Hapana mrefu yasio na mwisho ~ There is no distance that has no end.

I apologize! Nairobi life and Western obligations have kept me too busy to post. Since my last post I have written three papers, create two presentations, attended numerous meetings for my externship, started working out again, figured my schedule for next semester and started my internship search for spring semester as well. As my mother always said, "You have time to sleep in your grave child!" I guess I take after her! Even tonight I had booked a safari for my dad and I and I was trying to coordinate our flight time from Nairobi to Cairo to be only a few hours after we arrived back Nairobi after our safari so that we could squeeze in a 6 day Nile excursion before heading Israel. The woman at the travel agency wrote me, "You are going to live a hundred years!" I guess she is implying I could slow down...I told her I don't have a lower gear. It's almost 2 am but I wanted to leave you all with my last paper that was returned. It was a second Critical Incident that I had to reflect on. There is a contest with this one: Find the parody of the play and be the first to leave a comment with the correct answer I will write a blog post on anything you wish to know about Nairobi or my study abroad experience. Sawasawa!





Wouldn’t You Beat Your Wife?




A play of the conversation that momentarily shattered the view a newly arrived coworker had of her male colleagues. The tension of the topic burned under the hot Nairobi sun. The fiery exchange between different gendered, aged and cultured coworkers over a most uncomfortable subject was only intensified by the heat and pace of their walk through the dusty alleyways of Arebik. The gentlemen unreservedly honest in the delivery of their description of the behavior of the peers traumatized the extern. Immediately an introspective dialogue began to run in mind of the young girl to calculate the impact of her colleague’s words. As they rounded the corner to their office to continue with the day’s agenda the conversation ended without resolution.


Nairobi, Kenya
Playwright: Justine Raschio





Characters:

Girl

The Conscience of the Girl

Gentleman I

Gentleman II

Roommate I

Roommate II



ACT I: It can’t be so?

Three coworkers exit a fundraising meeting uneasy and hurry back to their office to gather equipment for the pageant practice for the upcoming community awareness event. The three are treading abreast through the streets debating among themselves over a controversial subject.

Girl’s conscience: The words in conversation that really matter are always in Kiswahili. I can never follow long enough to understand.

Girl: I wish I understood what you two were laughing about. I hope either I learn enough Kiswahili so I can eventually understand or you two gentlemen will translate the conversations for me.

Gentleman I: (smiling) We are laughing because we are teasing each other about beating our wives.

Girl’s conscience: No way. No wonder they didn’t speak in English!

Girl: Why would you beat your wife?

Gentleman II: I would beat her if she made a mistake in washing my clothing or in making my tea. I may even hurt her if she spent too much time outside the home with her friends.

Gentleman I: Hmm, ha ha, I would even beat her if she didn’t make the dinner I was hoping for.

Girl’s conscience: These two men are outstanding progressive members of Arebik. They beat their wives. Either The contradictory duality of their lives is astonishing or there is a colossal misunderstanding of their jocularity.

Girl: You two think your wives would be deserving of a beating for simple domestic oversights?

Gentlemen: (in chorus) Yes!

Girl’s conscience: I can’t believe this. I held these men in the highest regard of personal integrity and compassion. And they beat their wives over mistakes avoidable through clearer communication.

Girl: Have you considered washing your own clothing or making your own tea to avoid needing to ask your wife to do it differently? I understand that men and women traditionally stick closely to the roles engendered to be masculine or feminine here, but regular communication about household expectations between man and wife can help prevent more serious actions.

Gentleman I: I don’t consider beating my wife to be taking a serious action. It is out of concern for her that I would beat her. If she had not been able to understand how to perform her domestic duties through my words sometimes a beating would provide the necessary clarification.

Gentleman II: Beating our wives is an age old disciplinary practice created by our male ancestors to help us control our wives in the household. We do not beat them cruelly; we beat them to demonstrate how their domestic mistakes displease us. We beat them to show we love them and trust in their capacity to properly perform their household duties. They should worry when we stop beating them.

Girl’s conscience: To beat someone is to demonstrate violence not love. However, this contemporary widespread acceptance of physical discipline could be attributed to the legends young men have heard through oral storytelling. I have never heard an oral narrative, but having read plenty of African literature. I do know that domestic discipline is not rare at least in rural areas and may even be commonly accepted. Make sure to understand the whole situation before passing any judgment.

Girl: It is clear that the practice of beating wives is embedded in the hearts and minds of young men, but I do not agree that violence shows a woman her husband loves her. I think non-violent, verbal or non-verbal communication is always the key to resolving conflict, and if one line of communication fails…

Gentleman I: Then you must beat her…

Girl: No. Then another must be tried. If all lines of communication have failed then as a couple they must brainstorm together alternative forms of conflict resolution. It is totally barbaric to beat any human being, let alone your very own wife whom you love.

Gentlemen: Put yourself in our shoes. If she always made mistakes, wouldn’t you beat your wife?

Girl’s conscience: I can’t believe they would ask me to consider beating another human being, let alone a woman. For goodness sakes, I am a woman!

The coworkers are approaching the last corner before they reach the door to their shared office. The two gentlemen are laughing with the girl. Neither of the gentlemen is remotely concerned by the frown on her face. As the three enter the office the conversation is closed.

ACT II: Is it really so?

After work the girl rides a bus home wondering what her female roommates will think when she describes her lunchtime conversation with her coworkers. For the next two hours of her Kiswahili class the girl reflects on her contribution to the conversation to judge her reaction to her colleagues’ aggressive tradition, but without further consultation she would not be convinced of her appropriateness in that situation.

Roommate I: Hey you! How was work today?

Girl: It was one of the best so far, except for an alarming discussion I had with two of my coworkers about domestic abuse.

