It’s 7 am and I am waking up. This whole week I have woken up at 7 am. Actually, I wake up at 630 then start to think about how I will be leaving soon…then my heart pounds faster and I can’t fall back asleep.
I hear the roosters in the distance, and the chickens. I hear music played at night that used to keep me awake, but not anymore.
At 7am the sun is up and I can see the light through a small window above my bed. The curtain is pink, so the light casts a pink glow on me through my mosquito net. I know I have to go to the latrine, and then brush my teeth, get dressed, and walk to another hut on the compound for breakfast.
For breakfast I have either white bread, pound cake, ndazi (fried dough), or chapatti. And sugar tea. So much sugar that I am afraid I have grown so used to it I will always have to have 8 teaspoons of sugar in my tea, and one day be diabetic.
The sun is hot already, and I know I will be sweating. I also know my feet will get really dirty from walking. These things used to bother me, but not anymore.
There is a magic here that I can’t explain. How can a place draw you in like it has to me?
The faces that I know, the fresh fruit from the market, the comfort of my hut.
Never in my life have I had such a hard time saying goodbye. At home it is different when I leave a place, say a job or a nursing placement, because I know I am still close. It is in the same town. And with nursing placements there have always been other students around, it’s not just me, so I haven’t felt as close with the nurses and other staff because I’m only there one day a week and we don’t get an opportunity to know each other well on a personal level.
But here it is different.
This is life how I have grown to know it and accept it. And while of course I miss so many things about home, I am perfectly content here where I am to live without them (except for my family who I couldn’t live without for much longer).
I haven’t cried in my time here about missing Canada, and that’s because I always knew I was going back. I could measure it in time and I could rely on my memories to bring me back there when I really missed it.
In the same respect I didn’t cry at my farewell party, because somehow I know I will be back here one day. I will see this place again and the people I have grown to be great friends with, and until then, I will keep it alive through memory and staying in touch with those who have made my life here such a joy.
So here I am, taking it all in, soaking it all up, and engraining each detail into my brain.
My blog is called An African Dream. When I created the title I thought it was a bit cheesy, but was very appropriate for what I was doing and why I was doing it. It was a dream of mine for 3 years, and my call to Africa only grew stronger in the three years. And now, upon leaving Africa in a short time, I know more of why I was meant to be here, at this time, in this place. It wasn’t just a coincidence. It wasn’t just self-directed determination and hard work. It is something more, something from God, which I can’t even explain, that brought me here and which will bring me back here one day.
There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
All these places have their moments
In my life I've loved them all
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Under the sun
This international placement has changed my life in ways that go far beyond my nursing practice. I have learned and experienced things here in Kenya that I could never have understood from reading a book or listening to others talk. I have developed a firmer understanding of public health and community nursing, which is what I want to pursue in my career. I have a greater understanding of how the environment helps or hinders a person’s overall health and quality of life, and how determinants of health such as culture, gender, politics, and the physical environment are intermingled and must all be addressed in order to fully solve a particular health issue.
I use the word “understanding” intentionally, not to confuse with the gaining of knowledge. One of the most important lessons I have learned is the difference between knowledge and understanding. While in school I have learned a lot about HIV and AIDS. I have also learned quite a lot about the determinants of health and how they relate to poverty and illness. However, with all this knowledge I still did not fully understand these issues which I studied. Now, after spending three months in a rural community clinic, I can confidently say that I understand HIV and AIDS, the determinants of health related to poverty, and factors which lead to illness spreading through a community. I am positive that I could not have understood these things without being here. I would have continued to only have knowledge of those areas which I studied, but I wouldn’t have actually understood, and there is a big difference.
There have been a few common issues and themes that have arisen during my time here. One thing I have been thinking about and have had the opportunity to understand better is the importance of education and awareness. From my time working in the antennal clinic I have seen many teenage mothers come in who are married and have dropped out of school because they are pregnant. In turn, they don’t reach a high level of education and don’t have very good financial prospects. Also, being out of school, they miss out on essential education that can help them make healthy choices in life. This is a huge issue, and one that I contrast to my privileged life growing up with free education, and having no pressure to get married early, or be in situation where marriage and pregnancy seem like the only ways to stabilize one’s life in such an unpredictable environment. Education is perhaps the most important element to achieving one’s optimal quality of life, and that is a realization I have made based on what I have observed and experienced here. Obviously awareness is an important element as well, which kind of follows with education in the sense that the more educated a person is it is likely they are also more aware of services offered to them, and aware of how to take care of themselves mentally, physically and spiritually.
Another important theme I have picked out, which I became more aware of because of the critical component assignment, is the importance of prevention and interdisciplinary collaboration. I have been interested in working as a public health nurse since second year, and I have gone out of my way to learn more about primary prevention and how to become involved in this kind of nursing after graduation. So I would say before coming here I was fairly educated about the importance of prevention, as it has guided many of my decisions in nursing so far. However, throughout my time here I feel I have a more solid understanding of the importance of prevention. At the health centre I have seen so many people come in with diseases that are easily preventable such as malaria and the transmission of HIV. I have realized that these diseases are much more complex than a simple preventative fix – like nets or condoms. Their transmission stems much deeper to touch on culture, misconceptions, education, awareness and finances. Because these determinants are so linked, I feel as a nurse I must focus not only on providing the supplies for prevention, but also must tackle the big issues that undermine prevention efforts. Prevention is so much more than just giving health talks and handing out free condoms. It touches all aspects of a society or community, and therefore must involve everyone, not just nurses.
The final, and perhaps most important, theme I have identified is a person being confident in knowing what they know and knowing what they don’t know. I say person because this applies to all people in all professions, nursing included. It is so important to know what you know and be able to identify what you don’t know. Troubles and issues arise when you pretend to know something you don’t, or try to be confident in a skill or setting you aren’t fully comfortable in. it is essential to know enough about yourself to say, “yes, I am good at this, I know this, I can do this”, while also being able to say, “no, I don’t know this, I need help with this, I can’t do this safely by myself”. Principles of beneficence and malificence come into play in relation to this theme. You can really hurt someone, or hurt yourself if you aren’t confident in what you know and what you don’t know. This is something I encountered personally this term, and it really made me evaluate the importance of self-evaluation and reflection. You can’t know what you are good at and what you need improvement on without reflection and self-evaluation.
The experience of being most disconnected or disillusioned with my role as a nurse came in the first couple weeks here. I had not fully comprehended the language barrier, the difference in disease and illness, and the overall impact such a drastic change in lifestyle would have on me. In my years at McMaster I have always received the feedback that I am good at communicating. This is something I think is true, and I guess I have come to take it for granted. My first week at the health centre I realized I couldn’t talk to any of the patients without a translator. With communication being so important to me, I was stunned. This had never happened before. What is nursing without communication? I wasn’t a nurse at all, I was just a personal following around others blindly. It was such a strange feeling. I asked myself many times, “Why am I here? I can’t even talk to these people, how am I supposed to learn anything?” . Not only that but I didn’t understand the diseases and illness prevelant at the health centre. I didn’t recognize any of the drugs given out, I didn’t understand any of the treatments given by the doctor, I didn’t understand how people came to get the disease or illness that plagued them. Once I remember seeing a woman with the doctor who had hypertension and I thought ,” Finally, something I recognize!”. It was just so different and something I was so unprepared for. No matter how much you read about something, like malaria or HIV, you just can’t really get a handle on it or understand it without personally being around it and seeing it with your own eyes. I feel this is something I have been aware of before, but this placement made me more aware and more appreciative of this fact.
I have learned so much from my experiences that will help me in future clinical experiences. Many of the things I have learned relate to the career path I hope to pursue, which will be in public health hopefully in both a community and policy level. I know from first hand experience what community-led development looks like, and how it incorporates all aspects of health, not just the medical aspect which we deal with at the health centre. I can point out various determinants of health which influence a person’s health in a positive or negative way. I can identify vulnerable persons in the community, and can think of strategies in how to include them in health programs and initiatives. Overall, the experience has made me want to pursue a Masters degree in Public Health so I can have a more solid foundation of knowledge, so that I can help those who are disadvantaged in Canada and abroad.
One thing I feel proud of is when I helped to train some community health workers at St. Paul’s. These workers are being trained before they go out into the community and start doing healthcare in different households. They will be a great help to reach those who are in really rural areas, are undereducated, and who may have problems with mobility. One week I worked in the ANC and CWC alone because my preceptor was away at a training session. This week two community health workers came to observe and learn in the ANC. They were very curious about the documentation system, the immunizations I was giving, how to calculate gestation and the different medications we give out (malaria prophylaxis, ferrous sulphate, and folic acid). I was able to confidently teach them and answer their questions in all the above mentioned areas. Furthermore, I was aware of my teaching style as I went along, and made a point to make sure they gained practical experience there instead of just watching me. I thought of the way that I had been taught my various nurses in school, and reflected on what made a nurse a good teacher and what made them a not so good teacher. I tried my best to adopt strategies of a good teacher; such as patience, enthusiasm in role, and confidence, and in the end I received very positive feedback from them. So this is something I was very proud of. It really made me feel like I was competent and knowledgeable.
In summary, though I have tried my best to explain my experiences and feelings throughout the past three months, I still feel as if I haven’t even scratched the surface of all the things that I have experienced. Looking back, my nursing knowledge and understanding would have been so limited without this experience. It is my sincere hope that I will return to Ugunja one day to continue learning about public health, and that I can apply this knowledge to my practice in Canada and elsewhere.
I use the word “understanding” intentionally, not to confuse with the gaining of knowledge. One of the most important lessons I have learned is the difference between knowledge and understanding. While in school I have learned a lot about HIV and AIDS. I have also learned quite a lot about the determinants of health and how they relate to poverty and illness. However, with all this knowledge I still did not fully understand these issues which I studied. Now, after spending three months in a rural community clinic, I can confidently say that I understand HIV and AIDS, the determinants of health related to poverty, and factors which lead to illness spreading through a community. I am positive that I could not have understood these things without being here. I would have continued to only have knowledge of those areas which I studied, but I wouldn’t have actually understood, and there is a big difference.
There have been a few common issues and themes that have arisen during my time here. One thing I have been thinking about and have had the opportunity to understand better is the importance of education and awareness. From my time working in the antennal clinic I have seen many teenage mothers come in who are married and have dropped out of school because they are pregnant. In turn, they don’t reach a high level of education and don’t have very good financial prospects. Also, being out of school, they miss out on essential education that can help them make healthy choices in life. This is a huge issue, and one that I contrast to my privileged life growing up with free education, and having no pressure to get married early, or be in situation where marriage and pregnancy seem like the only ways to stabilize one’s life in such an unpredictable environment. Education is perhaps the most important element to achieving one’s optimal quality of life, and that is a realization I have made based on what I have observed and experienced here. Obviously awareness is an important element as well, which kind of follows with education in the sense that the more educated a person is it is likely they are also more aware of services offered to them, and aware of how to take care of themselves mentally, physically and spiritually.
Another important theme I have picked out, which I became more aware of because of the critical component assignment, is the importance of prevention and interdisciplinary collaboration. I have been interested in working as a public health nurse since second year, and I have gone out of my way to learn more about primary prevention and how to become involved in this kind of nursing after graduation. So I would say before coming here I was fairly educated about the importance of prevention, as it has guided many of my decisions in nursing so far. However, throughout my time here I feel I have a more solid understanding of the importance of prevention. At the health centre I have seen so many people come in with diseases that are easily preventable such as malaria and the transmission of HIV. I have realized that these diseases are much more complex than a simple preventative fix – like nets or condoms. Their transmission stems much deeper to touch on culture, misconceptions, education, awareness and finances. Because these determinants are so linked, I feel as a nurse I must focus not only on providing the supplies for prevention, but also must tackle the big issues that undermine prevention efforts. Prevention is so much more than just giving health talks and handing out free condoms. It touches all aspects of a society or community, and therefore must involve everyone, not just nurses.
The final, and perhaps most important, theme I have identified is a person being confident in knowing what they know and knowing what they don’t know. I say person because this applies to all people in all professions, nursing included. It is so important to know what you know and be able to identify what you don’t know. Troubles and issues arise when you pretend to know something you don’t, or try to be confident in a skill or setting you aren’t fully comfortable in. it is essential to know enough about yourself to say, “yes, I am good at this, I know this, I can do this”, while also being able to say, “no, I don’t know this, I need help with this, I can’t do this safely by myself”. Principles of beneficence and malificence come into play in relation to this theme. You can really hurt someone, or hurt yourself if you aren’t confident in what you know and what you don’t know. This is something I encountered personally this term, and it really made me evaluate the importance of self-evaluation and reflection. You can’t know what you are good at and what you need improvement on without reflection and self-evaluation.
The experience of being most disconnected or disillusioned with my role as a nurse came in the first couple weeks here. I had not fully comprehended the language barrier, the difference in disease and illness, and the overall impact such a drastic change in lifestyle would have on me. In my years at McMaster I have always received the feedback that I am good at communicating. This is something I think is true, and I guess I have come to take it for granted. My first week at the health centre I realized I couldn’t talk to any of the patients without a translator. With communication being so important to me, I was stunned. This had never happened before. What is nursing without communication? I wasn’t a nurse at all, I was just a personal following around others blindly. It was such a strange feeling. I asked myself many times, “Why am I here? I can’t even talk to these people, how am I supposed to learn anything?” . Not only that but I didn’t understand the diseases and illness prevelant at the health centre. I didn’t recognize any of the drugs given out, I didn’t understand any of the treatments given by the doctor, I didn’t understand how people came to get the disease or illness that plagued them. Once I remember seeing a woman with the doctor who had hypertension and I thought ,” Finally, something I recognize!”. It was just so different and something I was so unprepared for. No matter how much you read about something, like malaria or HIV, you just can’t really get a handle on it or understand it without personally being around it and seeing it with your own eyes. I feel this is something I have been aware of before, but this placement made me more aware and more appreciative of this fact.
I have learned so much from my experiences that will help me in future clinical experiences. Many of the things I have learned relate to the career path I hope to pursue, which will be in public health hopefully in both a community and policy level. I know from first hand experience what community-led development looks like, and how it incorporates all aspects of health, not just the medical aspect which we deal with at the health centre. I can point out various determinants of health which influence a person’s health in a positive or negative way. I can identify vulnerable persons in the community, and can think of strategies in how to include them in health programs and initiatives. Overall, the experience has made me want to pursue a Masters degree in Public Health so I can have a more solid foundation of knowledge, so that I can help those who are disadvantaged in Canada and abroad.
One thing I feel proud of is when I helped to train some community health workers at St. Paul’s. These workers are being trained before they go out into the community and start doing healthcare in different households. They will be a great help to reach those who are in really rural areas, are undereducated, and who may have problems with mobility. One week I worked in the ANC and CWC alone because my preceptor was away at a training session. This week two community health workers came to observe and learn in the ANC. They were very curious about the documentation system, the immunizations I was giving, how to calculate gestation and the different medications we give out (malaria prophylaxis, ferrous sulphate, and folic acid). I was able to confidently teach them and answer their questions in all the above mentioned areas. Furthermore, I was aware of my teaching style as I went along, and made a point to make sure they gained practical experience there instead of just watching me. I thought of the way that I had been taught my various nurses in school, and reflected on what made a nurse a good teacher and what made them a not so good teacher. I tried my best to adopt strategies of a good teacher; such as patience, enthusiasm in role, and confidence, and in the end I received very positive feedback from them. So this is something I was very proud of. It really made me feel like I was competent and knowledgeable.
In summary, though I have tried my best to explain my experiences and feelings throughout the past three months, I still feel as if I haven’t even scratched the surface of all the things that I have experienced. Looking back, my nursing knowledge and understanding would have been so limited without this experience. It is my sincere hope that I will return to Ugunja one day to continue learning about public health, and that I can apply this knowledge to my practice in Canada and elsewhere.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
I was busy, and can't think of a creative title
The last couple weeks…
Wedding – it was interesting. In a small tin-roofed and tin-bodied church in a small slummy part of Kisumu. Lots of dancing and praising God – the ceremony is also like a sermon. The bride Esther was so beautiful and her husband George seems to be a really great guy, even though I don’t know him at all. Fun, sweaty, tiring, eye-opening…all the usual feelings of new Kenyan experiences. I didn’t find a Luo fiancée unfortunately – maybe next wedding. I was the only mzungu as to be expected, so I had a lot of children who were hanging around the church rush up to me and ask for pictures. I took quite a few.
