How Did I Get Here?

The Year Without a Summer

2010-06-07T19:42:00.000+01:00

It is hard to type when your hands are half frozen. Winter has hit Kroonstad and I don't like it. I have always preferred warm weather to cold weather but the fact I am freezing in June makes me particularly cranky. 2010 will be my year without a summer. I left at the end of March when it was just starting to get nice in Bloomington. And when I landed in South Africa it was mid Fall. I still have to suffer through two more months of winter and just when the weather should be getting nice and hot, I will fly back home. I love a white Christmas just as much as the next person but come on, how much cold weather can one person take?

Foolishly, when packing I listened to the internet that said South Africa has mild winters, with lows in the 40s. Maybe certain parts of South Africa are like that, but Kroonstad has been colder than that already and July is supposed to be the coldest month. I am a little worried about how we will survive. Our house was built around the turn of the century and it is drafty as something really drafty (sorry I drew a blank on that metaphor). I opened the door this afternoon and it was ten degrees warmer outside than in. The only heat available in our house are these ceramic tile heater things on the wall. There are four of them in our bedroom alone but when I woke up this morning it was so cold I thought that we had forgotten to turn them on. (Oh and it turned out they were on, just not all that effective.) I keep thinking that if I wear enough layers it will be okay but as I said I trusted the internet when packing. I packed two fleece jackets and three long sleeve shirts. All the warm sweaters in my closet are now taunting me from 8,000 miles away.

Well I guess the saying that "what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger" is applicable here. If I really wanted to I could go buy a couple sweatshirts or an indoor heater. But sometimes its better just to go on a rant on the internet.

Old as an Elephant

2010-05-09T14:41:00.001+01:00

Friday was my birthday and I'm 26 years old. It started as a pretty average Friday. We had mass at school and there was a special blessing for me and four students who also had birthdays. Then the children sang Happy Birthday to us, including a verse in Sosotho which loosely translated means "May you grow as old as an elephant." After school, Sarah and Kelly threw a surprise dinner for me. Earlier this week I asked if they would make me a birthday cake and they told me that I was not allowed to plan my own birthday. The day before they spent six hours out of the house, without telling me what they were doing, so I knew something was up. The Sisters and our friend Lebo came over for dinner. We had lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and chocolate eclair cake. After dinner the four of us met up with Ryan and Willy at Moments. We spent the night dancing and having a few drinks. It was a really nice birthday and my roommates were too good to me.

Pigeon Wrangling

2010-05-09T14:38:00.002+01:00

I am pretty sure that every teacher has that one class. The class that tries your patients and leaves you frazzled. For me that class is a fourth grade class. I am pretty luckily that of my twelve classes only one is a discipline problem. This class is one of my largest and there are three learners who cannot keep still, keep their hands to themselves, or stay quiet. Every time we meet it is a struggle to stay on task and get through the lesson.

On Tuesday two pigeons got trapped in the hall. We had finally closed the windows because of the cold and the pigeons were not able to get back up the hole in the ceiling. The birds kept flying into the windows and I was sure it was only a matter of time until they knocked themselves out on the glass, stupid pigeons. So most of my students would point at the birds and cower if they flew anywhere near us. But not my grade four class. The boys started chasing the pigeons and jumping up to swat them. I kept yelling at them to sit down but I should have saved my breath. Then I noticed that Tumelo had snuck away and was climbing up the mountain of desks and chairs piled up to the ceiling in the far corner of the room. The pigeons had taken refuge there but Tumelo was determined to catch them. I kept yelling for him to stop, all I needed was for the boy to knock over the tower of furniture and get buried underneath. The next thing I know here comes Tumelo with a bird in each hand. How he managed to catch them I will never know. I told him to take the birds outside and his friend released one outside. But Tumelo took off running before I could stop him. The children started laughing saying that he went to flush the bird down the toilet. I don't think it is even possible to flush a pigeon down the toilet but I didn't see what he did with the poor bird. On the one hand the birds were distracting and I was glad they were gone. On the other hand I was very upset that the children were not listening to me and we lost fifteen minutes of class time to catching birds.

Invasion by Air and by Land

2010-05-09T14:33:00.000+01:00

We have an infestation at school: of pigeons AND rats. There is a hole in the ceilingt tile above the chalkboard and it is constantly raining down insulation, feathers, and bird droppings. Each morning I sweep up this nasty debris but I am fighting a losing battle. There is a nest above my desk and we often hear chirping and scraping coming from the ceiling. And in the far end of the hall where I teach there is a pile of extra desks and chairs where rats like to congregate. I try not too look too closely but the other day I couldn't help noticing a dead rat on the ground. I don't know if it was killed by the school cat or if it died of natural causes, regardless it was really nasty. I am tempted to bring a plastic snake and throw it up in the ceiling to see if I could scare them away but I could see that ending badly. If a snake (even a plastic one) fell from the ceiling it would probably freak out the entire class. For the time being I keep watching the floor and the ceiling for various pests.

Freedom Day Weekend

2010-04-29T16:12:00.002+01:00

Tuesday was Freedom Day in South Africa, celebrating the first post apartheid elections in 1994.

Long weekends were made for road trips, even if they are only short ones. So Monday we decided to go to Welkom which is about 40 minutes away. Rumor had it that Welkom was a bigger city, complete with shopping malls and a movie theater.

The drive to Welkom was my favorite part of the trip. This part of South Africa is mostly farmland and in many ways it reminds me of home. Once we arrived in Welkom we stopped for directions to the movie theater, which consisted of going left at the first traffic circle, right at the next circle, and straight through the next two. Welkom is a city of traffic circles, which I hate. Luckily we managed to find it without incident. By this time it was lunch and we stopped at this seafood restaurant for lunch. I got fish and prawns (whole shrimp, heads and all) and it was really good. After lunch we went and saw the Blind Side. Kelly and I had both seen it before but we didn't mind seeing it again. It was interesting listening to what the audience found funny. After the movie we wandered back to the car, where we had inadvertently parked in a casino parking lot. We decided to check out what a South African casino is like and it was exactly like an American one. In the end we left without gamboling. Finally we decided to walk around town before going home. Not far from the casino was a town park with unlit Christmas lights, which reminded me of East Peoria (they even had the dolphins). And just past that was the mall. I wasn't planning on doing any shopping but I was a little disappointed to realize the shops were exactly the same ones in Kroonstad. Maybe it stems from having lived in small town America but I am confused when I hear people complain that there isn't much to do in Kroonstad. With the exception of a movie theater, Welkom didn't seem to have more to do than Kroonstad.

Tuesday we were hoping to find a parade or something in Kroonstad but it was not meant to be. We spent the day relaxing and running a few errands. All in all it was a nice holiday weekend

World Cup

2010-04-22T14:06:00.003+01:00

South Africa has World Cup Fever. Everyone seems to be talking about Bafana Bafana (the South African team). Every Friday people wear soccer jerseys to work. At the end of the nightly news they show a countdown to the World Cup. When World Cup tickets went on sale, people camped out over night to get the best games and tragically one elderly man died of a heart attach while in line. School will be closed for most of June and July because of the World Cup.

I have never been a huge soccer fan. In the US I don't really follow though sport but living in South Africa, it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement of the World Cup. Kelly, Sarah, and I all agreed that we wanted to see a game. The closest venue to us is in Johannesburg but by the time we bought tickets all the good games there were sold out. So in the end we decided to buy tickets for the third and fourth place championship game in Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth is on the coast and is supposed to have awesome beaches and surfing. World Cup tickets are ridiculously expensive for foreigners (at least when compared to what a South African can buy the tickets for). But we couldn't pass up the largest sporting event in the world.

White Lions

2010-04-22T14:01:00.002+01:00

Last Saturday Sr. Mehlte took Sarah, Kelly, Sr. Janice (an American SND), and I to see white lions. White lions are caused by a recessive gene and are indigenous to South Africa. This "reserve" first started breeding white lions in the 1970's when there were only a handful left in the wild. I was a little disappointed that this was more of a zoo than an actual reserve or game park. There are usually two or three lions kept in a fenced hectacre of land. We were able to drive through the enclosures in a special safari vehicle and we were only about three feet from the lions. One of the lions had recently given birth and there were four day old cubs hiding in a bush. After the tour we met two five month old cubs that had been hand raised. As soon as we walked in one of the cubs goes straight to Kelly and tries to clamp his jaw around her knee. The guide just told us to slap it's nose if it did things like that and it would stop. Pretty soon we were petting the cubs and it was like playing with overgrown puppies. They would roll around and they liked to chew on my shoes. At one point a cub was rolling around and it playfully put its paw on my leg. Unfortunately their claws were so sharp it cut my leg, but it all works out because I can now tell people I was nearly mauled by lions. The lion cubs were so sweet and it was fun playing with them.

School

2010-04-22T13:54:00.002+01:00

In general I don't like new beginnings. I hate first days, being unsure of what I am supposed to do, where I am supposed to be, what is expected of me. Even though I was excited about going to South Africa, I was still anxious about the start of work. Fortunately my fears were unfounded and starting at St. Peter's was painless.

St. Peter Claver's School has about 800 students in grades 1-9. It is located in Maokeng which is about 20 minutes outside of Kroonstad. While most of our neighbors have nice house, beautiful landscaping, and shiny cars parked inside gated lots, Maokeng is full of tiny cement houses with corrugated roofs, awful dirt roads, and other telltale signs of poverty. In any given restaurant in Kroonstad I blend in with the Afrikaner majority. In Maokeng I am once again in the minority, which I find oddly comforting.

So my morning begins bright and early at 7:10, when school starts. (Next week the winter schedule goes into effect and I don't have to be there until 7:30. Yeah for sleeping in!) We start every morning with a school assembly, where the children sing and pray. Then the first of elven class periods begins. I spend most of my day in the hall, a long building that prior to my arrival was mostly used for the weekly mass. I work with each of the three classes in grades 4-7. I teach 6-9 students or learners as they are called here, who are academically behind the rest of the class. I have each class four times a week, which is divided between English and Math.

The most difficult part of my job has been trying to gauge where each student is at. For instance I have one student in 5th grade who barely speaks English and the other kids whisper everything to him in Sosotho. In all of my English classes we have been going over the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives. It seems strange to be teaching the exact same lesson to both 9 and 14 year olds but I think it's important to have a firm grasp of the basics before moving on. The older students have obviously been exposed to this material before but they couldn't remember much about it. In Math, I have some learners who still add on their fingers and some who can do long division faster than I can (although I like to use Becky's excuse of that's arithmetic not math). I am not quite sure how to teach such a varied group.

All in all, I love my job. I found it intimidating the few times I taught an entire class of 40 students in Nigeria. But in a small group it's much easier to be flexible with the lesson and to maintain decorum. All of my students come from classes of 35 or more students and they enjoy being singled out and the more individual attention. I like doing problems on the blackboard and in an effort to get called on the students start waving their hands and yelling "Ma'am! Ma'am!" Some of my learners actually clap when I give out their homework assignment. Despite their academic difficulties, these students are eager to learn and their attitude is infectious. They make me want to work harder and I hope that together we can make a lot of progress.

Contact Info

2010-04-13T17:37:00.003+01:00

Hi Everyone.

I just wanted to give out my address:

Katie O'Dea
Sisters of Notre Dame
P.O. Box 476
Kroonstad
9500
South Africa

My phone number is:
27 720 853 826

For the record South Africa seems to have a very reliable postal system and it should be safe to send almost anything. It is always nice to hear from everyone back home, so feel free to write or call me.

Thanks,

Love from Africa,

Driving

2010-04-13T17:27:00.004+01:00

Slowly but surely I am learning to drive in South Africa. The first time, Kelly explained the fine art of driving a manual transmission and we stuck to the little road between the Lodge and the Old Convent. The second time I tried going alone but Sarah took pity on me and the car and came along with some pointers. Other than that I have mostly been going out on my own and teaching myself. The problem with driving in South Africa is there is so much to remember. First of all, there is the hassle of driving a stick shift. Usually I do alright with that but when I screw up and stall the car I get flustered and stall it ten times in the same exact spot. Then there is driving on the left hand side. Fortunately, I only once started to turn into the right hand lane once and I recovered quickly. And last but not least our car doesn't have power steering. So taken individually those three things seem like minor inconveniences. But the three of them make driving much more stressful than back home. It is a little demoralizing to drive around with a huge L in the back window (referring to someone who is just learning to drive) even though I have had a driver's license for ten years. The good news is that I almost feel confident enough to drive by myself in town. But for the time being, drivers and pedestrians be ware...

My First Weekend in Kroonstad

2010-04-11T17:24:00.000+01:00

This has been my first full weekend in Kroonstad. Last week was a little slow because I wasn't working. So I was looking forward to hanging out with Sarah and Kelly this weekend. Friday night we went out to dinner at the Tennessee Spur. It was a nice little sit down restaurant that served everything from steaks, to Mexican food, to snails, to schnitzel. Saturday was what will probably be a typical Saturday here. We started out by going to the bank, so we could set up a household checking account. The bad news is that we didn't have the right paperwork to open an account, the good news is we found a form to buy World Cup tickets. After the bank we went to the grocery store, to stock up with food for the week. Once we got home the three of us did our weekly communal clean up. That evening it was my turn to cook and I made tacos.

Saturday night we went out to Moments, a local bar. There are three or four bars or night clubs in Kroonstad, but Moments is the one that caters to a younger crowd. It comes complete with pool tables and a dance floor. The only down side to Moments is that it is an Afrikaners' place and it had a very segregated feel. Still I had a good time last night.

South Africa by the numbers

2010-04-10T15:55:00.001+01:00

Days in South Africa: 10
Number of roommates: 2
Nights spent in Johannesburg: 2
Times I drove a stick shift: 2
Times I stalled the car: Countless
Beers drank: 1
Ice cream cones consumed: 2
Number of movie rental memberships: 1
Masses attended: 2
Times I accidentally set off the house alarm: 2 (both in the early morning)
Trips to the grocery store: 2
Students at my School: 868
Days I have actually worked: 0

Here at last. Here at last. Thank God Almighty I'm here at last!

2010-04-03T17:47:00.003+01:00

Okay so it has been a really long journey (and I mean that both literally and figuratively) but I finally made it to South Africa.

Tuesday afternoon Mom and I drove up to Chicago and we spent the night at a hotel right next to O'Hare, which is the way to travel. That evening I hung out with Mom, Dad, and Amy. My last American meal was at the White Eagle, which is one of the best Polish restaurants in the world. The next morning we woke up, grabbed some breakfast, and the hotel shuttle dropped us off in five minutes.

My first flight left O'Hare at 11 am. It was a short little ride to Washington DC. The lay over was just long enough to grab lunch at the Fudruckers and then hang out at the gate. My second flight was from Dulles to Dakar, Senegal to Johannesburg, South Africa. The good news is that I can cross Dakar off my list of tarmacs to visit. The bad news is that we had to stay on the plane for the hour it took to refuel. So after 18 hours of sitting in the same seat, in an increasingly stuffy plane I made it to Joburg.

That was Thursday night and I pretty much crashed the minute I was shown my room. Friday I got up for breakfast but an hour later I fell asleep reading. I did manage to wake up in time for mass on Good Friday which was nice. After a mere three hours of sleep last night (all those naps catch up to you eventually) Sr. Biddy Rose drove me to Kroonstad this morning. It was a two hour ride and I got to see a little bit of the country.