Roommate II: Domestic abuse? What did they say and what was your reaction?

Girl: (soberly) They told me how they would beat their wives for trivial mistakes in the house. They explained that they would beat them to teach them a lesson never to make the same mistake again. I felt as though they view their counterparts as children. It was very discouraging to hear what I considered to be gentlemen speaking so disrespectfully about their wives.

Roommates: (speechless) They would beat their wives?

Girl’s conscience: I am reassured that they reacted the same as I did when they heard what my coworkers had said. Is it because we are all American or is it because we are all women?

Girl: I guess. I was also surprised until I remembered that it has been a common household custom on this continent for generations. It seemed almost ironic to hear the gentlemen whom I consider to be avant-garde community members confess to upholding an outdated social custom of domestic abuse. I expressed my opposing opinion clearly and calmly but as the conversation closed neither viewpoint had surrendered and we were forced to agree to disagree on the matter of beating a woman.

Roommate I: Will you be able to continue work?

Girl: Of course. We are different people from different cultures with drastically different opinions of treatment of women. I realize our difference of opinion is rooted in cultural value systems and that our values have been enculturated in us since childhood and do not stand to be changed in a lunchtime dialogue. My work with my coworkers will only be affected if they discipline me for my mistakes the way they discipline their wives. Until that day, our differences will remain neutral in the office.


Epilogue: It isn’t so.

The following day the girl is in Arebik and she is walking back to the office with one of the gentleman. They stop at a small hotel to eat lunch before a pageant practice.

Gentleman II: Shall we eat chapati and maharagwe at this hotel?

Girl: Ndio. I was hoping to eat soon! Twende.

Gentleman II: I wanted to catch up with you since we haven’t had a chance to chat since you began working in Arebik.

The gentleman goes on to tell the girl his family history, his reasons for living in Arebik and his passion for community development. He also tells the girl about the woman he is hoping to marry.

Girl: I apologize if this offends you but I have to ask. Would you beat your girlfriend? I am asking only because I was confused yesterday whether you two gentlemen were speaking about yourselves when you spoke of beating your wives…

Gentleman II: (chuckling, and then in a most stern voice) I can only speak for myself but I would never beat a woman. I cannot speak for the other gentleman, but I can surely tell you that I would never harm another human, let alone a woman.

Girl’s conscience: I feel relieved. I had obviously misinterpreted their stories yesterday.

Girl: (reassured) Thank you. I needed clarification. I misinterpreted yesterday’s conversation.

Gentleman II: It is no problem; we were just testing your feeling on the subject. Should we be going?

Girl’s conscience: He had finally translated the situation so that I could understand the full conversation. I realized that we are simply young professionals who have been given a perfect opportunity to bounce cross cultural thoughts between each other. Our conversation was a learning moment that forced me to reconsider comments and events before jumping to conclusions about seemingly bizarre cross cultural practices. I will have to remember this I the future.

Girl: Ah hah, I finally understand. The laughing and provocative questions yesterday were a test! Don’t tell me whether I passed! (laughing) Let’s go.

Kujikwa si kuanguka, bali ni kwende mbele - To stumble is not to fall down, but is to go forward

This morning at 7:00 am I watched Barack Obama deliver his speech at Grant Park on CNN at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence. I have to say standing there amidst over 1,000 people who were black, white, American, Dutch, Kenyan, rich, poor, student or MP in the Kenyan Parliament, I was emotional. I have to say that the atmosphere was overwhelmingly pro-Obama and it was altogether a once-in-a-lifetime experience! If I had to be in any foreign country during this election I would pick Kenya! His father's village of Kogelo held a mock election and His Excellency Kibaki (the President of Kenya) declared a public holiday for tomorrow Nov. 6! Leo ni leo asemayo kesho mwongo - Today is today, he who says tomorrow is a liar. Today was a historic day for the United States, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. As Mayah has told me today, "Obama has made a lot of promises, he better get going!" If anything the people of United States earned themselves about 40 million new friends right here in Kenya! Pictures have to come later, they aren't uploading at the moment.

Complete Text of Remarks by President-Elect Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008, Chicago, Ill.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled –- Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of red states and blue states: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Sen. McCain. [UPDATE: Complete text of Sen. John McCain's concession speech available here.] He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Gov. Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke....
...for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to -– it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington –- it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -– two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.
Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America –- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you –- we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.
I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years –- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek -– it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers -– in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House –- a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.
Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -– I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world –- our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down –- we will defeat you.
To those who seek peace and security -– we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright –- tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America -– that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing –- Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons –- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America –- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.
At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.
When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes, we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves –- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time –- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth –- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes, we can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/barack-obama.html

Usisafiriye na nyota ya mwenzio - Don't travel under another's lucky star

Today marks the 6 week countdown. 8 weeks and I will be home in Lake Oswego!

It was a beautiful weekend in Nairobi proper! Saturday my roommate Denise and I went to a Maasai Market in town near the Hilton and then to Kibera to meet with JECK. The Maasai Market was hot and crowded with "mzungu" swarming the rows of vendors. I bought presents for Jessi and Vincent and then Denise and I picked the KBS bus #32 to the DO's Office on the outskirt of Kibera. We walked into Mashimoni Village to St. John's Primary to meet with the women. Jemima, JECK's chairwoman, told us the women's would not be meeting on that Saturday because she was hosting a parents day for the school. It was amazing to observe a schoolwide parent-teacher-administrator conference! We left the conference early to meet our apartment-mate Sophie in a small vegetable market to buy our veggies for the weekend. We walked together to Nakumatt Prestige where we all took tea and used the free wireless Internet for couple hours. Hopped a bus back into town and headed home for relaxing Saturday evening and movie night!

