So never mind that last post about the beekeeping group, it’s been fully funded! It only took a month, which is so much quicker than I was anticipating. I’m so excited to get started with everything now.
A few weekends ago I went to Awendo to help a friend of mine photograph a wedding. It was the first Kenyan wedding I’ve gone to so it was very interesting to see. Since I was taking pictures I got to see all the preparations and behind the scenes stuff. I followed the bride and bridesmaids while my friend followed the groom and groomsmen. Before the wedding the bride was in the middle of the room while everyone fussed around with her hair and makeup to help her get ready. One mama would do her makeup then another would come, decide it wasn’t good enough and add another layer, then another mama would come and add more. Then they each messed around with her hair and it ended up looking the same at the beginning and end, haha .
After the bride and bridesmaids were done getting ready, the groom and groomsmen, the flowergirls and little boys to accompany them, and any other close relatives all came to the house. Then they got into a line of cars that were all decorated with huge ribbons, bows, and flowers. The cars formed a kind of motorcade/parade and took everyone to the church, which was filled already with the other guests. There was a long mass (the groom is a pastor) with lots of preaching that took about 2 hours and then the actual marriage ceremony was about 20 minutes. Unfortunately I had to leave after the ceremony to get to Kisumu by dark, so I didn’t see the reception. It was interesting to see and I hope next time I get to see a reception too.
We had a week of training with Peace Corps in Kisumu with our counterparts. We got more language training, which was nice, especially because I got to learn some Kenyan Sign Language in addition to Luo. We got to visit projects around Kisumu and I went to a group called Temak, which is a project supporting teenage mothers. They train the girls in sewing, hairdressing, and computer technology. They also sell crafts and have a nursery so the girls can bring their children with them when they are training. It was really great to see such a successful project, especially because they are self-sustaining and therefore don’t depend on donors.
The hotel we stayed at had a pool so my supervisor asked me to teach her how to swim. Denae and I tried and realized how hard it is to teach an adult to swim. We got her floating and she had a great time, so that’s all that matters. I forget how swimming isn’t something everyone grows up with. Our last night there a bunch of the volunteers and I went out to sing karaoke. It ended up being a lot of “group” songs because not many people wanted to do it by themselves. It was really fun, we sang songs like “sweet home Alabama,” “livin’ on a prayer,” and “I will survive.” I thought it was really funny that 3 times, each by a different Kenyan, the song “drowning” by the Backstreet Boys was sung. I didn’t realize the Backstreet Boys had made such an impact here.
So, I never want to go away for a month again. There are spiders and cobwebs everywhere even though I thought I cleaned them away. Remember that mound of bugs I had last year? Well they have attempted to come back. Last year it took heavy duty chemicals to get them to go away and I’ll probably get cancer in the future because of it. This time, before resorting the chemicals, I used a “dust” which people use on their animals to prevent fleas/ticks etc. I dumped a bunch on the forming mound and around the corners of my house, and it worked! Then I washed my floor and I guess some of the “dust” that was on the floor got mopped all around and now I’ve been finding dead ants and bugs all over the floor. Sweet! I am now an exterminator.
Another sad thing about going away for a month is since being back in Oyugis I have gotten a mysterious rash/hives ALL OVER my body. I can’t figure out what is causing it. I haven’t used new soap or detergent or anything. Other people have suggested it’s my water but I’ve never had a problem with it before. I completely dumped out and cleaned my water tanks and it hasn’t really gone away. It could be my bedding maybe and I finally washed everything the other day, but now I’m ready to re-wash/disinfect EVERYTHING because it isn’t going away and the itching is horrible. I just don’t have time to do all this or have a place to dry everything at once so it stretches into multiple days. I would take benedryl except it makes me so tired and I’m itchy mostly during the day. Gah! It’s so annoying! I wish I knew what it was.
Anyways, now that I’m finally back at site for an extended period of time, I’ve got some projects in the works. This upcoming Thursday my organization and I are putting on a football tournament with 4 youth groups, so that should be fun. Then of course I’ll be working with Mang’ang’a youth group to implement the beekeeping project and I’m excited to start planning April’s Camp GLOW (the girl’s empowerment camp) with other volunteers.
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