New friends – Two volunteers from Britain came, Peter and Lucy, who have great accents, and are really friendly in general. We are getting along really well, and they make fun of me for saying pants and pop – which to them is trousers and soda. Also, they make fun of my accent (though obviously I don’t have one, it’s all them) and how they think I’m American (which cuts deep). Last week I met Steven from Australia, who is gone now because he was only here for a week. But he was really interested in water and sanitation, which I think is great considering health is so related to water, especially here in Kenya. And then this week I met Oscar from Sweden, who was here for a week already, we just never met. He works with Peter trying to get this biogas digestor to work (something to do with cow dung, water and gas), and then he is off to another park of Kenya to work with forestry and agriculture. So, overall, really cool people and I have loved meeting and getting to know all of them.
The President – Last weekend the President and Vice President were launching some kind of district in a nearby area called Ambira (about 15 minutes from Ugunja). So the whole of last week people were cleaning and preparing and worrying. On Saturday a huge banner was erected on the road he was supposed to pass on. Most people I talked to said they didn’t like the President at all, even though there are pictures of him everywhere. Maureen the librarian said she was annoyed that people went to such great efforts to clean the town – the President should see the way the town really is and how desperate people really are. It was a big deal, and then it passed. I would be interested to see the President at the Hague. That would be great.
Love for Ugunja – my love and appreciation for Ugunja and Kenya in general has increased largely the last week and extending into this week. I am trying my best to soak in every minute and make every day packed with great friends and great experiences. I will genuinely be really sad to leave. I will probably be talking about it non stop for a few months, and people will start to get sick of my stories, and I will only start to miss it more.
The most useless to the most useful – looking back on my time here, which I’m trying to do so much because it makes me sad, I have realized I have made some amazing strides. When I first arrived and started at the health centre, I felt the most useless I had ever felt in my life. I didn’t know the language, didn’t know the people, didn’t know the issues, didn’t know the land. I questioned myself why I thought it would be a good idea to even come – what could I possibly do? This week I proved to myself what I could possibly do. I ran the antenatal and child welfare clinic by myself while the nurse was off at a conference. I did the documentation, antenatal assessment, handed out medications, gave immunizations to the children and the mothers, trained some community health workers, and most importantly was confident in knowing what I knew, and confident in knowing what I didn’t know. It was the smartest and most useful I have ever felt in my life, so I feel pretty darn good.
It’s hot. I’m sitting in the library sweating up a storm and eating peanuts and this corn-bread type thing for lunch. Tonight we are making fruit salad for the family – I am really excited! Tomorrow I’m going to Kisumu with Peter, Lucy and Oscar to explore and have some fun. This weekend I will probably be reading (White Fang by Jack London), doing laundry, and overall just chilling on the compound. I look forward to it greatly – this week has been tiring.
And that’s really all I have to say. I will be writing a lot next week as I go into reflection mode. For now I’m just trying to focus 100% on the present. Every minute, every hour, just taking it in.
Wedding – it was interesting. In a small tin-roofed and tin-bodied church in a small slummy part of Kisumu. Lots of dancing and praising God – the ceremony is also like a sermon. The bride Esther was so beautiful and her husband George seems to be a really great guy, even though I don’t know him at all. Fun, sweaty, tiring, eye-opening…all the usual feelings of new Kenyan experiences. I didn’t find a Luo fiancée unfortunately – maybe next wedding. I was the only mzungu as to be expected, so I had a lot of children who were hanging around the church rush up to me and ask for pictures. I took quite a few.
New friends – Two volunteers from Britain came, Peter and Lucy, who have great accents, and are really friendly in general. We are getting along really well, and they make fun of me for saying pants and pop – which to them is trousers and soda. Also, they make fun of my accent (though obviously I don’t have one, it’s all them) and how they think I’m American (which cuts deep). Last week I met Steven from Australia, who is gone now because he was only here for a week. But he was really interested in water and sanitation, which I think is great considering health is so related to water, especially here in Kenya. And then this week I met Oscar from Sweden, who was here for a week already, we just never met. He works with Peter trying to get this biogas digestor to work (something to do with cow dung, water and gas), and then he is off to another park of Kenya to work with forestry and agriculture. So, overall, really cool people and I have loved meeting and getting to know all of them.
The President – Last weekend the President and Vice President were launching some kind of district in a nearby area called Ambira (about 15 minutes from Ugunja). So the whole of last week people were cleaning and preparing and worrying. On Saturday a huge banner was erected on the road he was supposed to pass on. Most people I talked to said they didn’t like the President at all, even though there are pictures of him everywhere. Maureen the librarian said she was annoyed that people went to such great efforts to clean the town – the President should see the way the town really is and how desperate people really are. It was a big deal, and then it passed. I would be interested to see the President at the Hague. That would be great.
Love for Ugunja – my love and appreciation for Ugunja and Kenya in general has increased largely the last week and extending into this week. I am trying my best to soak in every minute and make every day packed with great friends and great experiences. I will genuinely be really sad to leave. I will probably be talking about it non stop for a few months, and people will start to get sick of my stories, and I will only start to miss it more.
The most useless to the most useful – looking back on my time here, which I’m trying to do so much because it makes me sad, I have realized I have made some amazing strides. When I first arrived and started at the health centre, I felt the most useless I had ever felt in my life. I didn’t know the language, didn’t know the people, didn’t know the issues, didn’t know the land. I questioned myself why I thought it would be a good idea to even come – what could I possibly do? This week I proved to myself what I could possibly do. I ran the antenatal and child welfare clinic by myself while the nurse was off at a conference. I did the documentation, antenatal assessment, handed out medications, gave immunizations to the children and the mothers, trained some community health workers, and most importantly was confident in knowing what I knew, and confident in knowing what I didn’t know. It was the smartest and most useful I have ever felt in my life, so I feel pretty darn good.
It’s hot. I’m sitting in the library sweating up a storm and eating peanuts and this corn-bread type thing for lunch. Tonight we are making fruit salad for the family – I am really excited! Tomorrow I’m going to Kisumu with Peter, Lucy and Oscar to explore and have some fun. This weekend I will probably be reading (White Fang by Jack London), doing laundry, and overall just chilling on the compound. I look forward to it greatly – this week has been tiring.
And that’s really all I have to say. I will be writing a lot next week as I go into reflection mode. For now I’m just trying to focus 100% on the present. Every minute, every hour, just taking it in.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Turning Silent
I have already mentioned a few stories about HIV and AIDS, but I feel I had to add this one too. It was just too powerful.
I was working in the antenatal clinic (for women who are pregnant) clinic on Thursday and it is routine to give an HIV test to all new mothers who come in. The point of the testing is to establish their results, and then from there do different types of counseling. If positive, the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is essential.
One woman came in around 11. We write down her name, age, last known period, estimated day of delivery, gestational age, and record what medications we give out (folic acid, ferrous sulphate, tetanus toxoid injections, malaria prophylaxis), etc.
The nurse then does a pre-counseling for the HIV test. Explaining what it is, why it is necessary, the different outcomes. Then the client gives consent for you to perform the test (a drop of blood on a test strip).
There is a black hardcover book where the first names of all women getting tested is recorded, along with their age, gestation, and the results. This is to be filled out for every woman, regardless of the result. So usually while the nurse is doing the test, I am filling out the book. Every time I open it, I say a little pray that the client is negative.
The 10 minutes it takes for the results to show are very hard. I can’t help but stare at the patient’s test, and stare at the book I am recording in, ready to write a “NR” for non-reactive, or an “R” for reactive.
After 10 minutes the nurse acts the woman to read her own results, so they can decipher it for themselves. The woman we saw, 20 years old, tested positive. I have somewhat learnt how to deal with this, since I have seen it fairly often in the past two months, but this time was so different. Usually the women are shocked yes, and then they ask a lot of questions and the nurse does further counseling for at least 20 minutes.
However, the woman, my age, just sat there in silence for a really long time. I was looking at her, and she was completely still, except for her eyes, which kept darting around the room, and looked like they were trying so hard to hold back tears.
I wanted to know what she was thinking.
The nurse kept asking questions, over and over, and getting no response. The woman was silent. It was so hard to deal with emotionally, because I thought of myself in that position, how I would feel, and what I would think.
Would she see her child through primary school? Would she see the child get married? Would the kids make fun of her child for having an HIV positive mother? Who would support the child when she passed? How long did she have? Maybe the child was now seen as a burden instead of a blessing. Maybe the child would be resentful and angry.
So sad and shocking. I would have been silent too. I wouldn’t have said anything.
Eventually, the nurse managed to get some whispered responses from her, and gave her a return date for 2 weeks. Usually the return date is for a month, however the nurse wanted to check up on her before that, which I definitely agreed with.
HIV is so scary. I am so afraid of it. I know that everyone who lives will someday die – but not like that, not knowing you could have lived longer without the virus. I guess it is like anything though – war, other diseases, circumstances that provoke suicide – that cuts life short. But who is to say a life is cut short? Who is to know how long their life is supposed to last?
Questions with no answers – only God can know.
But that doesn’t make it easier to deal with. I know there are stories like this around the world, with people asking the same questions, having the same feelings, having the same frustrations, wanting to know why – why, why, why – but not having any good answer to make themselves feel better. The best I can do is hope I can reach out to these people in some way in my lifetime, if not now, then when I gain more knowledge and experience.
I was working in the antenatal clinic (for women who are pregnant) clinic on Thursday and it is routine to give an HIV test to all new mothers who come in. The point of the testing is to establish their results, and then from there do different types of counseling. If positive, the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) is essential.
One woman came in around 11. We write down her name, age, last known period, estimated day of delivery, gestational age, and record what medications we give out (folic acid, ferrous sulphate, tetanus toxoid injections, malaria prophylaxis), etc.
The nurse then does a pre-counseling for the HIV test. Explaining what it is, why it is necessary, the different outcomes. Then the client gives consent for you to perform the test (a drop of blood on a test strip).
There is a black hardcover book where the first names of all women getting tested is recorded, along with their age, gestation, and the results. This is to be filled out for every woman, regardless of the result. So usually while the nurse is doing the test, I am filling out the book. Every time I open it, I say a little pray that the client is negative.
The 10 minutes it takes for the results to show are very hard. I can’t help but stare at the patient’s test, and stare at the book I am recording in, ready to write a “NR” for non-reactive, or an “R” for reactive.
After 10 minutes the nurse acts the woman to read her own results, so they can decipher it for themselves. The woman we saw, 20 years old, tested positive. I have somewhat learnt how to deal with this, since I have seen it fairly often in the past two months, but this time was so different. Usually the women are shocked yes, and then they ask a lot of questions and the nurse does further counseling for at least 20 minutes.
However, the woman, my age, just sat there in silence for a really long time. I was looking at her, and she was completely still, except for her eyes, which kept darting around the room, and looked like they were trying so hard to hold back tears.
I wanted to know what she was thinking.
The nurse kept asking questions, over and over, and getting no response. The woman was silent. It was so hard to deal with emotionally, because I thought of myself in that position, how I would feel, and what I would think.
Would she see her child through primary school? Would she see the child get married? Would the kids make fun of her child for having an HIV positive mother? Who would support the child when she passed? How long did she have? Maybe the child was now seen as a burden instead of a blessing. Maybe the child would be resentful and angry.
So sad and shocking. I would have been silent too. I wouldn’t have said anything.
Eventually, the nurse managed to get some whispered responses from her, and gave her a return date for 2 weeks. Usually the return date is for a month, however the nurse wanted to check up on her before that, which I definitely agreed with.
HIV is so scary. I am so afraid of it. I know that everyone who lives will someday die – but not like that, not knowing you could have lived longer without the virus. I guess it is like anything though – war, other diseases, circumstances that provoke suicide – that cuts life short. But who is to say a life is cut short? Who is to know how long their life is supposed to last?
Questions with no answers – only God can know.
But that doesn’t make it easier to deal with. I know there are stories like this around the world, with people asking the same questions, having the same feelings, having the same frustrations, wanting to know why – why, why, why – but not having any good answer to make themselves feel better. The best I can do is hope I can reach out to these people in some way in my lifetime, if not now, then when I gain more knowledge and experience.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello
I have seen many people come and go here in Ugunja. The two Global Youth Network teams in both May and June, Ryan from Cali, I have seen Wren leave, and now recently there are two Canadians who arrived Thursday and will be leaving Tuesday. In July, I hear that even more volunteers will be coming and staying a short period of time. So I will get to say hello and goodbye many times, all the while staying stationary.
It brings different feelings. In one respect, I am jealous of those who come and go, because they make this place a part of their life for a short period of time, and then move on with their life, perhaps traveling back to their homes in Canada or the US, where I miss so many things and dream of often. Or maybe some of them, like the Canadians, will be traveling down Africa to Cape Town. All of these adventures, so many interesting things to see – and here I am, in rural Kenya, living a simple and mainly quiet life. Not that I feel sorry for myself, but part of me just yearns to lead the kind of life of these people I see come and go – staying for a bit and then going on to something different.
However, I have realized that my position is one that is very unique and one that makes me very privileged. First of all, because I have been here for 2 months, I am very accustomed to the area. I know where everything is, I know where to find things, I know people, I know how to make my way around, and most important I am comfortable in this environment now. And comfort is something that takes time – it doesn’t come in a week, it doesn’t come in two weeks – it takes a good amount of time.
Another plus about staying a long time is that you can really connect with the people, you can really begin to uncover the culture and learn how it influences and is influenced by different people, places and environmental factors. I understand why a woman has to carry water down a long dirt road, I understand why the children have to work so hard, I understand why there is so little variety in food, I understand why HIV continues to dominate, I understand why little kids call out “how are you” constantly, I understand why everyone treats me like I am famous, etc, etc.
There is a difference between knowing and understanding. You can know something without understanding it. The people who come and go can know a lot of things about a place, but may only understand a few of them. I know and understand many things here in Ugunja, and that is a blessing. After all, that’s what I came to do. And although it is hard to see people come and go, travel onward to places I wish I could go, I understand that the experience I am getting could only have happened with my staying as long as I have.
I am very lucky.
In other news, these past few days have been really great. The two Canadians are awesome women who are traveling down to Cape Town, SA, throughout the next month. They are both from Waterloo, and we have much in common, so it has been great to talk with them and share Ugunja with them. Yesterday we had a little hut party and made guacamole with Chili Lemon flavoured chips (so good!), soft buns and some chocolate. It was very fun indeed. Tomorrow I am showing them around Kisumu, which I am excited about because it feels like I haven’t been there in awhile and there are some things I need to pick up (more Quaker oats, peanut butter, and perhaps some candy!) which I can’t get here in Ugunja.
Also, I am going to a wedding next Saturday! An AFRICAN WEDDING! It’s my own! Sorry to break the news to you mom and dad – I’m coming back a married woman! Haha. Kidding! I know the woman, Esther, from the health centre, and I think it will probably be the highlight of this Kenyan adventure (well, the most fun I will have I think). So next week I am getting a skirt made for me in town, which costs about $3, and then I will wear a nice shawl I bought, do my hair all nice, get one of the girls to do my makeup, and maybe even buy some nail polish! I haven’t really dressed up my whole time here, and I love dressing up, so I am really looking forward to it.
Lastly, my brother called me today. The boy hasn’t contacted me yet, although he claims he called me when my mom visited him a month ago, but I know that it was my mom who initiated the phone call. Anyways, the last few weeks I have been fostering a brutal hatred towards him for being so emotionally incompetent – I am in a place that Google Maps doesn’t recognize and he can’t find the time to give me a little phone call? CMON!- but now I am happy. So, it has been a great day.
Off to lunch now. Oriti.
It brings different feelings. In one respect, I am jealous of those who come and go, because they make this place a part of their life for a short period of time, and then move on with their life, perhaps traveling back to their homes in Canada or the US, where I miss so many things and dream of often. Or maybe some of them, like the Canadians, will be traveling down Africa to Cape Town. All of these adventures, so many interesting things to see – and here I am, in rural Kenya, living a simple and mainly quiet life. Not that I feel sorry for myself, but part of me just yearns to lead the kind of life of these people I see come and go – staying for a bit and then going on to something different.
However, I have realized that my position is one that is very unique and one that makes me very privileged. First of all, because I have been here for 2 months, I am very accustomed to the area. I know where everything is, I know where to find things, I know people, I know how to make my way around, and most important I am comfortable in this environment now. And comfort is something that takes time – it doesn’t come in a week, it doesn’t come in two weeks – it takes a good amount of time.