I must say I was shocked when we arrived at the house. Sr. Biddy was telling me the story of the building on the way but I didn't realize that was where Kelly, Sarah, and I would be living. In 1907(?) the Sisters of Notre Dame were invited by the bishop to South Africa to build a girl's academy. Although they were originally told not to, the SNDs took it upon them selves to build a second school for the children of poor black railway workers in Kroonstad. Unfortunately the two schools were stretching the SND's resources too thing and they decided to put everything into just one of the schools. The SNDs being who they are, decided to give up the well respected and prosperous girls' boarding school. It has handed over to the government and eventually was used for military purposes during the war with Angola. When the war was over the school was closed and left to vandals. Eventually the government decide it would cost as much to repair the building as it would to demolish it, so it was turned back over to the SNDs through an umbrella company of several religious orders. Slowly but surely they have been seeing to repairs and have started providing job skills training.

What was once a wing of the school (music classrooms to be exact) is now our house. Kelly, Sarah, and I share two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. It is a really nice place. We have running water (although we have to boil it before drinking), electricity, heating, and even a tv. We also have a car at our disposal. Eventually I will need it to drive to work but first I need to learn how to drive a stick and adjust to life on the left side of the road. The whole set up in Kroonstad is so much more than I hoped for.

Wow, I just realized how ridiculously long this posting is. Thanks to anyone who actually read it all. Happy Easter.

Love from Africa,

South Africa

2010-03-24T16:40:00.003+01:00

You know what they say about the best laid plans... Well my plan was to return to Nigeria but apparently that is not what God had in mind for me. When Sarah, Kelly and I were waiting for our visas to come through something awful happened. One of the Sisters was kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom. Eventually she was released, thank the Good God. But we eventually decided that we should not go to Nigeria this year because of the security situation.

So Sissy and company managed to start a whole new program just for us in Kroonstad, South Africa. I will be working at St. Peter Clavier School. I am not exactly sure what I will be doing but I am getting pretty good at filling in wherever I'm needed. Sarah, Kelly, and I will be sharing a house just outside of Kroonstad. I should be leaving early next week and I am pretty excited. Hopefully it is true what they say about things working out for the best.

Coming Soon...Year Two

2010-01-09T01:21:00.003+01:00

I have decided to return to Nigeria for a second year and I am super excited about all the upcoming fun. Unfortunately there will be a delay in getting our visas. One of the required letters did not have the correct information so we are waiting for the Catholic Secretariat in Nigeria to reopen on January 11th. Hopefully we will only be delayed a week or two and eventually we will get the visa for a whole year. For now I am at the NDMV Orientation in Baltimore and just hanging out with my fellow volunteers. So stay tuned because I will soon be posting more blogs from Africa.

2009-11-15T20:08:00.005+01:00

To all those who made my stay in Africa possible, thank you so much. Not a day went by that I did not thank God for all of the support (both financial and emotional) that I have received. I am very blessed. Thank you.

Saying Goodbye

2009-11-15T17:18:00.005+01:00

Today is my last full day in Kenya and I don't know what to say. I am very excited about going home to see my family and friends. But I am also depressed about leaving the children at the orphanage. It is very bitter sweet.

One of the Sisters is interviewing the SNDs and the volunteers about their various ministries in Kenya. She asked us to describe the ministry. And that was easy: every day I wake up and make the 90 minute to 2 hour commute to the St. Albertos Children's Home and work in the baby wing. Mama Angelica took care of the little babies (under six months) and I would take care of the six month to two year olds. I would tie up the bed nets and wake the everyone up. Then I had to strip the cribs and change the sheets. Then Mama Vivian would give the kids their baths while I got them dressed. After everyone was changed we served our breakfast of porridge. From then on the day consisted of doing dishes and laundry, changing diapers, extra feedings, rocking fussy babies, and playing outside with the older kids.

The other question we were asked for the interview was what developments do you see in this ministry and I had to pause and think about my answer. In terms of finding homes for the children there is rarely improvement. For every child we find a family for, one more makes his or her way to us. It is not like we can work harder and tada there are no more orphans in Kenya. We have to accept that there will always be orphans in Kenya and the needs are greater than any single orphanage can provide. But every day each child has new developments and makes a little progress. The first time Matthew used the toilet was a day to celebrate. And I watched Monica learn to walk. The first time a new arrival manages to cope without screaming all day is a big step forward. Seeing Andrew come out of his shell and actually smile or even laugh every now and then is amazing progress. These things may not seem small and trivial to some people but that is what my work in Kenya was all about. Being there to witness the little milestones in a baby's life and simply loving these abandoned and discarded children.

For a long time I was just thinking about the good stuff that comes with going home: seeing my family, having modern conveniences again, not being gawked at for being white, etc. But I didn't stop to think about what I will miss. I will miss the peacefulness of walking the deserted road into town and the smell of pine and fresh cut flowers. I will miss Sunday brunch with Sue, Tom, and Michael. But mostly I will miss my babies because I worry what will happen to them. Will Kelly get his braces off and be able to walk or will he always be in a wheelchair? Will Monica take to her adoptive family right away or will it take time? Will Child Services find the family that abandoned Mohamed? How long will it be before Mathew forgets me? How many of the infants will live to celebrate their first birthday? I just have to hope that in the future they will be surrounded by people that love them. And although they will not remember me, I will always remember them and I will always love my babies.

So tomorrow I say goodbye to Kenya and get on a plane. It will not be as easy to leave as I thought it would be. Still the thought of what is waiting makes it better.

November, Really?

2009-11-04T19:29:00.004+01:00

According to my calender it is November but that doesn't seem right to me. For one thing, it is like 90 degrees outside and it should not be that hot in November, even if I do live on the equator. And could someone please explain to me where the month of October went? If my sources are correct and I have no reason to doubt them, today is November 4th. That means I have twelve more days left in Kenya. While words cannot describe how excited I am to go home, see my family and friends, take a hot shower, etc. but I am about to panic. There is no way I will be ready to leave in twelve days. I haven't even started packing yet. And how am I supposed to say goodbye to the children at the orphanage, my babies? I need more time. Please excuse me while I freak out.

Halloween

2009-11-04T19:11:00.002+01:00

I had a really good Halloween. Friday I stopped at the market and bought two pumpkins and then met the boys for a beer. When we went back to their house, their dog had given birth to two of the cutest puppies I have ever seen. We thought the show was over but we were wrong. Tom won the puppy pool based on the date but I won the number of puppies, with the grand total of five. So we spent the evening admiring the puppies and carving pumpkins.

Saturday morning I went baboon hunting with Michael and his coworker Casey. Less than a mile from home is Malava Forest and while it is not designated as a national forest or anything it has colobus monkeys and baboons. We spent a good hour or two wandering around various trails. Michael took us to the area where he saw them on a previous hunt but alas no baboons. So we finally decided to call it quits and that all we would find were colobus monkeys. But as luck would have it, we came across a police road block. The police officers told us that they had relocated because baboons had taken over the previous site, half a kilometer away. So we walked back down the road and there were twenty or thirty baboons hanging out in the middle of the highway. I picked up some sugar cane and threw it to the baboons, who sat down and started eating away. We were about ten feet away and it was pretty cool.

After the baboon hunt we went back to the Michael and Tom's house for pumpkin soup, made by Jacquelin who does the boys' laundry. Lunch was followed by candy and lots of it. We combined the candy our family and friends sent us and I doubt there was every a larger bag of sugary goodness. Thank you soo much to everyone who contributed. We shared some candy with the kids we knew and after that we were nearly mobbed by the neighborhood children. I put on a Frankenstein mask and chased some of the kids. The looks of sheer terror I got out of that mask made it really feel like Halloween. We finished off the evening with a showing of Gremlins. So that is how you celebrate Halloween, Kenyan style.

My Day

2009-10-24T19:16:00.003+01:00

So here is what I did today:
I woke up around 7 am.

I washed my sheets. I soaked them in a bucket with detergent and a splash of bleach and unfortunately it took the color out of my fitted sheet. So then I had to let it sit longer so the color was more uniform.

I burned my garbage but I forgot to take the cap off of a two litre pop bottle. It exploded and the flaming plastic burned my hand.

I went to Kisumu which is about two hours away. After three hours there, I made the two hour ride home.

I went to the Masai Market and bought (more) souvenirs. I think I am officially done buying souvenirs except for tire sandals, which are a must.

I used the ATM and told myself it was the last time I take out money in Kenya. Then I promptly spent half of it on groceries and movies and it is now the second to last time.

I then went home to eat my first meal of the day at 5pm, to fetch some water, and to relax while watching a couple of movies.

So it was just another average Saturday. The crazy thing is next Saturday is Halloween. Then I have two more Saturdays after that before I go home. Where has the time gone?

Raphael's Story

2009-10-22T18:22:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago we got a new baby at the orphanage. We called him Raphael because like many of our children he was abandoned and we knew almost nothing about him. He was about six months old and seemed to be healthy. I found it funny that he could practically stand on his own but if someone tried to get him to sit he would just flop over. Raphael is a good baby and he quickly adapted to life at the orphanage.

Then after about two weeks, a women came to the orphanage and said she was Raphael's mother. According to her she "went mad" and was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Two weeks later she was discharged from the hospital and went home to her family. However, when she got home the baby was gone. Her husband is an alcoholic and apparently he did not want to take care of a baby so he just abandoned the baby. She started frantically searching for her son, not even knowing if he was still alive. Eventually a neighbor told her that a baby had been taken to our orphanage. When she arrived at St. Albertos, she didn't know if that baby was he son or not. When she was reunited with Raphael, I could see the relief, joy, regret, and love on her face. She spent the entire day with him. The next day the police released Raphael into his mother's custody and he left the orphanage.

No mother should have to face the pain and anguish of not knowing where her child is or if her baby is even alive. My heart went out to this women, as she described the whole ordeal. Yet at the same time, I worried about Raphael's future. What happens if she is hospitalized again? Will he be neglected by his father again? The police wanted to question the father but he refused to come in for fear of being sent to prison, which I think is exactly what he deserves. When the mother left with Raphael, he took the clothes on his back and we provided a blanket and jacket because he didn't have one. I wondered how many other things this family will do without. Raphael has survived so much in his young life and he will probably have many more obstacles to face in the future. All I can do is wish him well and hope for the best.

Some More Random Thoughts

2009-10-13T15:28:00.003+01:00

I just got Season Five of the Office in the mail. I am soo excited. My family is awesome for sending it.

This week at work has been trying. It seems like everyone is sick. Calli has sores in his mouth and they must be very painful because he cries all the time, and after three leg surgeries he is tough as nails. The only one who isn't sick is Raphael and he gets upset when everyone else is crying and joins right in. I love the babies but if tomorrow is as bad as yesterday and today I may go crazy.

Our stove is out of gas. Normally we would just go to the gas station and get a new tank but Malava is completely out. I could ask to use the Sisters' stove but I feel weird about that. So for now I will settle for cold food or take out.

Today it was ridiculously hot, one of those days were the heat feels like a weight pressing down on you. Sitting in a matatu crammed against the hot metal wall and a mother and her five year old was not pleasant, especially since we sat around for half an hour waiting to leave. The funny thing is this morning was cool and it was gorgeous outside. It got me excited about going home and enjoying some nice fall weather (or if I miss that, then the horrible cold).

I have discovered pineapple² juice. It is apple and pineapple juice mixed together and it is supper tasty.

2009-10-06T14:14:00.002+01:00

I have never been to an orphanage in the United States but here is a list of things my orphanage does that I am pretty sure would not happen back home.

Boys wear what we would consider "girl clothes" (pink things, stuff with lace and frills, etc.) In the US it is usually possible to tell whether a baby is a boy or girl strictly by the outfit but not so much in Kenya.
Babies are put on their stomachs to sleep, even if they can't hold up there heads yet.
If a child can walk (or sometimes just crawl) he or she can go out unsupervised. Calli and Matthew will disappear for an hour or two and no one seems to know exactly where they are. The good news is that everyone from the children to the teachers to the gatemen know them and look out for them. It still makes me nervous though.
Toilet training means stop putting the kid in a diaper and hope he learns from the other kids.
We use cloth diapers and the Mamas wash them out by hand. If that is not love and dedication, I don't know what is.
There are very few toys at the orphanage so if the children find a rock or a bottle cap or a discarded watch battery it becomes a toy. The children are fiercely protective of their things and when I took away the tiny battery Hillary was putting in his mouth, he started screaming bloody murder. A few of the adults are aware of potential choking hazards but many don't notice or don't care.
The babies sleep with bed nets, just like adults. However, we still get a lot of malaria.
The weather gets pretty hot here in the afternoons but the children usually are dressed in three layers. I always feel bad for the babies in sweaters when it is like 80 degrees out. But if I try putting the kids in a short sleeve shirt, the Mamas say they will catch a cold. If the someone is sick, the baby is put in a parka regardless of how much he or she sweats.
All of the babies food is cooked at the orphanage instead of using jars of baby food. And usually once a week, we serve fresh homemade fruit juice.
If a child is crying, one sharp word from a Mama or one of the nuns will usually get them to stop, pronto. I don't know their secret but I need to learn it. It has to be some crazy Jedi mind trick.

At the orphanage there are a lot of things that most American parents would cringe at. The children don't have much in the way of material things and they have a lot of free reign. However, everyone has an undeniable love and dedication to the orphans. On the wall of the baby wing it says "We thank the Lord for the opportunity He gave us to serve the abandoned of society." The Sisters and Mamas definitely have that mind set, and so do I.

Thursday

2009-10-03T17:59:00.002+01:00

Thursday sucked.

It started on my ride to work. I got on a bus and was attacked by about five chickens. These chickens were on the way to the market and were being transported under my seat. Apparently they did not like being tied up and confined in a cramped space because they started flopping around my legs. Then one started pecking at my shoes. It made me nervous that this chicken might miss my shoe and peck at my bare calf. This was the second time I was attacked by chickens on a matatu and I sincerely hope it is the last time.

Then I got to work and it was a hectic day. The day before we got a new baby, Raphael and like most new arrivals he cried almost constantly. I don't blame him for being upset about the strange new surroundings but the crying adds more stress to our day.

We also have a set of twins, whose mother died in childbirth and their father visited on Thursday. This guy was 18, his wife was dead, and he has two infant children. I couldn't help thinking that he looked so young and lost. It could not have been an easy decision but it is fairly common in Kenya for parents who can not care for their children to put them in an orphanage. At one time I would have thought that was wrong, families should stay together period. But my time in Africa has taught me that there are no easy answers. All I know is that this poor guy had the look of someone whose life had changed in the blink of an eye.

All of these things were enough for a bad day, but it got worse. We lost Janaina. One of the nuns took her to the hospital that morning and she passed away in the early afternoon. She had been sick and wasn't eating much but it took me completely by surprise. One day I was feeding her, changing her, holding her, and the next day she is dead. Janaina had such a sweet temperament and she would grin whenever someone talked to her. It is so hard losing a baby and things won't be the same without Janaina.