Sunday morning Denise, Sophie and I woke up early and walked into Westlands. Denise and Sophie continued on to RaMoMa in Parklands (the Museum of Modern Art here in Nairobi). I bought a new adapter for my computer from the Sarit Center (a Western-ish shopping mall) and then caught up with them 45 min later. RaMoMa is a sanctuary of lush green plants and beautiful art from local artists. We walked to Diamond Plaza (a shopping mall frequented by the Indians who live in the Parklands neighborhood) and then picked a teksi (taxi) home to Njema Court. We spent the sunny afternoon laying by the pool and studying for out kiSwahili midterm on Tuesday. Denise and I went for a short jog and then our apartment watched a UNICEF program on tv that one of our apartment-mates was working at through her externship with Shangilia Mtoto wa Afrika!

Can't wait for Wednesday morning to watch the election results at the American Ambassador's Residence!

Spring Cleaning!

We cleaned all the spooks out of the office just in time for Halloween! Tuesday I arrived at the office and the floor was flooded with soapy water! I asked, "Today is spring cleaning?!" My bosses who were all covered in muddy water and sweat laughed, "Of course!" My boss' girlfriend Melissa tied a kanga around my waist and a head wrap over my hair and I got to work scrubbing the dusty floor with a handmade broom. Oj, one of my other directors came in after lunch and laughed and said, "Justine, I thought you were an African woman! You are bent over, scrubbing in a kanga!"

I am convinced my director's are turning me into a Kenya housewife. I cleaned on Tuesday and today I cooked! Melissa taught me how to make ugali and sukumawiki for lunch today. Ugali is pounded maize and sukuma is greens mixed with onions and tomatoes. My director taught me how to light a paraffin (sp?) flame to cook on! As he was setting the match to the wick, he paused and said, "Please don't tell your father I let you play with fire!" Haha!

Tomorrow is Halloween! My favorite holiday! ( I am with you Auntie Sherri!) Our three apartments are cooking a meal together in costumes!

(Picture is at Thompson Falls near Nakuru)

Obama for Yogurt

This weekend 3 of roommates, Chrissy, Cait and Yattah, and I hopped a matatu to Nakuru. We stayed with a classmate's family from USIU a little ways outside the city center. Nakuru feels like a beach town, life moves slowly and people are very friendly and easygoing. The air is clean and the views are spectacular. In 36 hours we stood on the equator and put our feet in both hemispheres, saw Thompson's Falls, watched flamingos at Lake Nakuru and stood on the top of crater with a breathtaking view of the entire valley! The girls and I like to call it our fun filled weekend of critical incidents because even with all the fun we had, we also experienced some very difficult cross cultural interaction. Many moments were spent frustrated, confused, upset and embarrassed. No time to explain now, but I will explain it all later! The post title describes our weekend perfectly; it made absolutely no sense!

(Group pic from Nyumbani Village from our Country Director)

Nampenda na Asanteni! (I love you all and thank you all)

Asanteni for all of the beautiful birthday wishes! As I said, I felt all your loving across the country, ocean and continent and it meant a lot! So asanteni sana!

I woke up to a Skype chat with my daddy and mom (yes, dad put her in full view on the screen). Dad had also bought a pumpkin cake and put big 21 candles so I could see it! Dad and I chatted later in a conference call with Morgan, T, and Felipe! When I came back to my room from another apartment one of my roommates, Cait, had blown up a bunch of bright crazy shaped balloons and laid a card on my bed. It was a perfect morning!

Nothing exciting happened midday until I took the bus home from class at USIU to Java House to grab a bite to eat. 4 of my roommates, Cait, Jess, Erin, Chrissy ate dinner with me and then we had drinks a nearby bar called Mercury. I had a Jack and Coke in honor of my father as my first legal drink! Pictures coming soon!

When we got home my actual roommate Denise had made me a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and candy corn! All of the girls in the program sang Happy Birthday and we ate lots of cake! Yummy!

Nothing wild or crazy, but absolutely perfect! Thank you everyone!

Watindata ~ Nesa!

I titled this post ‘how are you?’ in Kikamba because I spent the weekend in rural Kenya at Nyumbani Village in Kamba-land. I also figure I should greet everyone again because I am back on my blog! I took a break from posting because I had midterms last week and Thursday I was sick. My roommate Sophie said on Thursday, “You know you are like a dog right? You’ve marked your territory all over this city!” Sophie had watched me puke first in our toilet at the apartment, then on the side of the road next to the grocery before you enter Kibera, next in a sewage trench in Kibera, again as I leapt from a matatu entering town and then finally in the trash can in our compound. Maybe she was right!

I recovered on a bumpy, squeezed, smelly, sweaty bus to Kwa Vonza, the nearest town to Nyumbani Village. We waited for about an hour people watching on the roadside of the small town, reminiscent of an old western film set, for Nyumbani’s flatbed truck to drive us 14 km into the village. The fresh breeze, the acacia thorn trees, the Pride Rock hills, the donkeys, and the beautiful red clay dirt were stunning from the open bed of the truck. At the village we had speakers explain the concept an ITALIAN Roman Catholic priest had for the three branched program of which Nyumbani Village is a part of. There is Nyumbani Children’s Home (est. 1992) in Karen (a suburb of Nairobi for rich white people/ the suburb was named after Karen Blixen the author of the novel Out of Africa) that cares for children infected with HIV/AIDS, Lea Toto (est. 1998) (Lea Toto means to raise a child/ lea - to raise, toto - child) in the informal settlement to provide home care for children and families with HIV/AIDS, and lastly Nyumbani Village (est. 2006) to care for children and grandparents who have been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The criteria for admission to the village are to be double orphaned, destitute and no indiscretions. The village has 8 clusters of homes; each home houses 1 grandmother and 10 orphans. The concept is use the grandparents to care for the children and teach cultural values. There are currently 29 grandmothers, 2 grandfathers and 246 children living at the village. The lesson learned at Nyumbani was a lesson in growth. Nyumbani nurtured each project to its potential and has simply continued to expand each branch’s programs to reach more HIV/AIDS affected persons. Nyumbani means home in Kiswahili, and they have truly given a home to many Kenyan’s who otherwise would be left with nothing. It was a weekend of participating in Environment Day at their school, attending mass on Sunday and playing with children in our free time.

