Week Sixteen

Well, life continues…..Ups, downs and in betweens…

The downs first.  The rats.  Yes – they’re back.  And even though I am almost used to them it doesn’t make for the most peaceful night of sleep.  And I do find that having a good sleep is important to help me make it happily through the days.  Having to be ‘on’ throughout the day takes a lot of emotional energy!  And being surrounded by a different language and having to speak and choose my words carefully in order to communicate also takes energy.  So – I value my sleep!

Yes.  The language barrier continues to take its toll.  Mostly because it forces me to be on the outside – when I desperately want to be on the inside so I can be aware of all that is going on around me.  This has been one of the huge learnings for me – and something that I know will affect how I interact with others when I return.  I know I’ve talked about the whole issue of language, communication and isolation before – it is just something this week that has become front and centre yet again.

I could make another ‘realities of Kenya’ list that would just add to an overall ‘blah’ of this week.  Frustrations, disappointments, struggles.  But that wouldn’t make for an exciting read for you – and re-hashing it here would only serve to get me going in the wrong, downward direction.  Which wouldn’t help.  So – enough said…

There were enough ‘ups’ and that is what is keeping me going.  (That along with some very well-timed emails from home!)  A nice treat was the request from King David school for me to return there to teach again.  It seems the teachers really value my help and the children benefit from me being there.  So when the manager called Edina to ask if it was possible for me to return I was delighted.  The teachers there have really become good friends and I received an overwhelming welcome back from the children!  My mornings are spent there – I am working with a small group of ‘slow learners’.  One 14 year old girl has been in Class Four now (grade four) for four years……that’s how things happen here.  So if nothing else, we’ll all have a bit of fun and perhaps learn along the way.

Monday afternoon I visited the government school that is across the road from Home of Grace.  It is large – 900 students and 28 teachers.  The classes are large too – over 80 in class one, 115 in class three (one room, two teachers).  A friend of Edina’s teaches the older grades – I will spend each Monday afternoon there teaching English composition to the Class Eight students – there are 54 of them.  I’m looking forward to it.  I met them for the first time yesterday – they were very, very curious about Canada and asked some excellent and unique questions – and not just about our climate.  This school performs very poorly – a combination of over-crowding, lack of resources and inconsistent school attendance because of health, funds and motivation.  Fetching water, farming a few crops and basically just ‘getting by’ takes the energy of most families.  Education is a distant second.

Sunday I travelled with Olyamu to his church for their morning service.  It was quite the experience – a classic African worship time.  Those of you who have been to Africa will identify with it.  Perhaps these details will help to paint a bit of a picture for you…. First, church is held on the main ‘tarmac’ road in a rented space made of corrugated tin – so as the time went on (and in true African style it did!!) the temperature went up. I felt more and more like I was in a hot tin can.  The music?  Well, a mix of everything that is good in Africa and everything that is bad from North America.  Good?  The incredible melodies and harmonies of traditional African worship music together with the depth of emotion that goes with every word.  The bad?  American sound systems – incredibly loud, complete with too much bass, assorted pops, and static on top of static,   Add to that a very loud keyboard with canned percussion played by someone who only knew one or two different chord progressions – that totally didn’t match the melodies of the songs being sung.  (Think of endless refrains of the bass part of Heart and Soul played loudly underneath a totally different melody)  It was hard not to burst out laughing at the end result – a true ear-splitting cacophony.  Of course if I had laughed no one would have heard….

Then there was the language.  The service is usually in Swahili only.  Because I was there they had someone translate for me – at least for part of it.  But in this area of Kisii very few people speak English with any sort of fluency so the translation was difficult for them to manage.  The church is part of a larger denomination with five congregations in Kisii.  This week the lead pastor was visiting the Mwembe church so he kindly preached in English, emphasizing how important it was that everyone present be able to understand and benefit.  His skills were limited – which made for a good, clear message.  I was honoured that he accommodated me in this way – after all, I was only one out of a hundred or so worshipping.  He admitted it was the first time he had ever preached in English – he is an older man (even older than me!).  I was very grateful.

Following the service I had a chance to meet many of the members, especially friends of Olyamu.  I think he was pleased to have me there as his guest.  Then the pastor and his wife drove us to see the ‘mother church’ – the main church of their denomination in another part of the city.  I had the full tour, ending with coke and bread in his office – a classic show of hospitality.  I am sure I will return in Sundays to come – and the next  time, apparently, they have decided I will be the preacher!  We’ll see….

Other good news this week was the purchase of a television for Home of Grace.  Funds were generously given by friends from home – a big huge thank you!  My hope was to have it set up in time for the Olympics opening ceremonies.  Some things (actually, all things!!) move at a slow pace here – but the carpenter came through in time and the wall unit was done in record time.

Finally – on a totally random note – did I tell you that I’m enjoying life without a mirror?  I have no idea what I look like these days.  And the good news is that it really doesn’t matter.  The North American obsession with appearances really doesn’t come into play here – at least not in this rural area.  (Nairobi is probably different.)  I know my hair has been growing quickly and the children tell me it is brown and white – so I guess the gray is continuing to ‘win’.  Other than comments from my young friends, I have to resort to taking a glance in the reflection of the computer screen or window.  This week I think having no mirror was a blessing.  On Thursday I did a magnificent ‘face plant’, tripping on the roadway.  My glasses broke (luckily I brought a second pair – I’m smarter than you thought, aren’t I?!) and I scraped the right side of my face and nose.  No serious damage done – but apparently I had quite a bruise for a few days. They tell me I am almost back to normal – but I’ll have to take their word for it!

So there you have it – another week.  A bit of good, a bit of bad.  Sort of like life anywhere, don’t you think?  So a few bonus pictures to leave you smiling…..

Until the next time…