Christmas Break

It has been about a month since my last posting. I didn’t realize it had been so long, I apologize. In the past month, I have been back and forth from Mitahato village to Banana town. After school closed I stayed in Banana for a few weeks—getting ready for Mary’s brother’s wedding. After the wedding we stayed a little longer to relax after all of the festivities. We came back home to Mitahato for a little over a week to spend time with Cucu and other family and friends. Now I am back in Banana for about another week or so until a few days before Christmas. I will spend Christmas in Mitahato and then most likely spend the following week back in Banana. Like I said…back and forth, back and forth!

Similar to Mitahato, many of the residence in Banana know of me now—especially along the common routes that Mary and I walk. Because this is the town that Mary grew is from, almost every day that I am here we are visiting at someone’s house. At Mary’s home there are many young cousins that I love to interact with. Along with them, many of Mary’s fiancé, Sammy’s, family have young kids around. I am very fortunate that I get to do what I love, play with children, even during my break. Michel and Jimmy, Mary’s niece and nephew, are in preschool and we are constantly playing and learning from each other. They are both very interested in English; while I teach them English words they repay the favor and teach me Kikuyu words. We have a lot of fun and we even made a little cardboard house and family that they play with often. Sammy’s sister has a new baby girl Lucy that I am around all the time as well. She is adorable and I hold her every chance that I get. Another sister of Sammy has a toddler that is also very fun to be around. I have never seen a little kid dance and sing as much as him. He is very musically talented and I can tell that he will be able to learn with and through music for the rest of his life. One of the reasons I love being in Banana is for the children that I get to be around. Mary jokes and always says “We have to go back to Banana…Wambui (me) has many mwanas (babies) waiting for her.”

I have mentioned often about the wedding in the last few months and I still have not written about it yet! It was great! I was completely nervous to be a maid but in the end it was very fun. I was nervous to “march” down the aisle and for any other traditional elements that I might mess up because I am not accustomed to them. A few days before the wedding, all of the maids and groomsmen were to go to the church to practice marching. I thought that this meant we were simply finding the order and partners to walk down the aisle. I was wrong. To practice marching meant that we needed to pick out songs that we were to dance or “sway” down the aisle to. To say the least, I was slightly panicked. I wasn’t the only one who was nervous about it—Mary’s younger brother was anxious as well (but at least he knew what to expect from the beginning!) Morris and some of the other maids and groomsmen were having a good time with me and teasing me about the whole situation. It turns out that it was very simple and the day the wedding came I was not nervous to march at all. 

The festivities for a traditional Kikuyu wedding can last for a few days. There is a lot to prepare for when 700-800 guests are expected! Days before the wedding, the women from both families came to the house to help prepare the food—i.e. cutting the vegetables, sifting through the beans and rice, etc.  The day before the wedding, all of the women came together to cook the food that they had previously prepared.  That same day many of the men in the family were either slaughtering chickens or preparing the compound for the visitors. They had to actually make a whole other kitchen to have enough space. There were four extra large fireplaces made in order to cook all of the food. The evening before the wedding, all the maids went to the bride’s house and all of the groomsmen went to the groom’s house. The maids spent the night getting their toenails and fingernails painted, ironing the dresses, getting facials, and spending time together (which in Kenya always means lots of food). I know that the majority of the girls (nine maids, the bride, friends and siblings) got little to no sleep that night. The house was loaded with guests and in each room there were close to ten people. The room that I was in had two beds and a mat on the floor—there were nine of us in that room. I heard later that on the men’s side, they just spent the evening drinking coffee, playing card games and joking around with each other. 

The morning of the wedding we all bathed, got ready, and waited for the festivities to come. During this time a lot of pictures were taken and a lot of hair spray was sprayed. As a long kikuyu tradition, the women and close family to the bride and groom wait outside of the bride’s house for her to come out. They “sing her out” and once she appears—with the children and maids behind her—they carry her from the house to the car so that she doesn’t get any dirt on her. After this, everyone else gets into the vehicles and drives to the church. Once we arrived at the church, we all waited in the cars for the ceremony to start (this was in order to hide the bride until the last minute). When we arrived at the church there were many people scattered around and the groomsmen were all around waiting for the women to begin the ceremony. 

