Good-bye Grads, Hello Kisumu

The school is on trimesters here and their third and final trimester just finished. Now we’re on holiday until January when their new school year starts. The past couple of weeks preparing for big tests and Prayer Day and Graduation have been a lot of fun. Set a week apart, the ceremonies were pre and post the really big tests for class eight.

The community aspect is one of the things I'm enjoying most about my school. Since many of the students live here and are in small classes from 1-8 together, all the ages really look out for one another. It didn't surprise me, then, that the support was tremendous for the 17 class eights who were preparing for their big transition. On Prayer Day, every class presented a song and a dance for them. A very exuberant pastor also came and gave them a message and some powerful prayers that got them in the right frame of mind for test-taking. A lot of pressure was riding on them, as the test determines what kind of Secondary School they go to, which in turn, has a really big impact on if they will make it to University. It was a very bright and determined class, so I’m sure they will go far. I think we all had fun learning and performing new songs (I brushed up on my limited guitar knowledge and played some Christmas carols on the piano…way fun). In true Kenyan style, the ceremonies both lasted all day and had many hitches, but that didn’t keep it from being a joyful and celebratory experience for all.

Next, I’m headed to Kisumu, which is in the Western Province of the country. It’s near Lake Victoria where the Nile flows up from. I hear they eat a lot of fish. I’ll be working for the YWCA this time. Job and living situation TBD. I’ve had a slight delay in Nairobi here, as I’ve contracted a mild form of malaria. Day three on medications and I’m feeling ninety times better. Mostly was a bad flu. Don’t Wikipedia malaria. Don’t.

On another unrelated note, I wanted to post a huge THANK YOU on my blog. I have officially met and exceeded my fundraising goal of $9,000. As many of you know, I was nervous about this aspect of this program and being able to raise this much money, but it seems like a lot of you had more faith than I did. So, really, I can’t thank you enough. I appreciate all of your support financially and otherwise. If you would still like to donate to some of the work here, I do have some ideas, so let me know. But wow, you’ve all blown me away.

Happy early thanksgiving,

DD

Cultural Day, Safari Weekend

One of the most anticipated days of the year at Meru Junior is Cultural Day. The kids have been practicing for it since I’ve gotten here and they put all their heart and soul into learning various tribes’ traditional songs and dances. There was some poetry, skits, a fashion show, and an eating contest thrown in there just for fun. Even I got a little dressed up for the occasion. I didn’t exactly blend in, but they did applaud my efforts- and adjusted my head scarf thingy about a million different times in a million different ways. Below you will see me dressed in my kitanga gear.

So rhythm, moves, sometimes some harmony- they had it all. Most of the songs were from the KiMeru tribe, which makes sense as most of the school population is Meru. They extended their scope beyond, however, and learned some pieces from the other tribes as well. Currently in Kenya, there are 42 definitive tribes. This sense of “tribal identity” or how that contributes to one’s personal identity is something I’m still trying to get a grip on. My education started on this day, in an atmosphere where there was the freedom to express the pride of varying heritages. Hopefuly, I’ll have some video soon.

The next day, I left with the Scouts to Meru National Game Park, a couple hours from school. I thought our fun was going to be spoiled when we reached our destination late and they had no room for us (I suppose reservations for the fieldtrip of 32 kids would have been a good idea, but just saying…). Thankfully, the workers were good sports about it and let us bunk together. Wonderful accommodations minus the scorpions (thank god not in my room). I had a single track mind on our first game drive: lions and hippos. First, buffalo- impressive the first time around, but boring the 100th time you see them. But second…buffalo, no wait, that’s lions eating buffalo! I was so lucky. A lot of driving later we came upon some streams. The first stream stop no hippos, but the second- a mother and her baby. Perfect. I felt ready to go home after that, but the kids had not gotten their fill. Eventually, we saw the other “usuals”- the giraffe, the warthogs, an elephant, and a rhino. When we returned, we did the usual campy stuff. You know, studied for exams, threw some rocks at baboons, watched the crocodiles swim around while we ate lunch… Ok, well we did do those things AND had a bonfire with songs and stories. I really need to teach them the glory of s’mores.

A little less than two weeks of school left. Now, we’re gearing up for “Prayer Day,” which is appropriately the day before the big final exams. I decided to spice things up this week by bringing in a guitar and teaching them some songs to be performed. We’ll see how that goes. Right now, my out of shape guitar fingers really hurt.