Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December 24, 2002

Hope you're all sitting comfortably as this is a long update.

Just a warning first, before we go any further. I'm typing this very quickly and am not going to run it through a spell check, so please forgive any typos. Haven't ventured to Nairobi in several weeks and in fact I'm posting this update from Machakos. The past few months had me commuting back and forth from Nunguni and Nairobi as well as Naivasha. I've relished in the peaceful boredom of the past 3 weeks - spent entirely in Nunguni. Furthermore, I closed the group meetings in mid-December until the 1st week of January. And, I'm on a break from my twice weekly Kiswahili lessons until next year too.

So, what have I been doing with myself? Catching up on sleep, catching up on my journal, brewing wine, reading Newsweek and the books my mom sends to me (thank you so much), and catching up on my laundry. You know you haven't done laundry in a while when you get sore hands and sore leg muscles. The sore hands are obvious but not the legs. As you basically have your wash and rinse basins on the ground outside, you must bend at the waist when scrubbing and rinsing. Makes for a good hamstring stretch but acute soreness the next day.

I was last in Nairobi for the new PCVs swearing-in ceremony on December 5. I was joined by lots of PCVs from my group - they were in Nairobi awaiting their flights to the States for the holidays. They all of course pitied me for not making a trip home, but I was able to capitalize on this pity by selling them sisal bags and animals to give as Christmas gifts to their friends and family. Not knowing whether or not anyone from PC Admin. is aware of this web journal, this next bit is tricky. Before heading back to Nunguni after swearing-in I most emphatically did not spend the next 3 days and 2 nights on a camping safari in Amboseli National Park.

I also did not thoroughly enjoy myself. Those I went with, or rather, those I didn't go with, did also not have a wonderful time. We saw no large herds of elephants and certainly none of them came right up to the vehicle. I also didn't see Mount Kilimanjaro so close that it felt like I was climbing it again. It was in no way exhilarating to be camping out amongst the animals. In no way did a large hyena come into the camp at night and rummage through our supplies and garbage. Nor was it spotted (pun intended) 3 feet from our tents. At night, while playing cards by a kerosene lantern, one of us (thankfully not me - really, not me) did not become a magnate for scorpions and fist-sized cockroaches. And I most certainly didn't return to Nairobi very grateful for having been invited and for taking a spur of the moment holiday.

All those heading home to the States were weighed down, literally, with baggage. I've discovered a potential money-making venture for myself. One girl had 2 full bags but lots of other stuff that didn't fit in either and were fragile and thus needed to be carried on. I went to work and managed to get her 2 bags' worth of stuff into one and therefore she could use the empty bag for her carry-on. Most surprising, to me at least, is that I accomplished all this without the aid of any zip lock bags!

Well, I just passed a milestone in my PCV service. December 5 was my one-year anniversary as a volunteer. Remember, the 10 weeks of training you're classified as a trainee and not a volunteer. This means that I only have one year, less now, of service to go. I think my actual COS date (close of service) is December 4, 2003. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with everyone my reflections on the past year and my hopes for the next. I'll use the FAQ format - although no one has asked...I'm tellin' ya anyway:

What has been the hardest part of your experience so far?

Definitely "living in a fishbowl". Everyone watches your every step, gesture, scratch and thoughtful moment. I sometimes find myself hiding out in my house cause I don't have the energy and thick skin needed on that particular day to go buy veggies at the crowded market. Ironically, "they" say that this fishbowl effect is one of the things that makes the transition back to life in the U.S. so difficult. You're no longer the "star" in your town. No one particularly cares what you do or don't do and certainly no one gives you preferential treatment because of your race, gender, nationality, or all 3.

What things did you think, pre-PCV service, that you'd have a hard time adjusting to but which have in fact been simple to adapt to?

Several things really. No electricity or running water and not having a refrigerator. I seriously couldn't conceive of that. I've been just fine without one though. In fact, ice cold water is kinda painful when you've gotten so used to room temps.

