Thanks to a lot of help from other volunteers, I have finally posted some pictures. I will add descriptions eventually. :)
Check it out! The three most recent are my Kenya pictures. With captions and everything. Almost 60 is a good start. I'll try to get more when I can.
A certain person with a few more internet capabilities than I have keeps complaining about the lack of pictures on my blog. I think people will just have to live with this present format for the foreseeable future.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Party in Mombasa
I finally made it to Mombasa with a big group of Peace Corps volunteers. I met a few volunteers who I still hadn't met (good thing, since some of them are going home soon).
The morning started off fun. I just missed the other volunteers in Voi, so I wound up traveling alone. I got to Mombasa in the morning and went to Paul's (one of the deaf education volunteers) school. A few other volunteers were there and we did some computer stuff and swapped stories for a while. Then we grabbed some Chinese food for lunch (delicious!) and then hit the beach.
This was my first time at the Indian Ocean. We got there in the afternoon and it was low tide. Very, very low tide. The water was beautiful and warm and transparent. Probably one of the most gorgeous scenes I've ever seen. We wanted to go out so that the water would come up past our knees. We were pretty far out, and the water felt like it was getting shallower. I noticed that I had cut my hands on a few things at the bottom (it was pretty hard to swim without scraping the bottom). They were pretty irritating, what with all of the salt water. Then, a few small cuts were the least of my issues.
I took a step and my right toe really started hurting. I was trying to figure out what happened, and then I felt a lot of thorns in my right leg. After yelling quite a long stream of profanity, some of my friends helped me get back to safety (I've been very restrained with my language around Kenyans, but there were none near us in the water, so it was quite impressive). We looked at my leg and realized that I had stumbled into a nest of sea urchins. Ow. Two friends helped tow me to the shore. I was in complete agony (I think 10 thorns in my toe and 30 in my shin). We miraculously had tweezers and a sharp knife (these things get in there really deep and leave nice purple welts). However, I thought it would be better to call Peace Corps medical and they said that the best thing to do is to rub papaya on the sites because there are enzymes that will dissolve the spines. I was very grateful to not have people digging around my lower appendages and extremities with a knife.
While someone went for papaya my friend Jackie and I (she only had one urchin) sat on the beach and talked. She's been working in Nairobi for almost two months now, and is about to finish up her work in Kenya. We discussed networking things that we need to do for one another and follow-up work that I can do from this end. Not nearly enough time for everything we had to say and I was trying not to think about all the purple spots on my leg. After thirty minutes of searching, we were told that there are no papayas on the beach this late in the afternoon. At that point, we all decided to pack up and go to the supermarket (more like mega-market) and get some papaya and other supplies. We applied the papaya, and it was glorious. Still a bit painful, but much, much better.
After that, we had a delicious dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant (shawarma=delicious) and then met up with a lot of volunteers at a club called Il Covo. We had a lot of fun drinking and dancing the night away. My foot sent me painful reminders over the course of the night and it didn't help that several people stepped on it on the dance floor. Still, I really enjoyed all the people there and met some really interesting ones, the lights were nice at the club, although the music could have been a bit better. Once it was sufficiently late, we headed to another volunteer's house and crashed. I think we all slept really well.
Most importantly, always keep papaya on hand for those sea urchin encounters. :)
The morning started off fun. I just missed the other volunteers in Voi, so I wound up traveling alone. I got to Mombasa in the morning and went to Paul's (one of the deaf education volunteers) school. A few other volunteers were there and we did some computer stuff and swapped stories for a while. Then we grabbed some Chinese food for lunch (delicious!) and then hit the beach.
This was my first time at the Indian Ocean. We got there in the afternoon and it was low tide. Very, very low tide. The water was beautiful and warm and transparent. Probably one of the most gorgeous scenes I've ever seen. We wanted to go out so that the water would come up past our knees. We were pretty far out, and the water felt like it was getting shallower. I noticed that I had cut my hands on a few things at the bottom (it was pretty hard to swim without scraping the bottom). They were pretty irritating, what with all of the salt water. Then, a few small cuts were the least of my issues.
I took a step and my right toe really started hurting. I was trying to figure out what happened, and then I felt a lot of thorns in my right leg. After yelling quite a long stream of profanity, some of my friends helped me get back to safety (I've been very restrained with my language around Kenyans, but there were none near us in the water, so it was quite impressive). We looked at my leg and realized that I had stumbled into a nest of sea urchins. Ow. Two friends helped tow me to the shore. I was in complete agony (I think 10 thorns in my toe and 30 in my shin). We miraculously had tweezers and a sharp knife (these things get in there really deep and leave nice purple welts). However, I thought it would be better to call Peace Corps medical and they said that the best thing to do is to rub papaya on the sites because there are enzymes that will dissolve the spines. I was very grateful to not have people digging around my lower appendages and extremities with a knife.
While someone went for papaya my friend Jackie and I (she only had one urchin) sat on the beach and talked. She's been working in Nairobi for almost two months now, and is about to finish up her work in Kenya. We discussed networking things that we need to do for one another and follow-up work that I can do from this end. Not nearly enough time for everything we had to say and I was trying not to think about all the purple spots on my leg. After thirty minutes of searching, we were told that there are no papayas on the beach this late in the afternoon. At that point, we all decided to pack up and go to the supermarket (more like mega-market) and get some papaya and other supplies. We applied the papaya, and it was glorious. Still a bit painful, but much, much better.
After that, we had a delicious dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant (shawarma=delicious) and then met up with a lot of volunteers at a club called Il Covo. We had a lot of fun drinking and dancing the night away. My foot sent me painful reminders over the course of the night and it didn't help that several people stepped on it on the dance floor. Still, I really enjoyed all the people there and met some really interesting ones, the lights were nice at the club, although the music could have been a bit better. Once it was sufficiently late, we headed to another volunteer's house and crashed. I think we all slept really well.
