I arrived in Kenya on January 8th. Africa is a completely new experience for me and totally different from anywhere I have been thus far! I was very excited and also a little bit unsure of what to expect. Luckily, I have been extremely happy here!
Kenyans are very friendly and most people greet me with a smile. Children are especially excited when they see a Mzungu (foreigner) and they will often call out to me: "Halo" or "Mzungu!" I am staying with a host family in Massailand. The Massai tribe is one of the last tribal societies and inhabits rural areas in Kenya and some of Tanzania. The Massai people are slowly starting to modernize, but they are still also trying to hold on to their culture, traditions and way of life.
My host family is very nice! They speak to me a lot in Kimassai dialect and I am starting to pick more of it up. My Massai name is Namunyak, it means lucky, and they all call me by it. Our house is in Kimuka - a small rural area of grassland and accacia trees. The house is very basic (it is made mostly from sheet metal, has no running water, and limited electricity). The kitchen is separate from the house and is a small hut made of wood and mud/cow dung. Almost all of the food we eat is grown on the land or from the farm animals, and it is cooked over a fire in our kitchen. I am currently quite happy with the lifestyle! It actually feels a lot like camping to me!
I am volunteering at Kimuka Primary School in Massailand. The children are great! They are all very eager to talk to me and to learn. The school is about a 20 minute dusty walk from my homestay. I am teaching a couple different subjects to children from Grade 4-6. I have found it difficult to learn names, because they all wear uniforms and must keep their hair extremely short. They have all been giving me these beaded bracelets that they make and trying to out-do each other with their bracelets. It's quite funny, but troublesome when they catch you without THEIR bracelet on!
I saw about 9 giraffes yesterday on my way home from school! I am excited to see more wildlife, apparently there are frequently baboons and hyenas also in my area. Yikes!!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
A Philippino Christmas!
Celebrating the holidays in the Philippines was a unique and unforgettable experience! I have never been away from home for Christmas, but I decided if I had to be on the other side of the world, the Philippines was the best place for me!
When I first arrived, it didn't really feel like the Christmas season at all. I think the lack of snow/extremely warm weather threw me off. But there were lot's of lights and decorations, and the Christmas music playing everywhere got me in the Christmas spirit. I have decided that there are 3 important components to a Philippino Christmas. First, the firecrackers. Loud firecrackers... everywhere... constantly! The first time (or maybe the first twenty times) I heard one go off, I thought someone had been shot, they are really that loud and can be set off as close as a few feet from you. Second, the Christmas caroling. Philippino's love to sing! Carolers, generally children, will show up outside your door singing as early as December 16th and this continues until New Years. The tradition is that the home will give the carolers money or sweets. Because of this, by December 18th most people try to hide from the carolers. It's quite funny! Third, the food! I thought there was a lot of food at home at Christmas time... not like this. In the days leading up to Christmas and even following, there was food everywhere, at least 2-3 whole pigs being roasted over a fire in my barangay (village) every single day!
Gifts are not really a part of the Christmas tradition here, or at least not to the extent that they are at home. I think this is mostly just because people cannot afford it. Instead the focus is mainly religious and most Philippinos are very catholic. There are morning masses at 4am every day starting on the 16th right up until Christmas. I actually did attend one of these masses, because my nanay (homestay mom) was in charge of organizing it and had asked me to come. The mass is all in local dialect, which makes staying awake during it at 4am quite a difficult task. There is also a "midnight mass" on Christmas Eve at the big St. Nino Church in downtown Tacloban city. I went with a group of friends. The church was PACKED and even outside there were masses of people. The service ends exactly at midnight when everyone begins to excitedly tell each other "Merry Christmas"!!
My Christmas day itself was quite similar to at home. I spent the day with family and friends, eating, drinking and watching "The Grinch". Myself and the 3 other volunteers that were around did a secret Santa. New Years was also similar to home in that there was a lot of partying. I started out celebrating with friends and family on my street and later went to the "gym" (sort of like the village community centre) that had been turned into a big dance party! It was a fantastic night!
When I first arrived, it didn't really feel like the Christmas season at all. I think the lack of snow/extremely warm weather threw me off. But there were lot's of lights and decorations, and the Christmas music playing everywhere got me in the Christmas spirit. I have decided that there are 3 important components to a Philippino Christmas. First, the firecrackers. Loud firecrackers... everywhere... constantly! The first time (or maybe the first twenty times) I heard one go off, I thought someone had been shot, they are really that loud and can be set off as close as a few feet from you. Second, the Christmas caroling. Philippino's love to sing! Carolers, generally children, will show up outside your door singing as early as December 16th and this continues until New Years. The tradition is that the home will give the carolers money or sweets. Because of this, by December 18th most people try to hide from the carolers. It's quite funny! Third, the food! I thought there was a lot of food at home at Christmas time... not like this. In the days leading up to Christmas and even following, there was food everywhere, at least 2-3 whole pigs being roasted over a fire in my barangay (village) every single day!
