Strikes

So today I opted out of a trip to the field to plant potatoes. I was disappointed not to be going. I’m sure it would have been a good experience, and probably a lot of fun; but I haven’t been feeling well the last couple of days and didn’t think it was a good idea to be out all day in the sun (and likely the rain too) planting potatoes. I think it’s just a cold (sore throat, headache, etc.), but given that Kenya’s doctors are currently on strike, I thought it was best not to push the limits on my health right now.

I’ve been in Kenya for 3 weeks, and almost the whole time I’ve been here, the teachers and university professors have been on strike. And now, for the past week, the doctors have been on strike too. It’s interesting though that I probably wouldn’t even notice it if I didn’t read about it in the news or hear my colleagues talk about it. I haven’t seen any demonstrations or picketing or any other visible signs in town that the strikes are taking place.  The teachers and the doctors just don’t show up to work. I’ve even seen children walking to school and was told that they still go, and the principal of the school is still there, they just aren’t taught anything all day.

My colleague asked a neighbor who is a doctor what people do if they get sick, and he was told most just go to traditional healers. For those who have the funds--which is I believe is a small minority here--they can still go to private clinics, but for the majority of the population, there are less options until the strike ends. 

I also heard that some of the town's local politicians were recently on strike. Apparently strikes are very common here and are seen as the best way to get needs met. 

Field Visit 3: Farmer Kim

Yesterday I had my third visit to the field, this time to areas around a nearby forest. Thankfully, this trip was much closer to home, and though it was fun, it was still quite tiring. 

I left around 9 a.m. because I was determined to pick up some gum boots (or galoshes) after getting the heads up that it might be muddy where we were going. (And after my first field visit, I definitely wanted to be prepared). So I bought them from the local market and then went to the meeting place near the matatu station to meet my two colleagues who would be going with me. While I waited for them, an older man came up to me and tried to strike up a conversation.  It went something like this:

Man: “Hello, where are you from?” and some other small talk. Then “I don’t have a partner. I need a partner. Would you like to be my partner?  I like white ladies.”  

At that point I said “No thank you,” and then moved away to another area to wait.  

We then boarded a matatu (only 1 this time, thank goodness) for the forest. It was about an hour’s ride.  When we got there, I donned my gum boots and we hopped on piki pikis (dirt bikes) and took a 10 -20 minute ride down the dirt roads, as far as the piki piki drivers were willing to go before it got too muddy.  

Proudly sporting my gum boots

We then spent the next 3 and a half to 4 hours walking around farms in the area, visiting business owners, checking out their crops, takings photos, and talking with them (though it was mostly my colleagues and the business owners doing the talking, as most of the communication was in Swahili). Recommendations were provided about how to deal with pests and other challenges to crops, and to hear about how the businesses and groups were doing. Having not spent a lot of time on a farm since I was young, and not being too familiar with agriculture, I wasn’t able to add much, so I took on the roles of photographer and student.

Business owner with her crop

My coworker and I checking out the field

Several times throughout the day, we had kids following us, or leading us around to the next farm.  It felt like a bit of a parade at times, which was fun.  At one of the stops, we were taking a photo, and the business owner asked “Can I touch you?” I said sure, and this was the resulting photo:

Trying not to step on plants

Crazy scary sticker plants that pricked through clothing

Little helpers

We saw lots of cows, chickens and goats.  We also saw some children working in the field breaking up the land for planting. 

Children working in a field

A granary

Walking through the crops (hoping for no spiders!) 

At one place, my coworker bought a couple chickens.  The chickens were then along for the rest of the journey with us--walking around, then on the motorbike with us, and then home in the matatu. :)  

We got done around 3, took another piki piki back to the road, caught a matatu home, and got back in the pouring rain. Again, I was the only mzungu I saw all day until I got home. I’m definitely starting to gain an appreciation for what it's like to be a minority, and how one can feel pretty conspicuous when you look different from everyone else.