Most importantly, always keep papaya on hand for those sea urchin encounters. :)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Communication of all sorts
I have become somewhat notorious with my second year students for saying very bizarre sentences in Swahili during class. The word zero sounds like cooking pot, so now, seven minus seven equals cooking pot. There is also a greeting "U mzima?", which pretty much means, "are you complete?" or "are you still in one piece?" Originally, I would give them a different fraction everyday (hapana, ni nusu = no, I am half). However, one day, I decided to invent a new word based on Swahili grammar rules. (-ote means the entire if it has a singular prefix and all if it is plural. I applied it to the first person singular pronoun, which is not done normally. Mimi mote.) Now, most of the students and some of the teachers have adopted my new word.
One of the students was discussing the conduct of the students this week at the weekly assembly and she announced "I want to congratulate you on being very co-operative this week." That's a pretty typical announcement if there haven't been big discipline cases. Then she continued "I also want to congratulate you on so many students coming late. Let's not have that next week." Hmmmm, I don't think congratulate was the word she was looking for there. Well, they need to build their English vocabulary and I need to build my Swahili vocabulary. I'm sure if they kept blogs they would make fun of the words I use (e.g. when I was sick, I told them that my stomach was a house of bacteria).
I got a really nice email from Dr. Patty, who recently left Peace Corps Kenya staff and is now working in Boston. She will be meeting with the IDDS organizing staff, so we exchanged a few messages. She is really wonderful, and we were sad to see her go. Still, it sounds like everything is going very well for her. Her email made me really happy.
In sadder news, one of my favorite puppies (well, she's 12, but still a puppy in my book) from back in the States is being put down. She was definitely a sweetie.
I got a few emails that I had been waiting on for a bit longer than I would have liked. Still, the responses were positive, so I was very happy to get them. I had another email where someone was concerned that I was spreading myself too thin. As usual. I should probably figure out a way not to do that. Eventually.
I had a phone call this week that made me very anxious. I hate waitng. Too vague? Probably. Well, that's all I will say for now.
I even started using facebook on my phone. I'm not terribly thrilled about it, but I know that for some people it is the only way that I'll be able to keep up with them.
I found out that one of my friends is in the hospital. It sounds pretty serious, but he is always really upbeat about everything. I just have to hope that this all passes soon. Scratch that. Two friends. :-(
This weekend, I will finally go to Mombasa. Very excited about that! Should be a blast.
One of the students was discussing the conduct of the students this week at the weekly assembly and she announced "I want to congratulate you on being very co-operative this week." That's a pretty typical announcement if there haven't been big discipline cases. Then she continued "I also want to congratulate you on so many students coming late. Let's not have that next week." Hmmmm, I don't think congratulate was the word she was looking for there. Well, they need to build their English vocabulary and I need to build my Swahili vocabulary. I'm sure if they kept blogs they would make fun of the words I use (e.g. when I was sick, I told them that my stomach was a house of bacteria).
I got a really nice email from Dr. Patty, who recently left Peace Corps Kenya staff and is now working in Boston. She will be meeting with the IDDS organizing staff, so we exchanged a few messages. She is really wonderful, and we were sad to see her go. Still, it sounds like everything is going very well for her. Her email made me really happy.
In sadder news, one of my favorite puppies (well, she's 12, but still a puppy in my book) from back in the States is being put down. She was definitely a sweetie.
I got a few emails that I had been waiting on for a bit longer than I would have liked. Still, the responses were positive, so I was very happy to get them. I had another email where someone was concerned that I was spreading myself too thin. As usual. I should probably figure out a way not to do that. Eventually.
I had a phone call this week that made me very anxious. I hate waitng. Too vague? Probably. Well, that's all I will say for now.
I even started using facebook on my phone. I'm not terribly thrilled about it, but I know that for some people it is the only way that I'll be able to keep up with them.
I found out that one of my friends is in the hospital. It sounds pretty serious, but he is always really upbeat about everything. I just have to hope that this all passes soon. Scratch that. Two friends. :-(
This weekend, I will finally go to Mombasa. Very excited about that! Should be a blast.
Paper is a Vegetable
My teaching methods have always been a bit odd. In order to keep the students' attention, I usually have to be very animated. Verrrrrrrrry animated. Sometimes this means walking or running into walls. Other times, I have to slam various parts of my body with the door. I even started eating the leaves of various plants around the school compound last week (I'm still alive, so it can't be too poisonous). And in nearly every lesson, I shout and stomp to add emphasis to the main points (I think I learned that one from Jessica Young). Over the course of this week, my methods have probably become increasingly unorthodox.
On Monday, one of the students did not want to go to the board and demonstrate a math problem. I knew this would set a bad precedent, so I said that if she wouldn't help me, I would cry. This is quite a contrast to many of the other teachers who like to use (usually empty) threats. I then proceeded to kneel on the floor next to her and wail until she slid out of her chair to try the problem. The second year students tend to require me to be a bit more animated, otherwise, they really lose focus.
On Tuesday, a student in agriculture asked a question and I proceeded to explain, "No. Paper is not a vegetable. You see..." Then a student interrupted me. "Sir. Not paper. Paper." Well, actually, they were asking about pepper. It turns out, "paper" is a vegetable.
On Wednesday, we did a lab. My first one in a while. We were mixing acids and carbonates. I opted to use one of the unlabeled acids. Also, we're pretty low on distilled water, so I decided to use a relatively high (though unknown) concentration. A student asked "Sir, is this sulfuric acid?" I responded the only way I could: "Maybe." No casualties of this lab, although the acid made a few small yellow spots on my hands and turned one of my fingernails yellow. (That means they're healthy, right?) Anyone who has ever seen me in a chemistry lab would be shocked to hear me say this, but, I wish I had gloves and goggles.