Another plus about staying a long time is that you can really connect with the people, you can really begin to uncover the culture and learn how it influences and is influenced by different people, places and environmental factors. I understand why a woman has to carry water down a long dirt road, I understand why the children have to work so hard, I understand why there is so little variety in food, I understand why HIV continues to dominate, I understand why little kids call out “how are you” constantly, I understand why everyone treats me like I am famous, etc, etc.
There is a difference between knowing and understanding. You can know something without understanding it. The people who come and go can know a lot of things about a place, but may only understand a few of them. I know and understand many things here in Ugunja, and that is a blessing. After all, that’s what I came to do. And although it is hard to see people come and go, travel onward to places I wish I could go, I understand that the experience I am getting could only have happened with my staying as long as I have.
I am very lucky.
In other news, these past few days have been really great. The two Canadians are awesome women who are traveling down to Cape Town, SA, throughout the next month. They are both from Waterloo, and we have much in common, so it has been great to talk with them and share Ugunja with them. Yesterday we had a little hut party and made guacamole with Chili Lemon flavoured chips (so good!), soft buns and some chocolate. It was very fun indeed. Tomorrow I am showing them around Kisumu, which I am excited about because it feels like I haven’t been there in awhile and there are some things I need to pick up (more Quaker oats, peanut butter, and perhaps some candy!) which I can’t get here in Ugunja.
Also, I am going to a wedding next Saturday! An AFRICAN WEDDING! It’s my own! Sorry to break the news to you mom and dad – I’m coming back a married woman! Haha. Kidding! I know the woman, Esther, from the health centre, and I think it will probably be the highlight of this Kenyan adventure (well, the most fun I will have I think). So next week I am getting a skirt made for me in town, which costs about $3, and then I will wear a nice shawl I bought, do my hair all nice, get one of the girls to do my makeup, and maybe even buy some nail polish! I haven’t really dressed up my whole time here, and I love dressing up, so I am really looking forward to it.
Lastly, my brother called me today. The boy hasn’t contacted me yet, although he claims he called me when my mom visited him a month ago, but I know that it was my mom who initiated the phone call. Anyways, the last few weeks I have been fostering a brutal hatred towards him for being so emotionally incompetent – I am in a place that Google Maps doesn’t recognize and he can’t find the time to give me a little phone call? CMON!- but now I am happy. So, it has been a great day.
Off to lunch now. Oriti.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Highschool musical 800,000 times better
Hello again. I would like to share some more stories.
So as I have mentioned the compound that I live on houses many children and teenagers. About 15 of them. Of the teenagers, there is one girl I feel especially close to and her name is Beryl (Bur-ill). She is really funny, and really fiesty. She doesn;t take crap from anyone and beats up all the boys. She is really happy too, and always singing. Usually after dinner she dominates the singing, along with another teen, Steven. Steven is always dancing, and when dear MJ passed, he had a really rough time because he didn't know who his idol was going to be anymore in terms of dancing.
Anyways both Steven and Beryl are in their highschool choir, consisting of about 40 kids. Last month they went to a district competition and won, so they were off to the provincial finals being held in Kisii (about 4 hours from Ugunja).The provincial finals were held this weekend, and I expressed my desire to go to both Beryl and Steven, and asked them to ask their choir director if I could come. But like most African things, nothing ever runs on time, and they ended up not asking.
So on Saturday I walked to the highschool (a good half hour) to talk to the choir director. The highschool by the way is so beautiful, it looks like a resort. Palm trees and exotic flowers and thatched gazebos everywhere. So nice!
Anyways I talked with the director and he said I could come, we just had to sort out how I was getting there. The students were sleeping over at the highschool that night because they had to leave at 4am. So...I was thinking "ok, sleep on the floor of the highschool and wake up at 3am"....SOUNDS GREAT!
So, I pack some things, and walk to the highschool with Beryl and Steven. Beryl tells me the other students are so excited a white person is travelling with them. I was pretty excited myself! So we get there, and I am introduced to a bunch of students. When the sun went down the kids were busy making dinner, while others set up their sleeping stuff on the floor. Then some speakers were brought out along with a small television, and music started. And let me tell you, when music starts around 40 highschool students who love singing, you DO NOT want to be in the way. It was crazy, everyone was going insane with joy.
Then after dinner they put on this "movie". Haha...I put movie in brackets because movies here are NOT like movies back home. Movies here look like they were recorded on a digital camera by some first-year cameraman student. Movies here are a mix between the cheesiest soap opera you know and the worst musical video you have ever seen. With that being said, movies here are the most hilarious things I have ever seen. The plot was that a man was falling in love with a blind woman. My favourite part came when they were eating ice cream and she said in her best English accent " Why do you love me? I am blind", and he replies with, "We are all blind". Wow. It was fantastic!
Anyways, so after waking up at 2am with the rest of the students, I was pretty pumped. We go in the bus, which is like a really crappy version of a coach bus, at 4am, and drove on! I got to see the sunset around 6am which was pretty cool. A fiery orange ball rising from the green grassy hills past Kisumu. If you think of how an African sunrise should look in your head, that is pretty much how it looked.
We rolled into Kisii around 830. The provincial finals were being held at this huge mixed highschool, and all the buses were parked in this enormous feild. By 930am most schools had arrived and some were rehearsing in the feild. Never have I seen so many black students in one location. It was a sea of people, and like always, I was the only whitey.
So the students performed around 10am, and I can't describe how they sounded because it wouldn't do them justice. I had thought that being in the gospel choir and singing that music was the best music I had ever heard, and ever sung. It is so full of energy and happiness. However, I have to say, the Kenyan highschoolers were 100 times better. You just can't beat it, and you can't replicate it. They sounded so great, I was smiling the whole song.
They only had that one song to sing (the competition lasted 3 days with each school getting to perform 2 songs a day, but the students in Ugunja only had enough funding to go for the one day). Anyways, the rest of the day the students just had a good time. It is rare for them to leave home and be around so many other students, so they were loving it, and I was so happy I went.
The coolest thing I saw, apart from them singing, was a boys school performing a traditional Luo dance. They were all decked out in paint and feathers and grass skirts. They had bongos and a horn and a traingle. It was the most amazing dancing I have seen, and it was so genuine, you could tell that each move was part of who they were.
So...we left Kisii at 430pm, and I was so tired. But, the bus being as rickety as it was, and the roads being...well...Kenyan...I couldn't really sleep the whole ride home. But I did get to see the sunset, which was very nice. So overall, Kisii was great, I am so glad I went and had the opportunity to go.
So as I have mentioned the compound that I live on houses many children and teenagers. About 15 of them. Of the teenagers, there is one girl I feel especially close to and her name is Beryl (Bur-ill). She is really funny, and really fiesty. She doesn;t take crap from anyone and beats up all the boys. She is really happy too, and always singing. Usually after dinner she dominates the singing, along with another teen, Steven. Steven is always dancing, and when dear MJ passed, he had a really rough time because he didn't know who his idol was going to be anymore in terms of dancing.
Anyways both Steven and Beryl are in their highschool choir, consisting of about 40 kids. Last month they went to a district competition and won, so they were off to the provincial finals being held in Kisii (about 4 hours from Ugunja).The provincial finals were held this weekend, and I expressed my desire to go to both Beryl and Steven, and asked them to ask their choir director if I could come. But like most African things, nothing ever runs on time, and they ended up not asking.
So on Saturday I walked to the highschool (a good half hour) to talk to the choir director. The highschool by the way is so beautiful, it looks like a resort. Palm trees and exotic flowers and thatched gazebos everywhere. So nice!
Anyways I talked with the director and he said I could come, we just had to sort out how I was getting there. The students were sleeping over at the highschool that night because they had to leave at 4am. So...I was thinking "ok, sleep on the floor of the highschool and wake up at 3am"....SOUNDS GREAT!
So, I pack some things, and walk to the highschool with Beryl and Steven. Beryl tells me the other students are so excited a white person is travelling with them. I was pretty excited myself! So we get there, and I am introduced to a bunch of students. When the sun went down the kids were busy making dinner, while others set up their sleeping stuff on the floor. Then some speakers were brought out along with a small television, and music started. And let me tell you, when music starts around 40 highschool students who love singing, you DO NOT want to be in the way. It was crazy, everyone was going insane with joy.
Then after dinner they put on this "movie". Haha...I put movie in brackets because movies here are NOT like movies back home. Movies here look like they were recorded on a digital camera by some first-year cameraman student. Movies here are a mix between the cheesiest soap opera you know and the worst musical video you have ever seen. With that being said, movies here are the most hilarious things I have ever seen. The plot was that a man was falling in love with a blind woman. My favourite part came when they were eating ice cream and she said in her best English accent " Why do you love me? I am blind", and he replies with, "We are all blind". Wow. It was fantastic!
Anyways, so after waking up at 2am with the rest of the students, I was pretty pumped. We go in the bus, which is like a really crappy version of a coach bus, at 4am, and drove on! I got to see the sunset around 6am which was pretty cool. A fiery orange ball rising from the green grassy hills past Kisumu. If you think of how an African sunrise should look in your head, that is pretty much how it looked.
We rolled into Kisii around 830. The provincial finals were being held at this huge mixed highschool, and all the buses were parked in this enormous feild. By 930am most schools had arrived and some were rehearsing in the feild. Never have I seen so many black students in one location. It was a sea of people, and like always, I was the only whitey.
So the students performed around 10am, and I can't describe how they sounded because it wouldn't do them justice. I had thought that being in the gospel choir and singing that music was the best music I had ever heard, and ever sung. It is so full of energy and happiness. However, I have to say, the Kenyan highschoolers were 100 times better. You just can't beat it, and you can't replicate it. They sounded so great, I was smiling the whole song.
They only had that one song to sing (the competition lasted 3 days with each school getting to perform 2 songs a day, but the students in Ugunja only had enough funding to go for the one day). Anyways, the rest of the day the students just had a good time. It is rare for them to leave home and be around so many other students, so they were loving it, and I was so happy I went.
The coolest thing I saw, apart from them singing, was a boys school performing a traditional Luo dance. They were all decked out in paint and feathers and grass skirts. They had bongos and a horn and a traingle. It was the most amazing dancing I have seen, and it was so genuine, you could tell that each move was part of who they were.
So...we left Kisii at 430pm, and I was so tired. But, the bus being as rickety as it was, and the roads being...well...Kenyan...I couldn't really sleep the whole ride home. But I did get to see the sunset, which was very nice. So overall, Kisii was great, I am so glad I went and had the opportunity to go.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I love you Canada
Dear Canada,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I am so sad I am not there to celebrate your day of birth, but don’t you worry, I am celebrating from across the ocean. I have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks now, and I sure made some great plans. First and foremost, I would like to honor you by only eating foods that I would eat in your beloved country. So I went to the supermarket yesterday and bought the following items:
- Small muffins
- Peanut butter
- Jam
- Cookies
- Chocolate
- Chips
So, I am fully stocked to eat all Canadian foods! Next is the clothing I am wearing. I have a grey shirt with the Canadian flag on front (left to my by my dear hut-mate Wren), a red baseball cap that has the Canadian flag on the front, and I have been carrying and waving around a mini flag all day. I am so proud of you Canada, and so proud to call myself a Canadian. So I would like to honor you and show my deep love for you by writing the following “Ode to Canada”
O Canada, you are so beautiful to me
I love you for your clean streets and sidewalks
I love you for garbage disposal system, and for your recycling system as well
I love that cold milk is available everywhere
The environment boasts beautiful trials and waterfalls, that are safe to walk
O Canada, how I appreciate your seasons
The beautiful autumn, where colour-changing leaves, pumpkin treats and crisp air swirl through the land
And the cold winter, which though sometimes is annoying, allows flurries, tobogganing, hot chocolate to be enjoyed with fluffy marshmallows, snow ball fights and sparking bare trees
And then there is the spring, in which rain brings life to all the beautiful flowers and plants
And summer, which we all look forward to so much, in which we can all relax and go swimming outdoors and enjoy hot dogs and ice cream
O Canada, how I appreciate your police force, who are always there to actually carry out the law
I love you for the warm water needed for showers, and for the cold water needed for drinking
I love you for the genius availability of dishwashers and washer and dryer machines
I love so many things about you Canada, but most of all I enjoy the freedom, opportunity and choice you have given me throughout my life
Have a great birthday, and know that I am thinking of you all day today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I am so sad I am not there to celebrate your day of birth, but don’t you worry, I am celebrating from across the ocean. I have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks now, and I sure made some great plans. First and foremost, I would like to honor you by only eating foods that I would eat in your beloved country. So I went to the supermarket yesterday and bought the following items:
- Small muffins
- Peanut butter
- Jam
- Cookies
- Chocolate
- Chips
So, I am fully stocked to eat all Canadian foods! Next is the clothing I am wearing. I have a grey shirt with the Canadian flag on front (left to my by my dear hut-mate Wren), a red baseball cap that has the Canadian flag on the front, and I have been carrying and waving around a mini flag all day. I am so proud of you Canada, and so proud to call myself a Canadian. So I would like to honor you and show my deep love for you by writing the following “Ode to Canada”
O Canada, you are so beautiful to me
I love you for your clean streets and sidewalks
I love you for garbage disposal system, and for your recycling system as well
I love that cold milk is available everywhere
The environment boasts beautiful trials and waterfalls, that are safe to walk
O Canada, how I appreciate your seasons
The beautiful autumn, where colour-changing leaves, pumpkin treats and crisp air swirl through the land
And the cold winter, which though sometimes is annoying, allows flurries, tobogganing, hot chocolate to be enjoyed with fluffy marshmallows, snow ball fights and sparking bare trees
And then there is the spring, in which rain brings life to all the beautiful flowers and plants
And summer, which we all look forward to so much, in which we can all relax and go swimming outdoors and enjoy hot dogs and ice cream
O Canada, how I appreciate your police force, who are always there to actually carry out the law
I love you for the warm water needed for showers, and for the cold water needed for drinking
I love you for the genius availability of dishwashers and washer and dryer machines
I love so many things about you Canada, but most of all I enjoy the freedom, opportunity and choice you have given me throughout my life
Have a great birthday, and know that I am thinking of you all day today!
California knows how to party
Saturday morning was a difficult and sad time, because my dear friend Wren left. I was quite emotional at this time. I saw her off at the bus at 830 and then proceeded to the library to browse the internet and attempt to work on some school work. At around 1pm I returned back to the compound with Ryan (a volunteer from UC Berkely who is here volunteering for 5 weeks – this was his 3rd week). We made PB&J sandwiches and ate some mango – which was really nice. Then after I was soaking my feet in the basin and reading a great book, “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac. A classic! I love books that talk about someone just following their dreams, or their instincts, and just living life. For anyone who loves adventure stories like Into the Wild, and stories like Catcher in the Rye, this book is great.
Anyways, then Ryan gets a phone call. He had been talking about some friends of his from Berekley, who are in Nairobi at the moment doing a course, coming to Kisumu for the weekend. He said he would probably be going down on Sunday and invited me to come. I was thinking about it, but I wasn’t all for it. I have reservation about things like this, I don’t like big group gatherings, and Ryan would be the only one I knew, so I kind of thought I wouldn’t go.
So Ryan gets off the phone and says his friends are actually coming in tonight, and so he was leaving asap to Kisumu (it was about 4pm at the time, and the ride to Kisumu is usually between 1.5-2 hours, so if you wanted to be there by dark, you had to leave asap). He invited me to come and said we would stay over in their hotel and crash on the floor or something. I immediately thought this sounded like something I didn’t want to do – leave on the spur of a moment to Kisumu to stay in a place, or maybe sleep in a bed with some random person, and hang out with people who Ryan knows but I don’t.) He said he was going to pack, so I said I would think about it and get back to him.
So I went into my hut and sat down. On one hand Wren was gone and this was a great distraction to forget how life here would be so different without her. On the other hand I didn’t have a lot of money. And then the answer came to me – was I not reading “On the Road” and admiring the spontaneity and independence of the lead character? Did I not come to Africa on my own free will, knowing no one here? Did I not love going on adventures? Was I not in some desperate need of hanging out with other white people in a city that reminds me more of home?
I called Ryan and said for sure I was going.
