Permaculture Training Part 2

Well, Nanyuki wasn't all work. Our sessions were just daytime, so the 12 volunteers there got to spend a lot of time together. Also, it is possible that one of the cooking projects led by the lady from the Ministry of Agriculture included some not fully cooked vegetables because a lot of the volunteers had some extra creatures living in their intestines for most of the week. At least we were all going through it together. I think I had it the worst because for most of the week, I could only eat bread and drink juice.

We threw the frisbee around a lot at our hotel. The terrain was pretty nice. There was a slight hill to prevent us from throwing wildly in one direction. The clotheslines made for some interesting deflections (they were just stiff wire, and the frisbee would do some pretty crazy stuff if you hit it right). Someone (okay, it was me) managed to get the frisbee stuck on the roof. I had to climb a somewhat questionable tree and swat awkwardly with a plank to knock it down. I think my favorite part was when Allen (one of the deaf volunteers) through a bullet of a frisbee that nearly decapitated Jeff (one of the business volunteers) as he was (foolishly) walking through our game of catch. The throw only slightly grazed Jeff's ear, but that could have led to some problems. I was also asked by one of the volunteers about the coriolis effect, so I had to stop playing for a few minutes to derive some physics on my arm (what can you do if you don't have paper with you?).

The equator happens to pass through Nanyuki, so we got to hang out on the equator for a bit (there are even pictures on facebook). We also got harassed a lot by the curio sellers who target all the tourists who take pictures at the equator.

We apparently brought rain with us, because the area hadn't seen rain for a few months, but our third day there, the skies opened and it was glorious. There was so much mud after that, I'm not sure my jeans will ever be blue again.

I spent a lot of time in Nanyuki (as well as at the other training) talking to the other volunteer named Daniel (he's Daniel Mex and I'm Daniel Math to education volunteers; he's D^2 and I'm M^2 to business volunteers). We thoroughly enjoy having quadrilingual conversations (Spanish, English, Swahili, French in order of decreasing frequency). We had conversations ranging from philosophical to completely off the wall. It was good times.

The hotel had a bar where everyone would hang out. We played a bit of darts and pool while we were there. We also had a couple of late-night games of poker. As usual, I enjoyed the conversations far more than the cards. Still, I had some pretty sweet lucky streaks and took 2nd in our first game. We kept trying to get Peace Corps staff to join in the games, but they always declined. After the games, we would watch whatever UEFA match was showing in the bar that night. Good times.

I got to see 4 movies while we were there (I haven't seen movies for a while) so I want to give each of them a paragraph.

Home Alone 3. Yes, they made a 3rd. It's pretty much the exact same thing as the first two. Except without Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci or Daniel Stern. Still, it was fun to watch. Also, there was a bratty older sister and it kept bugging me. I knew that I had seen her in some movie or TV show or something. Finally, the credits rolled. The movie included a 12 year old Scarlet Johannsen (sp?). Weird. It was pretty fun to watch those burglars getting burned, electrocuted, battered, and all manner of other abuse.

The Constant Gardener. I had seen it before, but it was all the more interesting to see now that I am staying in Kenya (where the movie is set) and after visiting Kibera (where much of the action occurs). The movie presents aid in a pretty cynical (though justified) light. The story is not the most cheerful, but the performances are great.

Slumdog Millionaire. Pretty fun movie. I was surprised they didn't have their Bollywood dance until the end credits. The story is pretty Bollywood formulaic, but a good way to introduce Americans to Bollywood. I also enjoyed the way they portrayed the slums in that movie and the depiction of the gritty underworld didn't seem overdone. I was proud that I could answer more than half of the questions on the game show.

Milk. Wow. Just wow. The movie was really well done. Especially the casting. It was a very powerful look at the rise of the gay political movement in San Francisco in the 70s. Words cannot describe how well Sean Penn performed. I have a criticism and I will try not to ruin anything, but I will do this anyway. **SPOILER ALERT** I was a little let down by the fact that Dan Brown (played rather well by Josh Brolin) was never actually shown eating candy or twinkies or anything. Maybe the filmmakers were trying to make a point about the aftermath, but I was confused. **FINISHED**

All in all, training was lots of fun. Now that we've finished, it's time to get back to school and shift back into drive.