Day Three: Kibera

Last night we ate dinner alongside the sisters whose hostel we are staying at here at the University. They are mostly Tanzanian and Ugandan and all ate dinner together while watching the Spanish language telenovela called Mara Playa in dubbed American English. They were following the story very closely and would gasp when something surprising was about to happen. I was so pleased just to watch them watch that. :)

After dinner I accidentally took a nap and was late to the hour we have set aside every night for a group reflection. I had very little to contribute to the discussion because it just felt a little bit too early in the trip to have processed anything significant to talk about.

Tonight will be different though. We visited the Kibera slum today which is the largest slum in East Africa with an estimated 170,000 residents (some statistics say 1 million, that's quite a difference). I will write more tomorrow maybe because I have to go to an early dinner now but it should suffice to say that I've never seen anything like it or Nyumbani before.

Edit: when we were in Kibera we were first brought to the top of the hill where the slum begins. It is lined with small shops and businesses like any neighborhood would be but is crowded more than any place I have been before. The closeness of the buildings and the people and the smell of the uncollected waste and filth permeate the nose to create an almost claustrophobic setting for a foreigner like myself.

As we met a priest who is part of the st aloysius high school (created for street youth who've been orphaned by HIV/AIDS), I stood in awe of my surroundings.

We walked downhill on a path littered with eaten cobs of corn, plastic bags, and broken sandles, lined with shacks made of tin and sharp edges. We entered a line of shacks that used to be the old st aloysius location but now seems to function as a grade school.
About 20 students crowded into each tiny classroom. We wound our way up the rickety uneven wooden steps to the second floor and could see out to the rest of the rust covered slum below us. The color and shape of the roofs earn the slum the nickname 'chocolate city'

We were introduced to a man named David. David graduated from St Aloyisius having started as a street kid and is now employed. In his spare time he started and runs an organization called Foundation of Hope ( http://foundationofhopekibera.com/ )
that uses the talents and skills of participating youth to engage their community in HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual health education.

The passion David displayed for his organization and the way he talked about St Aloysius was so inspiring. After sitting and discussing Foundation of Hope with him we took a walk through the slum to the new location of St Aloysius ( http://www.sagnairobi.org ) to get an idea of where it started and where it's going. We were greeted by a very professional principal and led around to the different classrooms. We met a few grades of the students and were asked to come for a performance which we unfortunately could not make.

It was so interesting to see the contrast of the old and new locations. The old was at the bottom of a hill and slanted and makeshift. The new was, well new, on top of a hill, had the structure you would expect of a high school, etc.

It was uplifting to see an educational institution start from next to nothing and grow into something so beautiful and purposeful in a place that is reputed world-wide for its level of poverty.

Erin

CUEA

Hello all!

Well it had to happen sometime. I don't know if it was my first day on malaria antibiotics or the severely bumpy ride to the university but I got quite carsick today. I couldn't hold down my breakfast and we had to pull over. I felt so embarrassed! But everyone was super nice about it. Not sure if I should retake the medication since I threw up or assume it was digested and processed before that happened. Guess I'll google that shortly.

Anyway, we have made it safely to the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and were privileged to have the opportunity to meet and converse with the students in their Social Justice and Ethics Program. I hope that we get more opportunities to get to know these students so that we can develop collaborative learning relationships and contacts. On a tour of the campus we got to see the new library, auditorium/theater, and cafeteria. Absolutely gorgeous. I sincerely hope that Loyola develops a deep enough relationship with this university so that more American students can have the opportunity for formal study abroad or student exchange programs; this would be the place to do it. We are being housed in a complex named after st bakhita which is where the nuns here live. I will be googling her as well tonight.

There are 2 things the administrators told us to tell American students and administrators who are considering study abroad in Kenya and investing in Kenya. 1) it is SAFE! 2) They have Internet! So should you feel called to visit, definitely try to pursue it. I've only been here 3 (?) days and I already feel that I have made a good decision. Til later!

Erin

Nairobi Day 2: Let's keep this short

I am exhausted.  I could not make it through this whole day without taking a 20 min nap and falling asleep during one of the top 10 bumpiest car rides I've ever experienced.  Not sure what those top 10 consist of except that at least one involved Tunisian off-roading and another involved the Caribbean.  Anyway, this will be a short post for this reason.

Today began with a Swahili mass at the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians Don Bosco Parish.  One of the things I love about being Catholic is that the worship service of a regular Mass is relatively uniform and predictable across the globe. Today was not one of those days.  It is the Sunday of Pentecost, and while I understood maybe two words during the entire Mass, I learned that the sermon was about unity.  Tribal loyalty is of cultural importance here in Kenya, it is one of the most frequently addressed aspects of a person's identity; though it is becoming less so with globalization and modernization. We spoke with the priest after Mass to ask what his sermon was about and he said that the celebration of Pentecost was a celebration of Unity in Christ. That even though not everyone in the parish may come from different tribal backgrounds that they are all unified in a Catholic and Christian faith.  That they could travel to the Holy Land and to Italy and to the Philippines and still hear the word of God and be one in the faith.  This was a bit ironic to me because in the middle of the Mass the priest invited up all of the men that usually do not show up to greet him, shake his hand, and then proceeded to tell them to dress nicer for the sermon and accepted monetary offerings from them for the collection.  This priest was also particularly funny.  I didn't get any of the jokes he told (which were many) because they were all in Swahili with the occasional English punch-line, but the congregation could not stop laughing.  I was later told by one of our drivers that that priest is the 'Martin Lawrence' of Kenya.  If only I knew what he was joking about!  I really wish every Catholic parish could be like that, with beautiful joyful music, dancing, clapping, and laughter.  So much of the European/American services are so depressing and solemn.