The ceremony was a colorful event although I have to say the majority of it I could not understand because of the language barrier. During the beginning, when all maids and groomsmen were standing, my friend Mercy was interpreting everything for me. When we all went to sit down every one got mixed up and I was not by Morris or Mercy for them to translate for me. This means that all of the presentations, homily, and speeches were not understood to me. After the ceremony, the bridal party traveled to a separate destination to take pictures. We then quickly returned to the reception where the bride, groom, and bridal party danced into the celebration. There was a huge circle around the reception area where almost the entirety of the guests were dancing along to African music. It was a lot of fun to be a part of and watch—I got a lot of pictures to say the least. 

There were a few main differences during the reception here than I was accustomed to at home. Typically at home, a reception contains the first dances done by the bride and groom and bride and father, toasts done by the bridal party, cutting the cake and then the rest is consumed by dancing and chatting with the people around you. Here the reception contains dancing primarily in the beginning, a few speeches, presentation of gifts, cutting of the cake, and mingling with guests around you. The presentation of the gifts took the majority of the time along with speeches which seemed to intertwine together. Presentation of gifts includes guests individually giving their gift to the bride and groom—this can be anything from wrapped kitchenware to beds and refrigerators. Pictures and speeches take place during this time. After this and the cake cutting, the rest of the reception was spent talking and mingling with all of the guests. During this time we took many pictures until the rain started. We waited under the tents for a while, hoping for the rain to subside.

Another tradition within Kenyan weddings is for the bridal party to go to a separate, secret, destination after the reception for a dinner party. This is possible because the wedding starts in the morning (10:30), the reception follows in the early afternoon (2:00) and then everyone leaves in the evening around 6:00 or 7:00. The dinner party was at one of Winnie and Peterson’s friend’s house. We ate more food, danced, and a few speeches were given. The entire day was very eventful and by the end of the dinner party we were all very tired and ready to go home. Taxis took the majority of the guests home, or close to home and we walked the rest of the way. I can say for me, it was seconds after I hit my bed that I was fully asleep. 

Since my time in Banana, primarily after the wedding, I have begun to change my ways around the house. I have been in Kenya for four months now and I have not cooked a single meal and I have not done the proper amount of helping out that I feel I should be doing. I vowed that I am done being a visitor in my own home(s). Morris has helped me a lot in this change and has told many around me to let me try things out—especially cooking. I have to admit, a huge reason that I have been timid to help is because of the joking and laughing that takes place. It is not that I cannot do the things that everyone does around the house it is just that they do not expect a mzungu (white person or westerner) to be able to; so, when I do help they think it’s comical. I was intimidated by this but by the help from Morris I got over my fear and help out when I can. His advice was that they will laugh maybe the first day and maybe the second but then the third day people will be looking at them wondering why they are laughing. I can say that this has been the case since I have started helping. 

This all changed when I started by helping clean the house and room—sweeping and mopping. Then I was allowed and taught to prepare meals—cutting vegetables and sifting through rice and beans. There was one day that some of the boys were building the cow’s trough and I asked to help and they laughed and said I couldn’t hammer a nail. Then I was the one laughing! How could I grow up my whole life not hammering a nail—my dad definitely taught me differently than that! They were pleased to see me do it although they still insisted that they would finish the job.  

When we returned back to Mitahato I told Mary that I would be cleaning the upstairs from now on and I wanted to be cooking as well. Since that day I have always been the one to sweep and mop the upstairs and downstairs if Mary is busy. I have also been preparing and cooking lunches and dinners. I am learning how to cook traditional meals every day. I hope to be able to cook meals that I have learned here once I return back to Oregon. 

Beyond all of this, the break has been treating me very well. Christmas is approaching fast and I am not sure what to think. I have been a lot more homesick lately due to missing my family and the holiday season. Although I am homesick, I am eager to be a part of the Christmas celebration here. I am lucky that I have a supportive and loving family here in Kenya as well. My next posting will be about the holiday celebrations and what the rest of my break contains. I hope that you are all enjoying your Christmas vacation and truly enjoying your time off with family and friends. God Bless and have a wonderful Christmas and New years!

The end of Term One

“Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks -- we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.”

- Parker J. Palmer 

I learn every day. Since I have arrived in Kenya I have learned about myself on a personal level, I have learned about myself on a professional level, and I have learned about the completely new environment and culture that I live in. Each morning I wake up, I know that the new day ahead of me will be filled with learning of all sorts.

