Food

I'm bringing pictures of the three main dishes in the Kenyan kitchen: ugali, which is the maize porridge without any taste, it just make your stomach feel like you dropped stones down your mouth. Second is sukuma wiki, a spinach-like vegetable that they cut and boil. Not bad, not delicious. Third is chapati, the bread originally from India. Definately a favourite if I have to pick one of these three. The girls teaching us how to cook the Kenyan way are Mercy and Mercy, they live next door (one is a daughter in the house, the other one works there as a housekeeper).

Strange coincidences

What are the odds for running into Norwegians that I know in Kenya? Not great. And still, two weeks ago, as I walked into a restaurant in Kisumu, I met two girls that I studied comparative religion with in India in 2002. All of us were completely shocked, I haven't spoken to either of them since India. Here they are, Astrid and Birgitte.

Teaching and learning

My third week as a teacher (and I finally got the results from my teacher’s exam in Norway, meaning I’m actually a teacher now!) has come to an end, and by now I know a lot more about teaching 50 children at the same time. Not quite a professional yet, I make many mistakes as I go on – but how else am I supposed to learn? I have learnt that Kenyan children are not used to ask questions, even when they don’t understand a single word of what I’ve just said. They are experts in repeating and memorizing, though, and they love singing. In fact, they love to sing so much that I sometimes use it as a reward for good behavoiur in class; If they are able to finish the tasks I’ve given them, I promise them five minutes of singing. The strange thing is that when 90% of them are too shy to talk out loud alone, none of them are afraid of singing alone, it seems. Another thing I’ve learned about their singing, however, is that the African way of singing is hardly ever in unison. Every time I teach them a song, I have to sing each line alone, and they will repeat. Even when they have learnt the song, they will not start with me, because the typical African way of singing is done in the “call-and-response”way. I’ve taught them songs about penguins, a moose, beavers and ponys – and any CISV member reading this will know which songs I’m talking about. The Kenyan children love them just as much as Norwegian children. The top picture shows one of my classes, the bottom one is outside the school, when all 730 pupils are going home for lunch.

Party the Kenyan way

Make sure you’ll be here at January 19th, our neighbors told us a few weeks ago. Every year the school celebrates the graduation of the former students from class 8, which is the final year of primary school. And what a celebration! We started the day in the school kitchen, helping out by chopping garlic. It doesn’t sound like much of a job, but when making pilau to 300 people you need a lot of garlic. The party was supposed to take place outside, but due to rain coming in they moved the party indoors. The program of the day included speeches by the headmaster, the director and various teachers of the school, singing and reciting by the pupils, a sermon, a lot of food, and awards given to the top pupils at the school. Oh, and Ingeborg and I performed a song (“Eg veit i himmerik ei borg”). I sang and Inga played the saxophone. Yes, of course, we left an everlasting impression on the audience. The program lasted so long that it was perfectly accepted to leave for an hour or so (we went home and had lunch) and then return. By 5 pm it was all over. Nothing finishes later than 6 o’clock here (except supper, which they eat at around 8 pm), because everybody needs to get home before dark, which is at 7 o’clock.

Thie top pictures shows the pupils waiting for the program to begin, before they had decided to move it indoors. The bottom one shows the pupils moving all the benches inside. We offered to help, but were not allowed.

Daily life

We spend a lot of time in our house, so naturally we'd like it to be a nice placeto live. Cleaning (meaning: sweeping the floors to get rid of the dead bugs and a lot of sand) is necessary. And I think I've mentioned the white walls previously - we spent an afternoon making different pictures, so now they are not so bare anymore.

Left: One of the housewives in action.

Right: Homemade art. (Sentences from some of the books in our house. An award is given to anyone who can find out what books the sentences come from.)

Life in general

“How is life?” Kenyans ask me as a general greeting. “Life is good”, I reply. And it is. I feel that Sigowet is my home, I know what kind of food I can buy in Sigowet, where to buy it and what the price is. I know how to greet people, in English, Swahili and Kipsigis. I live in a house with running water, WC, a working stove and fridge, and every other weekend I have the chance to go to a bigger town to buy Western food and swim in a pool at a hotel. And the sun is shining every day. Today Ingeborg got a text message from her mother, saying that it had been raining for 70 days in a row in Bergen. Can’t say that I miss the “winter” weather of the Norwegian coast.