On Thursday, my topic in physics was types of forces. In order to cover both tension and centripetal force in the same topic, I threw a rope over one of the roof beams and proceeded to do a flip (it turns out that they are in fact able to support my body weight). Good thing the bell rang just then, otherwise they would have had me doing flips for the rest of the lesson. At least I gave them a "don't try this at home."
On Friday (today), one of my agriculture students was asking about the difference between cereals and vegetables (I probably added to his confusion by saying that potatoes and cassava are vegetables, but I corrected that quickly). As the discussion went on, he wasn't entirely sure how to ask, so he asked don't some cereals cause people to and then gestured a bit wider in their midsections. I decided to end the lesson talking about how energy is stored, and then using the phrase "matako kubwa sana." I'll let you look that one up on your own, but the students laughed for the next five minutes.
Also, I nearly uttered a few profanities during a lesson when I realized that I was relying on the agriculture book to explain a topic to the students, and it completely contradicted itself. To the point where I had no idea whether either statement was remotely correct. Good work as usual, Kenya Literature Bureau. Speaking of the KLB, I have a strong suspicion that their agriculture books are not written by farmers. In fact, it seems pretty clear to me that to be an author, you must be part of the industrial fertilizer lobby. Makes for really good textbooks. And a really good education system.
On the plus side, the napier grass is actually looking pretty healthy. I'm really happy about how that has been turning out. Let's hope it continues that way. The compost is not going so well, but I haven't had any time to make the necessary corrective measures. At least it probably provides a more valuable lesson to the students.
I finally convinced my principal to give me a small posterboard. It is now my periodic table that I can hang up in different classrooms. Kinda hard to teach chemistry when the students don't have a periodic table to refer to. I am hoping that this will convince him to buy more posters so that we can make lots more for different subjects.
30 lessons is exhausting. It's even more exhausting when I see a certain colleague of mine who has only 10 lessons and only goes to about 5 of them. And then try to borrow money from me. Well, "borrow", since I don't expect I would ever see it again.
On Monday, one of the students did not want to go to the board and demonstrate a math problem. I knew this would set a bad precedent, so I said that if she wouldn't help me, I would cry. This is quite a contrast to many of the other teachers who like to use (usually empty) threats. I then proceeded to kneel on the floor next to her and wail until she slid out of her chair to try the problem. The second year students tend to require me to be a bit more animated, otherwise, they really lose focus.
On Tuesday, a student in agriculture asked a question and I proceeded to explain, "No. Paper is not a vegetable. You see..." Then a student interrupted me. "Sir. Not paper. Paper." Well, actually, they were asking about pepper. It turns out, "paper" is a vegetable.
On Wednesday, we did a lab. My first one in a while. We were mixing acids and carbonates. I opted to use one of the unlabeled acids. Also, we're pretty low on distilled water, so I decided to use a relatively high (though unknown) concentration. A student asked "Sir, is this sulfuric acid?" I responded the only way I could: "Maybe." No casualties of this lab, although the acid made a few small yellow spots on my hands and turned one of my fingernails yellow. (That means they're healthy, right?) Anyone who has ever seen me in a chemistry lab would be shocked to hear me say this, but, I wish I had gloves and goggles.
On Thursday, my topic in physics was types of forces. In order to cover both tension and centripetal force in the same topic, I threw a rope over one of the roof beams and proceeded to do a flip (it turns out that they are in fact able to support my body weight). Good thing the bell rang just then, otherwise they would have had me doing flips for the rest of the lesson. At least I gave them a "don't try this at home."
On Friday (today), one of my agriculture students was asking about the difference between cereals and vegetables (I probably added to his confusion by saying that potatoes and cassava are vegetables, but I corrected that quickly). As the discussion went on, he wasn't entirely sure how to ask, so he asked don't some cereals cause people to and then gestured a bit wider in their midsections. I decided to end the lesson talking about how energy is stored, and then using the phrase "matako kubwa sana." I'll let you look that one up on your own, but the students laughed for the next five minutes.
Also, I nearly uttered a few profanities during a lesson when I realized that I was relying on the agriculture book to explain a topic to the students, and it completely contradicted itself. To the point where I had no idea whether either statement was remotely correct. Good work as usual, Kenya Literature Bureau. Speaking of the KLB, I have a strong suspicion that their agriculture books are not written by farmers. In fact, it seems pretty clear to me that to be an author, you must be part of the industrial fertilizer lobby. Makes for really good textbooks. And a really good education system.
On the plus side, the napier grass is actually looking pretty healthy. I'm really happy about how that has been turning out. Let's hope it continues that way. The compost is not going so well, but I haven't had any time to make the necessary corrective measures. At least it probably provides a more valuable lesson to the students.
I finally convinced my principal to give me a small posterboard. It is now my periodic table that I can hang up in different classrooms. Kinda hard to teach chemistry when the students don't have a periodic table to refer to. I am hoping that this will convince him to buy more posters so that we can make lots more for different subjects.
30 lessons is exhausting. It's even more exhausting when I see a certain colleague of mine who has only 10 lessons and only goes to about 5 of them. And then try to borrow money from me. Well, "borrow", since I don't expect I would ever see it again.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Random Thoughts
So I am about to slightly modify my post Faux Pas. My class council has asked me to submit a blog post for the alum newsletter, so I figured I'd go with that one. I just need to make it a bit more friendly to first time readers.
Also, I am currently trying to upload pictures. Still to no avail.
This week my lessons went well, but my mind was a bit preoccupied. I probably didn't help things by reading a novel about war in Sri Lanka. The bright spot of the week was definitely an email from another volunteer who feels my pain. He said that he would murder a baby panda for a can of Cherry Coke.
I ate lunch with my students one day. I was a bit hesitant to do that too early, because I wasn't sure if the other teachers would be upset by such an informal action. At this point, I think their used to my disdain for most formalities. We had a nice time, and the students asked me lots and lots of questions. I think the best part was the roaring laughter as I waited in the students' lunch line instead of waiting in the staff room to be served. We had a good time, and I may have arranged my sister's marriage. Lucky her.