Tonight a group of the girls and I had a delightful dinner at an Indian restaurant on Rhapta. After four days of beans, maize and water, Indian spices and naan were delectable! It was definitely the best meal I have eaten yet.

Tomorrow I am heading to Kibera to finish a concept plan for ISSA’s fundraising dinner on Nov. 21 and then I will be meeting with the CCO from Citi Kenya to chat about corporate responsibility in professional youth development. I am interested to hear his opinion on Kenya’s response to the downturn in the US economy. Sometimes I feel like my time here is very much like a very overstuffed taco. Everything is sooo good I want to fit it all in! Tonight was the first drizzly rain we’ve had in Nairobi. It reminded me of home…it was wet and beautiful!

(Pic 1 ~ Sunday Mass with Father Julius; Pic 2 ~ Jess and I pounding maize; Pic 3 ~ Kimanze!)

just a good day

Friday and a holiday! What could be better? Today is Moi Day. Moi held the Office of the President for 24 years until he was defeated by Kibaki in 2002. When Moi was voted into power after Jomo Kenyatta the Father of the Nation, the people of Kenya had high hopes for prosperity, security and change. Indeed, the people of the Kenya are still waiting. In fact, Moi was an autocrat and corrupt and he created a culture of fear and distrust amongst his people. The political and economic fallout from his destructive reign continues to curse his people today and just in case they would try to forget they will forever be reminded by the holiday and monument he instated and built during his presidency.
On a lighter note today felt different here. It was calm, refreshing and beautiful. I woke up early to walk through my neighborhood to my country director’s office to have a meeting with the directors of ISSA about our dinner. Along my walk I had time to enjoy the brilliant purple of the Jacaranda trees and the clean fresh air of the suburb. My meeting was the best meeting we have had as team yet. I feel like it was the first time we connected culturally and professionally. Our energies collaborated beyond the surface; it was the first time I think that I have experienced synergy! Last night, Umande Trust, a well known hygiene and sanitation organization in Katukera (Katukera is a village of Kibera), hosted ISSA’s Mr. and Miss Kibera to dinner. Unfortunately I could not attend because I had Kiswahili but Omoto the CEO of Umande promised ISSA free internet usage 24/7, money to make t-shirts for marketing, support in our Kids for Future program and to set up a dinner with the German Ambassador. So in two weeks we are going to eat dinner with the German Ambassador. With this new opportunity we have revised our plan for the fundraising dinner for the Kids for Future program. We are going to invite the Ambassador to host the dinner at his residence! The connection to the German Ambassador is Omoto. The Ambassador invited Omoto to a program on the Saturday of the Pageant and Omoto accepted on the condition that the Ambassador agree to support Mr. and Miss Kibera since Omoto has never missed an ISSA Pageant. We will have to see!
So to prepare our new Mr. and Miss for their opportunities outside Kibera, Tony, Andrew and Oj have asked me to teach an organizational skills and public course to all of the contestants. I am going to teach a 2 hour class once a week on Thursdays!
Tomorrow I am heading to Kibera around two to meet with the merry-go round group of ladies name JECK. They are a branch of Watoto Wa Dunia and myself with the help of my classmate Cait are teaching them basic business and accounting skills. Jemima is the leader of the merry-go round and she is quite possibly the most impressive woman I have yet to meet.
It has been a slower than I imagined it would be, but finally I feel there is something special about the chaos of this place. We have had two speakers within the last week. Last Friday James spoke of corruption in the current election process and today at the beautiful Maasai Lodge on the edge of the Nairobi National Park, David spoke of the civil society involvement in promoting honest governance since the 1970s. And regardless of the setbacks, challenges and deadlocks they mentioned in Kenya’s history, they always concluded with a promise of resilience and optimism from the Kenyan people for the future.
It is needless to say I am really excited about the experiences I am having right now here in Nairobi.

Asante sana

Today was my last day of classes before midterm examinations next week at USIU, tomorrow I will be working on an action plan at ISSA for the fundraising dinner and on Friday our country director's lecture will be hosted at a Masaai's house atop a mountain overlooking the Nairobi National Game Reserve. We might even get to go swimming!

On Tuesday I learned how to Mambo and Salsa for two hours before we had a great meeting with the contestants from the Mr. and Miss who are participating in the year long program to sponsor an OVC youth from their community.

It has been such a treat to be able to share blow by blow my experience here in Nairobi with all of you. I wanted to post today to thank everyone who has viewed the blog and posted comments. I really enjoy everyone's insight and especially the kinds words. As exciting and positively demanding this program is, it is stressful and often uncomfortable. Obviously I have never lived somewhere previous to Nairobi where everyday I am pushed far beyond my limits, and the comments that are posted or the emails I receive in reaction to my blog have been so encouraging and energizing. All of you have sent the kindest wishes and I want you to know I sincerely appretiate every ounce of love everyone has sent my way in the past two months. Asante sana! Thank you!