Randomnicity

2009-09-29T19:34:00.003+01:00

I miss having an oven with a temperature gauge. Sunday was my turn to make brunch. So I made a breakfast casserole, hash browns, and homemade cinnamon rolls. I could only guess how hot the oven was and it cooked twice as fast as I expected. The cinnamon rolls were a little burnt on the bottom but they were still edible.

Cali and Matthew are the only two kids at the orphanage can talk (well in full sentences any way). Whenever anyone walks in the room, Cali likes to shout out their name until they stop and talk to him. Maybe it is because I am the most likely to sit and play with him but I feel like there are days when every two seconds Cali is screaming "Katie, Katie, Katie." Matthew on the other hand never calls me Katie. Don't ask me why but for some strange reason Matty thinks my name is Juliet. Any time he tries to call me Juliet, I tell him my name is Katie and he promptly repeats it. But the next time he wants my attention, I am once more Juliet.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. In order to talk to her and the rest of my family on Skype, I woke up early this morning (5:30 am Kenya time and 9:30 pm Illinois time). The time difference is a pain in the butt. It is so weird talking to people yesterday when it is today.

I am proud to announce that my heel has finally healed. When Amy and I were walking around the reef, a tiny piece of coral broke off in my heal. It was a small wound but it hurt like the dickens and it took forever to get better. Which makes me wonder if Amy still has her jellyfish sting mark.

Candy Request

2009-09-24T18:31:00.004+01:00

Dear Family, Friends, and Halloween Lovers,

I need your help. On Halloween children in Kenya are deprived of the opportunity to dress up and demand candy. Sue, Michael, Tom, and I are to trying to right this injustice and share the gift of Halloween with countless Kenyans (and by this I mean the dozen or so people who will show up to our party). However, we could not possibly convey the full power and magic of Halloween without candy. So if you want to join in our mission to bring Halloween and the sugar induced coma that follows to the masses here is how you can help: go to the nearest store and buy a bag of candy (or if you have left over Labor Day parade candy that works too), find a manila envelope to put it in, and mail it to us. In as little as two weeks, that candy will travel the 8,000 miles to Kenya and you can take pride in the fact you helped spread the joy of Halloween. Thanks!

2009-09-22T20:14:00.004+01:00

I have been in Kenya for three full months. Strange how it feels like time has flown by and yet it also seems like time passes so slowly. That doesn't make sense but just go with it. Any way, happy three month anniversary to me.

2009-09-21T16:20:00.002+01:00

I meant to go to work today but it didn't turn out like I planned. As I was getting ready for work this morning I put my matatu money on the bed, instead of in my bag. So I got on the matatu and realized that I only had thirty shillings and it costs seventy shillings to get to Kakamega. Once I realized I was short, I got off at Kakunga which was the next stop. The way I figured it, I could go home and get some cash and make it back to the orphanage by ten o'clock but of course most of my work is over by then. Luckily, I wasn't far from Michael's orphanage, Tumaini. Seeing that today is a national holiday in Kenya anyway, I decided to call work and tell them I wouldn't make it in today. Instead I spent the day at Tumaini.

Tumaini is both an orphanage and a school. Michael teaches English and religion to fourth and fifth graders and today I took over his classes. First we went over the spelling and definition of vocab words. Next we played a spelling game. Then in CRE we read a story about a woman who was jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty and instead of killing the stepdaughter, she mistakenly kills her own child. After that happy story, we moved on to the story of Cain and Abel. During lunch and break periods we got to play games with the kids. It was a fun day.

So I guess this goes to show that things don't always turn out like you plan. At first I felt bad for not being at work but I was planning on visiting Tumaini one of these days. All's well that ends well, right? Tomorrow I just have to make sure I remember my bus fare.

Vitamins

2009-09-19T08:51:00.003+01:00

Amy brought a veritable gold mine of things with her to Kenya, such as full bottles of shampoo and conditioner, clothes that fit me, boxes of macaroni and cheese, and a bottle of daily vitamins. Now in the US I would occasionally take a vitamin but it was never a big priority. Here in Kenya my diet is quite different and I think a daily vitamin could be beneficial (maybe it will stop my hair from falling out). But I have found that vitamins can have another purpose. Many people use a calendar to mark the passing of days, I have decided to use vitamins. I have counted out 57 vitamins, which will last me until I go home. That's right folks. I have 57 days left in Kenya, meaning I will leave on November 16 (and arrive on the 17th). I have enjoyed my time in Africa but I am ready to come home.

That brings me to my other news. I have decided to go back to Nigeria in January. This time we have figured out how to work through immigration issues and I will be able to spend the full year in Nigeria. NDMV and CMMB have given me a great opportunity and I am excited to go back.

So I will be home for six weeks. I can not put into words how very excited I am about seeing my friends and family again. Please let me know if and when you want to do something. See you soon!

Love from Africa,

Amy

2009-09-19T07:49:00.000+01:00

So Amy is back in the good old United States. Tuesday she went to the orphanage with me in the morning and from there we traveled to Kisumu. We spent Tuesday afternoon buying a ridiculous amount of souviniers. It was almost as mouch fun as the day after Thanksgiving shopping. Then we saw the movie Up. Wednesday morning we grabbed breakfast at Nakumatt (complete with pastries and chunky milk). From there we went to Lake Victoria and took a boat ride among the hippos. Once back on dry land we ate lunch, packed up the suitcases, and went to the Kisumu airport. After saying our goodbyes, we went our seperate ways: Amy home to the land of milk and honey (by way of Nairobi and Istanbul) and I went back to my everyday life in Kenya.

I had so much fun with Amy. It was nice to have a vacation and do all of the touristy things in Kenya. But more importantly, I enjoyed having my sister around. I like having someone to talk to on the matatu or not eating dinner alone. The worst part of living in Africa is that I don't get to see my family, which really sucks. Amy's visit reminded me of how much fun it is to hang out with my sisters and now I can hardly wait to go home and see Becky and Megan too.

Amy, thanks for coming to Kenya. I had soo much fun with you and I miss you already.

Feeding the Giraffe

2009-09-13T18:35:00.002+01:00

2009-09-13T15:26:00.003+01:00

The Educational Value of Travel

The question is much discussed whether it is good for young people to travel. A better way of putting it would be to ask whether it is enough for educated man to know only his countrymen. For my part I am firmly convinced that anyone who only knows the people among whom he lives does not know mankind. But even admitting the utility of travel, does it follow that it is good for everybody? Far from it. It is only good for the few people who are strong enough in themselves to listen to the voice of error and not let themselves be seduced, and see examples of vice and not be led astray. Travel develops the natural bent and makes a man either good or bad. More come bad than good because more start off with an inclination to badness. But those who are well born and have a good nature which has been well trained, and those who travel with a definitive purpose of learning, all come back better than they went away.

Emile by Rousseau

Jambo everyone, this is Katie's sister Amy. I am currently visiting Katie in Kenya so I have decided to take over her blog for an entry. I have been here for two weeks and am leaving on Thursday. Oh what to say, where to begin.

While Katie and I were at the Indian Ocean I read Emile and came across the previously mentioned passage. I think it applies well to Katie. Volunteering in Africa is not easy, especially for an entire year. Don't get me wrong, I am very glad I made this trip but it was hard adjusting the first week. I knew I would suffer from culture shock and I knew my internal time clock would be out of whack for the duration of the trip. I also figured that since I've spent my last three summers in rural West Virginia that I'd be better able to adapt than most. With all the inner preparations I made I still was not ready for what I encountered. From always having to calculate prices from shillings to dollars, hearing the word mzungu and knowing people are talking about you to being followed home by a crowd of curious kids; I give kudos to Katie for all the little things she puts up with on a day to day basis.

Now that I've been here longer, I really like Kenya, especially Malava. There's still the frustrations of being one of the twenty-one people in a fourteen passenger van as well as not having running water for a few days as the water pump broke but things here are quite pleasant. All these are great experiences for me to have under my belt but I feel satisfied that in less than a week I will go back home to having meat in my diet again, a dishwasher, and my mosquito net free bed. I don't really enjoy watching tv but I'm really looking forward to sitting down in the living room and just kicking back in front of the tele.

I know Katie has already mentioned some of the stuff we did on our vacation but we have done some cool stuff! First, they drive on the left side of the road here! I have always wanted to ride on the left side! Second, Nairobi is south of the equator so it is currently winter. I have never been in a winter outside of the States! Also, for those of you wondering, I can't tell if the toilet flushes the opposite way south of the Equator. I felt so dumb but for the life of me I couldn't remember how a toilet flushes back home. Don't worry, I took a video of it so we can compare. There was nothing in the toilet when I flushed it in the video, I'm not that weird...

Onto bigger things, Katie and I went on a safari! It was by far one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life which says a lot because I have lived and continue to live quite an amazing life. We went to the elephant and rhino orphanage and saw the cutest babies ever! We got kissed by giraffes at the giraffe center. Talk about sloppy kisses! I went to the market and bought some cool stuff including custom made tire sandals. Katie and I also rode the night train to the beach and we stayed in chalets that had monkeys on their property. We rode a glass bottom boat and went snorkeling. I even got stung by a jellyfish! Yesterday we went to the rainforest and even got rained on! So many cool experiences!

Africa is not what I expected. It's not as different and isolated as I thought it would be. For instance people I have seen two Kenyans wearing Northern Illinois University gear. I really wanted to go up to them and say, "hey, I went to school there!" Also it is weird to see cars drive by with pictures of the Obamas on them and hear typical American music on the radio. At the same time, the poverty gets to me when I least expect it. Today when we went to church, the pews were literally pieces of wood made into benches and we complain how uncomfortable the pews can be back home. I am hoping when I come home to continue to appreciate everything in my life for as long as I live.

I don't think I could spend a year volunteering in a third world country. Actually I know I could but I just don't think I want to. I could handle the sacrifices of material items but it's just too far from my family and friends. I don't want to sound gushy but I really missed you Mom and Dad! Knowing I'm halfway around the world makes it feel that much farther.

I will soon be out of Africa and I feel I will be coming home a somewhat different person. I have opened my eyes and now see with a better global perspective. The world is not as big as it seems and people on other continents are just like us. We all struggle and work and laugh and love. I really do want world peace.

One more quick note, if anyone out there is looking to adopt, there is the cutest little boy here! Katie and I don't know if he'll ever get adopted because it is anticipated that he will never walk. He's really cute! Talk to Katie for more information!

Vacation

2009-09-07T12:07:00.003+01:00

My vacation is coming to a close, I get on a bus to Malava in three hours. Here are some of the cool things I did this week:

1. Went on a retreat with my fellow volunteers in Nairobi
2. Ate a burrito. I have gone 9 months without Mexican food and that is much too long.
3. Amy came to Kenya. She is here until the 16th of September and I love hanging out with her.
4. Got kissed by a giraffe. On the lips. I have the pictures to prove it but I am not sure I want people to see them.
5. Went to Carnivore and ate my weight in meat. It was pretty tame but the menu did include ostrich and crocodile.
6. Saw the newest Harry Potter movie. I like the books better but it was nice to sit in an actual movie theatre.
7. Saw baby elephants and a baby rhino that were orphaned. They were so cute.
8. Wandered around aimlessly in Nairobi for most of the afternoon. I think Amy was a little worried we would be lost forever.
9. Went on a safari in Nairobi National Park. We saw zebras, warthogs, impala, buffaloes, giraffes, wildebeest, ostriches, and other animals.
10. Took the night train to Mombasa, on the coast. There were beds in our compartment so we got to sleep. It is a nice way to travel.
11. Went to Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in the 17th century
12. Saw the Indian Ocean
13. Took a glass bottom boat ride and went snorkeling on the reefs outside Diani beach

So I had some good times but now it is time to go home.

2009-08-27T16:20:00.003+01:00

Dad's surgery went really well. He is still in the hospital but he on the road to recovery. My family and I are just so relieved that he is doing better.

Now that he is out of the woods, I can think about other things, like vacation. Tomorrow, the other volunteers and I are leaving for Nairobi for a retreat. The best part of this weekend is that Amy is coming to Kenya. She is staying until the 17th of September. We will stay in Nairobi for a few days and then head out to Mombasa on the coast. I'm excited about vacation but I am super excited to see Amy.

Dad's Surgery

2009-08-24T17:14:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow morning, Dad is having open heart surgery. Even as I type that, I have trouble believing it. I have talked to him several times since he was admitted to the hospital and he always sounds healthy and happy. This has been very surreal, like a strange dream. I am just praying that he will be okay and make a swift recovery.

When It Rains, It Pours

2009-08-19T18:37:00.003+01:00

This has not been an easy week.

Sunday was my turn to make brunch and I made Uncle Robert's chicken, macaroni and cheese, and apple tart. The meal turned out okay but I didn't get to enjoy it because once again malaria struck. So I pushed the food around my plate and tried to ignore the awful body aches. When you have had malaria five times in less than a year, it is easy to recognize the symptoms.

I was planning on going to the Malava hospital first thing Monday morning but the Sisters decided to take me to Mukumu hospital, which is better. We arrived and were told that I couldn't get a malaria test because there was no electricity but I still saw the doctor. The doctor suggested that I take Quinine since the monthly recurrence of malaria suggested that it was drug resistant. I was less than enthusiastic because Quinine sometimes has some nasty side effects and it requires a hospital stay. However they convinced me to do it and I was admitted. The iv proved irksome. It took took a nurse and two doctors eight needle sticks before they finally succeeded in getting an iv in the inside of my wrist, which is not the most comfortable place. I got a drip for four hours, then four hours off, another four hours hooked up to a bottle, four hours to rest again, and a final iv for four more hours. This went on from Monday afternoon until Tuesday early afternoon. Then they need to observe me for another night to make sure I didn't have any complications.

The hospital did not have running water or electricity during the day time, however it came on around 7pm. The hospital doesn't have iv stands so I could not leave my bed. If I wanted to eat or use the bathroom I had to find a nurse to disconnect me (which is not easy when the call button requires electricity). Still, this was one of the nicer hospitals in the area. Everything was clean and the staff was very kind. Nevertheless, I was very happy to leave.

Two nights in the hospital is enough to sour any week. Unfortunately I had bigger concerns.

Monday morning I got a call from Becky, saying that my dad was in the hospital. To make a long story short, he needs major heart surgery. The doctors need to replace part of his aorta and fix two leaky heart valves. Unfortunately, he also has an infection that will postpone the surgery until next week. He is being closely monitored, in case his aneurysm ruptures. One minute we thought he was going to have emergency surgery, the next minute they are telling us he can wait a few days. It has been very stressful and being half way around the world doesn't help. I worry about Dad but I also worry about how Mom is holding up.

Then on top of that Amy is coming to visit Kenya next week. Not that her visiting is in any way a bad thing, I am so excited about seeing her. But I was debating about coming home and she was contemplating cancelling the trip. Dad, being his usual selfless self, told us to enjoy ourselves on vacation. So we are sticking with the status quo, at least for the time being.

I have to wonder at the timing of it all. Why does everything have to hit at the same time? Right now I am just taking life one moment at a time.

I wanted to add a big thank you to everyone who has helped my family in this difficult time: Uncle Brian, Bev, Carol, Meg, Erin, Keith and Patrica, the priests at St. Mary's, and many others. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.
Love from Africa,

Meet the Orphans

2009-08-12T18:11:00.002+01:00

We have a full house these days at the orphanage.

