular with 2 bedrooms a full kitchen and, a real shower and huge living room, o yeah and monkeys! Scheming monkeys, one of which I caught trying to take off with my coffee. They were friendly, almost a little too friendly and quite photogenic. The beach was amazing. The second night we attended a Peace Corps party on a military base and camped out in tents. It was the first time in a month I had been surrounded by so many mzungus (I’ve gotten quite used to the word) in over a month and it was almost kind of strange. Tony did in fact escort us across the ferry in his taxi on our way there, which was nice but we braved it ourselves on the way back. I have never seen so many people on one water-fairing vessel in my life. It was a mob scene. But we made to the other side with no mishaps.

This week I spent a lot of time reading and organizing the curriculum for next year, and indulging in the juice mans fruit medley. He’s quite an interesting man. We chat over cold bowls of “fruit delight” (just one of the possible names we are trying to come up with) and he asks lots of questions about Americans. These questions include, but are not limited to: why do Americans drink more alcohol than they do eat? Is America In Europe? How do Americans celebrate Christmas? Then came the questions of how old are you? When I answered with 24, he said, “o yes, its time to get married”. Around here I suppose I am kind of an old maid already with no husband or kids. He proceeded to tell me all about how his car was stolen and found by the cops in Mombasa but they wouldn’t give it back to him without a 20,000 ksh bribe. He was adamant that he would not pay and if the cops insisted that they would be the ones who would be sorry. I didn’t pry too much but within 2 days he did in fact have his car back, and did not pay the bribe.

This morning Kris and I went into Kilifi and took a different route, through the creek. The Takaungu Creek is really more like a salt-water river that leads right into the ocean. We had heard about this boat that travels back and fourth across it for free and will take you to a piki on the other side but had yet to try it. Saadiya and her husband were setting out for Kilifi this morning also, by way of creek so we tagged along. When we got the creek we saw the large canoe approaching crammed with men and bicycles and one man standing up pushing the boat along with a huge long stick. We had to wade in the water to get in, with a new load of men and bikes and off we went. When we got to the other side there were in fact pikis waiting so I hopped on one and off we went. I’ve really grown to enjoy piki rides. I never rode a motorcycle at home and to be honest they kind of scare me, but there’s something different about it here. The scenery is always stunning and we’re traveling on dirt roads so the speed never really picks up too fast. This was a new route for me, we got trapped in the middle of a cow herd and went through a sisal plantation (sisal is a plant they use to make rope, they look like 10 foot tall pineapples sticking out of the ground). The sun was shining and the ocean was in the background. The piki took us to a matatu stage and we hopped onto our next mode of transportation.

QUICK MATATU CULTURE:

As hectic as matatus are I sometimes find them to be relaxing as well. When I first got to Kenya I listed all things dangerous and would have to admit, riding in a matatu was at the top of the list. But now, I can literally fall asleep while riding in one. There is a whole matatu culture, it’s like musical chairs with 18 people (and the occasional chicken) in a 15 person van while stopping and going and speeding and the “conductor” hanging out of the open sliding door the whole ride shouting at passersby. And did I mention the black lights lining the inside ceiling and fringe lining the black lights and stickers of American hip hop artists covering every square inch and the blasting music and thumping bass? O yes, that’s a matatu, sometimes they don't even come to a complete stop before people get off. They’re brilliant and hilarious and you can catch one day or night within minutes, they literally are the most widely used form of transportation in Kenya. The best advice you can get and give when it comes to matatus is to stay out of the “death seat” which is in the very front next to the driver. Matatu drivers pass the cars in front of them with zero regard for what may be coming in the other direction. They pass 3 and 4 cars or trucks at a time and much of the time it becomes a game of chicken with opposing matatus. It’s best to sit in the middle and keep your eyes on something other than the road in front of you, or just fall asleep, which for me took some time.

So after Kilifi, I went to adult education with Mohamed. He gave a detailed lecture on condoms and out came the wooden penis for the demonstration. There was lots of giggling and questions. The girl next to me couldn’t have been a day over 14 years old and had a 6 month-old baby in her arms, making it difficult for her to take notes. I gave her a little glance and scooped up the baby so she could write. Mohamed had met her at a previous home visit and after learning that she was a school drop out convinced her to come to adult ed, she hasn’t missed a day since. At the end of the last adult ed class 10 of the women came to Mohamed and told him they were ready to get tested for HIV. They were tested on the spot, all of them negative. It’s just awesome to see the adult education classes in action and in only 3 weeks such positive things are happening. Mohamed is such an excellent teacher, he is what every village, town, city, and community project needs. He is so passionate about his work and his village and the people in it. He’s eager to get every kind of certification he can be it VTC (voluntary testing and counseling) or drug and alcohol counseling, he’s totally open to new ideas and embraces them, which makes him a pleasure to work with.

At the end of the day I decided I had to take a dip in the ocean. I swung by Kris’ and said, “I’m going to the beach, are you in?” Off we went for an evening swim. On our way back we hit up the juice guy (shocking I know) and had a long convo with him about how our favorite fruit mixture needed a proper Swahili name. He said, “I just call is fruit salad”. “O no, it’s much more than that” Kris and I insisted. So that’s the mission we’re on, he told us he’d make a sign for it if we come up with something good.

This weekend I am hanging in Takaungu. I hope to get some work done and spend as much time at the beach as possible. I may attend a drug and alcohol counseling session on Sunday, we’ll see. For now, it’s time for dinner. Until next time, thanks for staying tuned!

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