(Elephants for Auntie Sherri)

Miss and Mr. Kibera 2008

Saturday Oct. 4, 2008 a new Miss and Mr. Kibera were crowned at the Lainisaba grounds in Kibera. Despite our lack of funding (no funding), a two hour delayed start and two rainstorms the pageant was a total success. For the communities of Kibera near the Lainisaba grounds it was a day of laughter, performance, music, community unity and fun! We had such a great time watching the contestants strut down the rickety catwalk in their casual, traditional, creative, professional and dinner wear. The contestants also delivered a two minute speech to persuade the judges to vote for them and they also had to answer one question from the audience. The speeches were taken very seriously and delivered in the most professional manner. All of the contestants were between the ages of 18 and 21 and they really impressed their audience not only with their beauty, but also with their grace, intelligence and dedication to ISSA's vision for the youth of their community. The pageant is only a kickoff for a year long program between the contestants and an OVC child in Kibera. Our next challenge will be to host a fundraising dinner for 150 businessmen from Nairobi to fund the year long program. We will be more successful in soliciting funds for this program I am sure of it!

It is a nice Sunday in Nairobi, not too hot, slightly cloudy skies and warm intermittent rains. My roommates and I enjoyed an American style breakfast this morning at Java House, went grocery shopping at Chandara Supermarket (a new grocery store for us) and came home to clean house, study and prepare for next week. Too often we forget our purpose for being here is to study not to play. I think its because playing in Africa is whole lotta of fun!

Dunia Duara

So we have been learning Swahili proverbs KiSwahili. It is a traditional approach to learning the language that has been used ever since East Africans have been teaching KiSwahili formally. The last title, Kuelekeza si kufuma ~ to aim is not to hit, is used to encourage the youth to realize the goals they set for themselves. Dunia duara ~the earth is round~ is used to remind people of the circle of life and that no matter how far you go away from home you will eventually end up in your backyard. I am posting the first paper I had to write for my Political Culture of Kenya class. We were asked to write about a critical incident that challenged us. Here is what I had to say:

Let's Get Personal

I can’t say I was shocked by the conversation I had with our housekeeper Phyllis, but I was stunned at the seriousness of her reaction to my answer of why I actually came to Kenya. Her and I were standing in the kitchen together, she was drying dishes as I made toast with peanut butter and jelly. We were exchanging niceties about our lives and families, laughing and I was telling her about AU Abroad Kenya. She was delighted by the description of our program but it wasn’t enough; she wanted to know why I, Justine Raschio, actually had come to Kenya. I explained that I am exploring international development as a career and that I wanted to experience development outside of a textbook and the classroom. She laughed uproariously in my face. I stood silent for a moment and then asked her to explain her amusement. She said, “I’m laughing because Kenya is not developing. If anything, this country is going backwards. Any visible progress is surface level. I have this job, but I still can’t feed or take care of my two daughters like a mother should.” Immediately I asked her to qualify “backwards” to draw some meaning from her observation and she told me, “Everything is moving backwards; there is no real progress. The progress you see is only on the surface.” She put away the last dish, I finished my toast and we both exited the kitchen to go our separate ways for the evening. As she walked out our front door I wondered where she would go home to, what her daughters would be doing, and what they all would eat for dinner, because I knew as I walked to the bathroom I would be in my upscale apartment, with my roommates eating a three course meal and probably going out at night. Phyllis and I talked for ten minutes, but her reaction has concerned me ever since, especially because we have a new housekeeper now so Phyllis and I may never be able to finish our conversation.
Later that evening, my roommates and I went to Gypsy’s and I overheard a young Kenyan woman consoling one of my roommates after a man had told my roommate she would never make a difference in Kenya. The woman said, “Of all the things that you came here to do, the most important thing is that you came here to change your own life.” Her thoughts in conjunction with my conversation with Phyllis earlier thoroughly confused me and forced me to rethink my purpose here in Kenya I realized that maybe I had overlooked my personal reasons for coming here. The Gypsy woman’s comment forced me to think more critically about Phyllis’ comment about surface level development. Scholars, do-gooders and ethical multinational businesses usually have honest intentions to make positive changes through their development initiatives, but from the two women’s comments I have come to learn that sometimes as much these agents of change may think they have made substantial changes in a foreign country, it may be difficult to quantify how deeply into the cultural fabric they have truly penetrated. The combination of the two comments helped me realize that maybe I will be changed far more than I will make change. The women really challenged me to think that I may be significantly changed and may not have made a positive “developmental” impact on the people and community I work with.
As I reflect on the experience to write this paper, I feel like at the moment Phyllis floored me by laughing at my reason for visiting Kenya I failed to react. I was so stunned, and her laugh was so funny that for a second I just stood there with her. I reacted inwardly to the woman at Gypsy because she wasn’t talking to me. Mostly I am confused and interested by the insight of these women’s personal experiences with the development culture in their home country. I think my reactions were appropriate, or at least I can’t think of any other way I would have responded to these experiences besides further personal introspection. At the least I am very glad Phyllis’s response to my answer was so genuine because it has forced me to reach inside myself to find a truer reason for why I came to Kenya and the woman at Gypsy forced me to question more critically what I see as my own personal development versus community development during my time here.
In all honesty, I don’t know how well I understand either of these experiences. I have taken into consideration that these women come from entirely different socio-economic classes and their comments reflect the experiences they have had with development. Phyllis represents the bottom level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the woman at Gypsy represents the top. Phyllis wants to see development change her personal life and the woman at Gypsy is concerned with how other’s interpret the way development affects their own lives. I do think these experiences will lead me to think more critically about the work I do with ISSA. If anything, those experiences have already changed my entire perspective of my purpose for studying abroad in Kenya. I would consider that refinement of purpose to be monumental and I am interested to see how that change will manifest itself in my behavior throughout the rest of the semester.

Kuelekeza si kufuma

Today was a public holiday for the end of Ramadan. All USIU classes were canceled! My roommates and I walked to a friends externship site named Amani (peace) to work on externship action plans/budgets/organizational reviews and to study for our first kiSwahili exam tomorrow. Our kiSwahili prof. is a true linguist and loves to teach too! His class is a treat; we learn kiSwahili and drink Kenyan chai for two hours!