Rutted dirt road along the forest

Field Visit 2: Adventures in Matatus

On Tuesday I had my second visit to the field, this time a town northeast of here, which is quite a distance from where we live. It was fun, but it was long. We started out at 6:45 a.m. and walked to the matatu station. We boarded the first matatu, and rode that one for about an hour or more, and then it broke down. So we got on a second matatu. The available seat I was directed to was the far back right seat by the window (row 4 in the crowded bus). It was very cramped, and the seat was too high for the ceiling, so I spent the next hour or so unable to straighten up all the way, with my head bent forward in a semi-crouched position. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, the seat was damp, and I decided to assume it was due to prior rain leaking in the window or a spilled soda, rather than what I’ve heard about children wetting themselves on the matatus... To make matters worse, there was heavy road construction along that length of road, with many diversions off-road, so I had to keep my arm cradled over my head to cushion it as it banged on the ceiling and against the window. Let’s just say I was not enjoying the “Kenyan back massage” on this ride. On the up side though, the matatu had good music. :) 

We then got off at a major junction, where we had to change matatus, and while waiting, we decided to take some photos (though it was not exactly a scenic area). I was doing most of the taking, until a group of ladies said they wanted a photo with the mzungu.  Unfortunately, I forgot my sunglasses at home, so was squinting quite badly in most photos. We then boarded the final matatu to destination.  We made it after 3 and a half hours of travel.

When we arrived, we visited business groups that were practicing conversation by planting trees as a part of their business. They were very excited to have their photos taken.  It was a great group, and large, as you can see from the group photo. Then, to my surprise, I learned each business owner wanted their own individual picture, and yours truly would be the photographer. It was a lot of fun, and definitely a work out for the quads as I squatted down to take about 75 individual portraits. 

Afterwards we quickly stopped for tea and chapatti, which was lovely. I then served as note-taker for a meeting that took place in a local chief’s office and lasted a few hours.  Afterwards we had lunch, and then began the journey home. 

However, we didn’t board the first matatu right away because they wanted to charge us 30% more than the regular price. It was the mzungu price. Because I was there with my colleague, they wanted to charge us extra. So we waited, and said we’d take another bus, and they eventually let us on for the correct fare. During the ride on the first matatu, it started raining, and rain was leaking in the window on my colleague. On the second one, my knees were jammed into a bar in the back of the seat in front of me (again in the less than favorable back row), and unfortunately, I only had a large bill to pay for the ride (by large, I mean 1,000 Kenyan shillings, or around 12 dollars).  The conductor then decided to charge me a mzungu price by not giving all of my change back. I think they finally got tired of my colleague complaining about the overcharging and trying to get the balance of my money back, that we were then asked to get off this matatu, and board a 3rd one to get home.  

We finally ended our 4 hour journey back in Kakamega at 7 p.m.  Quite a day! I'm glad I went, but I'm not sure I want to make this journey by matatu again anytime soon!  However, I now have an even better appreciation for what a lot of people here (including my colleague) go through to get to where they need to go. And despite the distance and the number of different vehicles I was on, I was the only mzungu I saw all day until I got home.

Kenyan Culinary Delights

For those of you who know me well, you know I really enjoy trying different kinds of food. So it may come as no surprise that I am LOVING the food here!!  For some of it, I’m not sure if it’s Kenyan, or Ugandan, or just East African in general, but I have liked most everything I’ve tried since I got here.   From the first night that I arrived, when one of our Kenyan colleagues was making homemade chapatti, to having a “Rolex” this morning, the food has just been delicious!  I’m also trying to learn how to make some of these things so that I can cook for friends and family when I get back. :)

Chapatti

The style of local cooking, not surprisingly, seems to leverage a lot of locally available staples (rice & corn meal), locally grown greens, and legumes (beans, lentils, etc.).  Many of the ingredients are cheap and filling, since a great number of people who live in the areas we work in are poor and eat just 1-2 meals a day, often with meat only once or twice a week, at most.

Some local greens in garden by our office

So a quick run-down of some favorites so far include:

Local Yams – These are so good!  We got these from the local market and my Ugandan roommate cooked them for me.  They are white with purple coloring and have a smooth buttery flavor.   

Yams

Green Grams (Lentils) – made on the stovetop (as everything in our house is because that’s the only cooking device here) and cooked with tomatoes, red onions and curry powder. (I'll add a picture later when I have one.)

