Bees

So, my Luo is improving slowly somehow, I'm able to understand a little more of conversations, still it's nowhere near my kiswahili abilities (what they were at least). It's frustrating because I've definitely lost a lot of my kiswahili because no one here likes to speak it. I have to remind myself that it's okay I don't understand Luo I've only been here a month and I'm not getting my 4 hours of language instruction like I got in training with Kiswahili.

2 weeks ago I went bee-keeping with one of my counterparts. One of the youth groups sells honey as an income generating activity. I have to say i never really had much honey in the US but I bought some here and it is great on toast and peanut butter. It's pure honey, nothing added to it. They get the honey at night because the bees will attack more in the daytime. My counterpart told me stories of the bees attacking goats and how the suits they wear aren't 100% effective. My brother is allergic to bees and even though I got tested a while ago to see if I'm allergic (and I'm not) I was still quite worried. Who knows if they tested me for Kenyan bees and people can develop allergies. My counterpart told me it's good to be stung because it can prevent malaria. I told him I'd much rather take my anti-malarial pills and use a mosquito net than be stung thank you very much. I told him I'd look at the hive but then keep my distance. He wasn't going to give me a suit because I wouldn't be near the hive I said I didn't care better to be safe than sorry. He told me my suit had a few "problems," meaning the elastics at the arms weren't there so bees would be free to get inside the suit. awesome. I brought my headlamps for them to use but as we walked towards the hives I saw bees flying at me. I was there long enough to take a picture and then went out to the field. For those of you not familiar with the honey-collecting process: they put smoke in the hive to agitate the bees, they become protective and start eating the honey (which apparently makes them less likely to attack). I didn't see all this but I was probably 25 feet away and I have never heard such a loud buzzing sound. I couldn't decide if it would be better to have my light on which might attract them but I'd be able to see if the bees were coming at me or to have the light off and just hear them buzzing around me. I did not get stung luckily but my counterpart was stung all over his arm and a few times on his face. His suit must have had some "problems" too. Luckily he isn't allergic or anything so he didn't care. After all that there wasn't any honey, it's been dry so there are less flowers and therefore less honey made. I think I'm too much of a wimp to go back the next time they do it. at least I learned about it.

Last week we went to a nursery school that the Belgian donors (who are visiting right now) support. All of our women's groups we work with want to build nursery schools (preschool and kindergarten) because the Kenyan government doesn't support them. Therefore, most children don't go to nursery school before starting primary school. The kids were wicked cute, they sang us songs and showed us what they've learned. These kids know more types of birds than I do. I like how instead of clapping they sing a little song that goes "well done, well done, try again another day, a very good girl (or boy depending on who it's for)." We also visited two child-headed households where the oldest sibling (usually 15 or 16 years old) runs the house because both parents have died (in these two cases the parents died of AIDS). They go to school and still keep gardens/farms for food. They are supported by the women's groups and my organization through donors.

The belgians threw a party for some of the local kids here last Thursday. They hired the ladies of our organization to cook and we had balloons and bubbles (which are always a huge hit with the kids here). I helped cook and I made guacamole because everyone in the group has been asking about it. The guacamole went over well (as it usually does with most Kenyans) and we had it with our chicken, rice, and veggies. I have to say, it was an interesting experience bathing that morning and hearing the sounds of the four chickens being slaughtered for our lunch. Interesting start to the day...

My new favorite thing to do is go for nyama choma for lunch with the guys in my group. Nyama choma is smoked meat (really the only kind of meat I've liked in Kenya) like asado in Argentina. It seems like all the men here are obsessed with it. I cannot eat as much as these Kenyans can. I think it's because Americans are more used to small meals throughout the day where here it's one big meal. The guys told me it's because Kenyans have "chambers" in their stomachs, one for nyama choma, one for ugali (like a cornmeal-type thing they eat here), and one just for Tusker (a brand of beer), haha. They told me I need to construct some chambers, we'll see how that goes...

This past weekend I went to Kisumu with our usual group of other volunteers who are in the area (Nyanza) for Sonya's birthday. We just hung out, ate a lot, drank, and we went dancing one of the nights. I've realized how much happiness is brought to my life by food. Whenever we go to Kisumu we eat lots of cheese and ice cream usually. We also go to Nakumatt and I splurge on things like boxed Mac&Cheese and olive oil. In the big cities you can get most of the popular American food so there isn't a whole lot I'm missing (besides a refrigerator full of cheese). The one thing that is hard to find and that I can't wait to eat when I get back is a sandwich. They don't really exist here, which is probably why I dream of turkey club sandwiches. I am going to buy a charcoal jiko so I can construct a makeshift oven for baking. I have a lot of time on my hands and have a craving for a gooey chocolate chip cookie therefore, I will be baking up a storm.

On a sidenote I am quite bruised right now. I ended up in the aisle seat of my matatu on my way to Kisumu. When I say aisle seat I mean I am sitting IN the aisle between two seats with nothing to hold me up except the fact that a small part of the left side of my butt is on the seat on the left side of the aisle and a small part of my rightside is on the seat on the right and I'm so squished between the two people on those seats that it's kind of like a can of sardines. Luckily the ride was one of the fastest I've taken to Kisumu, but that was still an hour and a half. Towards the end I almost gave up and let my butt sink through and just sit on the metal floor of the matatu. Additionally, I fell on a gravel-y hill and fell going up the stairs to the hotel in Kisumu. Speaking of my clumsiness, it turns out Sonya is quite clumsy too. On our first night together in Philadelphia we realized we are both clumsy and we decided to have a contest. We've lost track we've both fallen so many times, so there hasn't been a winner declared yet. Sonya said I should lose points because I am coordinated and can dance. I guess I just can't walk.