Teaching

So here I was, a fresh a teacher as can be, finishing my teacher’s exam only 24 hours before boarding the plane to Kenya in December. I have never taught in Primary School before, and I really didn’t have much idea of what level these children in Standard 5 would have. I had been warned about large classes and badly equipped schools, but my main concern was about the pupils. Would they understand my English – or any English at all? In the Kenyan Schools, the pupils are taught in Swahili in their first three years, and then only in English from Standard 4. I still would have to argue that many of the children in my classes don’t understand much English, but I don’t know whether to blame it on the school system, the teachers, the pupils, the curriculum or something completely different. In any case, I will do my very best these months. And if there are someone out there who has a lot – or any – experience in teaching English as a foreign language to children who has almost no resources, then PLEASE! give me some ideas. I would be most grateful to any advice you might have. The school does not have enough money to buy books for everyone, so my 80 pupils share a total of 15 English Text books. That means that I have to collect the books after each period, because I need the same books in the other class in the next period. And that implies that it is very difficult to give any kind of homework which requires the textbook. And even with all these obstacles, I must say that I do like my job, and I would not change Tonongoi with any Norwegian, well-functioning school this year.

As time goes by

The holiday had lasted so long, I barely remembered what it was like to have a job. So when I finally started to work as a teacher this week, it completely drained me of all my energy, and I had to go to bed before ten o’clock every night. When Friday arrived, we felt incredibly deserving of a few days off.

My main job here in Kenya will be at Tonongoi Primary School, where I will work three days a week teaching English And Creative Arts to Standard 5 (5th grade). I had no idea what this job would be like, and my stomach was filled with butterflies when Monday arrived this week. However, it turned out that nothing really happens on the first day, except that the pupils arrive in their uniforms and have to clean the classrooms and move desks from one room to another. My challenge began on Tuesday. I had been told to arrive at 8 o’clock sharp (meaning European time, I even asked specifically about that), and of course I did. However, it turned out that I was the only one who regarded European time as European time. At 8 o’clock I was the only adult among hundreds of pupils who all looked at me, pointed and giggled a lot. By 0815 the rest of the teachers started to arrive, including the headmaster. It’s not that they try hard not to keep time, I just don’t think time means the same in the country as it does in Norway. In their eyes, they were on time. Enough about the African time for now, let me just conclude by adding that I kind of like the African time, and that I love the fact that they never seem to rush from one thing to another here.

About the pictures (haven't got any from my school yet): the top left one is me in front of a typical village shop which sells flour, sugar, sodas, eggs, rubber boots, candy, washing powder and other things you need in Kenyan villages. The bar in front of the shop prevents theft. The picture to the right is of my favourite transportation vehicle: a bodaboda (from the English word "border", they used to take people from the Kenyan to the Ugandan border), notce the sign at the back, saying "Miss Kenya 2007". I haven't tried any in Sigowet yet, but in Kisumu we do it as much as we can. You sit on the comfortable seat at the back of the bike, and it cost you 1-2 NOK to get almost anywhere within the city. The best way of travelling!

Daily life

The first week of 2007 is coming to an end, and day by day I feel more at home in Sigowet. On Tuesday we invited our neighbours for a Norwegian dinner. We made (from scratch, of course!) vegetable lasagne, pasta salad, pancakes, jam (from some plums we bought in Kisumu. My first time making jam, was really good!) and bread rolls (grove rundstykker, vet ikke helt hva det heter paa engelsk). We had 9 visitors, and our living room is more than big enough for all of us.

We will start working on Monday, but until then we can plan our days as we like, and luckily we have no problems entertaining ourselves: we cook, play games, paint (to decorate the bare walls), listen to music, watch dvds, read, sew (mainly me, Inga goes jogging instead) and take walks in the neighbourhood. I have been studying for the past 7 years, and it is just the most fantastic feeling not having to prepare for any exam anymore. And I am never cold here, haven't wore socks for weeks - am I lucky or what...

No pictures today either, this computer has no USB port. And by the way, I have now made it possible for anyone to comment on my blog, you don't need a google account or have to register. So please do!

Wazungu friends

Welcome, 2007! We spent New Year's Eve together with a group of Americans who we met in Kisumu yesterday. I know, if I had read about two Norwegians going to Africa for a year, and they dicided to spend New Year's with other Westeners instead of friends from the local community, I would probably frown a bit. So I don't blame you if you do. But I have to admit that it was a relief to spend an evening like that with people who are not amazed by the colour of my skin, or by the fact that I had three beers, being a woman and all. I'm afraid I can't provide any pictures of our celebration though, not because dthey don't exist, but because I haven't taken the time to move the pictures from my camera to the memory stick. Laziness, in other words.

Happy new year to all of you, and it is my greatest wish to see as many of you as possible in Kenya during 2007!