2nd post about Nairobi

I have been told that I should have more frequent blog posts that are shorter. I will try to write a few each week and then update several at a time every few weeks (that's the best I can do, Christina). I will post them with dates corresponding to when they were written, so don't be surprised if 6 appear at once. Also, I now have email on my phone, so if that is easier, you can keep in touch with me that way.

Also, this week I read a transcript of the last speech that E.F. Schumacher made before he died. It is completely amazing and you should google it and read it. Schumacher wrote the book Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, which shaped a lot of development work in the last 35 years.

In any case, here is the rest of what happened in Nairobi. It is a bustling city and I can understand why the sign in KSL (Kenyan Sign Language) for it means "don't go there." Also, I now have a sign name, and it was legitimately given by a deaf person (sign names aren't kosher if they come from hearing people). I found a restaurant and got a hamburger and a chocolate-banana milkshake, but I never ate cheese while I was there. They brought in more currently serving volunteers so that we could talk with them and learn about their experiences. As well as get to know them a little better. On Wednesday night, we brought some drinks back to the hotel and really unwound after training. (I was Mr. Classy with an impressively tasty box of wine.)

The swearing in happened on Thursday. The 35 of us (that is 16 who are sworn in and 19 of us are "provisional". Remember when it used to be 42? Actually, it was as high as 39 when we got to Nairobi...) got to meet with representatives from Kenya's government and the U.S. Embassy. There were some speeches, but the best was the one made by the volunteers (Paula in English, Charlotte in sign language and Eckhart in Swahili). They did an amazing job.

After swear-in, I shared another box of wine with two of the most remarkable volunteers in our group. Paula is a business volunteer, who, after a successful banking career, decided to travel the world for 8 years and then join the Peace Corps. She was born during the Eisenhower administration, but she is probably the most energetic volunteer. Pat is also a business volunteer and she gives Paula a run for her money in energy level. She has also done some work in Ghana and she was born during the Truman administration. The three of us talked a lot about training, and it is really inspirational to see their energy and attitude towards life. It was good to have one last hurrah before saying goodbye to everyone. We will have a training together in April, but it was still hard to go.

More to come soon...