I packed a small bag, only with the essentials like money, my cell phone, a change of underwear, a pj shirt, water and hand sanitizer. I was thinking of Jack Kerouac the whole time – wouldn’t this be just like him? Wouldn’t he do something amazingly adventurous like this?
So we practically ran to the matatu area – a good 20 minutes from the compound – to hope to get to Kisumu before dark. While riding I was thinking, “Won’t this be fun, an adventure in Africa, with people who understand me and who will have different stories than me, this will be so cool”. Ryan figured out what hotel they were staying at and called ahead to see if extra rooms where available. He booked one which was $2500 shillings (about 35 dollars). Once in Kisumu it was thankfully still a little light out, so we got on a motorbike and went to St. Anna’s Hostel (really a hotel, but not the kind of hotel you are picturing in your head right now). We arrived and were shown to our room which had….HOT WATER! About 30 minutes after our arrival Ryan’s friend Rosie came to the door – it was a great reunion for them, I could just imagine seeing one of my good friends in Kisumu and the feeling that would bring. There was also another friend, Dylan, who came up to greet Ryan who had waited in Nairobi along with Rosie for Ryan the night he arrived. They were staying in another part of the hotel, so we followed them.
Ryan introduced me as his “Canadian friend”. I had never felt so privileged – haha. It felt pretty cool to be the only Canadian – I had to represent myself well. So we talked with Rosie and Dylan for awhile, filling them in on what our life was like in Ugunja (very different from what they were experiencing) and they told us what they were up to in Nairobi. Soon after it was dinner time (Kenyatta University where the Berkeley students were staying paid for all their meals) and Ryan and I weren’t sure if we would be covered, but we went over anyways. Along the way I met two other students, Alex and Danielle, who were really nice, and really interested in what I was doing in Ugunja. Then we walked into the dining hall and there is a huge table lined with 20+ students! Definite culture shock – the largest number of white people in one place I have seen in 6 weeks. It was a little overwhelming, but also exciting. So Ryan and I tried to order some food and blend in with the other students whose food was being covered by the University (We had to pretend I was from Berkeley too).
So this is what I ate:
3 absolutely delicious small grilled cheese sandwiches ( like – ACTUAL cheese)
Some of Rosie’s chicken curry – mmm…
1 Sprite
Birthday cake with REAL frosting (It was one girl’s birthday and they got a cake for her and the frosting was like actual frosting you would see in Canada, which up until this point I thought was non-existent. The “frosting” on the cakes in Ugunja is hard fondant the is way too sweet and lemony and not creamy at all)
It was AMAZING. I can’t even describe how I felt inside other than intense joy.
So after dinner, which was around 930, we decided to go out into town. It was going to be Rosie’s birthday on Sunday, so in like 3 hours, so they wanted to celebrate. Ryan and I knew a really good Western restaurant, Mon Amie, that we had been to a few times, and which we knew had a disco. So we decided to head there. As we approached we could hear music and I started getting so exited. Music means dancing automatically in my head. When I hear it, I want to dance. So right off the bat, I knew this was to be a great night. So we walked in and we were the only white people – not a surprise. We sat down and ordered some drinks (only coolers for me) and started talking more about our stories from Kenya. They had some pretty funny ones which involved baboons stealing apples from them and then their professor running after the baboons, and stories about how the matatus are really awesome in Nairobi, and just about their time there in general. It was around 1130 and now the place was really picking up. The music was really awesome, a mix of African reggae and American songs like “Live your life”, “Tattoo”, “Calabria”. At exactly 12 we toasted to Rosie’s birthday and then hit the dance floor. Those of you who know my dancing should be able to picture this pretty well – but add the fact I haven’t been able to unleash my inner dancer in over 6 weeks – so it was intense. Intense and awesome and pretty sweaty. The Tupac and Dre song “California knows how to party” came on and they were loving it. I obviously know the song too because I love Tupac, so it was great, we were all dancing crazy and loving the fact we were in a club in Kisumu and it was Rosie’s birthday.
We headed back to the hostel around 130 am, and then talked for a little bit more in Rosie and Dylan’s room, and then went back to our room around 230 am. Then I had a hot shower – FREAKING GREATEST FEELING EVER. Hot water, falling vertically – so beautiful. We knew we had to wake up around 7 for breakfast, so we knew we wouldn’t get much sleep but whatever, this was an adventure, and it was so awesome so far.
In the morning we got up and I was thinking that this was so great we should stay one more night if we could with the group. Ryan said we would see how pricy the next place would be, because at this point we were pretty low on funds.
This was what I ate for Breakfast:
1 big pineapple ring
2 pieces of watermelon
A plain omlette
3 glasses of tropical juice (so tasty – I think I am slowing breaking down my hatred of juice)
1.5 bowls of cornflakes with REAL MILK! (Yes! Cornflakes! And I put some sugar over them so they were sweeter – it was so tasty!)
Again, words cannot describe how amazing eating this was, other than pure bliss
So the group was going to visit Obama’s grandma, who Ryan and I have met before, so we decided to meet up with them after when they got back. In the meantime Ryan and I walked into town to try and find a craft market we had heard about. We did find it and it was pretty neat – a lot of stereotypical African gifts (wooden giraffes and other safari animals, nice prints, paintings, jewelry, wooden spoons, soapstone carvings, and other African-related trinkets) I bought a present which I cannot disclose right now because the person I bought it for might be reading this – but I will say it is a great present and I was thrilled I bought it. After this Ryan and I walked back to the centre of town because he wanted to use the internet for a bit. Then he got a call from Rosie saying they were switching hotels for this night, so she gave him the name of it and said to meet them there. So we got in a rickshaw (3 wheeled enclosed vehicle) and went to a place called “Shalom Hotel”, which was slightly hilarious considering it was definitely not owned by Jewish people. Ryan and I were tired by this point so we ordered some Coke and some chicken wings from the hotel kitchen. Chicken wings- I know, I was sketched out at what to expect, but they were fairly decent – I only had two because I wasn’t sure if we were going to eat with the group. So the group arrived and unloaded their stuff, then shortly after we joined them on their huge bus. We went to a park in the centre of town, where ryan and I had been before, and ate at this restaurant in the middle on the park which overlooks some soccer fields. It is a popular destination for people to come and observe some games while eating or drinking.
I ate:
Half a plate of French fries
2 sausages (I am such a fan of sausages here – in a place with so little variety I have grown close to them).
Then there was talk of a boat tour on Lake Victoria. So I was thinking – boat – something you can stand on and walk around deck. But like many times in Kenya – never try to picture something in your head because it is never what you imagine. Your expectations are never met and that is something you just need to deal with. So we drive down to Lake Victoria and we see some canoes pulled up on shore – and those are the boats. So – yeah. Canoe ride it was! We all got lifejackets – which were so faulty they actually wouldn’t save you if the boat tipped, but it was a nice notion. The lake was nice, but it was a lake. Some of the views were pretty thought, it was overcast so you couldn’t see much of the land, but it was hilly and green like most of Kenya. The students were in 3 canoes and it was a big deal who was leading, or winning. So it was funny to see them yell back and forth. We were in canoes with motors, so really I wasn’t expecting speed. It was all part of an adventure though.
We got back to Shalom and rested for a bit. I had another HOT SHOWER! Is it sad when a shower is the highlight of a trip? Hmm…
Then is was dinner, and what a sweet dinner it was!
I ate:
Rice with green peppers and onion
2 chicken drumsticks, lightly fried
Some cabbage
A small amoung of pasta – really tasty though!
Beef stew (I didn’t actually eat the beef, I only wanted it for the carrots and the sauce, which was really good)
5 pieces of watermelon (maybe a little much, but c’mon, can you blame me?)
Birthday cake again (Rosie’s cake) – it was also made with real icing, I really lucked out in coming on the days with birthdays
Then we all decided to have our own little party in the clearing in the middle of the hotel (it was set up like a lobby, with the rooms on the outside and chairs and tables in the middle) but everything is open to the air, it’s not fully enclosed like all hotels in Canada.
So all the students came down to chat/drink/have a good time together. I am definitely not fond of hard alcohol, unless it is mixed with a sugary drink in which I can’t taste it. So I had a rum and coke and some other mix which tasted like juice. Everyone had their own little group, some playing drinking games, and others just talking. I chatted with a few girls who I hadn’t met the night before, and we were exchanging stories of America and Canada. And then I realized the soccer game was on – USA vs Brazil! So I went in to the eating area to watch it on their TV along with some other students. In the first half USA was leading 2-0, so everyone was really excited, and also slightly shocked. I was shocked too – USA isn’t known for their soccer. I had faith that Brazil could come back – they were BRAZIL for goodness sake, soccer is pretty much a genetic trait for them.
While watching some people had passed around some snacks including Hot&Spicy Pringles (YES – Pringles! I was amazed, and they tasted so good!), chocolate (Dairy Milk is everywhere here) and these lemon wafer things. Very yummy.
The second half of the soccer game had a turn out which was more of what I expected. Brazil came back and showed why they are known as being the best. 3 goals. By the 3rd goal, which happened around 82 minutes, most of the students had gathered inside to watch the last few minutes, and when Brazil scored everyone was moaning and yelling and disappointed. Like, all around me. I was kind of secretly laughing – obviously Brazil would win, and I was rooting for them. It was weird to be the only one though.
The party kind of dwindled after this, just people talking here and there, some going to bed. But it was nice to feel like I was included in their group – this was something I was worried about. The Californians were so nice and welcoming, and just really cool people. I felt a little out my element, because I couldn’t really identify strongly with anyone, like no one I thought that reminded me of a friend from home – but it was nice getting to know people who are different from the people you are used to hanging around with. It tests you as a person. It allows you to recognize parts of yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen. Tupac and Dre said it best “California knows how to party”. I loved my adventures with the Berkeley students, and I am anxious to visit Ryan within the next year so that I can see and be part of all the things I have heard of and experienced a little bit.
Best weekend ever, by far. It was just the right amount of distraction and the right amount of the home feeling to keep me going the next 6 weeks.
Anyways, then Ryan gets a phone call. He had been talking about some friends of his from Berekley, who are in Nairobi at the moment doing a course, coming to Kisumu for the weekend. He said he would probably be going down on Sunday and invited me to come. I was thinking about it, but I wasn’t all for it. I have reservation about things like this, I don’t like big group gatherings, and Ryan would be the only one I knew, so I kind of thought I wouldn’t go.
So Ryan gets off the phone and says his friends are actually coming in tonight, and so he was leaving asap to Kisumu (it was about 4pm at the time, and the ride to Kisumu is usually between 1.5-2 hours, so if you wanted to be there by dark, you had to leave asap). He invited me to come and said we would stay over in their hotel and crash on the floor or something. I immediately thought this sounded like something I didn’t want to do – leave on the spur of a moment to Kisumu to stay in a place, or maybe sleep in a bed with some random person, and hang out with people who Ryan knows but I don’t.) He said he was going to pack, so I said I would think about it and get back to him.
So I went into my hut and sat down. On one hand Wren was gone and this was a great distraction to forget how life here would be so different without her. On the other hand I didn’t have a lot of money. And then the answer came to me – was I not reading “On the Road” and admiring the spontaneity and independence of the lead character? Did I not come to Africa on my own free will, knowing no one here? Did I not love going on adventures? Was I not in some desperate need of hanging out with other white people in a city that reminds me more of home?
I called Ryan and said for sure I was going.
I packed a small bag, only with the essentials like money, my cell phone, a change of underwear, a pj shirt, water and hand sanitizer. I was thinking of Jack Kerouac the whole time – wouldn’t this be just like him? Wouldn’t he do something amazingly adventurous like this?
So we practically ran to the matatu area – a good 20 minutes from the compound – to hope to get to Kisumu before dark. While riding I was thinking, “Won’t this be fun, an adventure in Africa, with people who understand me and who will have different stories than me, this will be so cool”. Ryan figured out what hotel they were staying at and called ahead to see if extra rooms where available. He booked one which was $2500 shillings (about 35 dollars). Once in Kisumu it was thankfully still a little light out, so we got on a motorbike and went to St. Anna’s Hostel (really a hotel, but not the kind of hotel you are picturing in your head right now). We arrived and were shown to our room which had….HOT WATER! About 30 minutes after our arrival Ryan’s friend Rosie came to the door – it was a great reunion for them, I could just imagine seeing one of my good friends in Kisumu and the feeling that would bring. There was also another friend, Dylan, who came up to greet Ryan who had waited in Nairobi along with Rosie for Ryan the night he arrived. They were staying in another part of the hotel, so we followed them.
Ryan introduced me as his “Canadian friend”. I had never felt so privileged – haha. It felt pretty cool to be the only Canadian – I had to represent myself well. So we talked with Rosie and Dylan for awhile, filling them in on what our life was like in Ugunja (very different from what they were experiencing) and they told us what they were up to in Nairobi. Soon after it was dinner time (Kenyatta University where the Berkeley students were staying paid for all their meals) and Ryan and I weren’t sure if we would be covered, but we went over anyways. Along the way I met two other students, Alex and Danielle, who were really nice, and really interested in what I was doing in Ugunja. Then we walked into the dining hall and there is a huge table lined with 20+ students! Definite culture shock – the largest number of white people in one place I have seen in 6 weeks. It was a little overwhelming, but also exciting. So Ryan and I tried to order some food and blend in with the other students whose food was being covered by the University (We had to pretend I was from Berkeley too).
So this is what I ate:
3 absolutely delicious small grilled cheese sandwiches ( like – ACTUAL cheese)
Some of Rosie’s chicken curry – mmm…
1 Sprite
Birthday cake with REAL frosting (It was one girl’s birthday and they got a cake for her and the frosting was like actual frosting you would see in Canada, which up until this point I thought was non-existent. The “frosting” on the cakes in Ugunja is hard fondant the is way too sweet and lemony and not creamy at all)
It was AMAZING. I can’t even describe how I felt inside other than intense joy.
So after dinner, which was around 930, we decided to go out into town. It was going to be Rosie’s birthday on Sunday, so in like 3 hours, so they wanted to celebrate. Ryan and I knew a really good Western restaurant, Mon Amie, that we had been to a few times, and which we knew had a disco. So we decided to head there. As we approached we could hear music and I started getting so exited. Music means dancing automatically in my head. When I hear it, I want to dance. So right off the bat, I knew this was to be a great night. So we walked in and we were the only white people – not a surprise. We sat down and ordered some drinks (only coolers for me) and started talking more about our stories from Kenya. They had some pretty funny ones which involved baboons stealing apples from them and then their professor running after the baboons, and stories about how the matatus are really awesome in Nairobi, and just about their time there in general. It was around 1130 and now the place was really picking up. The music was really awesome, a mix of African reggae and American songs like “Live your life”, “Tattoo”, “Calabria”. At exactly 12 we toasted to Rosie’s birthday and then hit the dance floor. Those of you who know my dancing should be able to picture this pretty well – but add the fact I haven’t been able to unleash my inner dancer in over 6 weeks – so it was intense. Intense and awesome and pretty sweaty. The Tupac and Dre song “California knows how to party” came on and they were loving it. I obviously know the song too because I love Tupac, so it was great, we were all dancing crazy and loving the fact we were in a club in Kisumu and it was Rosie’s birthday.
We headed back to the hostel around 130 am, and then talked for a little bit more in Rosie and Dylan’s room, and then went back to our room around 230 am. Then I had a hot shower – FREAKING GREATEST FEELING EVER. Hot water, falling vertically – so beautiful. We knew we had to wake up around 7 for breakfast, so we knew we wouldn’t get much sleep but whatever, this was an adventure, and it was so awesome so far.
In the morning we got up and I was thinking that this was so great we should stay one more night if we could with the group. Ryan said we would see how pricy the next place would be, because at this point we were pretty low on funds.
This was what I ate for Breakfast:
1 big pineapple ring
2 pieces of watermelon
A plain omlette
3 glasses of tropical juice (so tasty – I think I am slowing breaking down my hatred of juice)
1.5 bowls of cornflakes with REAL MILK! (Yes! Cornflakes! And I put some sugar over them so they were sweeter – it was so tasty!)