Anyway the big event is on the horizon now! Oct. 4 is Miss and Mr. Kibera Pageant. As of now the directors of ISSA have not found an NGO to fund the pageant. They assure me everything will be alright. I am concerned.

Thankfully I am not responsible for the Pageant. I have started an action plan for a fundraising dinner to be hosted at the Sarova Stanley (a very expensive hotel in town) for 150 businessmen to come and watch the Pageant and hopefully donate money to ISSA to help ISSA pay for 22 OVC (orphaned and/or vulnerable child) children to attend school in the fall. I need Haley! She's the event planner, not me!

Tomorrow I am in Kibera to help prepare the contestants for the show on Saturday and to make any final touches to a flyer and brochure I have made for ISSA. It is the final countdown for ISSA main event and it is very exciting!

Ada ya mja hunena mungwana ni kitendoí

Safari was beautiful! The animals, the scenery, the drivers, Tiplikwani MaraCamp, the food, the stars, the sunrise and sunsets, the biggest blue sky ever were unimaginable until this weekend. Saturday morning Twiga Tours (The Fun People to Safari With!) picked us at Njema and drove us through the Rift Valley on our way to the Maasai Mara. It is a 6 hour ride from Nairobi to the Mara. The first hour is in Nairobi, but the next two and half hours are spent admiring the beauty of the Rift Valley which is reminiscent of Arizona, very dry, dusty, hot with cacti and twisted trees. About the third hour you enter Maasailand, which is the land the lies in southwestern Kenya and northern Tanzania that is inhabited by the Maasai people. The Maasai are a pastoral and nomadic people, who originated in Israel and migrated to Kenya and Tanzania through north eastern Africa long ago. Now the Maasai keep their livestock in small villages and move throughout the region based on the rains and the grass. The more it rains the more cow dung they have to add to the roof of their temporary homes to keep it out and as the weight of the dung increases it begins to crush the wood and dung hut. When the hut collapses they move with the animals. The Maasai are very well known for the colorful beaded jewelry, red cloth costumes, sticks and spears the are seen with. We visited a village near Tiplikwani MaraCamp with Bipemba, a young Maasai warrior who works at the camp. At the village we were greeted with the circumcision celebration dances and a speech about Maasai culture. We walked through the village and entered two homes. The Maasai keep the older goats and cows in the middle of the village and the babies in their homes. The homes are small and dark. The women sleep in their own homes, the men sleep with one of their wives and the children sleep with the grandparents. The men at the village liked me so they gave me the Maasai name Naiulang which means that I understand their people and that I am welcomed to come and live with them whenever I wish. John told me it was a great honor. Surprising to us, the Tiplikwani is owned by two partners Yuri, a Caucasian, and John, a Maasai (his name is not John, but he uses it for ease of conversation). John grew up in Talek, a small village on the edge of the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, and he was elected by the entirety of the Maasai community to represent their people across the world. He is a truly amazing soul. His dream is to build a new camp fourteen kilometers from Tiplikwani by himself inside the Game Reserve. John also knows every line to Forrest Gump. He actually introduced himself as Forrest Gump for his talk with us on Maasai culture after our game ride on Sunday. (the name of the post today is a kiSwahili proverb -handsome is as handsome does- a gentleman will be judged by his actions. Just like Forrest -stupid is as stupid does)

We had three scheduled game rides and two informal game rides. Safari is stunning! We saw four out of the big five (leopard, rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion), we did not see a rhino. All of the animals are so beautiful. Today we saw 28 giraffes walking across the mara as we were driving out of the game reserve! The lions, the hippos, antelope, wildebeest, leopard and cheetah were also very fun to watch! Dad way to remember the binoculars!

After every ride we would be pampered with a four course meal, as much tea and coffee as we wished, turndown service and a campfire at night. Zebras on the first night and lions on the second night for campfire entertainment across the Mara river. The stars. The sky is bigger here at the equator so the amount of stars one can see on the Mara is unbelievable. The stars here twinkle too!

It's dinnertime! Olesere! (that means goodnight in Maasai) (but Maasai is an oral language, so that is my interpretation of how one would write how they say goodnight!)

Through the Rift Valley to Maasai Mara

It's 6:00 am we are going to be picked up at 6:30 for our 6 hour road trip to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. We are going on safari! I am posting to inform you all I won't have my computer until Monday evening. But when I get back you can expext stories of adventure from the Serengeti savanna! Tatuonana Monday!

Watoto Wa Dunia was next door!

Yesterday in Kibera I worked on designing a brochure for ISSA, I collected as much institutional information ISSA had about the organization to start preparing to write my first grant proposal, and discussed ideas about building an Information Communication Technology (ICT) Resource Center on ISSA's site. The directors and I did a lot of sharing about past experiences and future dreams for our own personal lives and for the lives of all people around the world.

Yesterday's highlight though was meeting with the St. Johns Children's crew. These people are the staff of the non-profit Watoto Wa Dunia which was founded by Arika Makena and Jeffrey Bunyoli. Arika and Jeffrey live in Portland but they raised money to buy a school for vulnerable children in Kibera. For the past two weeks I have trying to get in touch with Kennedy, Arika and Jeffrey's point man in Kibera and our scedules have conflicted. Finally yesterday we planned to meet at an entrance to Kibera called the DO's Office. I walked with my boss Tony all the way out of Mashimoni (which is like a 20 min hike through sewage trenches, trash, and dust) to the DO's to meet with Kennedy only to find out through the little Swahili I understood while Tony and Kennedy introduced themselves to each other that Watoto Wa Dunia is St. John's Childrens School right around the corner from ISSA! Kennedy and I hiked back into Mashimoni and spent two hours meeting the staff, children and discussing how we are planning to work together until Jeffrey arrives at the end of the year.