And also, for me, I was worried about how I'd feed myself. Those that know me well know I'm too lazy and intimidated to cook much of anything, and certainly not from scratch (why, when there are perfectly good supermarkets with frozen meals and fast-food restaurants nearby?). Surprisingly, to me at least, I've turned into (as I told Lisa in a recent letter) the Betty Crocker of Kenya.

I not only make pancakes, I make the batter completely from scratch. Same with cakes - and these I bake in a solar cooker I built myself. I make wine, onion rings and yummy meals all from fresh veggies I buy earlier in the day from a mama who just plucked them that morning from her garden/farm (shamba). My neighbor started a garden for me with seeds I brought from home and also some my mom sent to me once here. My broccoli is almost ready as are my Walla Walla sweet onions. Haven't seen the cauliflower...maybe I should ask the goats...

What aspects of your technologically-downsized lifestyle do you enjoy the most?

I really like being able to feed all my food scraps to a very appreciative goat. And, If I've somehow made too much of a given meal (rarely happens) and the food would otherwise go to waste - I have no guilt as I am making a couple goats, chickens and the occasional stray dog very, very happy. I just toss it outside and I know with 100% certainty that something will benefit from it. I also like relying on no one but myself to get me somewhere - on foot. Doesn't matter how far either as you simply plan for how long it'll take you and head out early. If a vehicle happens to come your way it's a bonus but you certainly don't count on one and are almost dejected when you climb aboard and shave off 10 Km from your trek.

What were you most apprehensive about when you first got to Kenya last year?

That I somehow wouldn't "fit in" with the other trainees. Statistically most volunteers are fresh from college and therefore very young. While it's true I sometimes lose patience with some of the less mature volunteers - and astonishingly this has nothing to do with age - most of us get along very well. Afterall, we have in common our PCV experience and certain character traits that led us to this point in our lives.

What were your anxieties once you were sent out on your own, after finishing training?

Mostly that it would be a long and difficult process to gain entrance and acceptance into my community and within my group, or job. I thank God as these anxieties were unfounded. For me, I had no such issues. I gained an enormous amount of respect by willingly placing myself in a living situation whereby I had to walk 2 hours one way just to get to town and work. This was a "hardship" that most have no choice but to endure. I had a choice and chose to accept this hardship. Locals literally assumed all white people have personal vehicles and therefore can't manage to climb a hill on foot. They would stop what they were doing and watch me as I advanced up hill using my own 2 legs.

It's no matter that 4 months later I moved to within 1 Km of town - my earlier sacrifice won me respect and community acceptance. Same goes for my "job". I am blessed with a group of women who immediately accepted me as their "daughter". The fact that I made the effort to learn their craft only added to my acceptance among them.

What have been your biggest challenges, job-wise?

Getting the group to set realistic goals and to do things for themselves. When I first arrived everyone saw me as a walking, talking pile of money. They not only thought I'd hand out fistfuls of cash and get them all visas to the U.S., but that I'd buy all their products, regardless of quality (and some were horrible) and sell them in America. Imagine their disappointment when I told them I don't and won't give anyone money, and that the group would have to improve their quality before they'd be able to sell, by their own efforts, their products. Plus, I told them to not think about selling directly to America (even after 2 years there's no way this group of rural women can hope to be direct exporters to anywhere). But to focus on selling in Kenya. No locals believe there's a market in Kenya, regardless of product.

This is of course completely untrue. Yes, almost all old women of certain tribes can and do make sisal bags in Kenya. Yes, most never get sold. The reasons are many. Mostly it's because Kenyan artisans are product-led rather than market-led. They make a product they like and know how to make. Most don't even make them well. They just saw the mama next door once sell a bag and they want in on it too. The product sits in an out of the way shop out in the bush and collects dust. Instead they need to find out what the market wants or needs and make that. With handicrafts, need isn't so inherent. Handicrafts are more sellable if you have something unique or functional, or both. Instead of making an 8" round sisal bag like all the other mamas that's all white and has a torn piece of cloth for a strap, make something different.