Gifts are not really a part of the Christmas tradition here, or at least not to the extent that they are at home. I think this is mostly just because people cannot afford it. Instead the focus is mainly religious and most Philippinos are very catholic. There are morning masses at 4am every day starting on the 16th right up until Christmas. I actually did attend one of these masses, because my nanay (homestay mom) was in charge of organizing it and had asked me to come. The mass is all in local dialect, which makes staying awake during it at 4am quite a difficult task. There is also a "midnight mass" on Christmas Eve at the big St. Nino Church in downtown Tacloban city. I went with a group of friends. The church was PACKED and even outside there were masses of people. The service ends exactly at midnight when everyone begins to excitedly tell each other "Merry Christmas"!!
My Christmas day itself was quite similar to at home. I spent the day with family and friends, eating, drinking and watching "The Grinch". Myself and the 3 other volunteers that were around did a secret Santa. New Years was also similar to home in that there was a lot of partying. I started out celebrating with friends and family on my street and later went to the "gym" (sort of like the village community centre) that had been turned into a big dance party! It was a fantastic night!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Return to The Philippines
Arriving back in the Philippines was extremely surreal! I was very happy to be staying in the same village that I had on my previous visit. After travelling for 3 months, it was nice to be somewhere familiar with familiar faces! After several flight delays/problems, I arrived in the town of Bliss on December 14th late in the evening. Walking into the town I was greeted by MANY old friends with smiles and hugs. It was such a wonderful feeling!
In the first couple days, I was involved in a Christmas gift giving program run by the volunteer organization I work with (Volunteer for the Visayans - VFV). We drove to all of the VFV sponsored sites in the area (orphanages, clinics, a woman's rescue home, a centre for abused girls, and under-privileged schools), and gave Christmas gifts to many people who are in need and otherwise would likely not receive anything. It was awesome to watch the faces of both the children and the adults as they unwrapped their gift!
I started my volunteer project, the Community Nutrition Program, the first Monday after I arrived. The Program has identified 30 children between the ages of 3 and 6 in the village of Tanaun that are extremely malnourished. The children (and generally their siblings) are invited to come to the community centre for one meal a day 5 days a week. My job was to facilitate the purchase, preparation, and service of the food to the children. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with the children and get to know them (which was my favourite part). I loved being a part of this program and I was really able to see the difference it made in the lives of the children and their families!
Since my volunteer project took place in the morning, I had plenty of free time to spend on other projects, such as the tutoring program and the sponsor kid's program. I also was able to visit my old friends at the Rural Health Unit in Jaro (where my volunteer placement was on my previous visit), and spend time with the friends and children from Bliss that I had gotten to know on my last visit. I have really enjoyed being able to maintain these relationships and watch the children grow!
The Philippines is still the same happy place I remember it to be. Many things have changed within the area where I live (mostly for the better), but the people and the culture are still as wonderful as I remember!
In the first couple days, I was involved in a Christmas gift giving program run by the volunteer organization I work with (Volunteer for the Visayans - VFV). We drove to all of the VFV sponsored sites in the area (orphanages, clinics, a woman's rescue home, a centre for abused girls, and under-privileged schools), and gave Christmas gifts to many people who are in need and otherwise would likely not receive anything. It was awesome to watch the faces of both the children and the adults as they unwrapped their gift!
I started my volunteer project, the Community Nutrition Program, the first Monday after I arrived. The Program has identified 30 children between the ages of 3 and 6 in the village of Tanaun that are extremely malnourished. The children (and generally their siblings) are invited to come to the community centre for one meal a day 5 days a week. My job was to facilitate the purchase, preparation, and service of the food to the children. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with the children and get to know them (which was my favourite part). I loved being a part of this program and I was really able to see the difference it made in the lives of the children and their families!
Since my volunteer project took place in the morning, I had plenty of free time to spend on other projects, such as the tutoring program and the sponsor kid's program. I also was able to visit my old friends at the Rural Health Unit in Jaro (where my volunteer placement was on my previous visit), and spend time with the friends and children from Bliss that I had gotten to know on my last visit. I have really enjoyed being able to maintain these relationships and watch the children grow!
The Philippines is still the same happy place I remember it to be. Many things have changed within the area where I live (mostly for the better), but the people and the culture are still as wonderful as I remember!
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