After St. John's I went to the contestant training which is my favorite way to end a day in Kibera. Yesterday was practice for the Formal Wear!

I am off for a day at USIU and African Aerobics class tonight!

Friday Night Fever!

The meal we cooked last night for our guests was the best dinner we have cooked yet! We collaborated on a savory meat sauce that our Kenyan rafikis thought was a beef stew! Even with an interactive explanation of how to eat the dinner we prepared they still put on the pasta sauce and spinach dressing for the pasta and rice on the side of their plates. A true cross cultural moment! In fact the entire experience of hosting Kenyan youth to dinner and a night out was full of unexpected cross cultural mishaps. All bets are off when youth from a low context culture host youth from a high context culture and community - exspecially when your guests are staying over and your electricity is out for 13 hours, your refridgerator defrosts all over your kitchen floor and there is a water ration in your neighborhood of Nairobi. It was the first morning in the apartment our feelings of frustration, anxiety and homesickness showed.
Today we walked to Westlands, paid for our Masai Mara Safari next weekend and bought groceries. We spent the afternoon on our balcony drinking Kenyan Chai and reading. We are very excited to eat dinner tonight at our friend Iddi's house and to go out to listen to some live music to rest before Sunday.
Update, the Flickr link below is working now! Also, please leave comments, concerns, questions and suggestions about posts and pictures so I can make the blog as interactive and entertaining as possible for all of you!
The photo is the view from the training room our contestants from Mr. and Miss Kibera use to learn cat walk, etiquette, dancing and public speaking.

Mr. and Miss Kibera

It is a sunny breezy Friday morning in Nairobi. My roommates and I have spent our morning resting and watching Aljezeera. At 1 pm we walk 15 min to Westlands to grab some milk from Uchumi our neighborhood grocery store to have we our tea during class. It is customary in Kenya to take chai (tea) at noon and 4 pm. It is a treat we are quickly becoming accustomed too! We have our class on the Development Culture of Kenya at 2 pm and tonight we are hosting some friends from Kibera for dinner. We are going shopping after our 3 hour class for ingredients for Mexican dishes to serve our guests. Betty, Sylvia, Irosh and Daniel live in the informal settlement and they are very excited to eat international food. All four of them are well known performers/dancers in Kibera and they are really excited to take us out tonight to a neighborhood club to show us how to really get down!

This weekend we are going to go shopping at a Masai market, maybe play soccer with some kids at my roommate Cait's internship site Shangilia and start....homework!

The picture today was taken yesterday, my second day in Kibera, at my externship site ISSA. OJ, my director, and I are standing in the entry of our cement/tin building in the village of Mashimoni, Kibera. I spent my morning there with another director Tony reviewing some of ISSA's literature. We decided I am going to write a grant proposal for their Eagle Project. The Eagle Project is a broad plan to start a ICT Center at ISSA for the Kiberan community. It will be fun to watch this project take shape because an ICT center could truly revoluntionize the economy of Kibera. Later on in the afternoon Tony and I met with an Ph.D candidate anthropologist from Oxford who has agreed to help Tony analyze a survey he completed about the slum upgrading project near the Soweto village. It was fun to watch her manipulate the data to see all the angles of the reactions the villagers have towards the intiative. Back in Kibera I watched another cat walk training and attended our Thursday evening meetings at ISSA. ISSA so far has been a great way to experience many levels of development at the grassroots level.

Tatuonana! (I will be seeing you!)

ISSA Day 1: Kibera Tour

For those of you who have seen "The Constant Gardener" you can visualize the setting for my first day at ISSA. I dropped at the DO's stage (that short for I was dropped off at the District Officer's matatu stop on the number 32 route) around ten am. I was the only "mzungu" in the village of Mashimoni of Kibera on that morning and the locals knew it because they stared and greeted me with choruses of "How are you?". I walked into my organizations new headquaters. They recently moved into a two room cement building that was previously a health clinic. To enter the building you cross a rough cement bridge over a drainage/drinking water/sewage trench filled with garbage. A "poshi" mill crunches and grinds grain for "ugali" next door and a small one room market across the dirt pathway sells sodas and snacks.

The first hour at ISSA was an intro meeting with the three directors; OJ, Tony and Andrew, and the Sports and Culture Program Officer Daniel who we call "Sambasa". Sambasa is a comedian, artist and actor. "Sambasa" means "to spread". It fits Daniel well because his talents have carried him all throughout the community. After my introductory meeting, the directors had a meeting in a different informal community called Mathare so Daniel and I spent the day touring Kibera.

We walked to a soccer field, the Nairobi Dam, and we stopped at a scenic view between the informal settlement and high rise condominiums across the Nairobi River. We ate lunch with Betty and Sylvia, two of AU Abroad's Cultural Orientation leaders at their house. Later we walked to Lindi (Lindi is another village of the informal settlement) to visit Daniel's aunt who he considers his mother in Kibera. After playing with his 6 month old cousin and Auntie we went back to the office to get ready for our training in the early afternoon.

In the context of the ISSA Beauty Pageant, "a training" really means a dance party with thirty 23 year olds at a local schoolroom. We went to help the other two trainers facilitate a cat walk training session for our contestants. The contestants cat walked to pop hits from the early 2000s and I was the DJ! Couldn't have asked for anything more!

I was escorted to a different matatu stage on route 40 to head home to KiSwahili class at 7:00 pm in Westlands. I grabbed two pizzas at Pizza Inn..two for one pizzas on Tuesdays and ran to class!

(These boys are not from Kibera, they are street kids I met from South B who are currently enrolled in an arts program to restore their sense of humanity and health through fine arts, drumming and dance.)

Free at last; internet is free at last!