Sukuma wiki (a local kale) – cooked with, oil (we use Sunflower oil here), tomatoes, and red onions.  Delicious and nutritious!

Sukuma wiki

Beans – soaked overnight and cooked with oil, tomatoes and red onions (you may notice a trend here) and a local seasoning, Royco mchuzi mix (which I think actually goes into almost everything we eat)

Beans, ugali, yams & cabbage salad

The magic seasoning

Ugali/Posho – made from corn meal and water (pictured above).  The style we’ve been having is thicker (more meal less water) and is thus Kenyan Ugali; whereas if more water was used and it was made a bit softer (less firm), it would be considered Ugandan Posho.  By itself, Ugali tastes a little bland, but when used like rice and mixed with the beans or lentils, it’s quite tasty.  In addition, the same corn meal when mixed with a lot more water, plus milk and sugar, is made into a porridge, which is also quite tasty. :)

Main ingredient for ugali, posho & porridge 

Pilau – beef made with rice, onions, tomatoes and a special Pilau masala seasoning. This is one of my roommate’s favorite dishes. It was quite good, and has a neat unique flavor, but since I’m not big into beef, it’s not quite at the top of my list.

Pilau

Bhajia – I had these at a local restaurant. They are potatoes dipped in some kind of special spiced flour and then fried. Delicious!

Bhajia

Cabbage salad – We have cabbage salad with almost every meal, and usually it consists of cabbage, tomatoes, and red onions, and at times, carrots.  My roommates and I have a running joke about the proper way to prepare the cabbage.  My Ugandan roommate was not at all impressed with my cabbage chopping abilities, as they prefer it thinly sliced (as shown above).  I have since been banned from making the salad, and/or am refusing because of the daily ribbing.

Rolex – And last, but certainly not least, is the rolex, which I had heard about since I got here and just tried today.  It’s eggs mixed with onion, tomato and cabbage rolled up into a chapatti.  My roommate actually went out this morning to pick up the chapatti and made this for us. Rolexes are apparently very common in Uganda and can be purchased from street vendors there. It was really good, and really filling!

Rolex, as served

Rolex with a view of egg mixture inside

I think that’s about it for now. I’ve also had fish and chips, lots of rice, pizza (though it didn’t taste very much like pizza), and then we’ve made “American food” pasta for our roommate.  It’s fun to be cooking again, to learn about new foods, and to have these different cultural experiences.

My First Field Visit!

So I had my first visit to the field today. One of the region managers took me to a village on the outskirts of Kakamega to see a group having training in advance of receiving their first grant. It was quite an adventure!

We started out by walking from the office to the place where you get a matatu (or local bus; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matatu). Once we got there, my companion was immediately surrounded by several men shouting at him and physically moving him in different directions toward different matatus—I think trying to convince him which one we should get in. When we came to the matatu, it looked full to me.  There was one open seat.  Or so I thought… I was directed to the 3rd of 4 rows to a 2x4 board extended between the seats in that row.  So that was my seat.  My colleague then occupied the space between the seat ahead of me, and then 2 more people were wedged into the bus while 3 guys hung onto the outside of the open door.  I counted 23 people inside the 15 passenger van, plus the 3 hanging outside. I learned that the owner of the vehicle receives payment for every seat filled.  Any extra people in the non-seats become pocket money for the matatu’s operators. I found out afterward that my seat (and any others like it) are called “air time” which is a Kenyan play on words.  Here ‘air time’ typically means loading up your cell phone with extra minutes. In the case of the matatu, I think it refers to either the fact that you’re sitting suspended in the air, or if you hit a bump you might get air, or because the seat means extra pocket money for the operators (maybe so they can buy air time?).

When we got to our stop, we hopped out and headed toward the piki pikis (Swahili for motorbikes).  The drivers said that where we wanted to go was impossible due to the rains, which made the roads impassable.  So my colleague arranged with the driver to take us as far as he was willing to go. My coworker then asked if I wanted to ride on the back or in the middle?  After watching an episode of Tosho.0 this weekend where a girl bounces off the back of a motorcycle in a video clip, I opted for the middle seat.  Thus making, what I was told could jokingly be called a “mzungu sandwich.” (Mzungu is a Swahili term that technically means ‘foreigner,’ but is used to refer to white people here.)  We then went on down the dirt roads are far as we could go.

