Update from Loitokitok

Today marks one week that I have been in Loitokitok, Kenya. Loitokitok is on the border of Tanzania and Kenya. It is right on the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Today was the first day that we could actually see the top of the mountain. Every day looked as though it were bringing rain but failed to see it through. But today. . . a clear sky. The mountain seems so close you can reach out your hand and touch the snow on top. It's hard not to be awed here. You look to the south and you see not just Mount Kilimanjaro, but three mountains. You look to the north and, because we are up on the foothills, you see vast amounts of Kenyan landscape.

My training class consists of 27 trainees. What a wonderful group of people of work with. Ever since we arrived in Africa, every trainee has had a positive attitude. I was a little surprised by this. Being from the US, every time you are in a large group, there always seems to be a "Debi Downer." When we arrived at AFRITALI (a hostel in Nairobi), everyone felt so blessed to be there. It wasn't the least bit fancy by American standards. . . but we finally had a bed after 20+ hours of traveling and sitting in airports. We spend three days at the hostel and had interviews with Medical. We had a lot of culture training from current volunteers and Kenyans. We were even introduced to the choo (CH-OH). The choo is the common toilette in Kenya. It is an outhouse with a hole in the ground. The floor of the choo is usually made of cement. The hole of about 5 m deep. There are some choos with dirt floors, but it is not uncommon for them to cave in after several years.

Each day we have language training for about 4 hours, then a variety of other trainings (ie health, safety, job assignment). The language training for me is not Kiswahili, but rather Kenyan Sign Language (KSL). After I demonstrate proficiency in KSL, I will be allowed to move on to Kiswahili. I believe this will benefit me greatly when I go to my site in January. I will be teaching at a deaf secondary school in Kilifi. Kilifi is right on the coast, about 1 hour north Mombasa. Kristiann and myself are the first volunteers in Kenya to be sent to deaf secondary schools. This will bring many new challenges to the Peace Corps, simply because it has never been done before (with PCV's).

Today is my last day in Loitokitok for two weeks. Tomorrow the deaf education volunteers will aboard a bus bound for Machakos. This is a bigger town with a large deaf community. The first week we will stay at a hotel, and the second we will stay at the school's dorms. We will see the school in action, how current volunteers are teaching, and meet the children and locals. We will continue to have language training throughout the week with our trainer Carol.

The people of Loitokitok seem to be confused regarding our presence here. The children shout, "Mzungu, mzungu!" which literally means "British, British!" Then they say "howww aaaaare you, howww aaaaare you," not knowing they are asking a question. This continues until we are out of sight. But I have learned that when this happens, I just ask them "habari za asubuhi" (how is your morning). The answered "mzuri sana" and are confused that we seem to know their language. The adults offer less interaction. What they do offer is stares. . . and a lot of them. In this region, the population is about 20,000. Before we came here, there was only one "mzungu." Because the region is large, we are the first Americans that some of these people have ever seen.

That is all for now. I will update again when I have access to the internet.

Update on Peace Corps

It's been a while since I updated my status with the Peace Corps. So here goes:

I was invited to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya's secondary education program. During my placement, my placement officer asked if I would be comfortable using sign language in conjunction with my job --I had two semesters of American Sign Language at UCA. I said I didn't have a problem with using sign language. I believe this is one of the reasons I was invited to Kenya. As of now, there are education groups going to Kenya, Gambia, Guinea, and Lesotho in November. So my assignment will most likely be with a deaf school, since Kenya has a deaf population of over 800,000.

I will be at Staging on November 2nd and 3rd in either Washington, DC, or Philly. November 2nd will be filled with welcome speaches, get-to-know-each-other games, and orientation topics concerning life in Kenya. On the 3rd, we will wrap up the orientation sessions and arrive at the airport. Pre-Service Training (PST) will start in Loitokitok, Kenya on the 4th of November and will come to an end on January 6th, 2010. At PST, they will let me know that village I will be assigned to for the next 2 years.

I sent in the documents for my passport and Kenyan visa today. I have to write a few papers for the people already in Kenya so they can get an idea on the kind of person I am. I have to do this today (or tomorrow at the lastest). The next thing to come in my adventure with the Peace Corps is my Staging Kit. This will provide an agenda for Staging, a more in-depth packing list, and more information regarding my assignment. After the kit arrives, I will have to contact PC's travel agent to arrange my flight to the staging city. Then I just wait until November comes around.

This has been a long process, as you can see from the timeline on the right side of the page. I'm happy to get this adventure started. Because it has taken so long, it won't seem "real" until I say my goodbyes and get on the plane to go to Staging. I'm so excited about this upcoming journey and know it will impact my life tremendously.

Until next time. . .