Again, words cannot describe how amazing eating this was, other than pure bliss
So the group was going to visit Obama’s grandma, who Ryan and I have met before, so we decided to meet up with them after when they got back. In the meantime Ryan and I walked into town to try and find a craft market we had heard about. We did find it and it was pretty neat – a lot of stereotypical African gifts (wooden giraffes and other safari animals, nice prints, paintings, jewelry, wooden spoons, soapstone carvings, and other African-related trinkets) I bought a present which I cannot disclose right now because the person I bought it for might be reading this – but I will say it is a great present and I was thrilled I bought it. After this Ryan and I walked back to the centre of town because he wanted to use the internet for a bit. Then he got a call from Rosie saying they were switching hotels for this night, so she gave him the name of it and said to meet them there. So we got in a rickshaw (3 wheeled enclosed vehicle) and went to a place called “Shalom Hotel”, which was slightly hilarious considering it was definitely not owned by Jewish people. Ryan and I were tired by this point so we ordered some Coke and some chicken wings from the hotel kitchen. Chicken wings- I know, I was sketched out at what to expect, but they were fairly decent – I only had two because I wasn’t sure if we were going to eat with the group. So the group arrived and unloaded their stuff, then shortly after we joined them on their huge bus. We went to a park in the centre of town, where ryan and I had been before, and ate at this restaurant in the middle on the park which overlooks some soccer fields. It is a popular destination for people to come and observe some games while eating or drinking.
I ate:
Half a plate of French fries
2 sausages (I am such a fan of sausages here – in a place with so little variety I have grown close to them).
Then there was talk of a boat tour on Lake Victoria. So I was thinking – boat – something you can stand on and walk around deck. But like many times in Kenya – never try to picture something in your head because it is never what you imagine. Your expectations are never met and that is something you just need to deal with. So we drive down to Lake Victoria and we see some canoes pulled up on shore – and those are the boats. So – yeah. Canoe ride it was! We all got lifejackets – which were so faulty they actually wouldn’t save you if the boat tipped, but it was a nice notion. The lake was nice, but it was a lake. Some of the views were pretty thought, it was overcast so you couldn’t see much of the land, but it was hilly and green like most of Kenya. The students were in 3 canoes and it was a big deal who was leading, or winning. So it was funny to see them yell back and forth. We were in canoes with motors, so really I wasn’t expecting speed. It was all part of an adventure though.
We got back to Shalom and rested for a bit. I had another HOT SHOWER! Is it sad when a shower is the highlight of a trip? Hmm…
Then is was dinner, and what a sweet dinner it was!
I ate:
Rice with green peppers and onion
2 chicken drumsticks, lightly fried
Some cabbage
A small amoung of pasta – really tasty though!
Beef stew (I didn’t actually eat the beef, I only wanted it for the carrots and the sauce, which was really good)
5 pieces of watermelon (maybe a little much, but c’mon, can you blame me?)
Birthday cake again (Rosie’s cake) – it was also made with real icing, I really lucked out in coming on the days with birthdays
Then we all decided to have our own little party in the clearing in the middle of the hotel (it was set up like a lobby, with the rooms on the outside and chairs and tables in the middle) but everything is open to the air, it’s not fully enclosed like all hotels in Canada.
So all the students came down to chat/drink/have a good time together. I am definitely not fond of hard alcohol, unless it is mixed with a sugary drink in which I can’t taste it. So I had a rum and coke and some other mix which tasted like juice. Everyone had their own little group, some playing drinking games, and others just talking. I chatted with a few girls who I hadn’t met the night before, and we were exchanging stories of America and Canada. And then I realized the soccer game was on – USA vs Brazil! So I went in to the eating area to watch it on their TV along with some other students. In the first half USA was leading 2-0, so everyone was really excited, and also slightly shocked. I was shocked too – USA isn’t known for their soccer. I had faith that Brazil could come back – they were BRAZIL for goodness sake, soccer is pretty much a genetic trait for them.
While watching some people had passed around some snacks including Hot&Spicy Pringles (YES – Pringles! I was amazed, and they tasted so good!), chocolate (Dairy Milk is everywhere here) and these lemon wafer things. Very yummy.
The second half of the soccer game had a turn out which was more of what I expected. Brazil came back and showed why they are known as being the best. 3 goals. By the 3rd goal, which happened around 82 minutes, most of the students had gathered inside to watch the last few minutes, and when Brazil scored everyone was moaning and yelling and disappointed. Like, all around me. I was kind of secretly laughing – obviously Brazil would win, and I was rooting for them. It was weird to be the only one though.
The party kind of dwindled after this, just people talking here and there, some going to bed. But it was nice to feel like I was included in their group – this was something I was worried about. The Californians were so nice and welcoming, and just really cool people. I felt a little out my element, because I couldn’t really identify strongly with anyone, like no one I thought that reminded me of a friend from home – but it was nice getting to know people who are different from the people you are used to hanging around with. It tests you as a person. It allows you to recognize parts of yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen. Tupac and Dre said it best “California knows how to party”. I loved my adventures with the Berkeley students, and I am anxious to visit Ryan within the next year so that I can see and be part of all the things I have heard of and experienced a little bit.
Best weekend ever, by far. It was just the right amount of distraction and the right amount of the home feeling to keep me going the next 6 weeks.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ode to Wren
I met her in Ugunja on a sunny day, May 18th, sitting at a desk
We had only met once, but I knew her already
I mean I really believed I knew her
She showed me things, and told me to drop any expectations right away
It was the best advice I have received so far
We slept under mosquito nets and dipped our feet in basins when it was hot
For one week the moon shone so bright it illuminated everything, and it was amazing to look at. A few times we ate dinner outside - Wren & I loved it
At night after dinner we would brush our teeth outside and look up at the stars, which were burning so bright you could almost see the gas around them
Walking to town we would say the same things,
“I’m fine, how are you?” , “Look how gross my feet are today” , “I wonder if the internet is working today”, “I can’t walk, there is too much mud on my shoes”
We talked of making inter-continental shoes, which will happen one day
At night I would sing to her, and sometimes, she would grace me with a song as well
We would laugh about funny things, mainly having to do with people stereotyping us
“You people, buy tomatoes!”
“I would like to marry a white woman one day”
When I was sick she took care of me,
And she bought me chocolate when I was feeling sad one day
Sometimes we would talk in Southern accents, and it brought us much laughter
When it rained on our tin roof it was so loud you couldn’t hear anything
So we just lay on our beds looking up at the roof
We washed our hair in the rain, with the children staring at us in amazement from the opposite hut
We awoke to the same noises – either blasting reggae music, that crazy rooster, a lot of banging, or the children singing
We would dream about food, and when we weren’t dreaming, we were thinking about it, and when we weren’t thinking about it, we were talking about it
Days to Camunya were grand – real washrooms!
And our trips to Kisumu always brought forth challenges (gawkers, mud splashed on her skirt, crazy matatu people) and rewards (burgers, fries and scones!)
To everyone else she was known as Rain, or Ronnie (haha)
But to me she was little buddy and Wren Naomi Laing
She was a great friend
But more importantly she was my hut-mate, the only one I will ever have
And that is something I do, and will cherish forever
Oriti Wren, till next time…
We had only met once, but I knew her already
I mean I really believed I knew her
She showed me things, and told me to drop any expectations right away
It was the best advice I have received so far
We slept under mosquito nets and dipped our feet in basins when it was hot
For one week the moon shone so bright it illuminated everything, and it was amazing to look at. A few times we ate dinner outside - Wren & I loved it
At night after dinner we would brush our teeth outside and look up at the stars, which were burning so bright you could almost see the gas around them
Walking to town we would say the same things,
“I’m fine, how are you?” , “Look how gross my feet are today” , “I wonder if the internet is working today”, “I can’t walk, there is too much mud on my shoes”
We talked of making inter-continental shoes, which will happen one day
At night I would sing to her, and sometimes, she would grace me with a song as well
We would laugh about funny things, mainly having to do with people stereotyping us
“You people, buy tomatoes!”
“I would like to marry a white woman one day”
When I was sick she took care of me,
And she bought me chocolate when I was feeling sad one day
Sometimes we would talk in Southern accents, and it brought us much laughter
When it rained on our tin roof it was so loud you couldn’t hear anything
So we just lay on our beds looking up at the roof
We washed our hair in the rain, with the children staring at us in amazement from the opposite hut
We awoke to the same noises – either blasting reggae music, that crazy rooster, a lot of banging, or the children singing
We would dream about food, and when we weren’t dreaming, we were thinking about it, and when we weren’t thinking about it, we were talking about it
Days to Camunya were grand – real washrooms!
And our trips to Kisumu always brought forth challenges (gawkers, mud splashed on her skirt, crazy matatu people) and rewards (burgers, fries and scones!)
To everyone else she was known as Rain, or Ronnie (haha)
But to me she was little buddy and Wren Naomi Laing
She was a great friend
But more importantly she was my hut-mate, the only one I will ever have
And that is something I do, and will cherish forever
Oriti Wren, till next time…
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
What I am actually doing?
Lately this question has come up, so I will do my best to describe what nursing related things I am doing here in Kenya.
So the centre I volunteer at is a community centre that has an outpatient clinic, nutrition counseling, VCT, antenatal clinic, child welfare clinic, pharmacy and ... I think that's it.
I mainly work in the antenatal and child welfare clinics, which run on Monday and Thursday (lack of resources prevent these clinics from running everyday). Here, mothers will come in to get essential medicines like folic acid and ferrous sulphate (iron), along with malaria prophylaxis pills, deworming and tetanus toxoid injections (only when they are available, which isn't that often). The children come in to get weighed and given immunizations at the appropriate times.
What has fascinated me the most at the antenatal clinic is that all new expectant mothers who come in must get tested for HIV for the purposes of the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). This kind of transmission of HIV from mother to baby is the leading cause of pediatric HIV cases in Kenya, and perhaps in other parts of Africa as well. With most of the new mothers coming in falling between the ages of 17-24, the issue is very complex. Most women at this age have left school because they are pregnant, and are married because of their pregnancy. The issue lies in a lack of education, fear of stigma and discrimination, belief in misconceptions, and general lack of awareness of PMTCT.
What I am working on for my assignment (learning plan) is how to increase awareness about PMTCT for women of child bearing age, and especially those falling between the ages of 15-24. So far I have learned a lot about PMTCT, but the issue is so culturally embedded that it is hard for me to fully understand and make sense of. In additon, the nursing role is so different here that is it hard for my preceptor to fully understand where I am coming from and guide me in what I want to learn.
It is frustrating to not know what to do about something, or to feel that you can't really do anything about something because it is so heavily accepted as the way it is, or the way of life. But I am trying to stay true to who I am and what I have learned so far.
Anyways just wanted to give everyone an update. I'm sure if you come to the September international/outpost presentations you will hear more about what I learned/am still learning about PMTCT.
So the centre I volunteer at is a community centre that has an outpatient clinic, nutrition counseling, VCT, antenatal clinic, child welfare clinic, pharmacy and ... I think that's it.
I mainly work in the antenatal and child welfare clinics, which run on Monday and Thursday (lack of resources prevent these clinics from running everyday). Here, mothers will come in to get essential medicines like folic acid and ferrous sulphate (iron), along with malaria prophylaxis pills, deworming and tetanus toxoid injections (only when they are available, which isn't that often). The children come in to get weighed and given immunizations at the appropriate times.
What has fascinated me the most at the antenatal clinic is that all new expectant mothers who come in must get tested for HIV for the purposes of the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). This kind of transmission of HIV from mother to baby is the leading cause of pediatric HIV cases in Kenya, and perhaps in other parts of Africa as well. With most of the new mothers coming in falling between the ages of 17-24, the issue is very complex. Most women at this age have left school because they are pregnant, and are married because of their pregnancy. The issue lies in a lack of education, fear of stigma and discrimination, belief in misconceptions, and general lack of awareness of PMTCT.
What I am working on for my assignment (learning plan) is how to increase awareness about PMTCT for women of child bearing age, and especially those falling between the ages of 15-24. So far I have learned a lot about PMTCT, but the issue is so culturally embedded that it is hard for me to fully understand and make sense of. In additon, the nursing role is so different here that is it hard for my preceptor to fully understand where I am coming from and guide me in what I want to learn.
It is frustrating to not know what to do about something, or to feel that you can't really do anything about something because it is so heavily accepted as the way it is, or the way of life. But I am trying to stay true to who I am and what I have learned so far.
Anyways just wanted to give everyone an update. I'm sure if you come to the September international/outpost presentations you will hear more about what I learned/am still learning about PMTCT.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Freedom and Choice
So I was thinking about freedom and choice a few days ago, and here are my new perspectives from being in Kenya.
First of all I need to point out that I am the kind of person who loves to make food, and who obviously loves eating food. I don’t like eating the same thing twice in a day, simply for the fact that I like getting the most variety in my diet as possible. I don’t like eating leftovers, which my housemates from last year can verify. If I had a leftover of a meal I would often try to give it to someone else so I could make something different for myself. So I love variety of food.
Before leaving I would often go into supermarkets like Sobeys and Fortinos and think, “These places are huge, we don’t need this much food, why do we have all this food and some people have none?, no wonder obesity is so prevalent, etc”. I thought of how people in other parts of the world, like Africa I assumed, definitely didn’t have this much access to food. The consumerism of food is just so high in Canada, it is a little ridiculous.
Maybe you can pick up on my hypocrisy already…
My first week in Ugunja I had a drastic change in diet. I had ugali (corn flour mixture) kale (stringy green vegetable) and oily meat (chicken or beef) twice a day for 7 days. I ate it because it was the only thing available. I had no choice. For breakfast I would eat plain white bread with margarine, or fried dough called mandazi, or chipati. All of which are not that healthy, and food I would never choose to eat on my own at home. Again, I had no choice in this, it was what was given to me.
I began to miss food like brown bread, milk and general complex carbs (oats, flax, nuts, etc). I thought, “This really stinks, I love eating those healthy foods and now I don’t have access to them”. Eventually I did find that there was brown bread here, one loaf in the whole supermarket (which is as big as maybe half a regular sized Shoppers). I also found there was milk, however it only comes in flavours – like banana and strawberry, which contain a lot of sugar – but still it is milk.
Anyways, here is the crux of the matter:
1. I love variety in food
2. In Ugunja, there is little to no variety in food.
Hence my internal dilemma
So I began to think about freedom and choice. Why do I love variety of food so much? Because I was raised in an environment that allowed me to eat a wide variety of foods, I grew up in a house where my dad made different meals every day, therefore that became part of who I was, and who I am. I love baking – and this is because I have access to food, money to buy food, and a natural love for variety of food.
So then I thought about Kenya. Here, there is little variety, because variety means money, and most people do not have a lot of money. Food that is cheap is flour, kale, rice and small pieces of meat. There is fruit available, but it costs money, and if you need to choose between fruit and protein, obviously you will choose protein. So people in this environment are used to eating the same thing everyday, maybe twice everyday, and they don’t complain. That is how they were raised, and that is part of who they are here.
So then I began to feel bad – am I being selfish by not being able to adapt or fully accept the diet here? How can I make the transition from having full choice and full freedom in accessing a wide variety of foods to having no choice and no freedom in deciding what kind of food goes in my body?
What is freedom? Is freedom defined only by choice? It reminds me of the book 1984, where there is one word for everything. Can a human be happy with only one choice? I guess if they didn’t know of anything else, if they didn’t know there COULD be more choices, then yes you could be happy. But if you know, and you have experienced full freedom in choice, then is it even possible to fully adapt or fully accept an environment that gives you one choice?
Then there is the money. I was thinking that if the people in this community had more money, would they really spend it on having more variety of food? Would they buy fruit more often, or chocolate bars from the supermarket? Would they eat a different meal every night? I highly doubt it. Food isn’t a huge deal here. It is what gives your body energy, but that is it. Money is important for school, or health, or clothing, and some food.
I would say the people here are happy, because they have been living this kind of lifestyle for their whole lives. They don’t know of Sobeys and Fortinos, and frankly, I think most of them don’t really care.
I am trying my best to be accepting and not think about food so much. But I do realize that my love of food, in ways of cooking and baking, is a part of who I am. I know my stay here in Kenya is only temporary, and that thought it what makes it easier. I know I will return to Canada and enjoy a large variety of foods, because that inclination is just part of me, being raised in the environment I was raised in.
So those were my thoughts. What do you think?
First of all I need to point out that I am the kind of person who loves to make food, and who obviously loves eating food. I don’t like eating the same thing twice in a day, simply for the fact that I like getting the most variety in my diet as possible. I don’t like eating leftovers, which my housemates from last year can verify. If I had a leftover of a meal I would often try to give it to someone else so I could make something different for myself. So I love variety of food.