Also, I found myself keeping up with people really well this week. I had a nice long email conversation with my sister about irrational numbers, grammatical errors and other miscellany. Towards the end of the week, it really seemed like things were falling into place. Let's hope that keeps up. Especially this week.
Also, I am currently trying to upload pictures. Still to no avail.
This week my lessons went well, but my mind was a bit preoccupied. I probably didn't help things by reading a novel about war in Sri Lanka. The bright spot of the week was definitely an email from another volunteer who feels my pain. He said that he would murder a baby panda for a can of Cherry Coke.
I ate lunch with my students one day. I was a bit hesitant to do that too early, because I wasn't sure if the other teachers would be upset by such an informal action. At this point, I think their used to my disdain for most formalities. We had a nice time, and the students asked me lots and lots of questions. I think the best part was the roaring laughter as I waited in the students' lunch line instead of waiting in the staff room to be served. We had a good time, and I may have arranged my sister's marriage. Lucky her.
Also, I found myself keeping up with people really well this week. I had a nice long email conversation with my sister about irrational numbers, grammatical errors and other miscellany. Towards the end of the week, it really seemed like things were falling into place. Let's hope that keeps up. Especially this week.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Introducing a New Crop
So, I imagined that this napier grass project would be fraught with difficulties, I just didn't think that so many of them would be of my own making.
Last week, my headmaster made arrangements for me to go to a nearby (25 km away) school and collect some of the napier grass that they have growing there. Since the school is in a much more moderate climate, they have many crops growing very well in the area. Well, when I went there yesterday, I was sitting on the matatu and I realized that I hadn't brought enough money for my return trip. That meant that I had to go up to Voi (an additional 25 km) to find the nearest ATM. (I had also forgotten water, which I was able to buy in Voi. That came in handy later.) That made finding matatus a bit more complicated, but on the plus side I got some grocery shopping done. (They have generic Pringles in the supermarket now too!)
Anyway, after getting to the school about 3 hours later than I had intended, I managed to find the Deputy Principal, who is also the agriculture teacher. We talked a bit about teaching agriculture, and she made arrangements for me to harvest some "splits" (I had wanted to grow from cuttings, but they had just harvested, so that wasn't possible). She had one of the groundskeepers (their school has a bit more staff than ours, though it is also much bigger and more established) come with me to collect a sack full of grass. We worked for about 10 minutes, and then I started my return journey. As I was leaving, I saw several students and teachers who recognized me from science congress. How many names did I remember? One.
The school is 6 km from the main road, and though vehicles go by throughout the day, I would have had much better luck catching one earlier in the day. I wound up walking the whole way, but I was very glad that the path was downhill. I just wish it hadn't been in the noon-time heat. I made sure to stop by the polytechnic (basically trade school), and made some connections there (I'm pretty sure that you'll hear a lot more about that later). Anyway, after a little wait in town, I found my matatu and made it back to school in time to teach my afternoon lessons. Phew.
Then after school, we planted the grass. I gave them some advice on techniques and so forth. I spent most of my downtime during travel reading books on agriculture (see Books 5.0 at the end of the month) and trying to absorb as much as I could. Let's hope they survive. The soil is pretty nutrient deprived and we are going through a pretty serious drought. No reason to be pessimistic, though. Actually, my optimism really comes from the fact that my students are really hard workers, and they are really excited about the project.
Last week, my headmaster made arrangements for me to go to a nearby (25 km away) school and collect some of the napier grass that they have growing there. Since the school is in a much more moderate climate, they have many crops growing very well in the area. Well, when I went there yesterday, I was sitting on the matatu and I realized that I hadn't brought enough money for my return trip. That meant that I had to go up to Voi (an additional 25 km) to find the nearest ATM. (I had also forgotten water, which I was able to buy in Voi. That came in handy later.) That made finding matatus a bit more complicated, but on the plus side I got some grocery shopping done. (They have generic Pringles in the supermarket now too!)
Anyway, after getting to the school about 3 hours later than I had intended, I managed to find the Deputy Principal, who is also the agriculture teacher. We talked a bit about teaching agriculture, and she made arrangements for me to harvest some "splits" (I had wanted to grow from cuttings, but they had just harvested, so that wasn't possible). She had one of the groundskeepers (their school has a bit more staff than ours, though it is also much bigger and more established) come with me to collect a sack full of grass. We worked for about 10 minutes, and then I started my return journey. As I was leaving, I saw several students and teachers who recognized me from science congress. How many names did I remember? One.
The school is 6 km from the main road, and though vehicles go by throughout the day, I would have had much better luck catching one earlier in the day. I wound up walking the whole way, but I was very glad that the path was downhill. I just wish it hadn't been in the noon-time heat. I made sure to stop by the polytechnic (basically trade school), and made some connections there (I'm pretty sure that you'll hear a lot more about that later). Anyway, after a little wait in town, I found my matatu and made it back to school in time to teach my afternoon lessons. Phew.
Then after school, we planted the grass. I gave them some advice on techniques and so forth. I spent most of my downtime during travel reading books on agriculture (see Books 5.0 at the end of the month) and trying to absorb as much as I could. Let's hope they survive. The soil is pretty nutrient deprived and we are going through a pretty serious drought. No reason to be pessimistic, though. Actually, my optimism really comes from the fact that my students are really hard workers, and they are really excited about the project.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Adventures in Agriculture
I explained to my students this wekk that instead of growing kales for their agricultural project (part of their score on their national exam) we would be growing napier grass. Kales are commonly grown in this area, even though the oppressive sun means that in a good season, the crop will only be somewhat wilted. Napier grass is not grown in the area even though it is a drought tolerant crop that is good for controlling erosion (a big problem in the area) and makes good livestock feed (big concentration of livestock in the area).