The oldest baby wing resident is Cali. He is two years old. The most noticeable thing about Cali is that both of his legs are in casts from his thighs to his toes. Cali was born with deformed legs and he had his third surgery in June. However, this does not slow him down one bit. If someone puts him in his crib, he will perch himself on the headboard or flip himself over into the crib next to his (the first time I saw him do this I was certain he was going to break his arms). Cali is also a chatterbox. I have learned most of my Swahili from him and he will parrot my English phrases.

The next oldest would be Matthew, who is 20 months old. He is a sweetheart and I love Matty. He has the most adorable laugh. Like all of the babies at the orphanage, Matthew wears cloth diapers which causes him to waddle. And instead of sucking his thumb, Matthew likes to suck on his middle and ring finger. When Matty does this I can't decide if he looks like he is making the sign for I love you or if he looks like he belongs at a rock concert.

Then there is Monica, who is about a year old. She is in the process of being adopted and is one of the few older girls left. Girls are usually much easier to get adopted in Kenya, because family land is divided between the sons and girls mean an eventual bride price. Monica is a cutie but don't let her small size fool you, she can hold her own against the boys who are almost twice her size.

Next would be Bonaventure, who we like to call Boni. Boni is probably ten months old. Boni is usually very cheerful. The Mamas will sing and even though he doesn't talk, he will sing "Halleluia, ahhh". Boni loves being carried but he hates being put down. So it is best not to pick him up unless you are in it for the long haul or you don't mind listening to screaming. Unfortunately, Boni is sick and in the hospital. We miss him.

After Boni, comes Andrew who is eight months old. Andrew is not the emotional type. He rarely cries and he rarely smiles. When I first started working at the orphanage, Andrew could not sit on his own and I worried that he might be behind developmentally. The good news is that he is catching up and he can sit up now.

Then there is Walter, who we guess is about 6 or 7 months. He arrived about a month ago and for the first week he screamed nonstop. Luckily for our eardrums, he seems to have adjusted to life at the orphanage. When I saw him smile for the first time I was amazed at the transformation. His entire face lights up and his smile reveals two little front teeth.

That is all of our older babies, the ones that can sit and eat solid foods. We also have little newborns.

Victor is two months old. I don't know if he is colicky but he cries more than all the little ones combined.

Dorothy is almost two months old. For the longest time I thought of her as baby Christopher Lloyd because she had these huge eyes and this crazy hair. Luckily she seems to be growing out of that.

Penha is about a month old and is named after Sr. Penha who runs the orphanage.

Janaina is just over a month old. Her twin brother John passed away. I am happy to see that she seems to be thriving.

Mary and Moses are two weeks old and they arrive Monday. Their mother died during childbirth. They look a like and I can only tell them apart by their hair. Mary's hair is straighter but Moses has a full head of curly hair.

Those are my twelve little babies.

Still More Random Thoughts

2009-08-04T20:29:00.000+01:00

I am a Master Diaperer. You thought cloth diapers were a thing of the past but you were wrong my friend. I can now properly diaper any kid at the orphanage, from newborns to two year olds, even Cali who has cast on both legs. Luckily someone else washes the dirty diapers.

I would rather walk through the rain than walk through wet grass.

I have finally found a cat I actually like. The boys have the cutest little kitten. It runs around like Spazzy McGee and Sunday it ate so much that it looked like it had swallowed a tennis ball. The best part about this cat is that I don't seem to be allergic to it. I would think about getting one when I got home, except that (at least according to the internet) it is the world's rarest house cat.

I hate playing minesweeper on my computer but am strangely addicted to it.

I like Wednesdays because I get to sleep in. Most mornings I catch a ride with the Sisters on their way to church but there is Mass at the house on Wednesdays so I have to walk. This means I walk six miles that day, instead of just five but I get to sleep until 7am.

Todays commute home sucked. I got soaked walking to the matatu stand and when I got there I had to take the King Solomon matatu (it has "King Solomon" written on the windshield thus my name for it). The last time I took King Solomon it was weaving dangerously in and out of traffic and six people in a row with three seats. Today it did neither because ten minutes outside of town it gets a flat tire and the jack is broken. Twenty minutes later we got packed into another matatu and there was a ten minute debate about what people should pay. After arriving in Malava I still had a twenty minute walk home in the mud.

The letter m is almost broken on my keyboard. I hit it but it doesn't always work. So I read what I wrote and it says "After arriving in alava I still had a twenty inute walk hoe in the ud." Thank goodness for spell check.

Orange Fanta is now my favorite kind of soda. My entire life coke has been my weakness. Now I strangely find myself drinking orange soda. What is the southern hemisphere doing to me?

Baby John

2009-08-04T17:20:00.002+01:00

Someone is always sick at the orphanage. Last week Dorothy came home from the hospital on the day that John and Monica were admitted. They were still gone yesterday and today. I meant to ask how they were doing but I didn't get around to it until this afternoon when I was feeding Janina, John's twin sister. That was when I got the sad news that John died. He was only four weeks old. The twins had been at the orphanage for three weeks, after they were abandoned in the forest. Janina is bigger but John had more hair. I had trouble telling the twins apart unless they were next to each other. It breaks my heart to think that will no longer be a problem.

John's death reminds me of how fragile life is. I live in a place where there are no guarantees that a baby will survive into adulthood. Today I realized just how attached I get to these children and how vulnerable that leaves me. So I sit here crying for John, that poor abandoned baby and I try to take comfort in the fact that he has found the peace that this world could not give him.

Vacation

2009-07-31T10:53:00.005+01:00

Last weekend, Sue and I went to Kisumu. We got a hotel for 1000 ksh a night, which is about $12. Good luck finding a hotel in the US that cheap and I bet they wouldn't even provide bed nets. Friday we took a boat ride around Lake Victoria which is the largest lake in Africa and the source of the Nile River. We saw the mangroves, fishermen wading around waist deep in the water, and hippopotamuses (or is it hippopotami?). It was pretty cool seeing hippos. There were probably twenty or thirty of them and we got fairly close. After the boat ride we ate dinner, had a few beers, and stayed out past dark. This was the first time I went out after dark since January. Chances are, nothing would happen to me if I stayed out after dark in either Awkunanaw or Malava but the nuns highly discourage it and I figure why tempt fate. So I enjoyed the two block stroll from the restaurant to the hotel on a lit sidewalk. Saturday we met up with Tom and did some shopping. Then Sue and I spent most of the afternoon at the pool. We finished the day with dinner and a movie. It is a sign of how much I miss going to the movie theater that I actually agreed to see the Hannah Montana movie. Sunday morning we left bright and early for the matatu stand and headed back to Malava. All in all it was a very nice vacation.

2009-07-22T18:18:00.002+01:00

Working at an orphanage is sort of like being a parent, you love all of your children but there is one that is definitely your favorite. (Parents can deny it all they want but come on, who are they trying to kid?) My favorite is Matthew. He is about a year and a half old and he is the oldest child in the baby wing. Matty is a charmer and everyone loves him. On my second day of work I rocked him to sleep and since then he has been my pal. Matty can be a handful: turn your back on him for two seconds and he will be getting into something he shouldn't, he gets jealous when other children are getting more attention than him, and if he is mad at you he likes to spit. Still he has a smile that never fails to melt my heart.

This week Matthew has been pretty lethargic and when he threw up yesterday morning we knew he was sick. At first the Sisters thought it was malaria but now they suspect it's measles. I thought measles was a thing of the past, like the plague but apparently there has been an outbreak around Kakamega. One of our newborns is spending her second night in the hospital for treatment and now Matty is sick too. Poor babies. Tomorrow we will take Matty to the hospital and all I can do is pray he will be alright.

On a happy note though, Lawrence got adopted today. Richard was adopted last week and a family from Malta is in the process of adopting Monica. Since I began working at the orphanage two children have been adopted but we got five new arrivals. Sometimes it feels like we take one step forward and two steps back when it comes to finding homes for our babies.

Kisumu

2009-07-18T17:28:00.002+01:00

Last weekend I was sick and my time was spent in bed watching dvds. So today I wanted to get out of the house and do something fun. Sue and I finally decided to make a day trip to Kisumu. We had to spend two hours on the matatu but it was nice having a change of scenery. Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya and it is located on Lake Victoria. There is a lot of things to do in Kisumu but we had to leave by three o'clock if we wanted to get home before dark. So we ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I haven't had Chinese food since last December and I was excited when we found this place. Sue got a Thai dish and I got terriyaki beef, which was soo good. After lunch we went shopping at Nakumatt which is like a Kenyan Walmart. Then it was time to go back home. Our little day trip got me looking forward to next weekend when we are going to get a hotel and spend more time in Kisumu.

Randomness

2009-07-16T18:44:00.002+01:00

I made potato and corn soup for dinner tonight and I thought it was pretty good. My special ingredient: just a dash of worchester sauce.

I have taken to wearing shorts under my skirts. Lucky for me too because today Hilary was sitting in my lap and he peed in his pants and on my skirt. It was a lot easier to wash out my skirt because of my trusty shorts.

It was cold enough for me to see my breath on the way to work. I never thought living on the equator would be this cold but then again it is winter time.

Last week I stopped by the boys' house on my way home. Michael was chasing a chicken around with a spatula. Apparently the chicken just wandered in off the street and made itself at home. It even laid an egg on Michael's bed, which I found hilarious. Michael was less amused but at least he got dinner out of the deal.

I have the worst luck when it comes to picking matatus (public transportation in the form of a 15 passenger van). Today I got on a matatu and had to wait 25 minutes for it to leave when full. The other day I was on my way to work when the driver pulled over in the middle of no where to urinate by the side of the road and then take ten minute smoke break. Last Friday Sue and I had lunch in Kakamega and afterwards I got on a matatu back to Malava, while she went to the store. When I got off at the Malava, lo and behold there was Sue. My matatu was so pokey that she beat me back to town.

It was a stressful day at work today because there was only one other adult besides me in the baby wing today. So it was two against ten. We got two more babies this week, one is two weeks old and the other is roughly six months old. The six month old was abandoned in the forest. In Kenya it is relatively common to leave a baby to die in the bush. I try not to judgemental but I find the practice difficult to accept. Most of the time it is a newborn left in the woods, but in this instance someone took care of this boy for six months and then decided to abandon him in the forest. Not surprisingly, this boy is having a hard time adjusting. He seems to cry constantly and even after I rocked him to sleep he would make those hiccuppy gasps a child gets after serious crying. Poor kid.

Hot showers are awesome. I just took one and I think I used the equivalent of three days worth of water in Nigeria but sometimes you just have to splurge.

Sunday Brunch

2009-07-12T18:38:00.002+01:00

Sue, Tom, Michael, and I always have brunch together on Sunday. We take turns cooking and today was my turn. I decided to make pizza (complete with onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and real bacon). I made the dough from scratch but I cheated and used a jar of pasta sauce instead of making it myself. The hardest part about making pizza is guessing when its done cooking because the oven doesn't have a temperature gauge. The end result turned out pretty well, although the cheese had an interesting consistency. The company was good and the food wasn't bad so my first Sunday Brunch was a success.

Love from Africa,

Learning Swahili from Two Year Olds

2009-07-08T17:42:00.002+01:00

At the orphanage I am called either mama or dada. I was wondering if the kids were a little confused when it dawned on me that maybe dada means something other than father. And it just so happens that dada means sister is Swahili.

I thought it would be wise to learn a couple key Igbo phrases before I left for Nigeria. However, I got on a plane to Kenya without knowing a single Swahili word. So I feel like I have been playing catchup trying to learn Swahili. The other volunteers taught me a couple phrases and the nuns let me borrow a couple phrase books. But most of my vocabulary comes from the orphans, the two and three year olds who can actually talk. All day long I parrot the things Matty and the other children say. Sometimes I repeat the things Mama Nene (who also works in the baby wing) says to the children. In this manner, slowly but surely I am learning Swahili.

One of the first words I learned was shika. My first day at the orphanage Hilary starts pulling hairs out of my head and handing it to the other children, each time saying shika which means to hold or take. I have learned other words at work like kuja which means come here, lala which means to sleep, hakuna which means there is no more/its all gone, kumatema which means eat, and hapana which means no. Learning another language from two and three year olds is not easy. It is hard enough to understand little kids on a good day when we speak the same language. So I am always thrilled when I tell the kids to come here or go to sleep and they actually listen.

Orphans, Malaria, and the 4th of July

2009-07-05T11:35:00.005+01:00

This was my first full week in Malava and it was definitely interesting.

I survived my first week at the orphanage. I now know the morning routine and what to do. I am also getting to know the babies: Andrew is a messy eater, Monika likes to cuddle, and Richard hates taking naps. Still more impressive, I managed to survive the commute to Kakamega. This week I spent about seven hours riding on a matatu (bus) and eight hours walking to and from work. Oh and of course it rained every day on my way home from work.

So things were going really well until Thursday night, when I started experiencing flu like symptoms. On Friday, Sr. Joy and Sue took me to the hospital so I saw the doctor and got started on drugs. Saturday morning, I went back to the lab for the blood test and congratulations it's malaria. I really should have known since this is the fourth time I have had it in six months. Considering one British guy in Kisumu has Swine flu and is now being quarantined with a bunch of other people at their hotel, I got off easy with malaria.

Saturday was the Fourth of July and we celebrated in style at Tom and Michael's place. They had a barbecue complete with hamburgers and hot dogs, cold beer, potato salad, watermelon, french fries, and onion rings. For dessert we enjoyed cookies and ice cream. I wasn't feeling too well but I still had a good time. If only we had fireworks...

Contact Info

2009-07-01T17:32:00.002+01:00

Here is my address and phone number is anyone is interested:

Katie O'Dea
CO: The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
PO 323
Malava 50103
Kenya

254-717-616-178

According to the other volunteers, the Kenyan postal system works pretty well. A letter should arrive in a week or two and padded envelopes only take a little longer.

My First Day at the Orphanage

2009-06-29T17:47:00.003+01:00

The verdict is still out about how much I like my new job. Today was my first day and it too soon to formulate an opinion. I now work at the Divine Providence Orphanage in Kakamega, in the baby wing. I help three other women look after five preschoolers, six babies who are roughly 6-18 months, and two very young infants. I get to work around 8 am when we start bathing, dressing, and feeding everyone. The next couple hours are spent cleaning, helping with the laundry (most of that is done by women prisoners on lone from the neighboring prison), making beds, and basically keeping the kids happy and entertained. Lunch, which was also my only break today, is around one o'clock when I eat with the Divine Providence Sisters who run the orphanage. This afternoon consisted of folding all the laundry and rocking fussy babies. My work day ended at 4:50.

In some ways it was fun working at the orphanage. The kids are ridiculously cute and who doesn't like rocking babies? Yet in many ways it is depressing work. The youngest baby, who by my guess is probably only a week or maybe two old, was abandoned in the forest. The staff treats the babies with love and kindness but there is only so much they can do. There isn't enough time to give everyone enough attention. Often it is the screaming child who gets picked up while quiet babies like Andrew are left lying in their cribs.