Before leaving I would often go into supermarkets like Sobeys and Fortinos and think, “These places are huge, we don’t need this much food, why do we have all this food and some people have none?, no wonder obesity is so prevalent, etc”. I thought of how people in other parts of the world, like Africa I assumed, definitely didn’t have this much access to food. The consumerism of food is just so high in Canada, it is a little ridiculous.
Maybe you can pick up on my hypocrisy already…
My first week in Ugunja I had a drastic change in diet. I had ugali (corn flour mixture) kale (stringy green vegetable) and oily meat (chicken or beef) twice a day for 7 days. I ate it because it was the only thing available. I had no choice. For breakfast I would eat plain white bread with margarine, or fried dough called mandazi, or chipati. All of which are not that healthy, and food I would never choose to eat on my own at home. Again, I had no choice in this, it was what was given to me.
I began to miss food like brown bread, milk and general complex carbs (oats, flax, nuts, etc). I thought, “This really stinks, I love eating those healthy foods and now I don’t have access to them”. Eventually I did find that there was brown bread here, one loaf in the whole supermarket (which is as big as maybe half a regular sized Shoppers). I also found there was milk, however it only comes in flavours – like banana and strawberry, which contain a lot of sugar – but still it is milk.
Anyways, here is the crux of the matter:
1. I love variety in food
2. In Ugunja, there is little to no variety in food.
Hence my internal dilemma
So I began to think about freedom and choice. Why do I love variety of food so much? Because I was raised in an environment that allowed me to eat a wide variety of foods, I grew up in a house where my dad made different meals every day, therefore that became part of who I was, and who I am. I love baking – and this is because I have access to food, money to buy food, and a natural love for variety of food.
So then I thought about Kenya. Here, there is little variety, because variety means money, and most people do not have a lot of money. Food that is cheap is flour, kale, rice and small pieces of meat. There is fruit available, but it costs money, and if you need to choose between fruit and protein, obviously you will choose protein. So people in this environment are used to eating the same thing everyday, maybe twice everyday, and they don’t complain. That is how they were raised, and that is part of who they are here.
So then I began to feel bad – am I being selfish by not being able to adapt or fully accept the diet here? How can I make the transition from having full choice and full freedom in accessing a wide variety of foods to having no choice and no freedom in deciding what kind of food goes in my body?
What is freedom? Is freedom defined only by choice? It reminds me of the book 1984, where there is one word for everything. Can a human be happy with only one choice? I guess if they didn’t know of anything else, if they didn’t know there COULD be more choices, then yes you could be happy. But if you know, and you have experienced full freedom in choice, then is it even possible to fully adapt or fully accept an environment that gives you one choice?
Then there is the money. I was thinking that if the people in this community had more money, would they really spend it on having more variety of food? Would they buy fruit more often, or chocolate bars from the supermarket? Would they eat a different meal every night? I highly doubt it. Food isn’t a huge deal here. It is what gives your body energy, but that is it. Money is important for school, or health, or clothing, and some food.
I would say the people here are happy, because they have been living this kind of lifestyle for their whole lives. They don’t know of Sobeys and Fortinos, and frankly, I think most of them don’t really care.
I am trying my best to be accepting and not think about food so much. But I do realize that my love of food, in ways of cooking and baking, is a part of who I am. I know my stay here in Kenya is only temporary, and that thought it what makes it easier. I know I will return to Canada and enjoy a large variety of foods, because that inclination is just part of me, being raised in the environment I was raised in.
So those were my thoughts. What do you think?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Kakamega Forest
Hello all! So do I have some stories for you...
On Friday morning (africa time) my hut-mate Wren and I ventured into the unknown. Destination: Kakamega Forest Reserve. So we left at 9:30am in a matatu (cube van converted to taxi service that transports a minimum of 20 people in a space meant for 14 : i'll leave you to imagine that). We went first to this junction place right before Busia (about an hour from Ugunja). Then we headed East to a town called Mumuias (known for it's sugar production). Then we went to Kakamega town. While we were waiting there Wren and I were approached by a few men who said "you're beautiful...I appreciate it". It is probably one of the best pick up lines I have ever heard. Nonetheless, it was creepy.
Then from Kakamega town we went to Shinyalu. While waiting for transportation another man started talking to us. He started with "I have feelings for you", and then progressed to "I would like to marry a white woman", to which I replied "Good luck with that" (I was proud of my witty comeback). Then, after more of his talking Wren jumps in with, "you know she is married", to which I replied "Yes, I am married". We then begun a fascinating story of how Wren and I were sisters who were both married, who had traveled here from Kampala, Uganda. My name was Melody, and hers was Stephanie. After travelling from Shinyalu to the forest via boda boda (aka riding on the back of a bicycle) we finally made it to our destination!
We stayed in these beautiful bandas, which are circular mud huts, with a really high thatched roof and a nice veranda. Very high class to us!
Around 430 we departed the bandas with our guide, Benjamin. He pretty much knows everything about the forest, it was amazing. We asked to go on a sunset walk, and he said that we would get to go to this viewpoint to look out on the forest as the sunset. That sounded great! Little did we know by "viewpoint" he actually meant small mountain. Definitely the hardest physical thing I have done in awhile. After climbing about 1200 feet, we rested on a platform and got to look out onto the forest. I can't really describe it in words except to say it was so beautiful. And that wasn't even the top! Benjamin led the way to the actual top of the mountain, another 500 feet. At some points the incline was so steep my knee was in my face.
But again, once we reached the top, it was breathtaking.
The next day we went for a river walk, which was about 5 hours. It was pretty nice, we saw some monkeys, cool birds, butterflies, and a plant that only blooms once every 13 years (weird!). Walking through the forest reminded me a lot of Canada, and walking through the forests in Hamilton. It was a nice flashback. For food we had bought peanut butter, jelly and bread, so we pretty much lived off that for the 2 days.
On the way back on Sunday we stopped off in Kisumu to get some money and other stuff. At the supermarket called Tuskie's I found the amazing thing - muesli! I have missed oats, bran, granola and overall complex carbs so much, so you can imagine my excitement! It was a great purchase. I also found the closest thing I could to granola bars, which also excites me greatly. Then Wren and I went to a nice restaurant for lunch where we both got chicken sandwiches and fries (for only $4 Canadian dollars). It was the perfect end to the weekend.
When we got back to Ugunja I found out that Beryl (one of the teens living on the compound) and her choir had advanced to the provincial finals! So I am going to see them next week and I am really excited. The music is so beautiful. I will take video to show you all!
Well that is all for me, I am just sitting in the UCRC library catching up on some school related work and listening to music. It has been a great day! Oh and also, this morning I met Obama's grandmother, the one that was flown in for the inauguration. It's okay to be jealous. Haha, no I'm kidding. She was very welcoming, but quiet at the same time - she gets so many visitors I am sure she is sick of it by now. But it was interesting nonetheless. She has massive security, 3 army tents worth! Definitely not living like an average Kenyan woman.
Oriti for now.
On Friday morning (africa time) my hut-mate Wren and I ventured into the unknown. Destination: Kakamega Forest Reserve. So we left at 9:30am in a matatu (cube van converted to taxi service that transports a minimum of 20 people in a space meant for 14 : i'll leave you to imagine that). We went first to this junction place right before Busia (about an hour from Ugunja). Then we headed East to a town called Mumuias (known for it's sugar production). Then we went to Kakamega town. While we were waiting there Wren and I were approached by a few men who said "you're beautiful...I appreciate it". It is probably one of the best pick up lines I have ever heard. Nonetheless, it was creepy.
Then from Kakamega town we went to Shinyalu. While waiting for transportation another man started talking to us. He started with "I have feelings for you", and then progressed to "I would like to marry a white woman", to which I replied "Good luck with that" (I was proud of my witty comeback). Then, after more of his talking Wren jumps in with, "you know she is married", to which I replied "Yes, I am married". We then begun a fascinating story of how Wren and I were sisters who were both married, who had traveled here from Kampala, Uganda. My name was Melody, and hers was Stephanie. After travelling from Shinyalu to the forest via boda boda (aka riding on the back of a bicycle) we finally made it to our destination!
We stayed in these beautiful bandas, which are circular mud huts, with a really high thatched roof and a nice veranda. Very high class to us!
Around 430 we departed the bandas with our guide, Benjamin. He pretty much knows everything about the forest, it was amazing. We asked to go on a sunset walk, and he said that we would get to go to this viewpoint to look out on the forest as the sunset. That sounded great! Little did we know by "viewpoint" he actually meant small mountain. Definitely the hardest physical thing I have done in awhile. After climbing about 1200 feet, we rested on a platform and got to look out onto the forest. I can't really describe it in words except to say it was so beautiful. And that wasn't even the top! Benjamin led the way to the actual top of the mountain, another 500 feet. At some points the incline was so steep my knee was in my face.
But again, once we reached the top, it was breathtaking.
The next day we went for a river walk, which was about 5 hours. It was pretty nice, we saw some monkeys, cool birds, butterflies, and a plant that only blooms once every 13 years (weird!). Walking through the forest reminded me a lot of Canada, and walking through the forests in Hamilton. It was a nice flashback. For food we had bought peanut butter, jelly and bread, so we pretty much lived off that for the 2 days.
On the way back on Sunday we stopped off in Kisumu to get some money and other stuff. At the supermarket called Tuskie's I found the amazing thing - muesli! I have missed oats, bran, granola and overall complex carbs so much, so you can imagine my excitement! It was a great purchase. I also found the closest thing I could to granola bars, which also excites me greatly. Then Wren and I went to a nice restaurant for lunch where we both got chicken sandwiches and fries (for only $4 Canadian dollars). It was the perfect end to the weekend.
When we got back to Ugunja I found out that Beryl (one of the teens living on the compound) and her choir had advanced to the provincial finals! So I am going to see them next week and I am really excited. The music is so beautiful. I will take video to show you all!
Well that is all for me, I am just sitting in the UCRC library catching up on some school related work and listening to music. It has been a great day! Oh and also, this morning I met Obama's grandmother, the one that was flown in for the inauguration. It's okay to be jealous. Haha, no I'm kidding. She was very welcoming, but quiet at the same time - she gets so many visitors I am sure she is sick of it by now. But it was interesting nonetheless. She has massive security, 3 army tents worth! Definitely not living like an average Kenyan woman.
Oriti for now.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The circle of life....for serious
Hello all! So...it's been pretty hot here lately. I have no sense of what the actual temperature is, but it feels like 30, or maybe a little higher. Every day. It is a little crazy. I miss the Canadian climate. Actually, I just miss Canada a lot. What a great place. I don't think I could ever stand to live anywhere else for a longer period of time. 3 months, though it is short, still feels like too long to be away from Canada, my precious home. Right now I am craving pancakes for some reason. I would love some right now, with a large glass of cold milk. If I were on Survivor, and they played that game where you bargain for food - or give away things (not really sure how it works) - anyways I would give pretty much anything for a glass of cold milk. I am surprised at myself for missing healthy food more than I miss sweet things. But it is true, I really value eating really healthy foods and a balanced diet - and here where things are lacking, I get frustrated.
Also, I would like to stress the genius of washing machines. Never have I truly appreciated a washing machine until now. My clothes are filthy, which I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, but it is the truth. Washing takes so much energy and time, and I am always so tired at the end of the day from the hot sun and a probable lack of complex carbohydrates. A washing machine would be fantastic right now.
Anyways, the real point of my post was to talk about the circle of life. I know you all want to burst out into song, but I am actually serious. Yesterday a patient passed away at the health centre, and it was the first time I have been around when someone passes away. It was such a strange experience. I had not seen the patient, who was a woman, the whole day but I knew she was lying in a bed in the recovery room, and I knew she was sick because I could hear her moaning. However, at the end of the day around 420 she died. I was so stricken by the moment. She lay there lifeless and limp, like she was sleeping, but she wasn't sleeping. She had no life left in her, no oxygen. Her mother was there with her the whole time, and I watched her very carefully from afar. I watched her face, and at first she didn't cry. She was so strong. And then once, for a brief moment, I saw her put her hands over her eyes. Then later, she went to sit under a tree. I was overcome with the feeling to say something to her, to try to convey how much this had an impact of me, a total stranger. I approached her under the tree and said "pole" (po-lay) which is sorry in Luo. Her eyes were so sad, and it made me cry on the way back to the compound.
Later, after reflecting a bit on the event, I thought of how a nurse at the health centre, who had been my preceptor for 2 weeks before going on maternity leave, was in labour at that very moment. She had been in labour since Monday (over 30 hours) and should be giving birth any time now. So one had passed, and one was coming into the world. Never have I seen it so clearly. It was really interesting.
That is all I have to report for now. Tomorrow Wren and I are going to Kakamega forest reserve, which is a huge park area with different animals and trails to walk on. It should be exciting. Next week it is her birthday so I plan on baking her a chocolate chip cake...apparently it is possible! Anyways, hope you all are enjoying yourselves and the summer. June is flying by and soon it will be July. Enjoy :)
Also, I would like to stress the genius of washing machines. Never have I truly appreciated a washing machine until now. My clothes are filthy, which I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, but it is the truth. Washing takes so much energy and time, and I am always so tired at the end of the day from the hot sun and a probable lack of complex carbohydrates. A washing machine would be fantastic right now.
Anyways, the real point of my post was to talk about the circle of life. I know you all want to burst out into song, but I am actually serious. Yesterday a patient passed away at the health centre, and it was the first time I have been around when someone passes away. It was such a strange experience. I had not seen the patient, who was a woman, the whole day but I knew she was lying in a bed in the recovery room, and I knew she was sick because I could hear her moaning. However, at the end of the day around 420 she died. I was so stricken by the moment. She lay there lifeless and limp, like she was sleeping, but she wasn't sleeping. She had no life left in her, no oxygen. Her mother was there with her the whole time, and I watched her very carefully from afar. I watched her face, and at first she didn't cry. She was so strong. And then once, for a brief moment, I saw her put her hands over her eyes. Then later, she went to sit under a tree. I was overcome with the feeling to say something to her, to try to convey how much this had an impact of me, a total stranger. I approached her under the tree and said "pole" (po-lay) which is sorry in Luo. Her eyes were so sad, and it made me cry on the way back to the compound.
Later, after reflecting a bit on the event, I thought of how a nurse at the health centre, who had been my preceptor for 2 weeks before going on maternity leave, was in labour at that very moment. She had been in labour since Monday (over 30 hours) and should be giving birth any time now. So one had passed, and one was coming into the world. Never have I seen it so clearly. It was really interesting.
That is all I have to report for now. Tomorrow Wren and I are going to Kakamega forest reserve, which is a huge park area with different animals and trails to walk on. It should be exciting. Next week it is her birthday so I plan on baking her a chocolate chip cake...apparently it is possible! Anyways, hope you all are enjoying yourselves and the summer. June is flying by and soon it will be July. Enjoy :)
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Happy and the Sad
People have asked me what the most challenging thing has been since I came here. It is hard to say. I am constantly in a state of over-stimulation that it is hard for me to sort through my experiences and reflect on the day’s events. In three weeks I have seen so much, I have seen so many differences and many similarities. I will get back to this.
Personally, I don’t feel like I have changed that much. Perhaps I have grown a bit in patience and understanding, I have gained knowledge in certain areas – but who I am, the characteristics I had before I left – have not changed. I have realized that I have much to do with my life. A verse from the Bible says – to he has been given much, much will be asked. I think about that a lot. I think about how I can change parts of health care that I don’t agree with, or that I feel need improvement.
The hardest thing for me so far happened on Friday June 5. A woman, 21, found out she was HIV +. I was in the room sitting across the desk from her. I didn’t know what she was saying after she found out, but I didn’t have to know. I could empathize with how she was feeling, and it made me feel a little sick. She is my age. This could be me if I grew up here. How ridiculous. How unfair. How scary. I can see how easy it is to lose hope and faith for these women newly diagnosed. How can they ever face the fact they are positive? How does anyone live happily again? I don’t know. When I put myself in that position all I feel is fear and anger.
I am more interested in the counseling of HIV + people. Before I left for Kenya I met with two public health nurses working in the STI department in Waterloo Public Health. I think this is something I would like to do. It seems like we are so desensitized to HIV in Canada now, since we know about it and hear about it so much. But unless you have a face to put on HIV, you can’t really know or feel what it might be like.