At one point, one of the other teachers at my school tried to explain to me that I should just have them grow kales. Since he is the english teacher and the debate coach, you might have expected him to have the edge in the argument. Nope, I explained to him that I was going to make sure that the students were going to learn something from the project (another one of my radical innovations at the school) and outlined the advantages above. It silenced him pretty quickly. I think our record in debates is something like Me: 27, Him: 0. I almost feel bad for him, but really, I just feel bad for the students who he coaches in debate.
Anyway, the project sounds good, except I don't know how to grow napier grass. My students don't know how to grow napier grass. I don't know of anyone in the community who has raised it before (although it is grown in nearby communities). I hope that this succeeds somehow. (I already betrayed my lack of knowledge when I asked a teacher to go get seeds. The plants are grown from cuttings apparently.) Still, if it fails, hopefully the students will take some good lessons from that (and if it succeeds, I can take credit for introducing a productive crop to the area). Most of the time, failure is swept under the rug, instead of used for learning. Of course, they have their exam scores at stake. As I understand it, since the government just takes everyone's word for it, there is a lot of sweeping under the rug on these projects.
Sweepity-sweep-sweep.
At one point, one of the other teachers at my school tried to explain to me that I should just have them grow kales. Since he is the english teacher and the debate coach, you might have expected him to have the edge in the argument. Nope, I explained to him that I was going to make sure that the students were going to learn something from the project (another one of my radical innovations at the school) and outlined the advantages above. It silenced him pretty quickly. I think our record in debates is something like Me: 27, Him: 0. I almost feel bad for him, but really, I just feel bad for the students who he coaches in debate.
Anyway, the project sounds good, except I don't know how to grow napier grass. My students don't know how to grow napier grass. I don't know of anyone in the community who has raised it before (although it is grown in nearby communities). I hope that this succeeds somehow. (I already betrayed my lack of knowledge when I asked a teacher to go get seeds. The plants are grown from cuttings apparently.) Still, if it fails, hopefully the students will take some good lessons from that (and if it succeeds, I can take credit for introducing a productive crop to the area). Most of the time, failure is swept under the rug, instead of used for learning. Of course, they have their exam scores at stake. As I understand it, since the government just takes everyone's word for it, there is a lot of sweeping under the rug on these projects.
Sweepity-sweep-sweep.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A Relatively Unexciting Week
Relatively is the operative word. Certain things may or may not have been set in motion. Stay tuned, I may elaborate further later. Or maybe I won't.
Anyway, my lessons went pretty well this week. The headmaster is talking about buying more textbooks for the school which would be fantastic. I just need to figure out which study guides I should ask him to get for me. Hopefully that will help with performance. I want to mention one of my students named Agnes who is a very sweet girl, but has really struggled in school. She rocked at least 2 (out of 6) of her exams this term. I am really proud of her and I expect big things from her.
I moved my desk from the staff room to the lab (still under construction, but it is coming along), so that has been nice. I share a room with the physics teacher and people come visit us, but it gives me a nice refuge from that colleague of mine. Mr. Godwin brings a radio some days and the FM only sometimes works, so when he switches to shortwave, we usually end up with an odd collection of 70s, 80s and 90s music. I sing along a little bit when my students aren't around (I think it is obligatory to sing along when We Built This City on Rock and Roll comes on).
I set the schedule for the term this week. I included some pretty radical moves. Instead of having lessons in no particular order, the schedule will be more predictable (like having chemistry first lesson every day). Neither the teachers nor the students are as excited about this as I am. Still, I hope that the consistency will help the students to get a better rhythm at school. And also prevent a certain colleague of mine from skipping as many of his lessons. That might be too much to hope.
Anyway, my lessons went pretty well this week. The headmaster is talking about buying more textbooks for the school which would be fantastic. I just need to figure out which study guides I should ask him to get for me. Hopefully that will help with performance. I want to mention one of my students named Agnes who is a very sweet girl, but has really struggled in school. She rocked at least 2 (out of 6) of her exams this term. I am really proud of her and I expect big things from her.
I moved my desk from the staff room to the lab (still under construction, but it is coming along), so that has been nice. I share a room with the physics teacher and people come visit us, but it gives me a nice refuge from that colleague of mine. Mr. Godwin brings a radio some days and the FM only sometimes works, so when he switches to shortwave, we usually end up with an odd collection of 70s, 80s and 90s music. I sing along a little bit when my students aren't around (I think it is obligatory to sing along when We Built This City on Rock and Roll comes on).
I set the schedule for the term this week. I included some pretty radical moves. Instead of having lessons in no particular order, the schedule will be more predictable (like having chemistry first lesson every day). Neither the teachers nor the students are as excited about this as I am. Still, I hope that the consistency will help the students to get a better rhythm at school. And also prevent a certain colleague of mine from skipping as many of his lessons. That might be too much to hope.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Housekeeping
I have been very grateful that the wasps have not come back to my house. It has made life much more pleasant. Now, my house is still lacking a few of the necessities (table, shelves, tidiness) but it still feels home-y (home-ish? home-like?). My bed was the biggest problem, but nothing a little duct tape can't fix. Okay, a lot of duct tape. Let's just hope it holds. And that the chiropractor doesn't take me to the cleaners when I get back.
In more disappointing news, the price of soda at the shop near my house is up to 35 shillings (about 44 cents) for a half-liter. Sigh, maybe it's a sign that I should cut back a little bit.
I have been eating three meals a day this week. Well, breakfast and dinner are both cereal (not that uncommon in my childhood as well), but at least I'm forcing myself to eat. The supermarket in Voi has started stocking South African cereals (750 g for 490 shillings is still better than most boxes at the grocery store near my dorm last year). This week's cuisine has featured muesli and a few other things and I have been adding honey and peanut butter. Yum! The third meal is lunch provided by the school. I wish the other teachers didn't enjoy matumbo (intestines, usually from goat) so much. I don't like picking it out of my greens. ::Cringe::
In more disappointing news, the price of soda at the shop near my house is up to 35 shillings (about 44 cents) for a half-liter. Sigh, maybe it's a sign that I should cut back a little bit.