I don't know where I am going to get the energy needed to work at the orphanage. I don't know what is more tiring, chasing two year olds around the courtyard or dealing with a baby who screams every time I tried to put him down. Today we had almost finished feeding everyone, when one baby threw up his entire breakfast all over himself, me, and the floor. That meant changing him for the second time in thirty minutes, cleaning my clothes as best I could, and mopping the floor. Then, as if the work wasn't exhausting enough, there was the commute home. In order to get home (or to work for that matter) I have to take a 40 minute bus ride and then there is a 30 minute walk from the bus stop. Today it was pouring and it took me an hour and forty minutes to get home.

So this job could be very rewarding. Or it could mean a lot of long days. More than likely it will be both.

The cool thing about Kenya is...

2009-06-27T17:05:00.004+01:00

the wildlife. Nigeria was a pretty awesome place but the most exotic animal I saw was a scorpion. Kenya on the other hand has lots of animals. On Tuesday, Sr. Jane took Sue and I to lunch at a national park just outside of Nairobi. When we were leaving we saw a bunch of wild baboons, who had overturned a garbage can and were eating the contents. We drove to Malava on Thursday and it was a poor volunteer's version of a safari. We saw herds of gazelle, a couple of warthogs, vultures, a flock of flamingos (that looked like a sea of pink on the lake), and zebras. All of them were running around wild outside of Nairobi. Back home drivers have to avoid hitting deer, here it is zebras. We also have a lot of animals at the house. The Sisters have four or five cows, several goats, at least three chickens, two dogs, and a cat.

Travel Misadventures and Miracles

2009-06-22T15:49:00.000+01:00

Sunday I came the closest I have ever come to missing a flight. It was probably the most stressful day of my life. I took the 7 am bus to Lagos and that is where the trouble began. The bus was a half hour late to begin with and the roads were a muddy mess after two days of rain. Around Oro we were stuck in grid lock for two hours. We lost a side mirror (on a military vehicle no less) and I saw more than one car bump into another vehicle. The nine hour bus ride turned into a thirteen hour trip. One of the Sisters arranged for me to meet Emmanuel, the driver at the last bus stop. Unfortunately, the bus company recently added a new last stop. So Emmanuel called and asked where I was, turns out he was at the previous stop and it was almost a half hour before we met up. So it was 8:45 when we arrived at the airport and my flight was at 10:10. When Emmanuel and I arrived at the check-in counter we were told that it was closed. I stood there gaping at the woman, wondering what I was supposed to do. Luckily after a 2000 naira bribe (roughly 20 bucks) they agreed to check me in. The next problem arose when weighing my bags. When the woman informed me that the two bags combined were four kilos over weight, I was ready to start coughing up the dough so I didn't have to unpack my luggage. Emmanuel discreetly tugged my sleeve and after a few minutes of us just standing there, they took the bags away, gave me my boarding pass, and nothing more was said about the weight. So I made it over that first hurdle at the airport.

I now had an hour to get through immigration and security before the gate closed but the line barely seemed to move at all. My anxiety and nausea kept increasing as I watched the minutes tick past. It did not help that Emmanuel and Sr. Amarachi kept calling to check if I had made it through yet. With ten minutes left, I finally made it to the front of the line. The officer asked to see my passport, boarding pass, and immigration forms. The first two I had ready but it appears in their haste to check me in, I was not given the necessary immigration forms. The officer told me to go back to the check in counter and pick up a form. By this time I was ready to either cry or throw up. The woman took pity on me and assured me that the South African flight crew had just arrived themselves, I would not have to wait in line again, and I would still make my flight. So I ran back to the counter but not a soul was in site. When I finally tracked down an employee, he told me there were no more forms. By this point I felt certain that I was not getting on that plane. Luckily I spotted an employee for another airline and he helped me acquire the form. I jumped to the front of the line, received my exit stamp, and it seemed as if my luck was finally changing. However after going through the metal detectors, an security guard led me off to the side and told me to open my backpack. He then said as calmly as you please, "you pay me 100 US dollars now." Cops seem to be constantly asking people what they will give them, but this is the first time I had ever seen someone demand a certain amount. If it was 20 bucks I probably would have paid right up but 100 bucks is a lot of money for a poor volunteer. So I used the tactic I have seen the Sisters use several times: don't come out and say no, just stall. So I kept telling that man that I didn't understand. The jerk kept repeating "you pay me 100 dollars." It became a battle of wills and five precious minutes later, he finally gave up and told me to go.

After nearly giving myself an ulcer, I finally arrived at the gate at 10:15 to find that they hadn't even started boarding yet. The flight took off an hour and twenty minutes late but I was on it. So that is how twenty four hours after the start of my journey I find myself sitting in Johannesburg typing away. Yesterday was by far my worst day in Nigeria but just writing down all the wahalla has been very therapeutic and I feel much better. I prayed more yesterday than I have in a long time. The Good God must have been listening because it was a miracle I made it on that flight. And eight hours from now, God willing, I will be in Kenya.

Love from a different corner of Africa,

Things I have learned in Nigeria

2009-06-22T15:42:00.000+01:00

Just because you are in Africa, doesn't mean there is a lion, elephant, or giraffe nearby.

It is not a good idea to fetch water in cargo shorts. The buckets catch on the pockets and then you end up slopping water all over yourself.

I thought living in a convent might be like the Sound of Music, without the nazis. It was nothing like that. Living with nuns was actually a lot of fun.

Malaria is more fun the second and third time.

The part in the Wizard of Oz, where the Wicked Witch starts melting always seemed far fetched to me. After spending time in Nigeria's heat and humidity I think it is entirely plausible that someone could melt.

Murphy's Law is alive and well. Anything that can go wrong, will probably go wrong. This is especially true when it comes to travel in Nigeria.

Pineapples do not grow on trees.

It is acceptable and sometimes necessary to start laughing without knowing why.

Roosters do not crow at dawn. Well, they do but they also crow at all hours of the day and night.

A baby is never too young to be tied on someones back and carried around.

If I had to choose between running water and electricity, I would rather have electricity. Although having both is preferable.

Eating bugs is a crunchy but not all together unpleasant experience.

Just because a cop is looking for a bribe, doesn't mean you have to give one.

Haggling over prices is an art form. It can be a long and frustrating process but in the end it is very rewarding.

The fastest way to tell a goat apart from a sheep is to look at the tail (goat tails point up and sheep tails point down).

During my entire time in Nigeria (not counting the airport) I saw a total of 18 white people. Six of whom were SNDs and four more were other religious. I am relatively young, unmarried, white, and a woman, which made me an especially rare commodity. Now I know what it is like to be the minority. It was fun at times, other times it earned me special treatment, but often times it left me feeling exposed and uncomfortable. In the future I will have more sympathy for anyone who is in the minority, whether because of their gender, race, age, or culture.

Being homesick for a place that is not your home is much worse than being homesick for your home. You can always go home.

Goodbye Awkunanaw

2009-06-20T11:27:00.001+01:00

Today is my last day in Awkunanaw. I will spend tonight at the Nwodo house and Sunday morning I take the 7 am bus to Lagos. I should arrive around 5 pm and my flight leaves at 10:10 pm. Around 5 am on Monday, we should land in Johannesburg, South Africa. I will have a five hour layover and then I fly to Nairobi. Provided everything goes according to plan, I should be in Nairobi around 4pm.

I will be excited about going to Kenya once I arrive. But right now, I am stressed out about the journey and I am depressed about leaving Nigeria. There is something special about Nigeria. The people are open and friendly. There is so much joy, even among the poor and suffering. I have grown to love Awkunanaw, the school, and especially the Sisters. Way back in October at the CMMB orientation, someone asked why we wanted to volunteer overseas. I said something about living in Germany, how I loved experiencing a different culture, and that years later I still get homesick for a place that was never my home. Well I am going to be horribly homesick for Nigeria. I pray that one day God will bring me back to Nigeria.

Countdown

2009-06-19T23:21:00.000+01:00

I HAVE ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT IN NIGERIA!

18 HOURS LEFT IN AWKUNANAW!

AND I HAVE FINISHED WORKING AT THE SCHOOL!

I wish the queasiness would go away...

Snails

2009-06-18T19:03:00.001+01:00

Sometime ago, I went to the market and noticed what I first thought was seashells in a bag. On closer inspection, I realized it was actually snails. Snails are a delicacy in Nigeria. Since I have decided to be more open to trying new things, I asked if we could eat snails one day. Well that day was today.

This afternoon I went with Ngozi to Zenith and PHB banks, the school has accounts at both banks. I was really struck by the disparity of wealth in Nigeria after going to the bank. Outside PHB there was a half naked boy begging for food, inside men in expensive three piece suits sort wads of cash. And having lived mostly without running water or electricity since January, I sometimes forget what it is like to have luxuries such as air conditioning. But like anywhere in the world, luxuries are always available if you have enough money.

After we left the bank, Ngozi and I headed to Obwayta, the large market. We bought snails, pineapples, and watermelon. We also looked at a few stalls that sold fabric because Ngozi wants to make a new veil. So that was our shopping expedition.

When we got home Franca cooked the snails. Normally, snails are cooked in soup and eaten with swallow but Franca fried the snails instead. The snails were a little chewy but actually pretty tasty. I would eat snails again if I get the chance.

Countdown

2009-06-17T09:09:00.001+01:00

I ONLY HAVE FOUR DAYS LEFT IN NIGERIA!

THREE DAYS LEFT IN AWKUNANAW!

TWO SCHOOL DAYS LEFT!

I keep checking the countdown because I am in complete denial. How can I be leaving for Kenya already? Where has the time gone?

Nigeria vs. Kenya

2009-06-15T22:21:00.003+01:00

In the coming weeks, I will probably be comparing Nigeria and Kenya a lot. Thanks to the CIA World Factbook, here are some statistics for Nigeria and Kenya.

Location: West Africa vs. East Africa

Area: 923,768 sq km (Ranked 39th largest in the world) vs. 582,650 sq km (Ranked 55th)

Highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m vs. Mount Kenya 5,199 m (2nd Highest in Africa)

Population: 149,229,090 (9th highest in the world and 1st in Africa) vs. 39,002,772 (Ranked 34th)

Population growth rate: 1.999% (Ranked 59th) vs. 2.691% (Ranked 25th)

Urban population: 48% of total population vs. 22% of total population

Infant mortality rate: 94.35 deaths/1,000 live births (Ranked 13th highest) vs. 54.7 deaths/1,000 live births (Ranked 44th)

Life expectancy at birth: 46.94 years (Ranked 212th out of 224) vs. 57.86 years (Ranked 188th)

Total fertility rate: 4.91 children born/woman (Ranked 32nd highest) vs. 4.56 children born/woman (Ranked 38th)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 3.1% (Ranked 23rd highest) vs. 6.7% (Ranked 10th)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 170,000 (Ranked 3rd highest) vs. 150,000 (Ranked 4th)

Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% vs. Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%, other 2%

Literacy total population: 68% vs. 85.1%

School life expectancy: 8 years vs. 10 years

Education expenditures: 0.9% of GDP vs. 6.9% of GDP

Independence: 1 October 1960 (from the UK) vs. 12 December 1963 (from the UK)

GDP (purchasing power parity): $338.1 billion (Ranked 35th) vs. $61.83 billion (Ranked: 84th)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,300 (Ranked 180th) vs. $1,600 (Ranked 193rd)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 70%, industry: 10%, services: 20% vs. agriculture: 23.8% industry: 16.7% services: 59.5%

Oil - production: 2.352 million bbl/day (Ranked 14th in the world) vs. 0 bbl/day

Roads paved: 28,980 km vs. 8,933 km

Holy Blisters Batman

2009-06-15T15:28:00.000+01:00

I only spent about an hour at school today. This is partially because once again it is Assessment Week so classes in the library are canceled and partially because I wanted to get some packing done. Well I still don't have anything packed in my suitcases but at least I have things sorted into piles. So after lunch I wanted to do something productive. That was when I heard voices outside my window. The land outside my window is quickly being reclaimed by the bush and I was surprised that anyone would be out in the waist high weeds. Turns out that Ngozi started clearing the brush away so things could be planted. I decided that clearing the bush would make today a productive day. Ngozi was using the machete, so I got the hoe. Now in the US, a hoe would probably have a long handle like a rake; in Nigeria, a hoe has a short little handle which forces the user to bend over.

We made steady progress over the next hour and it was kinda fun. I saw a poisonous spider which Ngozi quickly hacked up. Ngozi saw a reddish brown snake, which is pretty dangerous. Bernadine came out and told me her brother would marry me so I can help in the farm. While taking a break I noticed several blisters on my hand but I went back to work. I now have four of the biggest blisters I have ever seen. The one on my thumb is about the size of a nickel. There is an episode of The Office where Andy shows his blistered hands after hitting a couple thousand golf balls. That is kinda what my hands look like.

Countdown

2009-06-14T08:05:00.002+01:00

I ONLY HAVE SEVEN DAYS LEFT IN NIGERIA!

SIX DAYS LEFT IN AWKUNANAW!

AND FIVE MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!

This is more stressful than leaving the US was. I have to keep reminding myself to breathe.

Yummy Termites

2009-06-12T20:52:00.005+01:00

I ate flying termites for dinner tonight. Every time there is significant rainfall a swarm of flying termites descends upon the house. They manage to get past the mosquito netting on all the doors and windows, where they dive bomb any light source. Soon afterwards the termites begin losing their wings and are forced to crawl instead. The first time I was visited by a biblical type plague of flying termites, I used nearly an entire can of bug spray in an effort to reclaim my bedroom. Now I simply let the termites be and in the morning I sweep up the discarded wings. Most Nigerians do not use bug spray on the termites because that makes them inedible. This afternoon I came into the kitchen and there was a large bowl of still crawling termites. They were fried and served with dinner. Most nights the Sisters make something for Helena and I to eat as an alternative. Tonight Celestina made us pancakes, which were quite good. I also ate termites with my pancake. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of eating termites, they really aren't that bad. They are crunchy and salty and Sr. Helena swears they smell like bacon. I thought the termites tasted a little bit like popcorn.

Pictures

2009-06-12T14:29:00.002+01:00

From left to right: Josephine, Nnamdi, Me, Nonso (in the back), Bene, and Boniface

Performance of the Signals

Children at the Send Off

The Staff of the Notre Dame Nursery and Primary School and Academy in Awkunanaw

Ifeoma, Franca, Celestina, Martina, Me, Ngozi, Helena, and Bernadine

Sendoff Celebration

2009-06-11T20:35:00.005+01:00

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
-Annie

Today the school gave me a going away celebration. Classes finished early at 11:00 and the students gathered outside. As tradition dictates, Sr. Martina, Sr. Ifeoma, and Sr. Helena were then called to be seated at the head table. Then the band and the signals (dancers with flags) led the Chief Celebrant, which was me, to the head table. One of the students gave a speech thanking me for my work. Then the signals came out and preformed. They came and invited me to dance and one boy handed his flags over to me. I was a little hesitant to dance in front of the whole school but it seemed rude to decline and I am accustomed to embarrassing myself. Luckily the Sisters and a few of the cutest little kids joined me soon after so I felt better and it was kinda fun. After that Sr. Martina and Nnamdi, the technology teacher, each gave a short speech. So often I have felt inadequate or unable to do as much as I would like but hearing all of the kind things they said made me feel very loved and appreciated.