 

Afterwards, we walked the muddy roads (part of the time in the rain) for several kilometers to get to the church where the training was taking place.  Along the way I had many children (and some adults) shouting “Mzungu!” at me as I passed. Children also came running up to see me, shouting “Mzungu, How are you?”  The below photo was taken after we passed one group of kids and were pretty far down the road and then they started shouting “Take my photo!” So I did.

We then sat in on the training of business savings group members who were learning how to write a constitution for their savings groups. The training took place in a mud walled church, and was conducted in Swahili. I was asked to say a few words at the beginning, and fortunately, my colleague had provided some suggestions in advance so I wasn’t caught off guard. My comments were then translated into Swahili.  Everyone was really nice, and it was a great experience. The man whose family owned the land where the church was situated also invited me into his home to meet his mother and father.

Church where training took place

Training session

Fortunately, later in the day the sun came out and partially dried the roads making the walk back a little easier to negotiate. Along the way, we stopped by a stand that was owned by a business owner from another group that had benefited from one of our organization’s grants. 

Walking back with my coworkers

We then hopped on another motorbike, which took us to a place where we caught a much smaller, but equally crowded matatu, and made our way back home.  It was really neat to get out and to meet some of the people who are benefiting from our program. I look forward to future opportunities for field visits and getting more familiar with the area and the local transportation. 

Rough day for the shoes

Making do without Power

So during my first week or so here in Kenya, I’ve been learning to get accustomed to frequent power outages. In just the past week, my roommates and I have cooked our evening meal by headlamp twice and eaten dinner by candlelight (very romantic).  And we have had to run the generator during the day to power the office computers and wifi for at least a portion of the day for 4 out of the past 5 work days.  In addition, I’ve started to keep my headlamp somewhere on my person in the evenings (usually hanging around my neck, quite the fashion statement) so as not to be caught in the middle of something somewhere in the house with no light.

Frequently the outages occur during the daily rainstorms, but sometimes there is no obvious explanation. For example, last night, the power went off about 3 times between 6 and 9 p.m. Each time it came back on, it ranged from being on less than 1 minute to no more than 10-15 minutes before shutting off again. It certainly makes life interesting!  I hear the power is even less reliable in Uganda, so I will have to report on that when I get there later this year.

Generator used to power the office during work hours

Something else I’ve noticed is how good my Kenyan colleagues are at conserving energy.  The one fluorescent tube light in the office is basically never on during the day, because we have light that comes in through the windows.  One day last week, when we were working on data entry, I turned on the light to try to see the source document I was working with a little better.  One of the staff members came up to kindly ask me if I really needed the light on?  I felt a little guilty, but yes, I did given I could barely make out what I was reading. Meanwhile, at the same time, we have another group of Kenyan staff members that works in the dining room, further from the windows, and usually they seem to be working in semi-darkness. It is certainly a contrast from American office buildings that have lots of overhead lights, plus individual desk lights, that are often on even in the evenings when nobody is there.  I think the conservation here is a combination of trying to mitigate the cost of energy, cultural differences with what comforts you’re used to having, and working for a nonprofit.  Either way, it definitely causes one to think about what conveniences we take for granted as part of daily life in the US.

My morning workout

(Post from Saturday 9/1/12)

So at first I was concerned about not having opportunities to exercise while here in Africa.  But not to fear!  After hand washing 10 days' worth of laundry, I got quite the work out.  Not only do you get exercise wringing the water out of the clothes, but since rain can come so quickly here, I may also be doing sprints to pull my clothes off the line before they are soaked in a torrential downpour.

I must say though, I think this was the one lack of convenience that I feared the most about coming here, but it was not so bad. But ask me again 6 months from now and I may be singing a different tune. I will definitely have to figure out a more ergonomically appropriate set up for future washing, since this one was not so kind on my back...

At this rate, I'll at least have strong hand, arm and back muscles when I return!