After the stand-up routine/Mass, we went to a Nakumatt which is a chain of malls throughout Kenya.  Anything you could possibly need is in a Nakumatt.  We then had lunch at a Lebonese/Japanese restaurant which was delicious though unexpected.  Afterward we went to the Karen Blixen house museum and learned about the woman and the 17 years she spent in Kenya as a Danish dignitary/wife/author/artist.  If anyone has read or watched Out of Africa, you'll know who I'm talking about. 

Perhaps I'll write more about her later, but as of right now, I'm tired and my computer needs to be charged.  I'll just end by saying that if ever you have the chance to eat Chicken Katakata; do it.

Kwa Heri!

Erin

 

Nairobi: Day 1: Where I'll Be Today

http://www.catholicchurch.or.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164:basilica-holy-family-minor-cathedral-church-1904&catid=98:nairobinrb&Itemid=62

http://www.krc.co.ke/joomla/images/content/Nairobi%20Museum%20Brochure.pdf

 

http://www.karenblixen.com/

 

Harambee!

Tell me that is not the Titanic as it crashes into the iceberg.

Hello friends!

I'm officially in the global city of Nairobi! The flight went great! I got a whole row to myself from Dubai to Nairobi and took full advantage. I laid down across all three seats like a five year old and took about 3 hour long naps and missed the endings to both The Descendents and The Rum Diaries.  Just before landing, however, I gazed at a pretty pink sun set over a sea of clouds shaped like the titanic (mid-crash) and a jellyfish. Once we were below the clouds I could view a sprinkling of orange lights lighting up the city.  From what I could tell during the dark, winding ride to the guest house in which we are staying, Kenya is awesome. Just like I expected. The air is cool and crisp, there is a slight breeze.  So far, all of the people we have met have been extremely courteous and  friendly.

I love how they speak here.  Their speech has very little emotional inflection (at least what would be detectable to an American native-English speaker) but is filled with calm and warmth.  It's very soothing.  This made getting through customs and immigration better than how I remember going through in Italy and the US.  There is far less shouting and suspicion involved.

In Nairobi, this process included filling out a form that had a section for me to fill in my father's name if unmarried. I will be asking a Kenyan about this tomorrow, I'm sure. I should have asked one of the three people who drove us to the Methodist Guest House which is where I'm staying for tonight and tomorrow night.  I hope to introduce them if they allow me to use their photos and names.

One of the drivers told us that their local football (soccer) teams is called 'Harambee Stars'.  A couple of weeks ago at a fellow student's fundraiser, I learned that 'harambee' (pronounced Ha-RAHM-Bay) is a Swahili word and Kenyan phrase that means 'all pull together'.  It is used to define a type of event (like a fundraiser) that brings people together to collect funds and resources and give to a community member so that he or she may go off to school or work and become successful. During this celebration, everyone will shout 'Harambee! Harambee! Harambee!' The hope is that the person will return to their nascent village and use their new skills, talents, and knowledge to give back to and serve the community.  I really like this concept of help and community and was pleasantly surprised to hear that it is such a large part of their culture that it is used in the name of their soccer team.

Til tomorrow!

Erin

Emirates: Whoa

So this is my first Emirates flight. I wish to never fly non-Emirates airlines again for the rest of my life. Currently charging my Kindle in-flight and washing my hands with a warm towel. There is a channel menu that includes something near 900 channels of TV, Music, and movies in just about every known human language. I get a pillow, a blanket, a toothbrush, an eye mask and socks in a fabric case that I am allowed to keep. And headphones but all airlines give out those right? Well no, American Airlines did not. Alright, Emirates, you've hooked me with your economy-class grandeur. I can't imagine what you have saved up for those first and business class ballers. The airplane even looks cool with peach colored lighting along the sides, I feel like I'm riding inside a flamingo. Those are the same color right? We're about to take off so it's probably best that turn my phone off now. But wow, just wow, and bravo.
Goodbye til Dubai!
Erin

In the air

As I sit in aisle seat 22D, I can't help but be amazed at the technology before me. With a username and a few clicks (or taps rather), I can have the world at my fingertips and update from thousands of feet in the air. And pay that gas bill for my roommates before I'm officially off of the continent.

My travel MO is quite standard as a procrastinator. Stay up all night pretending I'm packing until I actually start packing 2 hours before my aunt picks me up to drive me to the airport and stress all the way there that I probably forgot something.

But now that the first leg of my journey has been completed with hefty amounts of coffee and ginger ale, I will sign off with a request that readers please bear (bare) with me on this blog as 1) it's being written almost strictly from my iPhone and Kindle Fire 2) it's my first public blog and 3) my first attempt at creative non-fiction writing.

That said, I hope my new blog is entertaining enough to keep you reading. If not, I'm having fun writing anyway.

Until my Emirates flight,
Erin

The first post: Security

So it would appear that TSA has created a system that would grant me enough time to decide to write a travel blog, create it, and start and finish writing the first post before even entering security. :) Thanks, O'Hare! Well, now it's off to Nairobi!