Why not a square bag with short handles? Because not everyone will like short handles, why not make some long too? It's been a challenge for them to try and think what a customer might want. They've always made a bag based on their own criteria. Who cares if it's lopsided? It'll still carry maize. Why would anyone want a small crochet bag - after all only one maize cob will fit inside it? Improving their quality and making this quality consistent has also been a challenge. It's taken an entire year to get our quality to a marketable level. An analogy that's served me well this past year goes like this: (speaking to a mama) "You don't plant maize today and come back the next ready to eat your harvest? No, you have to first plow your field, sow your seeds, water continuously, check on the crop every day to make sure it's doing ok and finally, after enough time has passed, you harvest your crop and reap its benefits - selling it, eating it or storing it. All this takes time, effort, sweat and patience." They all understand farming and thus "get it" when I explain things in this way.

What are your goals for the coming year?

As a volunteer's sole reason for doing what they do is to ensure the future sustainability of a group or project, I'm focusing all my efforts on "teaching" more and "doing" less myself. My group, after a year, is close to a point where we've developed unique products of a certain level of quality, that will enable us to penetrate the local market.

Unbeknownst to the group we've been doing market and product research, product design and development, quality control and marketing. It's now my job to show them that this is in fact what we've done this past year, how and why. As I've been almost solely responsible for all the groups' sales, I'm grooming the group members to handle their own marketing in the coming year. We'll take trips into Nairobi to see the market's potential and the competition we'll face. I'll have them approach selected shops to promote our products. I've already conducted the market research to know, hopefully, which shops will allow us to reach our target market best and have steered product design and development to match these stores' themes.

In the next year we'll work together to research new markets. This next year I fully expect the group to be selling their products in shops throughout Nairobi and Mombasa. I also hope to attract wholesalers to our group - who both market locally and abroad.

Do you ever plan on wrapping up this update?

Yes! I'm done. Thanks for sticking with me...those of you still online. This exercise serves me as well - it helps to clarify my objectives and expectations. Thanks for listening. It's Christmas tomorrow and I'm spending it in Machakos with Elizabeth, Uma (new Biz PCV), Ann (Elizabeth's mom) and a couple others I'm not sure about yet. I wish everyone a peaceful, healthy and happy Holiday Season.

January 15, 2003

I hope everyone had a nice New Year. Mine was very quiet in Nunguni. I actually stayed up late...til about 9:30pm. Woke up at midnight as I heard whistling and cheering coming from town. I'm a really light sleeper but also, the sound bounces around the surrounding hills, especially at night. Some of the things I'll remember most about Kenya and specifically my living situation, are the sounds. The pounding of the rain on my corrugated tin roof. It gets so loud sometimes you think you're going to go out of your mind but you can't keep a thought in your head long enough to do it.

I also will remember the sounds of the animals. Sometimes I hear a cow making a sound I thought couldn't possibly come from a cow. Oh, and the roosters too. Silly me, city girl, always thought a rooster crows at dawn only...to wake up the farmer. Well how wrong was I? The roosters near me have contests. They crow every few hours and one seems to start it and all others within earshot have to reply. Then the original replies to the others and the ugly cycle continues for hours. As I said the sound travels around all the hills in my area so you can sometimes hear a very faint crowing from a rooster several valleys over. When my neighbor's two roosters reply it's of course deafening. One has an odd crow, garbled and cut off at the end. Needless to say I lie in bed at 3am fantasizing how they would taste...all battered and tender served with mashed potatoes and gravy.

I am in Nairobi this week for a mid-service medical exam. We get the works - eye exam (if needed and mine was), dentist, physical, and lab tests. Anyone want to take bets on whether I have any interesting local "issues", as in worms? If you guess yes and you're right, you get first crack at naming them. Well, I seem to have run out of things to say. Didn't write things down this time so I'm just rambling. Hope everyone is doing well wherever you are.

Nitasema kwaheri sasa. Nitaandika tena katika wiki mbili au tatu. Ha ha, I'll just let you figure out what that was all about :o) It's kinda nice speaking a language no one else (among my family and friends) knows...hee hee.