After the school celebration finished, there was a staff meeting. Seeing as I will not be at this school two weeks from now and the meeting didn't really pertain to me, I went back home for awhile. When the meeting finished someone called me to come back to school and phase two of the celebration began. The staff wanted to have one last meal with me. Everyone else eat abacha with fish and drank minerals. I was surprised when they served me pizza and Star beer. Apparently Martina searched all over town for a restaurant that made pizza. As we settled down to eat, several teachers wished me well and spoke about what they will remember about working with me. Even some of the people I didn't know very well got up talked and it was then that I realized that most people don't realize the full impact, either positive or negative, their actions have on others.

My sendoff party was very special, mostly because my closest friends were there. The staff have always been very welcoming and supportive of me. The children crack me up and there is nothing better than being hugged by a mob of kids. If I think about leaving it depresses me. So instead of dwelling on my imminent departure, I tried to live in the moment, count my many blessings, and enjoy my time as the Chief Celebrant.

Countdown

2009-06-09T16:18:00.003+01:00

I ONLY HAVE TWELVE DAYS LEFT IN NIGERIA!

ELEVEN DAYS LEFT IN AWKUNANAW!

EIGHT DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!

Mouse Trap

2009-06-06T17:38:00.002+01:00

Last night the Sisters had one of their community meetings and it lasted until quarter to nine. Around 8:30, I decided it was time for me to eat, with or without everyone else. So I was eating my spaghetti, when I heard a noise in the store room. We have had a problem with rats (the Sisters call even the smallest mouse a rat) eating any food left out and they even left two impressive holes in a plastic container. I looked around but there was no sign of the creature. So I went back to my dinner and soon after Bernadine came into the dinning room. That is when I saw the mouse run across the room into a box. I told Bernadine about the mouse and she confirmed that there was something in the box. She said she was going to kill it and that I should position myself behind her in case the rat made a break for it. I told her straight out that when it comes to killing rodents, I am a total coward. Bernadine ignored this and took off one of her flip flops, so she could kill the rat with it. When asked if she needed a broom or something, she replied that she would kill it with her leg if needed. So she shook the box and the mouse came running out. Bernadine slapped down her sandal but she missed and it ran straight for her. She jumped about a foot in the air as the rat scurried across the room under the cupboard (I made no attempt to catch it because I really am a coward). By this time, reinforcements had arrived: Ngozi got a mop, Celestina got a couple pieces of wood, Helena got a broom, and Ifeoma took off her sandal. It was quite comical watching them crowd around, looking for one small mouse. At one point the managed to scare it out of the cupboard but alas it evaded the blow from the broom and took refuge under the fridge. Try as they might, no one could find the mouse after that. So the rat lives to fight another day.

After the rat hunt, we finished our dinner and everyone went to bed. I couldn't help thinking that the mouse might want revenge for the multiple assassination attempts. Most of the Sisters sleep upstairs so it is unlikely that the rat would visit them. My room however is on the first floor and I was the one who spotted it. Fortunately, the mouse seemed content to stay in the kitchen near the food and I didn't have any visitors in the night. But last night I had a dream about ROUSes from The Princess Bride.

What's in a Name?

2009-06-01T22:00:00.000+01:00

When speaking with Nigerians I sometimes find myself thinking, we speak the same language but we don't really speak the same language. Here is a list of Nigerian words and phrases and their meanings:

Abi? - Pidgin for "isn't it?" or "right?"
Boot - The trunk of a car
Catarrh- The common cold or flu
Chop - Food
Cleaner - A pencil eraser or a chalkboard eraser
Damott - Term used in the army barracks for house
Ease myself - To pee
Find my trouble - To be annoying or get on my nerves
Hawker - People selling things often from trays carried on their heads
Jagbajantis - Pidgin for nonsense
Knickers or Trousers - Pants. Meanwhile, to the Nigerians the term 'pant' refers to underwear.
Light - Means electricity, such as the all too common phrase "There is no light."
Lorry - Truck
Mach - To step on, when sitting on the floor we tell students to put their hands on their laps so they don't get their fingers mached
Mineral - Soda
Naija - Slang for Nigeria, sometimes written 9ja
Okada or Machine - Motorcycle
Onye Ogi - Igbo for a black person
Onye Oicha or Oyibo - Igbo for a white person
Oya - Let's go or hurry
Petrol - Gasoline
Shakara - Showing off, strutting
Slippers - Flip flops
Spraying - During a dance or performance, it is customary to throw money at performers.
Swallow - Food (often made from wheat, corn, or cassava) that is rolled into a ball, dipped in soup, and swallowed whole
Trek - Means to walk
Wahala or Palava - Pidgin for trouble
Yellow Fever - The traffic cops that are found at major intersection instead of stop lights

Oyibo Cooking

2009-05-29T18:43:00.003+01:00

I have been planning on making pizza for the longest time and today I finally did it. Most of the ingredients are easy enough to find but the cheese required a trip to Roban and it cost about fifteen bucks. Still, there comes a point when I need a taste of home and I stop caring what things like cheese costs. So around one o'clock I went to the kitchen to make the dough and I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen. The hardest part about cooking in Awkunanaw is judging how much food to make, some days no one seems to eat at all and other days the food doesn't last. I made three pizzas: one with honey in the dough (luckily Franca told me she cannot eat honey before I made all of the crusts), one with sausage made out of canned beef, and one with only veggies (onions, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, and olives). During the afternoon I made a comment about drinking beer with pizza in the US and Sr. Martina came back with bottles of Star beer. Tonight there were eleven people at dinner, three pizzas, one cabbage salad, and litre bottles of beer. That, my friends, is called the high life.

A Short Week

2009-05-28T15:18:00.003+01:00

This week has been very short, at least work wise. Monday was the only day I spent a full day at school.

On Tuesday, Sister Helena and I went to Ndeaboh, which is a rural area of Enugu State. There is an SND community there and they run a primary school. Sr. Kristi took us on a tour of the school and we stopped in each classroom. We stayed for lunch and then we drove the forty five minutes back to Enugu. On the way to Awkunanaw, we stopped at Roban. I stocked up on peanut butter, ketchup, and enough cheese to make a pizza.

Wednesday was Childrens' Day which is a national holiday. I went with the school staff to Okpara Square, where dozens of schools from around Enugu participate in the annual march past. The children get dressed up in their best uniforms and march past the governor (or as was the case this year the governor's representative) on his special podium. It was cool seeing all the different schools represented and the little kids were absolutely adorable. However the march last about three hours and after that all the big men had to make their customary speeches. The march past ended up being a little long but I was glad I went.

Today, Helena and I went to Ugwoumo, another rural SND community and school. This is the third time we arranged a visit to Ugwuomo and I was beginning to think it was destined to get canceled. The first two times were canceled on account of rain. It has been two or three days since it has rained so we decided to go. The Sisters did tell us when we came to standing water in the road to simply go straight, not to try going left or right because that would be worse. However, we ran into trouble long before the flooded road. We got to the end of One Day Road and our brakes failed. Luckily our driver, Mr. Chukwuma managed to turn on to the main road and avoid hitting the other cars. When we coasted to a stop, Helena and I wondered that no one was hurt, while Chukwuma checked the brake fluid. It was low and ten minutes later he came back with a bottle of brake fluid. We started out again but the brakes were still a little sluggish so we stopped at the mechanic. While the mechanic worked on the car, Helena and I stopped at the shoe repair shop and then bought a couple of cokes. Two hours later we were on our way. In the end we made it to Ugwoumo but our tour of the school was shortened so Chukwuma could get back to Awkunanaw in time to drive his school bus.

Tomorrow is another holiday, this time it is Democracy Day. Once again there is no school. I am excited about tomorrow because I have absolutely nothing planned. I might do laundry, maybe hit the market, but above all just relax. I may have only worked one day this week, nevertheless it has been pretty hectic. Friday will be a nice vacation from all of my days off this week.

Look out Kenya, Here I come

2009-05-27T18:17:00.004+01:00

I now have a plane ticket to Nairobi. My flight out of Lagos is at 10 pm on June 21st. Direct flights from Nigeria to Kenya are very rare, so I have a five hour layover in Johannesburg, South Africa. I should arrive in Nairobi around 4 pm on Monday the 22nd. I still don't like the thought of leaving Nigeria but I am excited about going to Kenya.

25 days left and counting...

Even More Random Thoughts

2009-05-23T22:18:00.004+01:00

We have been doing a lot of planting in Awkunanaw. I planted okra and pumpkins. Okra takes only four days to germinate, provided the birds don't eat the seeds. The Sisters suggested that I make a scarecrow and I agreed as long as they provided the materials. I would use my own clothes but I only brought a couple pairs of jeans and I need them.

I was in the library when a little four year old boy started crying, an awful howling that seemed to be a harbinger of bad news. Josephine brought him in and attempted to calm him down enough to explain what had happened. Eventually in between hiccuping sobs, the boy told us that he had stolen another child's Bubo (a flavored milk drink) and drank it all. The boy was filled with remorse (or terrified that someone would beat him). Either way he kept saying over and over that he wouldn't do it again as fat tears rolled down his cheeks. Even after assuring him that no one would beat him, he still kept repeating "I won't drink his Bubo again." The Bubo's rightful owner, who had a reason to cry did not make a peep. Helena, Josephine, and I couldn't help but laugh.

On Saturday I went to the Gariki market. Of course, calls of 'onye ocha', 'oyibo' and my favorite 'white' followed me where ever I went. I try to be friendly but after awhile I tune out most of the greetings. When I got to the chicken section, one lady greeted me and asked where my friend was. I said hello and that my friend (I assumed she meant one of the Sisters) was not with me. She tried talking to me and started following me. I thought she was just another pushy vendor and lost her in the crowd. Later that afternoon Ngozi and Bernadine went to Gariki and several people told them about seeing me. Apparently that lady was the person Bernie and I had once bought a chicken from and she was very worried that I would get lost since I was alone. She had wanted to call and tell Bernie that I was alone in the market but she did not have the phone number. Instead the woman abandoned her stall to follow me around, until she was sure I was heading toward the exit. When Bern first relayed the story I was annoyed, after all I am not a child. Yet it also made me laugh and I was touched that someone would want to look out for me.

It may sound stupid, but I was sad when I broke my trusty plug adaptor. I dropped it one too many times and it broke into like five pieces. My mom bought it for me before I left for Germany and I have taken it with me on every trip since. I don't consider myself an overly sentimental person but I was really attached to that plug adaptor.

It has been storming all afternoon and the temperature has dropped to a chilly 70 degrees. I don't know why but I was freezing and I actually put on jeans and a sweatshirt. This has been the third time I have been cold in Nigeria and the first two times were due to malaria. Luckily this time I am feeling healthy. So tonight during grace one of the Sisters prayed in thanksgiving for the cool weather and especially for me since I prefer being cold and she sees it as a sign that I am adapting to the heat.

Technology is Awesome

2009-05-23T18:02:00.007+01:00

Modern technology rocks. I just finished talking to my family on Skype. First I talked to my parents and my younger sisters, Amy and Megan. Then my sister Becky joined in the skyping fun. It reminded me of being home when there are multiple conversations going on and people keep interrupting each other. After spending a month in Amoyo, I have a new appreciation for the internet. Without the internet it is difficult to keep in touch with everyone back home and it drives me crazy when I can't talk to my family and friends. Something as simple as seeing pictures of Amy's graduation or of Logan walking makes me feel involved and still a part of their lives.

Most people probably won't understand what's the big deal about having the internet. But internet access is one of my few creature comforts. Right now I do not have running water which is true of many people in Awkunanaw. Yesterday we ran out of gas to work the stove. Half of the roads I took today were unpaved. There is a gasoline shortage in the country which means drivers have to wait in line for hours at the gas station or buy fuel on the black market. And Nigeria supplies so much electricity to neighboring countries that it can't provide constant electricity to even the major cities like Lagos or Abuja, let alone Awkunanaw. If it weren't for our solar panels, I would be sitting in the dark right now. Yet when I turn on my computer, I can pick up two wireless internet signals, the one at our house and the new Coal City wifi. The residents of Enugu may not have water or electricity but the state government provides its citizens with wifi. It seems strange to me but all I can do is accept and move on.
Through the miracle of the internet I wish you a good night.
Love from Africa,

2009-05-21T20:28:00.002+01:00

Maybe because it is Ascension Thursday and there was no school today, or maybe it is because of the cool weather (the high was only 89 degrees), or maybe it is because I want to enjoy my last month in Nigeria, but for some reason I have been in a really good mood today. Today was just one of those days where I find myself completely happy and at peace with the world.

At lunch the Sisters and I were discussing my travel plans. I am still waiting for final confirmation but I should be leaving for Kenya on June 21st. It is difficult for me to believe that I only have a month left in Nigeria. Ngozi said something to the effect that the Kenyans are lucky to have me and I replied that I am the lucky one. And all afternoon I kept thinking about how fortunate I am. For the last four months, I have lived in one of the prettiest places on earth, I have made some really great friends, and my work has been very meaningful and rewarding. Who could ask for more in life? And while the thought of leaving breaks my heart, I get to fly across Africa and start all over again. I am excited about seeing Kenya and trying to understand a new culture. Plus, it will be awesome hanging out with the other volunteers. I am so blessed.

So I guess it makes sense that I am in such a happy mood. Life is good.

Amoyo Pictures

2009-05-19T18:02:00.007+01:00

The Convent in Amoyo

The Students' Dormitory
The farm

Sr. Prisca and I at the Asa River

Sr. Cordis and I hanging out after school

Sr. Fidelia and I

JSS2 during an Intro Tech class

Blessing, Cosi, Jennifer, Anna, Jo, and I

The JSS2 Class

Notre Dame Girls' Academy

Amoyo, Ilorin

Trip Highlights (Week Five)

2009-05-19T17:19:00.004+01:00

May 11th-14th
Monday - Tuesday
I did the usual teaching during the day and tutoring after school. The nice thing about being a visiting teacher is that I could teach just about anything I wanted. The last week in Amoyo I tried to get through the Intro Tech notes as quickly as possible and then the students and I would change subjects and discuss our respective countries. One class period I taught the kids how to do the Hokey Pokey and another time we looked at some of my pictures of the US. When there was a lull in the work, I went over to the Medical Center to help Prisca plant bushes and flowers. I am getting pretty good at digging and planting with a machete.

Wednesday
May 13th is the day St. Julie Billiart (the founder of the SNDs) was canonized a saint and the entire school celebrated her feast day. We started the morning off with Mass and during the school assembly one of the Sisters gave a talk about St. Julie. Dinner was a bigger production than usual since it was both my last night in Amoyo and the feast day. We had rice with lamb, wine, and ice cream.

I was sad about leaving Amoyo because I really enjoyed my time there. The Sisters made me feel welcome and it was fun teaching and even just hanging out with the girls.

Thursday
We were supposed to leave Amoyo at 6 am but as usual that turned into 6:30ish. The first half of the trip the roads were in decent shape and since we were driving a nice extended pickup truck (complete with air conditioning, shocking I know) the trip was quite pleasant. The scenery still manages to amaze me. Unfortunately about six hours later the roads started deteriorating. When we stopped for lunch my stomach was rolling and I was grateful for the chance to walk around a bit. The last two or three hours seemed like an eternity on the road riddled with potholes. Five days later, I still have bruises from being jostled about. The trip was long (especially since there was not even one bathroom break during the nine and a half hours on the road) but it is nice to be back in Enugu.

