Karibu to Kenya!

So internet is a little less available here than it was in Israel, so I apologize for the more infrequent posts. I didn’t realize how addicted I was to the constant flow of news until it was cut off- I now have to rely completely on the printed Kenyan newspaper. I zeroed in on an Economist I saw my host father carrying, so I’m going to ask to borrow that to fulfill my insatiable addiction.

I arrived in the wonderful country of Kenya Monday after 18 hours of travel. Unfortunately, my departure from Israel wasn’t as easy as my arrival, and my security risk jumped from a 1 to a 5- (so much for the Jewish last name)-. They literally don’t have any concept of privacy (its pretty obvious Israel doesn’t have that whole issue with balancing privacy and security that America does), shifting through every piece of luggage, taking everything out, which was particularly awkward with my dirty laundry. At the same time, they were extremely courteous about it all; I got personally escorted through the entire airport when they weren’t sure if my bag was an appropriate size. Last notes, Ethiopian Airlines had great food, and Ethiopia looked pretty nice from the airport.

Cantar, the program coordinator for the Sports Program, and Alex, one of the volunteers, were there to greet me at the airport. The drive in was wonderful- so. Much. Color. I didn’t realize how little color there was in the Old City and Jerusalem in general until I got here, where everything is colorful- blues, greens, reds, yellows- I love it.

My homestay, well, is not what I expected- they told us from the beginning that we would have to stay outside of Kibera, since it wouldn’t be safe for us or the family to stay in the slum- for obvious reasons. While I never felt a threat walking around in Israel, here you have to be much more aware of your personal security- you don’t walk around at night, and on the way from the airport, Kantar moved my bags from the back of the truck, saying people might pull my luggage out of it in the traffic. Kibera is safe during the day, but nighttime is a whole other story.

Anyway, we drove up to this compound- a giant gate, security guard, surrounded by wire and an electric fence. I was greeted by the nanny/housekeeper, Rachel, and the two children, Tua(9) and Eric (11). Rachel showed me to my room, and it was just like, wow. I have a whole room to myself, wood floors, twin beds, a desk, and an entire wall of windows overlooking a green, luscious garden- A far cry from my roof accommodations and not-always-functioning public bathroom in Israel. I kind of didn’t know what to do with myself at first- the confusion was only compounded further when I woke up for dinner, which entailed a meal of soup, fish and chips, fruit, and milky tea.

My family is extremely well-off by typical Kenyan standards- both Tua and Eric attend private schools, and English is their main language- they speak English to their parents and Rachel over Swahili, which was a little shocking at first (for those less familiar with Kenyan history, it was a British colony until independence). It is going to take me a while to get used to waking up to a full, laid out breakfast of cereal, toast, hot tea, and orange juice, just sitting on the dining room table as I stumble half-asleep out of my bedroom. When I tried to do my own dishes, much less take it to the sink, the woman who does the laundry (she is only here in the morning) looked at me like I was crazy. I get home from CFK, and Rachel lays out for me a silver platter with tea and a snack. She makes my bed and organizes my stuff. Considering I’ve never had that in my entire life, it makes me slightly uncomfortable- I asked her to show me how to make the tea (since it is different here) so that I could do it myself and not make her go out of the way, and while she showed me, I’m still not allowed to do it myself. Rachel is this soft-spoken, tiny woman, who is responsible for the well-being of the children and house- she is here when I wake up in the morning, and still here when I go to bed. The children are absolutely taken with her. I love talking to her, and she is going to teach me some Swahili and how to cook Kenyan food.

The parents, Sam and Christine, are extremely gracious and welcoming, although they are not in the house often, leaving for work in the morning and coming back late at night. The mother works for the government (according to the children, the third most senior individual in the tax collection agency), and the father is involved in some kind of consultancy. This morning, I had a great conversation with them concerning Iran, politics within Kenya, how the violence in Somalia is affecting the country and increasing security concerns. Me, sitting drinking tea, talking politics with Kenyans with very British accents. I laughed a little in my head.

Anthony (aka Tua- he’s mad at me right now for sharing his name is Anthony) and Eric are so freaking cool and ridiculously smart- at 9 and 11, they knew the Dome of the Rock in my picture, never having been, and Eric asked me about the recent coup in Madagascar. I didn't even know Madagascar existed at 11. After two days with them, I’m convinced I want boys when that whole kid thing happens- they are so much easier, and playing soccer definitely beats playing with hair. Eric in particularly is great to talk to- because of the quality of their education, he knows more than most individuals who graduated from my high school do. Last night, he talked to me about aerodynamics and his favorite author Ronald Dahl. But the favorite topic of conversation is football (soccer). Their favorite Nintendo game is football, they both play football, and they follow football. Eric is going to Sweden in the middle of the month for a tournament. Kibera, as a slum, is an entire world away from their home- but football transcends all, as the obsession with it is the same there.

I’ll save my first few days with Carolina for Kibera, for another post, mostly because I’m not sure I can do it justice yet- just two days, and I’m already overwhelmed with how impressed I am. The people, what they do, how they do it, is just, well, wow. It is going to an amazing month and a half.