This week marks both the end of my third month and the completion of my first term teaching in Kenya. The months before I left, friends and family would ask, how long are you planning on staying in Kenya? My repeated response would be, my hope is to stay a whole year but I am committing to at least one term. It is now the end of my first term and now when asked Teacher Hope, how long are you staying? All I can manage to respond is at least a year. One thing is for sure, I can’t imagine leaving Kenya anytime soon and I am loving every minute of my stay here.

Before I left, most people told me that there would be a period of time that I would be overly uncomfortable and homesick (most said a period of at least three plus months) and that there would be many challenges that I would face on my journey. Lucky for me, my discomfort was limited and lasted less than a month and my biggest challenge was faced near the beginning of my journey. This is not to say that more challenges won’t come, but I know that I have a large support system both here and at home to help me if needed.

I feel at home here in Kenya. I walk through the village comfortably with the people and environment around me. The majority of the people living in the village know who I am—usually, I am known as Teacher Hope. I have inherited many family members—mothers, grandmothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, brothers, sisters, and a countless amount of cousins. Slowly but surely I am learning words and phrases from both languages—Kikuyu and Kiswahili. Although I do not teach as often at Mitahato Primary School as I did at first, I still enjoy the time I do spend there. My favorite place to be in the village is at Gathirimu Girl’s School. I walk into the gates comfortable every day, greet the guards, and confidently walk to teach my girls. Life is good here in Kenya and I am grateful for all of the memories and stories that have already been created and those that are to come.

Recently, while at Gathirimu, a few form two girls from the Journalism Club walked up to me and asked to interview me for the school magazine. I walked with them to answer their questions and they told me that I had received the award for “Coolest Teacher” One of their questions was “What are you going to do to keep the title as Coolest Teacher?” All I could do was smile and laugh. It was fun to talk with the students and help them as they were learning how to interview. I am excited to see the magazine and honored that the students enjoy my company as much as I enjoy theirs.

Since I have finished my first term here, I thought I would write a few “Top Three Moments” for different elements of my life here—the different elements being; teaching, my Kenyan family, and culture.

Teaching-->Top Moments: I have countless amazing moments with the high school students. These moments are some of my favorites and they are more “all-encompassing” than specific moments. 

1. After School Visits: There have been so many fun and positive visits/moments while being with the girls after school that it is hard to narrow it down to just one. Some that stand out to me include: the few times that Morris has joined me to chat with the girls (as 14-16 year olds, they are all in love with him), laughing so much I almost cried with my form one (Freshman) girls, playing volleyball in the field, answering endless questions about America and my family, playing basketball at the lower courts, sharing pictures, etc., etc., etc... 
2. First Lesson: I taught my first ever high school lesson to form one girls in Life Skills. I remember being so nervous—shaking and sweating—while I introduced myself to one hundred new students. I allowed them to ask any questions they had about me, America, my family, etc. It worked really well as an icebreaker and soon I was relaxed and in a comfortable frame of teaching. I had even mentioned, within the mix of answering questions, that this was my first time ever teaching a high school class. Their response was a giant applause—I was both surprised and flattered. This was a moment that I will never forget. 
3. Saturday Trips: I was given the chance on two occasions to travel with the girls for special trips that they had earned. For one of the trips we travel with the prefects five hours north to a game park that we figured out was closed only after we arrived there. Even with this set back, we continued on and found a picnic sight with horseback riding, a beautiful creak, a pond with boat riding, plenty of open grass area, a rock climbing wall, and a playground—the girls and teachers all thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The second trip was with Form Two Tana. They were awarded a trip of their choice because they scored the best on their exams for three terms in a row. They personally invited me on this trip to the Ngong Hills. This is a beautiful area with seven huge hills for hiking. While hiking you can see a large area of Kenya, including Nairobi and its surrounding areas. I loved this hiking adventure and I was able to get to know these girls more throughout our journey. 

    

Family-->Top Moments: My Kenyan family has made my time here amazing. Nothing would be possible without these people. They have welcomed me and accepted me as a part of their family and not just a visitor or “foreigner”. I am very blessed and grateful to have these people in my life.