Trip Highlights (Week Four)

2009-05-18T16:07:00.002+01:00

May 4th-10th
Monday
I decided that it was time to go back to work. I went to school in the morning but there wasn't much for me to do so I headed over to the medical clinic. I meant to take a tour sooner but the only time I was there, it was as a patient. So Prisca gave me the full tour of the waiting room, the lab, the consulting room, the patient ward, and the pharmacy. It is a small clinic but it provides good health care at low cost to mostly poor villagers. Monday afternoon the girls have sports so I taught them Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light.

Tuesday
I went to the JSS1 class and talked about the United States. It struck me how different our lives are, when I tried to explain the four seasons, especially winter. Then I went to Ilorin with Sr. Fidelia. We went to the market and to a shop that sells imported goods like peanut butter. On the way home Fidelia bought me a real ice cream cone to "flag my birthday". That evening I made glumpky (stuffed cabbage) for dinner and it turned out pretty tasty.

Wednesday
I asked for more work and Cordis suggested that I teach the Introductory Technology classes, since the teacher quit. In JSS1 we are discussing different building materials and in JSS2 we discussed force, work, and power, complete with some physic formulas that I learned in high school. In the afternoon I coached (tutored) some students in maths.

Thursday
I celebrated my 25th birthday, Nigerian style. During the morning assembly the students sang happy birthday for me. I only had one class to teach so I spent most of the day relaxing in the house. In honor of my birthday, I planted two pineapples (you can cut off the green top of a pineapple, bury it, and a year later you can pick a pineapple). After school the Sisters took me to Asa Dam which is the closest thing to a tourist spot in Ilorin. The Asa river was swollen from all the rain and the surrounding forests were thriving. It was really beautiful. On the way home we stopped at Royals for real ice cream. We ate our dinner of fried rice while watching the final episode of Super Story. Then we ate birthday cake and drank wine. I was touched by everything the Sisters in Amoyo did for my birthday. I have been here for only three weeks yet I am completely at home here and the Sisters treat me like family.

Friday
I taught two classes today and helped the Sisters type up a schedule for the third term. In the evening I hung out with the students, swapping songs and answering questions about life in America. Sad as it may seem, I was beat by 8pm so I went to bed early.

Saturday
I have been hanging out at the house for most of the day. I helped Fidelia in the garden and I showed some of the Sisters the basics of Power Point. But other than that I have just been relaxing.

Sunday
For the past week, we have had a ram tied up in our garage. The school's chaplain brought it to celebrate the start of term. Originally I felt sorry for the poor animal that had to be killed for our supper. However, after a few days of listening to that sheep's constant bleating and putting up with the petting zoo smell, I has ready to eat. On Saturday, the driver Steven slaughtered the ram and today we finally ate it. It was nice having meat, which is a commodity here, even if I found a couple unidentifiable organs in the stew.

Trip Highlights (Week Three)

2009-05-18T15:50:00.002+01:00

April 21st-May 3rd

Monday
The third term started today and classes resumed both at the Primary school in Awkunanaw and at the Girl's Academy in Amoyo. I was a little sad that I missed the kids at Awkunanaw but I was interested to see how a boarding school is run. I went to the morning assembly and then I headed up to the computer room. Three students came and asked if I would help them with Maths. Eventually more students wandered in until the entire JSS1 class was doing math problems with me. I doubt that all of them wanted to do some practice problems, rather I think they wanted a chance to talk with the Oyibo. Later in the afternoon I showed the students how to use Word and Excel. Very few of the students know how to use a computer, even typing is a laborous task for them but they are eager to learn. After school I helped some students review today's notes for Home Economics. I was going home to the convent when a couple of girls asked if I wanted to join them for Sport. I agreed and so we played soccer and volleyball. Unfortunately, our game was cut short when a storm rolled in and we got caught in the rain.

Tuesday
I spent most of the morning at the school and around noon Sr. Cordis and I went to Ilorin. First we ran some errands like paying the electric bill and going the the Ministry of Education. Then we stopped at an internet cafe so I could check my email and use the internet. The computers were incredibly slow, the keyboard had more Japanese characters than English letters, and the three emails I typed did not get sent. Although I did read some of the emails in my inbox so that was nice. After the internet cafe, we went to the market to pick up sheets for the students' beds and some fresh fruits.

Wednesday
I continued working at the school where I do several things, including typing up the list of library books, showing students how to use the computers, and tutoring the girls in a variety of subjects from the geometry to snakes to fatigue. I like working with the little kids in Awkunanaw but it has been nice having conversations with the older girls in Amoyo. They constantly ask me about the US and they were thrilled when I taught them the song Yankee Doodle.

Thursday
Tuesday night I had a horrible headache and since then I had been feeling punky. After vomiting this morning, I went over to the medical clinic. After reciting my symptoms, Sister Prisca called the lab tech to draw up some blood for a malaria test. It is official, I have had malaria twice in two months. The good news is that I did not wait until I was really sick to get tested and hopefully this time it will not be so bad. I must say it is nice that I live with a nurse and I didn't even have to leave the compound to get my drugs.

Friday and Saturday
May 1st is a national holiday so there was no school on Friday. Which was good because I was too sick to go any way. So I spent the day in bed cursing mosquitoes. Saturday was more of the same.

Sunday
I managed to get up for church but I went straight to bed as soon as I got home. The good news is that I started feeling better by Sunday night.

Trip Highlights (Week Two)

2009-05-18T15:39:00.002+01:00

April 20th-26th

Monday
Even when school is not in session I try to help out where I can. Often times that means showing one of the Sisters how to use a certain program or typing something up for them, so today I typed up the Student Handbook. After that we went to town, where we stopped at the market and bought Indomie (gotta feed the oyibo) and fruits and veggies, bought mattresses for Stephen the Nigerian Youth Corp volunteer (which is sorta like Americorp), and finally we stopped by the Novitiate and another SND house in Ilorin.

Tuesday
We ran out of water. I take my showers in the morning and by then the water was gone, so I am feeling very dirty. Oh well, I knew it was too good to last. The good news is that in an hour or two the above ground tank should fill and we will have running water again.Today I used Excel start making a card catalog for the library. Brother Vincent who is an engineer came to work on the drainage system around the house and school. He will be staying with us for several days. He took us to Royals, a Nigerian fast food restaurant and we ate real ice cream and bought pizza to take back to the house. It was almost like being home.

Wednesday
I didn't do much work because NEPA wasn't cooperating and that makes computers useless. I took a siesta in the afternoon.William, who is a friend of the Sisters came for dinner. He is Nigerian who has been going to school in California and it was nice to hear stories about the US.

Thursday and Friday
I worked on the card catalog some more, it now includes several hundred books. On Thursday we ate dinner in front of the tv and watched Super Story.

Saturday
I did laundry, because it is always nice having clean clothes. Most of the day was spent hanging out, reading, and watching movies. In the afternoon I helped Fidelia plant corn, pumpkin, and watermelon with a machete.

Sunday
It was a typical Sunday, begining with Church and then a big lunch of rice. Students started returning to school for the start of term. The school has roughly fifty students between the ages of 10 and 14.

Road Trip Highlights (Week One)

2009-05-18T15:11:00.003+01:00

I have been gone for a while and it has been an eventful couple of weeks and a lot has happened. Here are some of the highlights:

April 13th-19th
Monday
We (three nuns and I) drove five and a half hours to Edo state. We had to stop at four police road blocks in the first hour and after that I stopped counting. Sometimes the roadblocks are to check for safety violations, such as not using a seat belt or not having a fire extinguisher, but more often than not it is a chance for cops to earn twenty niara from drivers who do not want to be delayed. We stopped on the way and I used a "toilet" that was a cement stall with a hole in the ground. I will never complain about gas station bathrooms again. I ate a cricket: it was flavored with ginger, was crunchy, but not as bad as I expected. I saw pineapples growing and no, they do not grow on trees. I spent the night at the SND Central house, where all the Nigerian SNDs are meeting for their annual assembly.

Tuesday
I met a bunch of nuns who were coming for the assembly, the final head count was around seventy. I also saw five white people in Nigeria at the same time (prior to this the record was four) I ate cashew fruit (we could eat all the fruit we wanted but not the nut at the bottom because the nuns sell it for a profit). It sort of reminds me of persimmons and the juice is so acidic it will permanently stain clothes.I then went to Fugar, where the postulate house is. Fugar is about 25 minutes from the Central House.

Wednesday
I was given the grand tour of the postulate house and their farm including the yam, groundnut, and cassava fields. My entire life flashed before my eyes when the okada (motorcycle) I was riding on nearly crashed. I doubt if I will be getting on one anytime soon. I went to the Fugar market and bought pineapple for super cheap, small ones were less than 40 cents. Visiting shut ins is part of the postulates' ministry SO in the afternoon Edith and I trekked to the home of an elderly man and we stayed for a nice chat. I enjoyed twenty four hours of constant electricity AND running water. The last time I was able to enjoy that luxury was when I was still in the US sometime in January.

Thursday
It was raining when I woke up and so I was able to go back to sleep until the scandalously late hour of eight o'clock. Sr. Annette (the British nun at the John Nwodo House) is celebrating her golden jubilee this year so I typed up the program for Friday's mass and then spent the afternoon hanging out at the Central House.

Friday
I went back to Central House and helped cook the feast for the last night of the assembly. Christopher and Amos (two SND drivers) took me to Agene Bode to see the Niger River. Three times a week there is a floating market where fresh fish and crops are sold and ferried across the river in long skinny boats. We took a boat ride up the river the scenery is crazy beautiful. I befriended the central house dog. It is the first dog I have seen up close in three months. I pulled the name of one of the winners of the SND raffle. The sisters have been selling raffle tickets to raise money for a new school in Abuja. The Sisters gave me a glass of wine to drink on the way back to Fugar (with all the pot holes I was surprised that I didn't spill it all) since the drivers wanted to go before the party was over. So I can actually say I went out drinking on a Friday night.

Saturday
I went to stay with Srs. Cordis, Prisca, Fidelia, and Maureen in Amoyo, Ilorin which is north of Edo. We left around 9 am and even though the trip was supposed to be four and a half hours we didn't arrive until 4 pm. Part of the delay was because we were in my second car accident in Nigeria (vehicles often tap each other but it doesn't count as a real accident unless the drivers stops and gets out). It was pouring down rain and the bus behind us ploughed into the back of our van. The good news is that no one was injured; the bad news is that the SND's van while drivable has seen better days. Without seat belts in the backseats, it was a miracle that no one was hurt. The nuns start off every journey with a few prayers and those prayers paid off that day.

Sunday
We went to a tiny little church in the village with an oyibo Irish priest. I enjoyed it for three reasons: we drove there so I didn't have to stumble around in the dark, it was almost entirely in English with a few songs in Yoruba, and it was only an hour and a half which is very short by Nigerian standards. When we got back I was shown around my home for the next couple weeks. The nuns in Amoyo run a boarding school for girls and a medical clinic. This is the school's second year and the Sisters are trying to come up with funding to build another wing and buy other materials, still I see a lot of potential. My projects for this week will be cataloging the books in the library and teaching the nuns to use Excel and Powerpoint. That night a woman was in labor at the clinic and the nuns were with her, so I ate a solitary dinner of rice with goat stew and fried plantains. Between the running water, the abundance of pineapple, and the dairy products, I am totally getting spoiled this week.

Back Home

2009-05-18T14:51:00.004+01:00

I am soooo excited to have the internet again. I managed without the it for a whole month but I was disappointed when I arrived in Awkunanaw on Thursday and it wasn't working. It made me want to cry. But the good news is that it is working now.

So I am back in Enugu. It was strange coming home because everything was the same yet it somehow felt different. But I was excited to see the Sisters again and they seemed to have missed me as much as I missed them. I plan on staying put in Awkunanaw for the next 34 days until I leave for Kenya.

2009-04-28T12:12:00.002+01:00

For the record, I have not fallen off the face of the planet. I know I haven't updated my blog for awhile but I have been traveling around Nigeria and I haven't had access to the internet for the past two weeks. Right now I am at an internet cafe in Illorin which is in Western Nigeria. I have been staying with some Sisters in Amoyo (which is just outside of Illorin) and I have been working at a boarding school for girls. I am not sure when I will go home to Awkunanaw but for now I am just enjoying the chance to visit other parts of the country.

Love from Africa,

Easter

2009-04-12T21:58:00.003+01:00

Happy Easter. And what an interesting holiday it has been for me. Last night everyone in the house (all twelve of us are very rarely in same place at the same time) went to the Easter Vigil Mass which started at 10 pm. It finished after two am and then we had to walk home so I didn't get to sleep until after three. I intended to sleep in but the sun, chickens, broadcasts from neighboring churches, and the comings and goings of the Sisters all conspired to wake me up around 8 am. After getting dress, I went to the kitchen to help cook. We made steamed rice, chicken, cabbage salad, and pineapple for our Easter dinner. I made canned corn and mushrooms for a little taste of home. We also had Easter eggs. I wrote everyone's name on an egg and mixed vinegar and food coloring for the dye. It worked pretty well and the nuns were impressed. It was a nice meal and the company was good, as always. Oh and we have a goat or a sheep (in the daylight I will be able to tell which it is) running around the yard. The priest dropped it off tonight as a Easter gift for us. The Sisters must be right, I am turning into an African woman because my first thought about having a goat in the yard was that it will be very tasty.

Now I need to finishing packing because I am traveling with Sr. Amarachi tomorrow. The Sisters of Notre Dame have a big meeting this week and instead of staying home alone, I am going to do some traveling. The following week I will visit some of the other places around Nigeria where the SNDs live and work. I am not sure how long I will be gone but Ilorin, Edo, and Makurdi are on itinerary.

Have a happy Easter. Love from Africa,

Garri

2009-04-10T20:29:00.003+01:00

Before this week, I didn't know what garri was. During exam week, a few Primary 1 students incorrectly answered that goats eat garri, not grass. So the extent of my knowledge of garri was that it is not eaten by goats. However this week I have been thoroughly introduced to garri and how it is produced.

Garri is ground up cassava, which is a root tuber. In our compound we grow cassava and this week the Sisters harvested it. I missed out on opportunity to dig up the cassava but I helped out with everything else. The cassava has to be harvested after the rains start and there is a short window before it starts to go bad, which is why we did all of this work during an already hectic Holy Week. So for two days we peeled cassava. I find it funny that regardless of how often I cook, the nuns are still hesitant to give me a knife. If I stopped to examine a blister (we peeled a lot of cassava) they would assume I had cut myself.

This morning we washed the peeled cassava and packed it into huge sacks. We kept a little cassava to make tapioca but most of it was made into garri. The bus driver agreed to take the seven bags of cassava, the three nuns, and I to the garri mill. The cassava is ground up, then mixed with palm oil to give it a slightly different taste but mostly just a yellow color. After it dries out, the ground cassava is sifted to remove the larger particles and is then roasted over a fire. I helped mix in the orange palm oil and it sort of reminded me of using Play Dough. The oil also turned my skin orange and my hands looked they belonged to an Oompa Loompa. Fortunately, it came off after a good scrubbing at home. After two hours at the mill, we grounded, mixed, and bagged all of our garri. Monday it will be cooked and ready for us to pick up. Then we can mix the starchy powder with water and eat garri till our hearts are content.