However, to balance the sadness is also one of the happiest things that I have experienced thus far, and it comes in the form of a small girl named Filigona. She lives on the compound I am at, but her parents live elsewhere. I don’t know how to describe her other than the cutest girl I have ever seen. She has such a beautiful face and such a cute little laugh. I try to play with her as often as possible. She enjoys piggy back rides and the “airplane” (when you lift a child up with your two feet and hold their hands). She likes to play with my hair, or I should say put my hair in front of my face until I can’t see. She thinks the freckles on my arms are dirt so she picks at them, which is actually kind of painful, but still really cute. She rolls the “r” when she says “Kath-rine”, which is adorable, and she likes to touch my face. She makes me very happy, and she really makes me want to have a child of my own (don’t worry mom and dad, I know now is not the right time).
Anyways, that has been some highlights and lowlights. Many more to come…
Personally, I don’t feel like I have changed that much. Perhaps I have grown a bit in patience and understanding, I have gained knowledge in certain areas – but who I am, the characteristics I had before I left – have not changed. I have realized that I have much to do with my life. A verse from the Bible says – to he has been given much, much will be asked. I think about that a lot. I think about how I can change parts of health care that I don’t agree with, or that I feel need improvement.
The hardest thing for me so far happened on Friday June 5. A woman, 21, found out she was HIV +. I was in the room sitting across the desk from her. I didn’t know what she was saying after she found out, but I didn’t have to know. I could empathize with how she was feeling, and it made me feel a little sick. She is my age. This could be me if I grew up here. How ridiculous. How unfair. How scary. I can see how easy it is to lose hope and faith for these women newly diagnosed. How can they ever face the fact they are positive? How does anyone live happily again? I don’t know. When I put myself in that position all I feel is fear and anger.
I am more interested in the counseling of HIV + people. Before I left for Kenya I met with two public health nurses working in the STI department in Waterloo Public Health. I think this is something I would like to do. It seems like we are so desensitized to HIV in Canada now, since we know about it and hear about it so much. But unless you have a face to put on HIV, you can’t really know or feel what it might be like.
However, to balance the sadness is also one of the happiest things that I have experienced thus far, and it comes in the form of a small girl named Filigona. She lives on the compound I am at, but her parents live elsewhere. I don’t know how to describe her other than the cutest girl I have ever seen. She has such a beautiful face and such a cute little laugh. I try to play with her as often as possible. She enjoys piggy back rides and the “airplane” (when you lift a child up with your two feet and hold their hands). She likes to play with my hair, or I should say put my hair in front of my face until I can’t see. She thinks the freckles on my arms are dirt so she picks at them, which is actually kind of painful, but still really cute. She rolls the “r” when she says “Kath-rine”, which is adorable, and she likes to touch my face. She makes me very happy, and she really makes me want to have a child of my own (don’t worry mom and dad, I know now is not the right time).
Anyways, that has been some highlights and lowlights. Many more to come…
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I am different
Wow, so sorry I haven't written in a long time...life here has been crazy and hectic and frustrating and happy. First of all: my frustrations. Apart from the usual weirdness of using a hole in the ground as my toilet and being woken by the sounds of a crack-addict rooster and various other animal noises...is the internet and nutrition. Never have I apprecited high-speed, accesible internet like I do now. It is important for me to use email as a source of communicating with family and friends, but also to my clinical tutor back in Hamilton. This is essential so he knows what I am doing. However, the last week has been beyond frustrating with the internet. On Tuesday night I walked from the health centre to the internet place (20 minutes in the hot sun) only to find the network was down. So I decided to wake up early on Wednesday morning to walk into town to use the internet. When I arrived at 8am the internet was slow as mollases, then the computer froze, so I couldn't check anything. Then today, Thursday, I thankfully got a drive into town and finally I could use the internet. Though it may not seem like a huge deal, "suck it up katy, you spent 3 days without the internet when you really really needed it" - it is so frustrating. Add that to the fact that my cell phone died and my charger is broken so I couldn't contact anyone and no one could contact me. In a place so foreign contact with home is the only thing you want. I can deal with pretty much everything else, but not being able to contact people is one of the worst feelings.
Other than that rant, life here has been challenging and rewarding as always. On Monday Wren and I and two of the teens living on the director's compound (they aren't his kids, they just live there) went to the village of Rang'ala to visit an orphanage. I have never been to an orphanage before so this was totally new to me. The orphanage housed 40 children aged 0-4 years old. It is run by one of the most inspiring people I have ever met - Sister Henrietta. We were shown around and then got a chance to play with the children. It was such a great experience, and it is so clear to see how God is working through the staff at the orphanage. One of the most interesting peices of information Sister Henrietta told us was that most of the orphans were there because their mother died - however most of their fathers were still around. In this culture the role of the man as single father is non-existant. The men don't know how to take care of the children. It is upsetting. Nevertheless, Wren and I have decided to volunteer there once a week. The kids need so much love and attention which the small staff cannot provide all the time. It is sad to think they may not recieve such attention at all once they are discharged from the orphanage - but that is something huge to be tackled.
The title of my blog, I am different, is what I really wanted to write about. I never thought I would be discriminated against in my life. Living in Hamilton all my life I always felt like I fit in and that I had the same rights as everyone. No one ever tried to deny me those rights, and I never felt like people made false assumptions about me based on my skin colour. But now, being here 3 weeks, the discrimination has really started to settle in. To the kids it's like I am famous- they run from afar, sometimes through mud, to shake my hand. Once one kid yells "how are you" all the kids in the surrounding area yell it as well, even if you can't see them. It is so strange, their intense curiosity with me - I have never thought of myself as that different - but in this environment the contrast is literally black and white. To the women here I am just a foreign figure. Most women will just stare and not say anything - they are probably thinking "why are you here, or I wonder why she is here". All the women at the health centre I get along with really well, but in town it is different. They don't know why I am here so some make assumptions.
To the men I am fascinating - mostly in a bad way. I don't know how many times I have been called at in their native language or gotten "hey baby". It is really annoying. Sometimes it just may be curiosity as well - but for the most part in town it seems to be rude, and that is something I can't get used to.
One story I will share in relation to discrimination happened on Tuesday. I was sitting in pharmacy with Sarah - who is one of my best friends here. She is 28. The pharmacy is set up like a booth, with patients coming to an open window and Sarah dispensing the drugs. The door to get in is right beside the window and it is often open because it gets so hot. One woman came with two children, both of whom were standing sheepishly at the door. They were speaking in Luo so I was bascially tuned out. Sarah said they wanted to come in an greet me. So they both walked in and shook my hand. They didn't say anything - but the mom at the window said "say how are you!" to the little boy. He said nothing. So I said "how are you?" to him. He was very shy - so the mom said "respond with I am fine!" - which he then wispered. Then Sarah and the mom continued spekaing in Luo while she was getting the drugs ready. The mom kept speaking to the kids, who were non-responsive. The little boy who was next to me was moving around a bit and I noticed some patches on his head that were discoloured. I wondered if they were wounds, or some kind of skin infection. I assume that is why the mom was getting medication. Anyways they stayed for about 2 minutes, and then they left. As soon as they left Sarah started breaking out in laughter. I asked her what was so funny. She said that in Luo the mom was telling the boy to get closer to me and bow his head in my direction so that I may see the wounds and give her money. It was kind of funny - but at the same time it hurt my feelings. These are the kind of assumptions people make - this is what they think of me. It is weird to be discriminated against.
Anyways I need to salvage this internet time so that is all I will write for today.
The list of things I miss in Canada include: whole grain flax bread, oatmeal muffins, cold milk, the roads, the police and swimming! I think of these things often and will love them so much more when I return.
Goodbye for now dear friends and family!
Other than that rant, life here has been challenging and rewarding as always. On Monday Wren and I and two of the teens living on the director's compound (they aren't his kids, they just live there) went to the village of Rang'ala to visit an orphanage. I have never been to an orphanage before so this was totally new to me. The orphanage housed 40 children aged 0-4 years old. It is run by one of the most inspiring people I have ever met - Sister Henrietta. We were shown around and then got a chance to play with the children. It was such a great experience, and it is so clear to see how God is working through the staff at the orphanage. One of the most interesting peices of information Sister Henrietta told us was that most of the orphans were there because their mother died - however most of their fathers were still around. In this culture the role of the man as single father is non-existant. The men don't know how to take care of the children. It is upsetting. Nevertheless, Wren and I have decided to volunteer there once a week. The kids need so much love and attention which the small staff cannot provide all the time. It is sad to think they may not recieve such attention at all once they are discharged from the orphanage - but that is something huge to be tackled.
The title of my blog, I am different, is what I really wanted to write about. I never thought I would be discriminated against in my life. Living in Hamilton all my life I always felt like I fit in and that I had the same rights as everyone. No one ever tried to deny me those rights, and I never felt like people made false assumptions about me based on my skin colour. But now, being here 3 weeks, the discrimination has really started to settle in. To the kids it's like I am famous- they run from afar, sometimes through mud, to shake my hand. Once one kid yells "how are you" all the kids in the surrounding area yell it as well, even if you can't see them. It is so strange, their intense curiosity with me - I have never thought of myself as that different - but in this environment the contrast is literally black and white. To the women here I am just a foreign figure. Most women will just stare and not say anything - they are probably thinking "why are you here, or I wonder why she is here". All the women at the health centre I get along with really well, but in town it is different. They don't know why I am here so some make assumptions.
To the men I am fascinating - mostly in a bad way. I don't know how many times I have been called at in their native language or gotten "hey baby". It is really annoying. Sometimes it just may be curiosity as well - but for the most part in town it seems to be rude, and that is something I can't get used to.
One story I will share in relation to discrimination happened on Tuesday. I was sitting in pharmacy with Sarah - who is one of my best friends here. She is 28. The pharmacy is set up like a booth, with patients coming to an open window and Sarah dispensing the drugs. The door to get in is right beside the window and it is often open because it gets so hot. One woman came with two children, both of whom were standing sheepishly at the door. They were speaking in Luo so I was bascially tuned out. Sarah said they wanted to come in an greet me. So they both walked in and shook my hand. They didn't say anything - but the mom at the window said "say how are you!" to the little boy. He said nothing. So I said "how are you?" to him. He was very shy - so the mom said "respond with I am fine!" - which he then wispered. Then Sarah and the mom continued spekaing in Luo while she was getting the drugs ready. The mom kept speaking to the kids, who were non-responsive. The little boy who was next to me was moving around a bit and I noticed some patches on his head that were discoloured. I wondered if they were wounds, or some kind of skin infection. I assume that is why the mom was getting medication. Anyways they stayed for about 2 minutes, and then they left. As soon as they left Sarah started breaking out in laughter. I asked her what was so funny. She said that in Luo the mom was telling the boy to get closer to me and bow his head in my direction so that I may see the wounds and give her money. It was kind of funny - but at the same time it hurt my feelings. These are the kind of assumptions people make - this is what they think of me. It is weird to be discriminated against.
Anyways I need to salvage this internet time so that is all I will write for today.
The list of things I miss in Canada include: whole grain flax bread, oatmeal muffins, cold milk, the roads, the police and swimming! I think of these things often and will love them so much more when I return.
Goodbye for now dear friends and family!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A place called Ugunja
Osoware (good afternoon)
Ugunja is very interesting – and complex. It is a town that is so different from anything I have ever seen that it is hard to explain, and still hard for me to fully understand. The main highway runs through the town, but by highway, I mean a narrow road that is somewhat paved. Green grass and trees surround the town, but the town itself is pretty much all red dirt. Garbage lines the narrow roads and streets, because there is no garbage or recycling system. The stores are tiny little concrete blocks that are gated with rusty looking gates. Everyone lines the streets trying to sell their products, which disappointingly isn’t very much jewelry or clothes. A lot of home grown fruits and vegetables and grain. The road to the compound I am staying at is also atrocious. Pot holes everywhere, rocks jutting out…I am amazed when the driver who took my luggage there made it to the compound.
The compound itself is fairly small. 4 mud huts, each varying in size, 2 outhouses and 1 kitchen type shack (made of tin). The compound has 3 roosters, which are SO annoying, 4 dogs, which are really skinny, and 2 chickens, which will probably soon be dead. There are a whopping 14 children living on the compound, about 10 girls and 4 boys, in addition to me and my hut-mate Wren (from McGill) and the director (Aggrey) and his wife (Mary). It is a huge amount of people, who range in age from about 4 to 18 or 19. Some of them are Aggrey’s children, and some of them are orphans he has taken under his wing. This man is amazing, I have profound respect for him every day.
It gets dark around 7pm and we eat between 830 and 9pm, so we get a chance to talk a lot with the children/teens. They are really interested in us, which is nice.
We eat Ugali, kale and some meat or eggs for dinner. It is not the tastiest thing, but when you are hungry is tastes really good, and it is filling.
For breakfast we have white bread and tea, which has at least 4 tablespoons of sugar in it. It is very sweet – but it keeps us hydrated for the morning.
Life here is very different – it is a stark contrast from life in Canada. The people here are so amazing though. I have met so many people who are just so generous, kind, patient, ambitious and accepting. I am learning to be more like them.
It is still hard to adjust from everyone staring at me though, and sitting in a room full of people talking and not knowing what anyone is saying. Both a little frustrating, but something I will overcome with time.
Did I mention there is no electricity on the compound or at the health centre? I am getting used to it though, we have a nice blue lantern that we carry around at night.
I am excited to learn more about the health centre, which I feel pretty useless at right now not knowing the language. But the staff are very helpful, so I am sure they will put me to good use.
Today I am helping a team from Global Youth Network build a hut nearby. They are mostly Canadian so it is nice to talk with people who can kind of understand – though they are living in better conditions than Wren and I. Wren has been so helpful to me these past few days which I appreciate so much, she has been here 2 weeks earlier than me. Anyways I am off soon, probably to get a great sunburn, haha. The plan for this weekend is to play some soccer with the kids and maybe to go to Kisumu to travel around a bit. Kisumu is very green and hilly, and Lake Victoria is right there, so I am anxious to spend more time there, and maybe buy some things.
I hope all is well in Canada! I miss it dearly, but am glad I am getting to experience life here.
Oriti (goodbye)
Ugunja is very interesting – and complex. It is a town that is so different from anything I have ever seen that it is hard to explain, and still hard for me to fully understand. The main highway runs through the town, but by highway, I mean a narrow road that is somewhat paved. Green grass and trees surround the town, but the town itself is pretty much all red dirt. Garbage lines the narrow roads and streets, because there is no garbage or recycling system. The stores are tiny little concrete blocks that are gated with rusty looking gates. Everyone lines the streets trying to sell their products, which disappointingly isn’t very much jewelry or clothes. A lot of home grown fruits and vegetables and grain. The road to the compound I am staying at is also atrocious. Pot holes everywhere, rocks jutting out…I am amazed when the driver who took my luggage there made it to the compound.
The compound itself is fairly small. 4 mud huts, each varying in size, 2 outhouses and 1 kitchen type shack (made of tin). The compound has 3 roosters, which are SO annoying, 4 dogs, which are really skinny, and 2 chickens, which will probably soon be dead. There are a whopping 14 children living on the compound, about 10 girls and 4 boys, in addition to me and my hut-mate Wren (from McGill) and the director (Aggrey) and his wife (Mary). It is a huge amount of people, who range in age from about 4 to 18 or 19. Some of them are Aggrey’s children, and some of them are orphans he has taken under his wing. This man is amazing, I have profound respect for him every day.
It gets dark around 7pm and we eat between 830 and 9pm, so we get a chance to talk a lot with the children/teens. They are really interested in us, which is nice.
We eat Ugali, kale and some meat or eggs for dinner. It is not the tastiest thing, but when you are hungry is tastes really good, and it is filling.
For breakfast we have white bread and tea, which has at least 4 tablespoons of sugar in it. It is very sweet – but it keeps us hydrated for the morning.
Life here is very different – it is a stark contrast from life in Canada. The people here are so amazing though. I have met so many people who are just so generous, kind, patient, ambitious and accepting. I am learning to be more like them.
It is still hard to adjust from everyone staring at me though, and sitting in a room full of people talking and not knowing what anyone is saying. Both a little frustrating, but something I will overcome with time.
Did I mention there is no electricity on the compound or at the health centre? I am getting used to it though, we have a nice blue lantern that we carry around at night.
I am excited to learn more about the health centre, which I feel pretty useless at right now not knowing the language. But the staff are very helpful, so I am sure they will put me to good use.
