Special Delivery!

It was a very exciting day today!  My roommate and I went to the post office, and we both received packages.  This was my first time receiving mail in Africa. 

My first package!

At first we were worried the packages wouldn't make it before we left for Uganda. Fortunately, we made friends with someone at the Kakamega post office, so he kept an eye out for our mail, and called us as soon as some parcels arrived. 

It's interesting, I was warned ahead of time that the customs office in Kenya will search the boxes. Apparently anything that looks valuable may be removed from the box before you receive it, so you have to be careful about what you send. As you can see, it appears my package, in addition to being a little squished, also had been opened and "inspected."

Fortunately, it looks like everything made it through (though I'll have to confirm with my parents next time we skype). 

The booty! (both my and roommate's packages, she really likes Cheetos)

Quite the banner day! Unfortunately, another much-anticipated parcel made it through Kenyan customs on Thursday, but hasn't arrived in Kakamega yet. Since I'm leaving for Uganda tomorrow, I'll have to have a coworker pick it up when arrives. It will then be transported with the next person in our organization who travels from Kenya to Uganda, where I'll be staying until I go home for a couple weeks at Christmas. 

Beehives and Bumpy Roads

Yesterday I had my last excursion in Kenya for a while before we leave for Uganda tomorrow. We were beginning the process of dispersing beehives to business owners around the Kisere forest.  

Prepping beehives for disbursement

It started out with a matatu ride to the first site. Fortunately, this bus was far roomier and nicer than your typical matatu since we hired it for just our staff for the day.  The road was pretty muddy since it had rained the night before.  There was one point when we got stuck, and I didn’t know if we were going to make it, but we eventually got there.

In the matatu with my coworkers

Outside view of the matatu and a cow

When we arrived at the first site we were warmly greeted by singing and dancing.  The landscape in that area is just beautiful!  We then watched a series of speeches, including one from a local politician and some organizations we partnered with to disperse the beehives.  

Beehives in the truck

Unloading the hives

A warm reception

Afterwards, there was a ceremonial installation of a beehive (most of the hives will be installed next week).

Ceremonial installation 

I even made a new friend. 

We then went down some far more challenging roads to the second site, where were again warmly greeted by another group of business owners.  They had been waiting for us since 11:30 that morning, and I think we got there around 3:30 p.m.  We then had to wait for another hour or so for the rest of the entourage to arrive.  I believe this kind of thing happens often in Africa, given transportation can be unreliable, roads are tough to navigate, and people tend to run on Kenyan time, which can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours (or more) after the committed to time.  For someone like me who likes to be really punctual, it can take some adjusting to run on Kenyan time. :) 

Sign posted for the event and business owners waiting

My roommates/coworkers and a business owner

Local schoolchildren watching the excitement

Generously offered snacks

The second disbursement went a bit more quickly.  Thankfully, the business owners were kind and generously provided snacks to hold us over.  The event was then interrupted by a torrential downpour.  Fortunately, we were inside, but the rain was so loud, it became difficult to hear anything.  

Business owners receiving their hive

Rain outside the church window

We then we had quite the adventure trying to get home.  Some of us squeezed into the cab of the truck, and the matatu we hired got stuck at least 2 or 3 times in the mud, and required LOTS of help to get moving again. 

In the truck with coworkers

We finally got home around 5:30 p.m., or about 2 hours after our planned return time, and had a very late (but delicious) lunch!  

Muddy roads after the rain

Chick Warmers

Ok, so I’ve got to admit, this is kind of embarrassing... and a confirmation that I have NO business rearing livestock. So as I mentioned in a previous blog post, we are preparing to pilot a chicken (kuku) business. This entails preparing to receive the baby chicks, among other things. 

So I guess when you get baby chicks, you have to keep them warm.  Definitely makes sense.  So we ordered a number of “chick warmers” (see below)  

Chick warmer

When they were delivered, I was a little perplexed.  I thought, really?  We put the chicks in there?  Seems a little inhumane, but at least they have air holes. And I guess if it keeps them warm...  Far be it from me to judge, given I have no experience in this area.

Turns out these warmers go in the chicken house with warm coals placed on the inside of the warmers. The chicks stay on the outside. Duh.  

People definitely got a kick out of my misunderstanding of this concept.  

Counting Sheep…

So one thing I will not miss when I leave Kakamega is the variety of night sounds that can tend to make sleeping through the night here a challenge.

The two most common are barking dogs--and if it’s between the hours of 5 or 5:30 a.m.--the call to prayer from the local mosques.  Now those of you who know me know that I used to always wake up between 5 and 5:30 on weekdays, so you may think, what’s the big deal? But part of the beauty of having no commute to the office and a workday that starts at 9 a.m. is supposed to be the ability to sleep in…  

I actually like hearing the sounds of the call to prayer, but just not that early. In fact, one morning it was so loud I literally thought it was taking place right outside the compound gate. I even texted our night security guard to see if he knew what the deal was. Although that also took place during the first few days of the news about the Muslim movie protests, so I think I was just a bit on edge…

I’ve also about decided I’m not a big fan of African dogs.  And that’s saying a lot since I really love dogs. I rarely see them here, but I hear them barking every single night. I think they’re nocturnal. You are way more likely to see goats wandering around during the day than dogs. I think I can count on one hand the number of dogs I’ve ever seen during the day here. Usually it’s just a flash of one running through our back yard.  And there are also dog fights that you hear at least once or twice a week in the wee hours. Last night in particular, the local dog pack was not happy about something and it sounded like at least 6 to 8 were having a serious smack down at 2 a.m.