I have been eating three meals a day this week. Well, breakfast and dinner are both cereal (not that uncommon in my childhood as well), but at least I'm forcing myself to eat. The supermarket in Voi has started stocking South African cereals (750 g for 490 shillings is still better than most boxes at the grocery store near my dorm last year). This week's cuisine has featured muesli and a few other things and I have been adding honey and peanut butter. Yum! The third meal is lunch provided by the school. I wish the other teachers didn't enjoy matumbo (intestines, usually from goat) so much. I don't like picking it out of my greens. ::Cringe::
Saturday, May 9, 2009
2nd Term
2nd Term
We had exams to open the school term this time. As usual, things were unnecessarily complicated. Still, everything seemed to come together by the end. It didn't help that I was on duty also, but the students were very cooperative, and the staff was pretty docile, so this was a mostly beating-free week.
We are getting a new teacher for Swahili, and there is another man who is doing his teacher training in English. In other words, my workload is unchanged. On the plus side, a certain colleague of mine is going to have a lighter workload. Maybe he'll only come to school twice a week or so. Our headmaster is working on getting more teachers and support staff, so I am keeping my fingers crossed there.
I am also trying to figure out trips to several different parts of Kenya during this term. I'm not sure I have earned it, but I have earned the role of tree-guy in our Peace Corps group. That may result in my being consulted on a proejct to plant 28,000 trees. That would be awesome. I have also been asked to visit another teacher to work on some corn harvesting technologies and a business volunteer for some charcoal work (which may result in a side trip for advising another volunteer on cook-stoves and a few other ideas). I also want to go back to Kibera and check out a library that is being opened. And Jackie might have me doing some follow-up work on plastics recycling in Nairobi. The funny thing is, I'm really not sure that I know all that much about most of these things, but I'm going to give them my best.
I started a compost project at school today. That seemed to go pretty well, but I'll report back on the results. Also, during the session, I mostly spoke sans accent. This is me hoping that my students will slowly start to understand me when I talk like an American. I may also be doing a charcoal project here soon. I am also looking into adding some neem and jatropha to my new moringa plants (and maybe a few other trees too. Fun fact: we were told during training about the issues of propagating Prosopis trees in Kenya. Maybe we would have listened more if they had added prosopis is also called mesquite). I should be setting out the drip irrigation kit soon. Does anyone know anything about raising napier grass? I need to learn about that ASAP.
Finally, probably my most important (and quite possibly most challenging) goal for this semester should be the weight gain. I think I have dropped more than 40 lbs since coming to Kenya (yikes!) and my weight is currently lower than it has been since I was in 6th grade or thereabouts. As I said, I'm going to work on it.
Go Cubbies! Hot streak!!!
We had exams to open the school term this time. As usual, things were unnecessarily complicated. Still, everything seemed to come together by the end. It didn't help that I was on duty also, but the students were very cooperative, and the staff was pretty docile, so this was a mostly beating-free week.
We are getting a new teacher for Swahili, and there is another man who is doing his teacher training in English. In other words, my workload is unchanged. On the plus side, a certain colleague of mine is going to have a lighter workload. Maybe he'll only come to school twice a week or so. Our headmaster is working on getting more teachers and support staff, so I am keeping my fingers crossed there.
I am also trying to figure out trips to several different parts of Kenya during this term. I'm not sure I have earned it, but I have earned the role of tree-guy in our Peace Corps group. That may result in my being consulted on a proejct to plant 28,000 trees. That would be awesome. I have also been asked to visit another teacher to work on some corn harvesting technologies and a business volunteer for some charcoal work (which may result in a side trip for advising another volunteer on cook-stoves and a few other ideas). I also want to go back to Kibera and check out a library that is being opened. And Jackie might have me doing some follow-up work on plastics recycling in Nairobi. The funny thing is, I'm really not sure that I know all that much about most of these things, but I'm going to give them my best.
I started a compost project at school today. That seemed to go pretty well, but I'll report back on the results. Also, during the session, I mostly spoke sans accent. This is me hoping that my students will slowly start to understand me when I talk like an American. I may also be doing a charcoal project here soon. I am also looking into adding some neem and jatropha to my new moringa plants (and maybe a few other trees too. Fun fact: we were told during training about the issues of propagating Prosopis trees in Kenya. Maybe we would have listened more if they had added prosopis is also called mesquite). I should be setting out the drip irrigation kit soon. Does anyone know anything about raising napier grass? I need to learn about that ASAP.
Finally, probably my most important (and quite possibly most challenging) goal for this semester should be the weight gain. I think I have dropped more than 40 lbs since coming to Kenya (yikes!) and my weight is currently lower than it has been since I was in 6th grade or thereabouts. As I said, I'm going to work on it.
Go Cubbies! Hot streak!!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Faux Pas
Second term has just started at my secondary school. That means another 3 months of 30 lessons per week in math, agriculture, chemistry and physics. Still, Kenya is beautiful and on clear mornings, I get to see Kilimanjaro from the school compound (it's really gorgeous, I just wish I had a way to post pictures online).
Many parents came to school on the first day of school. At one point, a woman comes up to me and starts speaking to me here is our conversation, translated from swahili.
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
-I am a parent here. Do you know mswahili?
-I know so so. Only a little bit.
-Is mswahili good?
-So so. Not good. Not bad.
-Not good? Why?
At this point, it finally dawned on me. The language is kiswahili. Mswahili is actually a name. Like the name of one of my students. And she thinks that i am standing there insisting her son is so so. Oops.
Well, i think i saved face by explaining that he is a hard worker but easily distracted. I guess I need to keep practicing the language in my spare time (what spare time?). Still, that was not my finest hour.