1. Moments at Morris’: When I have breaks in between lessons I walk down to Morris’s family’s house and spend time with him, Mama Morris, Cucu, brother John, and Cousin John. I always enjoy my time here and I feel very welcomed each visit. It has been here that I have learned the most about simplicity and the way of life in Kenya.
2. Moments with Mary: I can’t even come close to explaining all of my favorite moments with Mary. There is no way I can imagine my life here without her. She makes me laugh and smile all of the time. She is both a mother and a sister to me. I am more than blessed to have her in my life. Some of my favorite moments include our walks around the village and relaxing in the evening—always laughing and teasing each other. She is a blast to be around and always teaching me.
3. Joe and Mary’s Visit: For a week Mary, Joe, and their niece Nicole came to visit from America (although they are originally from Kenya). During their visit I was able to play with Nicole (she’s a preschooler) and chat with Mary every day. On the Saturday of their visit, there was a big family celebration of their one year wedding anniversary. It was very fun to play with the kids all morning while the women cooked and the men set up the tent and slaughtered the goats. I enjoyed the company of everyone and the evening was filled with lots of food and laughter from everyone around.

  

Culture-->Favorites: I have learned a great amount about the culture in Kenya—more specifically Kikuyu culture—in the last few months. I really love learning everything I can about the culture. Observation and asking questions are the most common ways I learn. I have many favorites but I am only going to list the top three.

1. Cooking: Cooking is a huge part of the culture here. From what I have seen, the majority of the day for women is spent cooking. Cooking is done over a fire and there are variations of dishes that are typically made. I have loved all food that I have eaten here. Some of the main dishes include: ugali, githeri, cabbage, potatoes, rice, and chapatis. Another part of the culture of cooking is the hospitality that goes along with it. Every time there are visitors, they are greeted with tea and food. Although I have not cooked traditional food here yet, I plan on doing so soon—I learn every day by watching Mary and others cook.
2. Language: From what I have learned, there are hundreds of different languages in Kenya. Most people living in Kenya know at least two languages—Kiswahili and their mother tongue (Kikuyu is a dominant tribe). If you have gone through all of high school then you have also learned English—your third language. There is a language that the youth also use called Shang. I love that the students I teacher are all at least trilingual. I talk to them all of the time about how lucky they are to have learned so many languages at such a young age. Although I often don’t understand when others are talking around me, I find it interesting to listen and observe. Often times this is how I pick up certain words and begin to learn.
3. Greetings: I know I have shared about this previously in posts but I will mention it again. Whether it is walking around the village, entering a new household, or walking into school, I am greeted by everyone. This is not just a special thing that only happens to me. Kenyans are very welcoming in their culture; even babies are taught to shake hands with those they meet on the street, in a matatu, or at home. I really love the welcoming atmosphere that all the greetings create.

As I have mentioned countless times, I love Kenya and my life here. I especially love spending time with the girls I teach and the family I am surrounded by. I have recently learned that I will be teaching Form 1, 2, 3, and 4 PE, Form 1, 2, and 3 Life Skills, and I will also be teaching a few classes English grammar. I am very excited for these new additions and my hope is that my schedule will be very full for the next term. As far as the primary school goes, I will be continuing my PenPal Program. The next classes I will be working with will be class 4 and class 7. This program takes place after I have taught the high school girls. After school I will be starting to coach the girl’s basketball team. My hope is to also be involved in a few of the clubs that the school has to offer—journalism, environmental, Red Cross, etc. The girls have also insisted that I do a PenPal club with them as well. As you can see I will be very busy in the coming term. I am eager to continue teaching and learning with my students.

As for now, I have about a month and a half off of school. This is the largest break that the students have in Kenya. In January the students start the new school year on about the second week. This coming week I will be staying in Banana with Mary’s family to help prepare for Peterson and Winnie’s wedding. I am both eager and tense for this wedding. I know it will be a fun celebration—I am just nervous for the unknown. After this I will be spending a lot of time relaxing and traveling around Kenya; adventuring and exploring around new places while meeting more family members. The month of December is very busy and filled with activities. I am very excited and eager to see what will come.

During the school break I will not be able to receive letters from the address that I previously gave. Instead I will give the address for the ACK church that receives mail all year round. I do not currently have this address but I will write in on my next post. The next post will be about the wedding and all of the adventures in Banana. As for now, enjoy your Thanksgiving and know that I am missing you all back home.