Ballgames

This week the two schools that Ingeborg and I work at competed against each other in a number of ballgames. It started in the morning and didn't finish until late in the afternoon. They played football, netball, handball and volleyball, boys and girls on seperate teams. Extremely hot outside, I was happy I was not the one who had to run around the field for hours.

Dance!

Finally, we found a place to go dancing in Kisumu! It really doesn't matter that the songs they play were popular in Norway 12 years ago, or the fact that the majority of the girls going there are prostitutes - the atmosphere is still great. The girls on the picture are not prostitutes however - they are two sisters who went shopping at the supermarket for their mother, and stopped by to dance on their way home. The third sister is taking the picture.

International Women's day!

For the first time in my life I actually celebrated March 8th properly. I attended two meetings and held a speech at one of them! The first meeting was held at school and was for the girls in class 6, 7 and 8. That was the one I spoke at. Shouldn't really brag too much about that, wasn't excactly a speech to remember, but I did it! The second one was for all the women in the village, and many men attended also. Quite ironic, however, that all the speakers at the women's meeting were men. And when half the crowd was asked to leave their seats in order to give room for some visitors (also men!), only women were asked to go and sit on the grass. The men remained in their seats. Didn't take any pictures yesterday, so you just have to imagine the scenery. In Norway, women fight for equal rights for equal work. In Kenya, their main concern is the many rapes that happen to girls and women each year. Since 1997, more than 20000 rapes have been reported in Kenya. And as a nespaper states, "that is just the tip of the iceberg". The good thing is, that there is a lot of talk about it, and even in my school the girls are taught what to do and where to go if they are raped. The horrible thing is that to them, being raped is much more likely to happen than to girls in Norway.

The land of tea

We are in the land of tea. Everywhere you go or walk around our village, you come across tea plantations, smaller ones and really big ones. This week we had the opportunity to visit the nearby tea factory and see the entire process from start to finish. We also had the chance to ask any questions we wanted to, and they were happy to answer us. The factory is owned by the many tea farmers in the area, and they elect a board of eight members who make all major decisions concerning the production. The farmers also share the profit made each year between them, and the whole process seemed very democratic. From top left and going clockwise in the picture: 1: The fresh tea leaves are brought to the factory every day in large bag, each containing 10-12 kg og tea leaves. 2: Me, Joyce and the supervisor. The tea leaves are spread out to dry for 16 hours, in order to remove some of the moisture inside the leaves. 3: Crushing the tea leaves several times, to activate some chemicals that is already inside the tea which will make the tea taste as tea later. Nothing is added. 4: The tea is left for 1,5 hours and during that time it changes colour from green to brown. This is because of the chemicals in the tea. 5: The tea is dried inside a big heater to stop the process of maturing, if that is the right word. It is quite similar to wine I suppose. 6: The tea is "washed", they called it. Cleaning it might be another word for it. 7: The tea is sorted into different qualities, depending on how fine it is or how clean. This is tea ready to be put in water 8: The manager, our driver, our coordinator, me and our factory guide outside the building. 9: A great cup of tea!

Parents' meeting

This Thursday there was a parents' meeting at my school. Some visitors had announced their coming, they were going to talk about morals and advise the children in class 6, 7 and 8 as well as their parents. Supposed to be there at 10 am, the visitors showed up at 2 pm, however, those things don't surprise me much anymore. I had a relxing day at school while waiting for the guests (old, wise people, pastors from various churches and so on), the children were not there at all(who would then look after the house and animals when their parents attended the meeting?). I spent a day in the shade with the female teachers who prepared food for the guests, we had a very nice time, chopping tomatoes, discussing life and relaxing. The male teachers were hiding (as I would call it) to get away from any kind of work. Maybe I'm exaggerating now, but something that upsets me more and more here is the strict gender roles. Women might have a job (many female teacher), but she is still expected to do all the cooking, cleaning, housework in general and raise the children. I quote: "My husband won't even pour himself tea in his own home." I can tell I'm well on my way into changing my topic, so I'll leave the gender roles for now.

When the meeting finally started (at 230 pm, the visitors had to eat before they could speak of course), I was placed on a chair in front of everybody (because I was the only white person, they are so proud to have me here, it's a bit embarrasing) even though I tried to sit with the pupils, or the other teachers. After 2,5 hours I had to leave, although the meeting hadn't finished. Can't really say that I learned much about morals though, most of the talking (except when they adressed me) was in Swahili or Kipsigis.

The pictures should speak for themselves.

Hiking

Last Saturday we finally managed to take a walk we had planned to do weeks before, thanks to our friend Josh. We set out at 2pm (couldn’t start earlier, because Josh had to work), carrying water and homemade brownies. What a great day! Sunny and a bit windy, beautiful landscapes and great company. It took us about 1,5 hours to reach the place which is famous for its view and wild monkeys. Have forgotten the name of the place, even though I’ve been told a number of times. When Kenyans go for walks, they don’t rest like the Norwegians are used to – ten minutes of eating and admiring the view, and we were back on track, but taking a different route home. Through thick bushes, narrow paths (sometimes we couldn’t even see a path, but a local man volunteered as a giude and showed us the way out.) and muddy hillsides. Got back just after 6 pm, had walked for more than four hours with almost no stops. A highly recommendable trip though!

I’ve put together a number of pictures from the trip, so I’ll explain them briefly, starting from top left: 1: A chameleon we found just outside the gate where we live. We’ve just begun our trip. 2: Children running to greet us, and the fire in the back is a field of sugar canes, they burn it before they harvest, I think. 3: A traditional hut, on the wall is written “All visitors welcome”. 4: Josh and I inside a church with no walls. 5: Children washing themselves in a river, thrilled to see two white persons waving at them. 6: Josh admiring the view for a few minutes. 7: A river we had to cross. 8: Josh and I on a tree that functioned as a bridge across the river. 9: Ingeborg at the bottom of a ladder we had to climb down. 10: Beautiful, gigantic tress filled the valley. 11: Two of the monkeys we saw, they are a pain in the arse to the local farmers, stealing chicken and destroying the fields. 12: A small stream. No, didn’t feel like drinking it, only washed my hands and feet. 13: Ingeborg has got thorns stuck in her hair, we are about halfway through the bushes. 14: Finally something to drink! We reached a small village on our way back, our water had run out a long time before that so it was needed. 15: Back on the “main road” again, only another 40 minutes to go. 16: Dirty foot, and the rest of our bodies were no better.

African hairstyles

It takes a lot of work to keep the African hair in style - and faking a hairstyle by using a wig or extensions is even more common than keeping it natural. School girls shave their heads, young women normally braid it, while the older, married women wear a wig or scarf. The girl with the blue cloth on her head is just protecting herself from the sun though.