Finally, there is also the almost nightly honking horn or person talking outside, which I suppose you will experience in any city.  

But, what’s truly impressive about the nightly cacophony is how well I can hear it through the earplugs I wear every night. 

It’s Swahili to me

It used to be that when I was confused by something, I might say something like “He may as well have been speaking Swahili because I have NO idea what that guy was talking about.”  Or something to that effect.  It’s still pretty much the case that when people speak Swahili here in Kenya, I still don’t know what they’re saying, but I have been learning some key phrases. These are my favorites that I have used the most so far: 

Asante sana (pronounced uh-son-tee sau-na) which means "thank you very much"

Karibu (pronounced ka-ree-boo) which can be used to say "you’re welcome" after someone says thank you or also means "welcome," like welcome to my home.

Pole (pronounced pole-ay) which means "Sorry!"  This is often said when you drop something or trip, or something like that. It seems like I hear this one a lot, as I can tend to be a bit clumsy.

Hakuna stima (pronounced ha-kuhn-uh stee-muh), which is used all too often, and means "no power." It also makes me think of Hakuna Matata from the Lion King.

Mzuri sana (pronounced: Missouri sau-na ),which means "very good" (mzuri=good).  I like this one because you say it like Missouri, and it makes me think of my friends in the show me state. 

Kuku House

The house is going to have chickens!  Or kukus, in Swahili.  Or chicks rather, sometime in the next month or so.  We are piloting a new chicken business, and we had to make sure the cost of materials and all logistics fit the necessary parameters. Therefore, over the course of a weekend, a chicken coop was erected in our back yard.  Singlehandedly, by one man.  Pretty impressive. The coop was constructed using tools and materials that are most likely to be available to our business owners, who are low income farmers in rural villages. The structure was put up in advance of a training session so that our business mentors would be able to accurately instruct and advise the business owners on how to build the Kuku house. I was so thrilled by the excitement of it all that I decided to capture the construction on  camera.  

Digging holes with a panga (machete)

Framing it up (I think)

Prepping the roof with some supervision

Prepping the walls for mud

Creating mud walls, as many homes are made of here

The completed Kuku coop

I was really excited for the chicks to get here, but it looks like I'll now be heading to Uganda soon for the rest of the year. But I'm glad I got to see how it all came together. 

Making Ugali

So I made my first Kenyan dish all on my own last night!! I have served as sous chef for my Ugandan roommate as she showed me how to make local dishes, but this was the first time for me to make one all on my own (or almost)… 

It was our roommate’s birthday, and we were convinced that she would not do any of the cooking on her special day. So the rest of the roommates and I each made a dish. I took on making the Ugali (see Kenyan Culinary Delights blog post for more info).

I did alright for the most part, but had to be corrected when I started out by boiling enough water to make a serving size for 10, rather than 4.  So after that, I was supervised to make sure I didn’t botch it. :)  This was especially funny since there are only 2 ingredients – corn flour and water.  It’s made by boiling water, then stirring in the maize flour, and then working it into a dough-like substance until it stiffens up and becomes more solid -- which can be quite a work out.

 

The verdict: My dish was “Nice” as compared to one of the other dishes which was “Really Good” but I’m still proud. And most important, the birthday girl had a good time!  And so did the rest of us!  

Beekeeping

I had the unexpected pleasure of attending training on beekeeping today.  It was quite interesting.  Some fun facts I learned included:

1. We have a beehive here on our compound (I didn’t realize that).
2. Bees may attack you if they don’t like your perfume (or actually, they just don’t like perfume in general).
3. The queen bee is a bit of a floozy. On her maiden voyage, at the tender age of 7 days, the queen bee leaves the hive and mates with 8-10 drones (male bees), leaves them behind and heads back to her hive. All male bees who have mated with her, or attempted to, will die. Not a good deal for the drones.
4. Whiskey can be used to treat a bee sting. Apparently it’s supposed to be used topically, but I’m guessing drinking it would also help to dull the pain.
5. There are honey badgers here, and they are one of the predators (or honey robbers) we discussed, along with humans, wasps (aka bee pirates), and ants, to name a few.
6. If bees don’t like their hive they will abscond.  (I just liked hearing the repeated use of the word abscond.)
7. If bees come toward you and swarm around your head, you should put your hands up on either side of your head to try to break their communication and calmly walk away.

As the lesson concluded, I thought I had done pretty well taking notes and soaking in all the knowledge.  Then something buzzed by my ear, and I flew out of my chair and ran across the room.  It was actually a wasp.  But the incident was quite embarrassing for me and entertaining for the instructor and my fellow students. I think I definitely failed that one. 

Bee hive at our house

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.