Tonight marks the first night of free internet in our apartment! I can finally post my very own pictures of Nairobi! You will able to see Kenya through my eyes! I hope you will continue to enjoy the safari (safari in kiSwahili means journey). My roommate Denise and I are fee

ding Laura at the AFEW Giraffe Center outside of Nairobi.

ISSA

Tomorrow I start my externship with ISSA the Initiative for Sports and Social Arts in Kibera. Kibera is an informal settlement (we use informal settlement instead of slum) inside of Nairobi proper. Almost 75% of the population of Nairobi lives in an informal settlement like Kibera. The informal settlements use about 4% of the land in Nairobi. So, 75% of the people live in tin, wood or mud houses on 4% of the land. It is crowded to say the least. ISSA works primarily with youth (I must define youth in the African context; you are considered a youth until you are over 30 yrs of age or you have a family of your own). ISSA is gearing up for their Mr. and Ms. Kibera Pageant. The contestants are of all ages and will chosen to finalist based on special talents and public speaking. The finalists will be trained by ISSA staff and volunteers in reading, writing, public speaking, cat walking, HIV/AIDS and other community concern. Who ever wins Mr. or Ms. Kibera become spokespersons for the theme of the contest Beauty and Care. The community of Kibera treats them like superstars and they are invited all over the city to speak about the day to day issues the community of Kibera and other informal settlements are confronted with. Tomorrow I will begin working with the program officers and other staff on the pageant but eventually I will hopefully be helping them get certified through a strategic management program so that they can start applying for grants for more funding. ISSA is a relatively new NGO and is looking for lots of institutional support and guidance. I am very excited to be involved in grassroots development.
Aside from school and externships, last night we had a bbq at our country director's office. We ate lots of nyama choma (bbq meat), chapati and kachumbari on blankets on the grass! All Kenyan staples. We learned traditional dance and listened to talking drums! I will try and upload pictures and videos of the party to my flickr account, (a link on the bottom of the blog) asap.

Wild Ride

This is the Kenyan version of public transportation. This bus is called a Matatu and it is my school bus. The interior is as colorful as the exterior with passengers who range from "Mzungu" or white people to Mamas and young children. There are flat screen TVs encased in the front that play hip hop and Kenyan music videos. They can be a lot of fun with the right crowd and the right music. Unfortunately, riding with the wrong crowd can be dangerous and costly. Yesterday two of my friends were robbed on the matatu at the stage near our apartment. It was an reminder for all of us to avoid getting too comfortable.
My classes at USIU are shaping up and Saturday I will know which internship I will have for the remainder of the semester. I am still very interested with ISSA but all of the options available in Kibera would be a blast. We start our Politics class on Friday with our country director. Kiswahili started last night and two of my classmates and I practically swam through a muddy monsoon on our 30 min walk to class.
I wish I could post a picture from my computer but last weekend I went the Giraffe Center where you get to smooch 'em and hug 'em all over. The rangers give you pellets to purse your lips around and the giraffe will come lick right out of your mouth. Pumba was there too! It was a dream come true!
I had a special request to write about what I hoped to accomplish during my time in Nairobi and I right now I don't have an answer. Right now I feel too much like a sponge to have the backbone to write in words what I want to achieve for myself here.
A girl at on of the clubs here in town was talking to one of my classmates and she said, "Of all the things you came here to do, the most important is that you came here to change your own life." I liked it.

Safari Njema

Habari!
The suspense is over! I am safe in Westlands Nairobi! We have been here 9 days and it feels like a month. Every day here feels like a lifetime worth of experiences and emotions. I started school at the United States International University on Monday. I am taking US/East African Relations and Cross Cultural Management. On our days away from campus we travel around the city to visit possible externship sites. The sites range from upscale boutiques like Amani (peace) that feature handicrafts made by refugee women from across the continent to the Initiative for Sports and Social Arts deep inside Kibera, a slum filled with people, dirt, garbage, kiosks and laughter. I won't find out until next Friday where I will be working, but I hoping to be placed in the Kibera or Kanguare.

I hope to post at least twice a week from now on but the infastructure in Kenya is lacking and the internet is very expensive. I can only get on a cafes and even then there the connection is slow and frustrating. This is among the joys of living in a developing country. I have yet to have a warm shower, we have had rolling blackouts for the past week. At times we will be out of power for over three hours.

Otherwise the scenery and the Jacaranda trees are stunning and the people are generous, hospitable and funny! To call me you have to buy a calling card and my number is 011 254 714746668.

Heat Wave

Surfs always up! Over 307 hours on the boat! Last night's watercolor sunset was stunning and the sticky 101 degree weather today capped off another beautiful summer. As my second summer home from college wanes, here comes Kenya! Last week I went shopping with a colleague, Arika Makena, from the African Women's Coalition for some travel essentials for my study abroad in Nairobi. Arika is married to a Kenyan, she has spent significant time in Kibera (the largest slum in the world) and she offered lots of useful advice for clothing, toiletries and gifts. Without Arika's wisdom I wouldn't have known to wait to get the eight dollar blue mosquito net in Nairobi or to drink black tea sin milk for an upset stomach.

Update: My new email is justine.raschio@gmail.com

Tonight marks ten days before takeoff. I guess all I can say is I can't wait for touchdown!

What can I say; like father, like daughter! My roommate Lauren suggested I make this blog so my family and friends could track my adventures in Nairobi. FYI, this blog is different than dad's blog, anyone who wants to post, can post! As I share my stories of far off places, please share your stories of home! The picture posted today is of Portland, Oregon. Home! I am at my last day of my internship with Citigroup Smith Barney in Washington D.C.. May 6th I fly to Spokane Washington to visit my grandparents (on my mother's side) for two days and then home to Lake Oswego.