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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Kenya Post no.4 - Foreign Concepts

When we arrived in Kenya, there were the things we expected to be different such as:  

-bartering at the market and eating new foods - tilapia with vegetables, ugali (not pictured) and chapati (tortilla like bread),

 

-walking to destinations - though Pastor Benard only let us walk this one time in Ahero, but only because the headmaster, Mr. Philemon, escorted us.  I'm sure all of us wazungu were quite the sight.  (wazungu is Kiswahili for "white people" & plural of the term we heard most "mzungu")


- Here is a roadside market place.  The gentlemen waiting with the motorcycles are taxi drivers.  Their motorcycles have padded seats on the back.


But, some things we didn't expect:

-"So...you don't have witch doctors in America?"  (It took me a minute to let that question sink in before I could answer.)

-going through a metal detector and being searched TSA style - at the local Stuff Mart (Veggie Tales reference)


...for that matter, armed guards deciding who they will let into the local Stuff Mart compound. (this photo was taken after we got inside)


-paying to use a public toilet....and taking a folded bit of toilet paper out of a cardboard box.  ... or using an outhouse like the one pictured above from the school yard in Ahero.

-chickens in church,


-chickens (and cows) at school.

...and even chickens in the living room!


-being asked "What do you feed your cat?" by the children and realizing most service animals don't have names, let alone get fed a steady diet of specially made cat good that I purchase at the store every week or so.

-"Mzungu! Mzungu! HowahYou?" (How are you? said as one word - much like the KiSwahili word "Habari" which means the same.)  We were told that the children might rush up to us just to touch.  I still wasn't prepared for it, though I hope and pray they knew Jesus' love in each touch, smile, and hand shake offered.


-"You must be proud that your son (a soldier) sends you so much money." Shannon learned that Kenyan soldiers send all their pay home to their mothers to help care for the family.

-I'm sure watching me try to describe a poodle to Class 2 (2nd graders) because it was in a phonics song I was teaching them was fun.  It got a lot of giggles in class.  We only saw one breed of dog while we were there, and their sole purpose was to guard the house.  

-"Why would you name a cow? We use the cow for food!" ~Pastor Benard


-Killing black snakes is beneficial to all...but a lot more dangerous that the black snakes we find in North America (google Black Mamba if you don't believe me).

-Kids can play football (soccer) even without a ball. (I was amazed at the tightly wadded plastic grocery bags joined by a web of rubber bands that served very well as a soccer ball!)


-Doesn't everyone carry baby goats on the back of their motorcycle?


-See the cooking oil containers on back? (We had fried donuts many mornings called Mandazi - Thank you Pamela and Bertha!  They were YUMMY!) I'm going to try to make some this week - wish me luck!  Yay for YouTube cooking helps!

Some differences were refreshing:

-Sodas made with real sugar -  in glass bottles!  My favorite Kenyan sodas were  surprisingly made by Coca Cola:  Krest (tasted like carbonated lemonade) and Stoney Tangawazi (a yummy Ginger Beer - sweet with a tiny hint of spice)


-milk in a bag. (How fun is that?!)

-mannequins with curves & "Plus sized" women in music videos.  

-We saw women sitting like this and found it to be equally modest, and a whole lot more air conditioned!


-hot tea made with hot milk - every night.  This time was by candlelight until the power came back on.


OH!  that picture reminds me of the can of plum jelly that was so good with the mandazi.

Then there are those differences that shouldn't be - the ones we can do something about:

The need for a safe water supply.  This is a nice water tower at the school in Ahero.  I believe it's attached to a well, so when there's electricity water can be pumped into the containers. 


-Three or four students share the same broken pen to write down their assignments.

- Four or five students cram into a desk that should really only seat 2. 

The students pictured above worked flawlessly as a team to bring all of their desks out of their classrooms for an assembly.  I love how a table was ingeniously used to seat the pre-schoolers so they could see the stage in the cafeteria too. 

-One student text book shared by four or five students in one class...and one (maybe two) textbooks per classroom shared by the entire class in another. 


-not enough teacher editions of textbooks.  Even though there is only one or two nationally approved curriculum, shouldn't each teacher have a copy of the Teacher's Edition?  (or even have one copy at the school to share) 

-Students who walk sometimes three hours to and from school didn't have school bags to keep the little they did have.  It's probable they didn't eat breakfast before leaving their guardian's home, and also probable they won't get dinner when they return at night.

-Widows and orphans living in houses made out of mud, with mud floors- that might fall down during the rainy season.  Benard said the best homes can last up to 4 (whole) years.  The homes we saw mostly had congregated tin roofs like the building in the picture below.  Some had thatched roofing.

 



The second picture was taken inside one sweet mama's home.  It shows how she makes sisal rope from the leaves of the agave plant.  It was the only source of income we saw for single mothers. These women need to be empowered to earn a living so they can feed their children.

-There was room in the dorms where more children could safely stay, but not enough beds.  


-These sweet children from the church we attended in Kisumu, sang a very sad song that spoke directly to the plague of death that is haunting them through HIV/AIDS and political turmoil, and terrorist attacks.  An entire generation of fathers is missing. 

 
But some things remain the same no matter where you are: 

-Children love to act goofy for the camera and then see what the finished product looks like.
 

-football (aka soccer)


 - jumping rope 
....well, maybe. :)
 


-worship - it might have been in a different language, but even the melodies were the same!  "What a Friend We Have in Jesus",  "It is Well With My Soul", "Bringing in the Sheeves".   A sweet moment while we were waiting for the conference to begin was when I began softly humming "How Great Thou Art" after hearing the three pastors singing so many traditional hymns, and then heard them flipping wildly through the pages of their hymnals saying in English "Number 16! Number 16!" before beginning the same hymn in their tribal language.  


-Students in Ahero showing honor to their country's flag during morning assembly with an honor guard.


- hanging clothes out to dry (although, we don't typically have to wash them by hand in a wash tub...)


- pride in a job well done.  These girls won 1st place in a music festival contest in the traditional category.  We were honored to be able to cheer them on and celebrate their job well done!


- speaking of music:  

It's a universal language...  
...just like Jesus and his love,  



and waving goodbye...

...even when you don't want to go.


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