Today I am helping a team from Global Youth Network build a hut nearby. They are mostly Canadian so it is nice to talk with people who can kind of understand – though they are living in better conditions than Wren and I. Wren has been so helpful to me these past few days which I appreciate so much, she has been here 2 weeks earlier than me. Anyways I am off soon, probably to get a great sunburn, haha. The plan for this weekend is to play some soccer with the kids and maybe to go to Kisumu to travel around a bit. Kisumu is very green and hilly, and Lake Victoria is right there, so I am anxious to spend more time there, and maybe buy some things.
I hope all is well in Canada! I miss it dearly, but am glad I am getting to experience life here.
Oriti (goodbye)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Amazed
So tomorrow I leave Nairobi to go to Ugunja. Though I am very excited to meet all the people I will be working with, who I am sure will become like a second family to me, I am also very sad to leave Nairobi. The city is so amazing and I love it. I see so much love and generosity here, and so much potential. There are so many things that are frustrating, especially the roads and the unemployment. I can't count the number of people I saw just sleeping at the side of the road, or sitting on the hills beside the highway. Granted today is Sunday so they might not be working, but Michelle's uncle tells me it is a common occurrence. The people are not bored or lazy, they just don't have work. They aren't educated, or there isn't a demand, so they just sit at the side of the road or sleep from lack of food. It is frustrating. I guess homeless people do that in Canada too - it just seems to be more prevalent here.
Today we got to see a sliver of the great Rift Valley. It was breathtaking. It stretches all the way from Malawi to Ethiopia and Eri Trea. Pretty amazing.
I got some jewelery today from a nice Kenyan women named Juliet. I bought a necklace for 800 shillings and she gave me a free bracelet and necklace (800 shillings is about 8 Canadian dollars). So it was a fairly good deal. Yesterday I bought a cell phone, cell credit card, bed net and rope for $75 Canadian dollars. Sweet deal I would say!
Right now I am sitting at a desk at one of the AlJezeera offices here in Kenya. Michelle's uncle is a camera man for them. They have really good news - kind of like the BBC. I will put up a picture of the office whenever I find the cable that connects my camera to my laptop...it is in my luggage somewhere!
Anyways I am off for now, tomorrow at this time I will have settled in to my Ugunja home that I will be at for the next three months! Hard to imagine. But I can say right now that I am pretty sure I am falling in love with Kenya, and am pretty sure I will find a way back here very soon (Sorry mom and dad).
Kwaheri (Goodbye)
Today we got to see a sliver of the great Rift Valley. It was breathtaking. It stretches all the way from Malawi to Ethiopia and Eri Trea. Pretty amazing.
I got some jewelery today from a nice Kenyan women named Juliet. I bought a necklace for 800 shillings and she gave me a free bracelet and necklace (800 shillings is about 8 Canadian dollars). So it was a fairly good deal. Yesterday I bought a cell phone, cell credit card, bed net and rope for $75 Canadian dollars. Sweet deal I would say!
Right now I am sitting at a desk at one of the AlJezeera offices here in Kenya. Michelle's uncle is a camera man for them. They have really good news - kind of like the BBC. I will put up a picture of the office whenever I find the cable that connects my camera to my laptop...it is in my luggage somewhere!
Anyways I am off for now, tomorrow at this time I will have settled in to my Ugunja home that I will be at for the next three months! Hard to imagine. But I can say right now that I am pretty sure I am falling in love with Kenya, and am pretty sure I will find a way back here very soon (Sorry mom and dad).
Kwaheri (Goodbye)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A different land
This day has been jam packed! I am pretty exhausted but have a few key things to share.
Michelle and I went to a baby elephant orphange. These elephants have been rescued from the wild for various reasons, the main one being their mother has died. The elephants were so cute! We saw little baby ones, then slightly older ones. I love their mannarisms - so friendly!
Immediately after we went to a giraffe park where we could feed the giraffes from our very own hands! Their tounges are slimy and gross, but they are absolutely beautiful creatures. At the park we met some other Canadians who are here volunteering with African Impact. We chatted for a bit which was nice.
However, the differences between here and Canada are astounding. Cows walk along the side of the road with their herdsmen, goats also walk close to the road, furniture is sold outside all along the side of the road....so pretty much everything happens at the side of the road! And the road is dangerous. There are no police patrolling the areas, there are no speed limits, there are hardly any stop signs and the road itself is so narrow. I was afraid while driving today, we saw so many potential accidents and very scary driving, like a bus trying to get ahead by going into the oncoming traffic line while going up a hill. It's just not smart.
We have kept pretty much to ourselves, we haven't really talked to many of the locals...but I know Ugunja will be much different. I will not be as sheltered as I am here in Nairobi. I will certainly not be able to use the internet as often that is for sure.
Anyways we are eating dinner soon, and this internet is using up some precious Safaricom time (the way they pay for wireless connections). It is currently 6:10pm and the sun is almost set, and it looks like it will rain soon. Bye for now!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Finally in Kenya!
Hello...or should I say...Jambo!
Michelle and I arrived in Kenya about an hour and a half ago...and man, what I long journey that was. The flight from Pearson to Heathrow was the most uncomfortable time I have ever spent. There was no leg room and very little personal space, so I only managed to get a half hour sleep.
We arrived at Heathrow at 7am (2am Hamilton time) and chilled there before our next flight. It was pretty funny - there was a running message that said " Baggage left unattended will be removed and destroyed". Michelle and I kept repeating this as a joke between ourselves, which obviously wasn't that funny to anyone else.
The flight to Nairobi was really neat - we passed over the Sahara desert! It was so vast and flat, with bright orange sand and the blazing sun. It was quite a sight from the plane.
I have had a nice shower and am going to sleep now to prepare for an exciting weekend. We are going to a giraffe feeding park, and a baby elephant orphanage! Plus I need to get my cell phone and bed net - essentials for Ugunja.
Good night, or should I say, good afternoon to all of you in Canada!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
22 hours
So, in 22 hours I leave for Kenya.
Wow.
I cannot decide whether I want to try and knock myself out so I can sleep, or just continue to stay awake soaking in the last moments of night time here in my house.
It would probably be wise to sleep in my pillow-top bed, considering it will be the nicest thing I will ever sleep on for the next 3 and a half months. But I am too excited, and nervous.
So many people have asked me, "so are you ready? are you prepared? are you excited?". And honestly, I am not ready or prepared, and only slightly excited. I don't think anything I could have done would prepare me, or has prepared me, for this. And like any huge life event, my fear of the unknown and unfamiliar is hindering me from bursting with excitement.
This morning I woke up thinking, "Today is my last full day in Canada for over 3 and a half months....what the heck am I thinking? Am I going insane?". I am going to miss Hamilton and Canada so much. I am going to miss my family so much. I am going to miss my friends so much. Maybe I am being too emotional like I usually am, but it is just a really big deal, and something I haven't confronted yet because it hasn't been in my face.
But I don't want to leave Canada on a negative note. I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing, and it is something that I have been thinking of and dreaming about for close to 3 years. Of course I am beyond happy. I am a very blessed young woman to be able to do this, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to do this. Life will certainly be different, but that is what I have wanted for so long - the chance to life live completely differently, so that I can understand what it is like to live in a world that is so unlike what I have been used to for 21 years. I am looking forward to every experience - both good and bad - that will shape me into the kind of person who can do even greater things.
So...farewell family, friends and my beloved Canada. I will write again as soon as I can. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this wonderful journey.
Wow.
I cannot decide whether I want to try and knock myself out so I can sleep, or just continue to stay awake soaking in the last moments of night time here in my house.
It would probably be wise to sleep in my pillow-top bed, considering it will be the nicest thing I will ever sleep on for the next 3 and a half months. But I am too excited, and nervous.
So many people have asked me, "so are you ready? are you prepared? are you excited?". And honestly, I am not ready or prepared, and only slightly excited. I don't think anything I could have done would prepare me, or has prepared me, for this. And like any huge life event, my fear of the unknown and unfamiliar is hindering me from bursting with excitement.
This morning I woke up thinking, "Today is my last full day in Canada for over 3 and a half months....what the heck am I thinking? Am I going insane?". I am going to miss Hamilton and Canada so much. I am going to miss my family so much. I am going to miss my friends so much. Maybe I am being too emotional like I usually am, but it is just a really big deal, and something I haven't confronted yet because it hasn't been in my face.
But I don't want to leave Canada on a negative note. I know that this is what I am supposed to be doing, and it is something that I have been thinking of and dreaming about for close to 3 years. Of course I am beyond happy. I am a very blessed young woman to be able to do this, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to do this. Life will certainly be different, but that is what I have wanted for so long - the chance to life live completely differently, so that I can understand what it is like to live in a world that is so unlike what I have been used to for 21 years. I am looking forward to every experience - both good and bad - that will shape me into the kind of person who can do even greater things.
So...farewell family, friends and my beloved Canada. I will write again as soon as I can. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this wonderful journey.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Culture and Communication
Amongst the numerous resources given to me by the Friends of Ugunja before I left was a booklet produced by the Centre for Intercultural Learning. It is called "Below the Surface: Navigating Cultural Waters". I skimmed through it a while back but there is a story from it that has stuck in my mind, and one that I hope to think of and reflect upon while in Kenya.
It goes like this...
Everyone who lives in Bongobongo wears yellow sunglasses. Quite naturally, everything they see - the sky, the trees, the people, the food - has a sunny tint. It has always been like that and the citizens of B0ngobongo live quite contentedly in their yellow universe.
Into this world, comes a visitor, a citizen of Adanac. As you may have heard, all Adanacians wear blue sunglasses. When they wake up each day they kis their beautiful blue children, and they look out into the blue feilds, forests and farms, all of course, under a perfect blue sky.
Being a culturally sensitive visitor, the Adanacian feels it is only right that he tries to understand the Bongobongo perspective of the world. So he aquires a pair of yellow sunglasses. Then he puts them on over his blue ones. "Ah!" he says with some satisfaction, "Now I get it, Everything here in Bongobongo is green!"
It might be a cheesy little story, but the message is very clear. One may be culturally sensitive but may miss the most important part of the culture altogether if they keep viewing the world from the way they have always viewed it. I think it is a very good lesson for everyone who travels to spend time in a different culture, and one that I hope to think of often.
It goes like this...
Everyone who lives in Bongobongo wears yellow sunglasses. Quite naturally, everything they see - the sky, the trees, the people, the food - has a sunny tint. It has always been like that and the citizens of B0ngobongo live quite contentedly in their yellow universe.
Into this world, comes a visitor, a citizen of Adanac. As you may have heard, all Adanacians wear blue sunglasses. When they wake up each day they kis their beautiful blue children, and they look out into the blue feilds, forests and farms, all of course, under a perfect blue sky.
Being a culturally sensitive visitor, the Adanacian feels it is only right that he tries to understand the Bongobongo perspective of the world. So he aquires a pair of yellow sunglasses. Then he puts them on over his blue ones. "Ah!" he says with some satisfaction, "Now I get it, Everything here in Bongobongo is green!"
It might be a cheesy little story, but the message is very clear. One may be culturally sensitive but may miss the most important part of the culture altogether if they keep viewing the world from the way they have always viewed it. I think it is a very good lesson for everyone who travels to spend time in a different culture, and one that I hope to think of often.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Sooner
Today my mom and I traveled to Pearson airport to drop off my brother Kyle. He is working in Seattle over the summer at Amazon.com. Walking around Pearson, seeing the planes, packing the luggage, made my trip seem more real than it has so far. I have tried not to think of it that much because it freaks me out, but in 12 days time I will be back there for a flight of my own.
That's what I was thinking of today, and how flights can be scary, especially if you are flying alone for the first time like I will be.
It certainly is coming soon...
That's what I was thinking of today, and how flights can be scary, especially if you are flying alone for the first time like I will be.
It certainly is coming soon...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Beginning
As far as I remember, If I trace the dream back to the very beginning it had to begin with Stephen Lewis. Though I may have had a strong desire to go to Africa eventually, his lecture certainly was a potent catalyst in realizing this dream.
He was speaking at the Dofasco Center (or Theater Aquarius as some know it) in Hamilton. It was November 2005, I will in grade 12. My dad brought me, since I was very naive to all matters not concerning my immediate self at that time. I just didn't know, and didn't have a strong desire to know, what was going on in the world. (Without my dad I never would have gone to this lecture, so I thank him infinity for being so proactive in my education)
Stephen Lewis was downright inspiring. He left me (along with several others) in tears, and left me thinking that I need to get to Africa as soon as I could to help out in any way I could. His lecture was one of the main reasons I decided to go into Nursing at McMaster.
In my first year at McMaster University I found out there was an opportunity for an international placement in the summer between third and fourth year. I wanted to do this really badly...and I knew I wanted to go to Africa. My clinical tutor in first year also was a huge fan of Stephen Lewis, and encouraged me in every way to pursue this dream. She had a significant impact on how I perceived myself, and allowed me to have a confidence in my abilities as a good communicator and as a leader.
As great as McMaster is, there were not a lot of classes offered in first or second year to nursing students that focused on current health issues on an international and global scale, so I took it upon myself to be as prepared as I could be for a possible international placement. Second year was a time of great learning and expanding my mind. I went to a conference in October of 2007 put on by the International Women and Children's Health Network (IWCH). The conference was really eye opening, so I decided to join the group and help plan the next years conference. I also took two online courses through Athabasca; "International and Global Politics" and "Global Development Strategies". It was hard to teach myself by reading, many things were over my head, but I learned so much.
I don't want to cover all my preparations, but I knew that I had to become more aware of politics, economics, development and social welfare in order to understand what I really wanted to understand.
Although originally the dream started with a focus on HIV/AIDS in Africa, which Stephen Lewis is feverently passionate about, the dream has now turned into a need for understanding an African community as a whole. The grassroots, local, provincial, national and international factors that can shape a community to be sustainable, happy and healthy, or shape it to be in poverty, frustrated and stagnant. I want to know these factors, which are so very complex, and I want to know how these factors intermingle to make a healthy community which consists of healthy people.
I really could keep writing...but I think this is a good beginning for now. I just wanted to start the story off on strong note. I look forward to my departure date each day with intense excitement, and a slight uneasy feeling...but I know it will be the most life changing time of my life thus far. After all, it is my African dream.
He was speaking at the Dofasco Center (or Theater Aquarius as some know it) in Hamilton. It was November 2005, I will in grade 12. My dad brought me, since I was very naive to all matters not concerning my immediate self at that time. I just didn't know, and didn't have a strong desire to know, what was going on in the world. (Without my dad I never would have gone to this lecture, so I thank him infinity for being so proactive in my education)
Stephen Lewis was downright inspiring. He left me (along with several others) in tears, and left me thinking that I need to get to Africa as soon as I could to help out in any way I could. His lecture was one of the main reasons I decided to go into Nursing at McMaster.
In my first year at McMaster University I found out there was an opportunity for an international placement in the summer between third and fourth year. I wanted to do this really badly...and I knew I wanted to go to Africa. My clinical tutor in first year also was a huge fan of Stephen Lewis, and encouraged me in every way to pursue this dream. She had a significant impact on how I perceived myself, and allowed me to have a confidence in my abilities as a good communicator and as a leader.
As great as McMaster is, there were not a lot of classes offered in first or second year to nursing students that focused on current health issues on an international and global scale, so I took it upon myself to be as prepared as I could be for a possible international placement. Second year was a time of great learning and expanding my mind. I went to a conference in October of 2007 put on by the International Women and Children's Health Network (IWCH). The conference was really eye opening, so I decided to join the group and help plan the next years conference. I also took two online courses through Athabasca; "International and Global Politics" and "Global Development Strategies". It was hard to teach myself by reading, many things were over my head, but I learned so much.
I don't want to cover all my preparations, but I knew that I had to become more aware of politics, economics, development and social welfare in order to understand what I really wanted to understand.
Although originally the dream started with a focus on HIV/AIDS in Africa, which Stephen Lewis is feverently passionate about, the dream has now turned into a need for understanding an African community as a whole. The grassroots, local, provincial, national and international factors that can shape a community to be sustainable, happy and healthy, or shape it to be in poverty, frustrated and stagnant. I want to know these factors, which are so very complex, and I want to know how these factors intermingle to make a healthy community which consists of healthy people.
I really could keep writing...but I think this is a good beginning for now. I just wanted to start the story off on strong note. I look forward to my departure date each day with intense excitement, and a slight uneasy feeling...but I know it will be the most life changing time of my life thus far. After all, it is my African dream.
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