Many parents came to school on the first day of school. At one point, a woman comes up to me and starts speaking to me here is our conversation, translated from swahili.
-Good morning.
-Good morning.
-I am a parent here. Do you know mswahili?
-I know so so. Only a little bit.
-Is mswahili good?
-So so. Not good. Not bad.
-Not good? Why?
At this point, it finally dawned on me. The language is kiswahili. Mswahili is actually a name. Like the name of one of my students. And she thinks that i am standing there insisting her son is so so. Oops.
Well, i think i saved face by explaining that he is a hard worker but easily distracted. I guess I need to keep practicing the language in my spare time (what spare time?). Still, that was not my finest hour.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Back to Site
Nanyuki to Maktau takes more than 12 hours, and since we are only supposed to travel during daylight, Peace Corps put me (and other volunteers in a similar predicament) up in Nairobi. We went out for some tourist food (one last tuna melt and milkshake, even though my stomach still wasn't 100%) and ran various errands around Nairobi. I finally got my iPod shuffle as well as a high school chemistry book from America, which should help me come up with questions for future homework/exams (I should have asked for an agriculture book too...). Special thanks to the OPRFHS science department and my mother and Linda for getting those things to me. Anyway, in the evening, we had a last hurrah (sushi and hummus again) and some good late night conversations (I earned a bit of blackmail material too, which is probably good considering what people probably have against me) before the bus-ride home.
Nick and I took the bus together, and we were both way overloaded with stuff. (I had taken 15 books from the Peace Corps library this time. Yum! Though that did limit my capacity to purchase some other things that might be considered necessities.) The bus was moving pretty slowly so we had to crash in Voi for the night. It was nice to meet up with the people we know there. Nick and I were roommates almost every night over the past three weeks, so it was definitely sad to say goodbye to him. Then it was back to site.
I decided that people in Mwakitau had gotten to know me after three months, so I was going to wear shorts on my return trip. Good thing too, this was one of the most crowded vehicles I have been on. I was the first one on, so I had an hour and a half reading before the vehicle filled up. By the time we got back to Mwakitau, I was so fried, I just went back to my room and laid down. After another hour, I was able to greet everyone and catch up.
Nick and I took the bus together, and we were both way overloaded with stuff. (I had taken 15 books from the Peace Corps library this time. Yum! Though that did limit my capacity to purchase some other things that might be considered necessities.) The bus was moving pretty slowly so we had to crash in Voi for the night. It was nice to meet up with the people we know there. Nick and I were roommates almost every night over the past three weeks, so it was definitely sad to say goodbye to him. Then it was back to site.
I decided that people in Mwakitau had gotten to know me after three months, so I was going to wear shorts on my return trip. Good thing too, this was one of the most crowded vehicles I have been on. I was the first one on, so I had an hour and a half reading before the vehicle filled up. By the time we got back to Mwakitau, I was so fried, I just went back to my room and laid down. After another hour, I was able to greet everyone and catch up.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Welcome back
As you can probably tell, I am playing catch-up on blog posts. Big time. Anyway, I've tried not to miss anything too important of late.
Thank you for coming back for another term of my wacky adventures (see Faux Pas). As a reward for your loyalty, I am posting some (much overdue) pictures soon (still having computer issues with that, but I'm really really trying), dating all the way back to November. Unfortunately, I won't be able to actually describe what you are seeing until the next time that I post (might be as much as two weeks).
Maktau didn't see much rain while I was gone, but there was just enough for my moringa to sprout (yay!!!). Also, the school managed to get a water tank, so we will be working on gutters next. The workers made some good progress on the lab, so hopefully I'll be in there soon. The school computer is loaded with viruses and refuses to run my antivirus software, so I'll need to figure out something there (it's really nice that some of the other volunteers are in ICT).
I am also very excited to read the Economist and follow the Cubs on my cell phone. I miss speaking Spanish, but other than that, it is wonderful to be back at site.
Thank you for coming back for another term of my wacky adventures (see Faux Pas). As a reward for your loyalty, I am posting some (much overdue) pictures soon (still having computer issues with that, but I'm really really trying), dating all the way back to November. Unfortunately, I won't be able to actually describe what you are seeing until the next time that I post (might be as much as two weeks).
Maktau didn't see much rain while I was gone, but there was just enough for my moringa to sprout (yay!!!). Also, the school managed to get a water tank, so we will be working on gutters next. The workers made some good progress on the lab, so hopefully I'll be in there soon. The school computer is loaded with viruses and refuses to run my antivirus software, so I'll need to figure out something there (it's really nice that some of the other volunteers are in ICT).
I am also very excited to read the Economist and follow the Cubs on my cell phone. I miss speaking Spanish, but other than that, it is wonderful to be back at site.
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.
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.
Permaculture Training Part 1
All right, I feel that I am obligated to start this post by talking about PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief), which was considered one of the more successful policies of the Bush era and which has sent lots of money directly to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. In Kenya, PEPFAR makes sure that everyone has access to ARVs (Anti-RetroViral medicines). In addition, they offer several grants to support various programs to fight AIDS. As I understand it, the annual budget for PEPFAR in Kenya alone is greater than the entire budget for Peace Corps worldwide. This means that in an order to supplement the training budget, certain aspects of my Peace Corps training (including this workshop on permaculture) were funded by PEPFAR on the assumption that part of my role as a volunteer will be mitigating the effects of AIDS in Kenya.
Now, you may be looking at this and thinking "how does permaculture provide AIDS relief?" Actually, this issue was very well-handled. Several of the topics related to starting small gardens around homesteads with a focus on low labor intensity so that people with weakened immune systems could manage the load. Unfortunately, I don't know if this was stipulated explicitly in the grant proposal, but it seemed like the trainers were not allowed to go more than three sentences without using the word PLWHAs (People Living With HIV/AIDS, pronounced peel-woz). It was actually pretty ridiculous.
