our everyday lives.

Hello everyone,

Since we have arrived in Kenya, most of our blog posts have been about the more extraordinary events that we have been a part of.  Unfortunately, it is not everyday that we get to go on safari to see wild animals or kiss giraffes (although yesterday was quite exciting, but that's for another post).  We thought that for something different we would do a blog post about one of our more usual days.  I think that today is a good example for that.

This morning for us started sometime between 7 and 7:30.  There is now 9 volunteers living in our home, along with the family who is hosting us and the hired house help that is living there, so the house can get pretty busy sometimes.  The mornings are one of these times as there is only 1 shower and 1 bathroom for us to share.  Every morning we drink our chai, which is sweet tea made with milk.  Breakfasts are usually bread and butter, with jam or peanut butter occasionally.  This morning was special though.  We were treated with fresh ndazi, which is a fried dough.  Very delicious.  After breakfast, we gathered up the things we need for the day, usually workbooks, pencils, textbooks, and the football, and started walking to town.  The walk takes maybe 20 to 30 minutes to the edge of town.  This is where we can catch a matatu bus to the slum. The matatu ride takes another 15 or 20 minutes and costs 20 shillings (about 30 cents).  It is usually around 9:00am when we arrive for school.

At the slum, each of the volunteers has different jobs that they usually do.  For example, some teach, some help with the food we have every day, and others provide one on one help with the students.  We have divided the kids into 2 classes.  Kate and I work with the oldest kids, who have completed class 8 and are anywhere from 13 to 18 years old.  We usually start the morning with a math lesson.  Today was adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, squaring, and taking the square route of fractions.  The class is over 50 students, so it is tough to find a balance between keeping the students who understand it right away occupied and spending enough time on topics to make sure that all of the others understand it.  Following the math is English.  Today, Kate taught about personification. Yesterday was similes and metaphors.  If there is time, I sometimes go over a little biology.

We have to wrap up classes at around12 because the school where we cook the ujii closes then and the teachers there want to lock up and go home.  When we leave the classroom, we need to take our chalkboard and store it in one of the homes here because there is a rumour going around the slum that it is a solar panel and it would be quickly stolen otherwise. After classes, everyone heads down to the preschool for a little bit of food, while we sweep out our classroom. We are planning on starting more classes in the afternoon now that we have more volunteers, but for now everyone is just getting comfortable at the slum and getting to know some of the students so school ends after the morning.  It is usually between 1 and 2 before we have all the food stuff cleaned up and get to go for lunch of our own.

During the week, we usually get lunch in town.  There is often no one at home during the afternoon. After lunch, we have a little bit of time to take care of any personal things that we need to do, like shopping, banking, or internet.  We also use this time to get the flour and sugar for ujii or new workbooks and pencils for school and work on any other projects that we have going on at the time.  For example, today we are looking into different high schools and trade schools for our class 8's.  Once we have done everything in town that we need to do we walk back home, which takes 45 minutes and is uphill all the way. Some days, if we are feeling particularly burned out, we take a motorbike or tuk-tuk which are very popular here.  We generally try to be home by dark.

tuk-tuk

Kyle's dirty legs at the end of a day at the slum

As soon as we get home, we shower. We get pretty filthy some days, and the shower at home always feels great. We have supper with our host family and the house help, usually around 8 or 8:30 at night. Sometimes we go next door to the hotel for a cold soda with the other volunteers and play card games. We also have a collection of movies that you can buy on the street here for a few shillings, so sometimes we will all watch a movie together. We go to bed fairly early, usually by 10:00 pm.

That sums up a pretty average day here. Our highlights are usually nothing too extraordinary. Sometimes it will be something funny that the kids say or do, or getting a good picture of one of the kids with their bright smiles. Other days the highlight is getting a slice of fresh pineapple on the street. Yesterday it was getting a toilet seat at the house! It has been a while since we have seen one of those.

Thanks for reading,
Kyle and Kate