Rural living

Hello-
When we last left you we were leaving Nairobi to meet our host family. About 30 to 40 minutes away from the city we arrived at our family's home. Our family is amazing. They are very friendly. Alex, the father is helpful in getting us aquainted. He works in the district education department and trains special education teachers. Our host mother, Sephira, does not speak english as well but is a gracious host. They have three children. William is the oldest, 14, and attends a boarding high school. He is only home for this weekend because he is on a break. Michelle, 12, is so friendly, and tells us many stories. John, 6, is adorable and loves to jump and play all the time. Both John and Michelle attend a private school. Alex also hosts his niece, Beth, 15, who attends the school where we teach at.

It is a moderate home and we have a comfortable bedroom to stay in. It has definitely been difficult to get used to life without running water. There is an enclosed area outside for the toilet. It consists of a hole. We wash in the morning in a room inside the house with a bucket of warm water. The kitchen is in a separate enclosed area outside. All the food that is prepared either comes from their garden, animals, or the market. Milk for tea comes straight from the cow to the boiler to us. We eat a lot of rice, cabbage, potatoes, and we drink a lot of kenyan tea (chai). So far we have only experienced minor stomach problems adjusting to the food.

We had our first day of school yesterday. It is almost an hour hike up and down hills each way. The teachers are friendly and so grateful to have us work with them. The head of the school is a woman which is very progressive for a rural school. The children were extremely excited to see us. Many of them have never seen a foreigner before. Mostly the first day was introductions. They would leave us alone separately with a class so we would get to know the students. We are teaching 4th-8th grade different subjects such as English, Math, Social Studies, PE, and Religion (Christianity). The children were very curious touching our hair and asking us questions about our family and where we came from. Sometimes they were a bit shy at first but then they would crowd around us in a large group. Some of the classes contain 60 or more children, so the teachers are overwhelmed. They have never had a volunteer at the school before or anywhere in the immediate area. The area is so rural that some of the children walk 2 hours to school. It seems like we will be able to impact the community of children even though we are only here for a relatively short time.

The entire area of Olorien Kajiado is Christian and most take their faith very seriously. There are many Christian radio stations. Our host father tells us that most Kenyans are Christian and that there are very few people who only practice traditional beliefs. Even the people who do keep up with some old traditions are Christian.

Today was our first trip on the Matatus-small busses for public transport. We walked from Alex's home about 25 minutes to the bus stop. We took one matatu to Kiserian, a small town with some shopping. Then we took another matatu to Ngong, the closest place with the internet. We will only be able to update the blog on weekends. We are not sure yet if we can post pictures. We will try next time.

With our volunteer program we already planned a safari in a few weeks to the Masai Mara animal reserve. We will camp with a group for three days. There we will be able to see all the major animals in Kenya. In the area where we are staying in there used to be many zebras, giraffes,antelopes, and other game animals. Now it is rare to see them because there are so many big fences and new farms in the area.

The area is very beautiful. There are many large hills. It is a savannah like geography. It is winter here now so the first few days it was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and everyone was complaining about how cold they were, wearing multiple layers of sweaters and jackets. They think we are crazy for enjoying the weather. Today it was hotter, probably 80s.

We are enjoying our trip very much so far. We did get homesick last night when we encountered an ant infestation on the floor and a gigantic spider on the bathroom door. When we return in a month we will appreciate running water and our bathroom like never before! More to come next weekend :)