While the topics were useful for PLWHAs, they were useful for any person who just wants to increase their income. Yet, by beating us over the head with PLWHAs, PLWHAs, PLWHAs a lot of that was lost in the discussion. It got really frustrating over time as we tried to make these issues to help communities in general, and they kept going back to PLWHAs.
Anyway, the training was really cool, and I definitely learned a lot. We were at a place called MOOF (Mount Kenya Organic Farming, don't ask me why it isn't MKOF) in Nanyuki, a little ways north of Nairobi. The weather was much cooler there and we could see Mount Kenya from there (we all started to wonder if that was the mountain in the Paramount logo; the resemblance was striking) and the entire landscape was gorgeous.
We had a very long session on making compost, and I definitely hope to bring that back to site. We also had some very interesting give-and-take discussions with our trainer about organic farming practices. We used our specific sites for case studies and we tried to address some of the extension issues that we have at site. We got to make a pretty cool space-saving garden in an old maize sack. At the end, we used compost to plant a very diverse garden with kales, onions, garlic, basil, rosemary, sweet potatoes and a few other miscellaneous plants. It was somewhat surprising to see how many people in our group didn't actually know anything about planting a garden.
We also had some less enjoyable sessions from a woman who works with the Ministry of Agriculture. Some of those sessions included cooking with aloe (the woman who ran that session talked a lot about how women who drink African aloe get heavier periods). Also, aloe tastes incredibly bitter. She also taught us the food pyramid, which a lot of us criticized pretty intensely as unnecessary, poorly demonstrated and possibly outdated. However, she also led a really cool session on soap making (both detergent and for use on skin). I found myself recalling Fight Club a few times (although they don't explain the importance of sodium silicate to develop a good lather).
It was also really frustrating to see a few of the things they are doing. At one point, we walked past a sprinkler that was spraying in all directions during the hottest part of the day (irrigation practices seems to come up a lot). I called the trainer out on the lack of rainwater harvesting, and he did talk about the importance of that. For all their talk about polyculture (raising many crops in one location, as opposed to the normal plantation practice of monoculture), there were several parts of their compound where they were only raising one crop. I would have liked to work a bit more with trees and see some techniques like layering and grafting, but with only three days (and the incessant need to use the word PLWHAs) you can't cover everything.
Also, we had an intense discussion on labels (such as permaculture) and how ridiculous it is that there are all these trends and fads in development (right now permaculture is huge, while agroforestry is a bit dormant). Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous.
It was a really intense 3 days, but I think we all definitely got a lot out of it. It was also nice to get a bit closer to some Peace Corps staff. I'd love to go back to Nanyuki and work on a couple of things with MOOF at some point.
Now, you may be looking at this and thinking "how does permaculture provide AIDS relief?" Actually, this issue was very well-handled. Several of the topics related to starting small gardens around homesteads with a focus on low labor intensity so that people with weakened immune systems could manage the load. Unfortunately, I don't know if this was stipulated explicitly in the grant proposal, but it seemed like the trainers were not allowed to go more than three sentences without using the word PLWHAs (People Living With HIV/AIDS, pronounced peel-woz). It was actually pretty ridiculous.
While the topics were useful for PLWHAs, they were useful for any person who just wants to increase their income. Yet, by beating us over the head with PLWHAs, PLWHAs, PLWHAs a lot of that was lost in the discussion. It got really frustrating over time as we tried to make these issues to help communities in general, and they kept going back to PLWHAs.
Anyway, the training was really cool, and I definitely learned a lot. We were at a place called MOOF (Mount Kenya Organic Farming, don't ask me why it isn't MKOF) in Nanyuki, a little ways north of Nairobi. The weather was much cooler there and we could see Mount Kenya from there (we all started to wonder if that was the mountain in the Paramount logo; the resemblance was striking) and the entire landscape was gorgeous.
We had a very long session on making compost, and I definitely hope to bring that back to site. We also had some very interesting give-and-take discussions with our trainer about organic farming practices. We used our specific sites for case studies and we tried to address some of the extension issues that we have at site. We got to make a pretty cool space-saving garden in an old maize sack. At the end, we used compost to plant a very diverse garden with kales, onions, garlic, basil, rosemary, sweet potatoes and a few other miscellaneous plants. It was somewhat surprising to see how many people in our group didn't actually know anything about planting a garden.
We also had some less enjoyable sessions from a woman who works with the Ministry of Agriculture. Some of those sessions included cooking with aloe (the woman who ran that session talked a lot about how women who drink African aloe get heavier periods). Also, aloe tastes incredibly bitter. She also taught us the food pyramid, which a lot of us criticized pretty intensely as unnecessary, poorly demonstrated and possibly outdated. However, she also led a really cool session on soap making (both detergent and for use on skin). I found myself recalling Fight Club a few times (although they don't explain the importance of sodium silicate to develop a good lather).
It was also really frustrating to see a few of the things they are doing. At one point, we walked past a sprinkler that was spraying in all directions during the hottest part of the day (irrigation practices seems to come up a lot). I called the trainer out on the lack of rainwater harvesting, and he did talk about the importance of that. For all their talk about polyculture (raising many crops in one location, as opposed to the normal plantation practice of monoculture), there were several parts of their compound where they were only raising one crop. I would have liked to work a bit more with trees and see some techniques like layering and grafting, but with only three days (and the incessant need to use the word PLWHAs) you can't cover everything.
Also, we had an intense discussion on labels (such as permaculture) and how ridiculous it is that there are all these trends and fads in development (right now permaculture is huge, while agroforestry is a bit dormant). Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous.
It was a really intense 3 days, but I think we all definitely got a lot out of it. It was also nice to get a bit closer to some Peace Corps staff. I'd love to go back to Nanyuki and work on a couple of things with MOOF at some point.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)