Washing of Feet

2009-04-09T22:38:00.003+01:00

It is Holy Thursday and I spent over six hours in Church today. This morning I went with the Sisters to the Cathedral for Chrism Mass when the Bishop blesses the different oils used in various ceremonies and it is a big deal in Nigeria. This evening I went to our local church St. Theresa's for the standard Holy Thursday mass, which commemorates the Last Supper and Jesus washing the disciples' feet. Both services were nice but I am not used to spending the entire day in a church and at times I found my mind wondering.

This afternoon it rained again, it has rained every day this week, and the walk to St. Theresa's was awful. I had just showered (during the few hours in between masses I helped peel our recently harvested cassava) and crossing One Day Road I found myself ankle deep in mud. But I figured in for a penny, in for a pound, so I just kept going. Farther along I greeted the group of women who are always sitting outside this one house. They noticed the mud caked on my feet and quickly produced a bucket of water to wash my feet. I started washing the mud off my leg and before I could stop her, one lady had started scrubbing my shoes. I was a little embarrassed but mostly I was touched by that act of kindness. It made me think of Jesus washing his friend's feet and how I can recognize the face of God in my neighbors. I live among people who may not have much but they would give you the shirt off their back.

Mud and the Market

2009-04-08T16:35:00.003+01:00

Last night, it started storming pretty badly. The rainy season came late this year but it would seems that it is finally here. It poured last night and the wind was so bad that a hug metal sheet of roofing ripped off the roof. So Sr. Gloria's (she lives here when she is not at school) ceiling was leaking. But I got several buckets of water without having to draw it up from the cistern. What makes life really difficult when it rains is the roads. Only some roads are paved and the unpaved streets become muddy, slippery messes. I can't imagine how people tolerate the rain for the next four months.

Sr Franca and I went to the market today to get food for our Easter dinner. Our shopping expedition took over five hours. We bought the usual dried stock fish, flour, fruits, and vegetables. We also went to the butchers. The butchers have a couple of buildings in the middle of the market with huge cement slabs covered with various cow parts. We bought liver (which I now eat) and cow stomach (which I am a little hesitant to try). As Franca haggled over the price I had time to look around and take it all in. I was a little taken aback when I saw the whole cow heads, watched a man pound the hoof off a foot, or saw a lone cow eye sitting on the table. All of those cow parts are available but I can't even get a hamburger. I was happy because we found vinegar and food coloring for dyeing Easter eggs.

2009-04-07T16:00:00.004+01:00

From left to right: Sr. Maria (Nwodo House), Sr. Franca, Sr. Theresa (Nwodo House), Father, Sr. Martina, Sr. Bernadine, Sr. Helena, Sr. Florence (Nwodo House), and Sr. Ifeoma

Spring Break in Awkunanaw

2009-04-07T15:11:00.003+01:00

Spring break makes me think of sandy beaches and margaritas. Even though there are palm trees and lots of sunshine, this is a different sort of spring break.

Today I woke up and started some spring cleaning. Even though it has rained a few times this past week, the dust is still pretty bad. The dust manages to get in my room through the screens on the doors and windows. I once saw an episode of Trading Spaces, where they designed a beach themed room complete with sand floors. I feel like I have that sand floor whenever I go a couple days without sweeping. So I swept and dusted my room and then I scrubbed the floors. The floor is back to it's normal color, instead of rusty brown. So I spent several hours cleaning but at least my room no longer looks like a giant sandbox.

After lunch (which was a delicious Shepard's pie that was almost like an American meal) Sr. Bernie, Ester (a visiting aspirant) and I went down to the stream. The stream like many sources of water in Nigeria is polluted with trash, laundry detergent, and various other things. However the source of the stream is a spring. There the water is clean and clear. So we went wading in the water, with the local children. Then we collected the water trickling out of the rock face and took some home. As a precaution we will boil the water before drinking it but most of the locals drink it straight from the spring. It was a nice way to cool off and get out of the house.

More random thoughts...

2009-04-05T21:09:00.004+01:00

We just finished dinner and as usual after every meal everyone grabs a toothpick. Some times the Nigerians refer to toothpicks as "evidence" because it proves that you ate. Even fast food or the meal served on the ABC bus comes with toothpicks. I am constantly reminded of my Great Grandpa when I see people with a toothpick hanging from the side of their mouth.

I love pineapple. It is good in the US but here it is soo much better. The Sisters have noticed how much I enjoy it and so we now eat pineapple several times a week. When I asked if pineapples grow on trees, the Sisters nearly busted a gut laughing. For the record, pineapples do not grow on trees.

Today was Palm Sunday. Instead of passing out palms at church, most Nigerians bring their own from home. The church was decorated with green palm branches that reached from the floor to the ceiling. In honor of Palm Sunday we had Banga (palm oil soup) for lunch but I steered clear of it after my last less than pleasant experience.

Almost all Nigerian buildings, from the fanciest bank office to the shabbiest apartment building, are surrounded by high concrete walls. Our house is surrounded by a wall and then both the school and house are surrounded by the compound wall. Some walls are topped with barbed wire and others broken bottles. I used to complain that my high school looked like a prison but it was nothing compared to our school with the unpainted cement walls and barbed wire topped fence.

Every so often I hear a someone playing the trumpet, very badly. It reminds me of those first few weeks my sister Megan started playing the trumpet. It is not uncommon to hear music around here but I thought it odd to have a solitary trumpet. After awhile I realized that someone was attempting to play Taps. The trumpeter probably belongs to the army barracks near by. I think the army might want to look for more musicians, that music was painful.

A tiny baby lizard just fell from the ceiling and scampered off. Apparently, Al has a girlfriend and they are procreating.

Goodnight. Love from Africa,

Sprink Break

2009-04-03T19:19:00.002+01:00

I don't know why but I was in a gloomy mood this morning. School dismissed early today and we are officially on Spring Break. Even that couldn't get me out of my funk so I decided I needed a change of scenery. I was going out for a walk, when I met Blessing. She needed to buy potash and I tagged along. We had just walked out the front gate when we were nearly run over by a herd of cattle. The cattle had lean, almost scrawny bodies with drooping white hides and impressive horns and they were being herded by an equally scrawny boy. After we finished shopping, Blessing took me to the stream where children were swimming. The warning about parasites and such that might be in the water was the only reason I kept from diving in. After our detour to the stream, Blessing went back home to cook and I made a loop of the neighborhood going past our church and around to One Day road. I had a nice walk that improved my mood and I might have stayed out longer but I noticed that my skin was turning red. I figure that I am long overdue for a sunburn any way. After spending a couple hours in the hot sun, I needed a shower. Unfortunately that meant I had to fetch water for my room. Bernie and Blessing were also fetching water and like usual, they were showing off by carrying it on their heads. So after I filled my container, I made one last trip and carried the bucket on my head. I managed to keep from soaking myself although walking through the door proved problematic. Even if I didn't do anything exciting today was a good start to our Spring Break.

2009-04-01T20:21:00.002+01:00

I can't believe that it is already April. Today was the last full day of school for the second term. Tomorrow the kids will not be at school but the teachers will come to finish up their work. Friday the students come to school to get their report cards but school is dismissed at 10 am. We get two full weeks off of school and then the third term begins on April 27th.

I am now half way through my five month stay in Nigeria. This year is going by so quickly.

Relaxing after school

2009-03-31T20:26:00.003+01:00

I feel like a broken record when I say once again regular classes are canceled this week. Exams are finished but the teachers are using this week to finish grading and getting report cards ready. The children come to school but without classes they have a lot of free time. When the teacher is out of the classroom, the volume is quite a bit louder but all things considered the kids are really well behaved. I admire how self sufficient Nigerian children are. So today I worked in the financial office and then I helped record exam scores. Tomorrow will probably be more of the same. Thursday we have the day off from school and Friday the children come to pick up their report cards. Next week school is out for Easter Break.

This evening Ngozi asked if I wanted to come with to get her hair relaxed. Since I haven't left the compound since Sunday I agreed. The salon Ngozi went to before closed, so we wondered around Awkunanaw looking for a hair dresser with a generator. Relaxing hair requires a hair dryer which requires a generator so we spent almost a half hour looking for a suitable place. It took just over an hour for Ngozi to get her hair done and I must admit I was pretty bored. Still it was nice to get out. Just walking down the street in Awkunanaw can be an adventure. We were walking around when chickens ran across the road. I tried to make a bad joke but Ngozi didn't get it. I also saw a dog on a hot tin roof. I have heard of a cat on a hot tin roof before but never a dog and it made me wonder how it managed to get up there. And on the way home, one guy proposed to me.

All in all, not a bad day.

The Nuns and I

2009-03-30T17:47:00.005+01:00

I would like to take some time to talk about my roommates, the nuns. There are seven Sisters of Notre Dame in Awkunanaw: Martina, Ifeoma, Helena, Bernadine, Celestina, Ngozi, and Francisca.

Sr. Martina is the headmistress of the school, which suits her no nonsense personality. Martina is from the North and so she is the only non-Igbo speaking Nigerian. She is usually the quietest of the bunch which may be why her quick sense of humor often takes me by surprise.

Sr. Ifeoma (Ifee for short) is a jolly sort of person and she is always smiling. Ifeoma works with the Prenursery school kids, who are three and four years old. The nuns take turns saying grace before meals and yesterday was Ifeoma's turn to pray, however people were not promptly coming to the dining room. Ifee was very hungry so she shouted out her prayer to the empty room and began to eat.

Sr. Helena is 70 years old which makes her the oldest in the house. Helena is British, the other Onye Oicha. I have heard stories told about Helena's legendary ability to teach any child how to read. Helena likes things neat and orderly. It bothers her if pictures are crooked, table cloths are off center, or people greet her when her back is to them.

Sr. Bernadine (usually goes by Bern but I like to call her Bernie) teaches Science and Home Economics, and is the homeroom teacher for Primary 2B. Bernie and I can get each other laughing over the stupidest things. Last week she was at a conference but when she returned she told the children that they had to be well behaved because she spent the last week sick in the hospital and she couldn't handle the stress. I had to avoid making eye contact with her or we would have cracked up.

Sr. Celestina works in the Bursar Office, keeping tract of the School's finances and collecting payments for school supplies. Today I helped her compare the cash book to bank statements for the month of January. Celestina is an albino and people have said that we are sisters. Celestina seems almost shy when she is in a crowd but she gets very animated when in a smaller group.

Sr. Ngozi is the youngest of the nuns, she took her final vows about a year ago. She also works as an accountant in the Bursar Office. Ngozi has been pretty sick with an ulcer the last few weeks and it is nice to see her becoming herself again. Ngozi is not discreet about anything but her honesty can be refreshing. More than anyone she has picked up my American phrases. Ngozi has this swagger and a mischievousness to her that I love.

Sr. Francisca or Franca teaches English to the older students. I am surprised to find that I have the most trouble describing Franka. She is neither shy nor outspoken. She is tall. Hmm... Franka is competent and kind.

Last but not least, is Blessings. Blessings lives with us but she is not a nun. She cooks, cleans, goes to the market, and does countless other jobs. I have trouble guessing anyones age but I don't think Blessings can be much older than twenty. Blessings has had very little schooling but she is smart. When I first arrived she could barely speak a few words of English. Today Bernie was complaining about fish bones in the soup Martina had made and Blessings apologized and told Bernie not to get worked up about it. The sheepish way Blessing used her new English phrase made everyone laugh.

I cannot say enough about these eight women. We often joke that they are out to make my life difficult but that is far from the truth. They have been very good to me. I appreciate all the little things they do for me, like buying pineapples because it's my favorite. They easily forgive me when I inadvertently say or do something wrong. They are so grateful for the work I do and it makes me wish that I could do more.

Mothering Sunday

2009-03-29T20:58:00.003+01:00

Today is Mothering Sunday, so Nigerians are celebrating their mothers. At church there is a huge procession of all the mothers and everyone is singing and dancing. When I got back from church I spent the next few hours in the kitchen. This week is Sr. Martina's turn to cook so I helped her chop onions and carrots, fry groundnuts for tomorrow's soup, and pounded ginger, garlic, and onions into a paste. Of all the nuns, Martina is probably the quietest but I love her sense of humor. At lunch the nuns translated what Fr. Nwodo said during mass. Father has three goats, one of which he has owned for over a year, and sadly all three are missing. One is big and white, the second is smaller and black, the third did not have a description but it will most likely be in the company of the other two goats. If anyone finds the said goats or knows of someone in possession of these goats should please contact the priest.

So I would like to wish all mothers a Happy Mothering Sunday. Today I have been thinking about my family and the BBQs we often have on Mothers' Day. If you are reading this Mom, I just wanted to say that I love you and miss you.

A good day

2009-03-28T20:39:00.004+01:00

Last night one of the neighboring churches had an all night vigil. All night vigils are common in Enugu and a few times I could hear one in Awkunanaw. But last night's vigil was either particularly spirited or it just had a superior loud speaker. I went to bed around 11 pm and I was rudely awakened just before 3 am. The preacher kept shouting "Holy Spirit fire, Holy Spirit fire" and the crowd responded with equal enthusiasm. The vigil kept me awake until 6 am and by then I was rather annoyed. If people want to stay up all night praying, well more power to them, but do they have to keep the rest of us awake too? With only four hours of sleep I was pretty grumpy this morning.

Fortunately my day got better as it went on. Since I was up at 6, I decided to fetch water before it got too hot. Then I swept and moped by room because a ridiculous amount of dust collects in my room after only a few days. At 9 am Sr. Bernie and I went over to the school to meet a group of students. Our school has been invited to participate in a cooking contest and the children practiced making steamed rice and coconut rice. After we finished cooking, I went out shopping with Sr. Helena. We went to a couple of shops that cater to expatriates. I bought things like canned soup, ketchup, pop tarts, and even a snickers bar. After we finished shopping, we went to the John Nwodo house and Sr. Theresa gave me my passport. My new visa is good until June 22, 2009. On the way home, we stopped at a couple of road side stands and bought bananas and four pineapples, which are my absolute favorite. Now it is 9 pm but I am completely exhausted. Still it has been a good day.

Sweating like a Christmas Goat

2009-03-27T21:07:00.003+01:00

According to my blog, it is 82 degrees outside. 82 degrees doesn't sound that hot, it gets that hot every day of the summer back home, but trust me this is a different type of heat. Right now it is 9 pm, it unbearably hot, and I am sweating like a Christmas goat. Apparently Nigerians slaughter goats for Christmas dinner and the goats start sweating when they realize they are about to be killed.

I hate that we never get a break from the heat. Every morning I take a shower and before my hair dries I am already sweating. During the worst heat of the day we don't even have electricity to use the fan. Then in the evenings we spend a lot of time in the kitchen where our stove gives off even more heat. Before I go to bed I usually take another shower to cool off but there is no escaping the heat. I would feel bad complaining about the weather but it is almost too much for the Nigerians, who are used to heat.

So I am off to bed and I am praying for rain.

2009-03-26T17:23:00.003+01:00

I was a bum today. I went over to school for morning assembly and then I helped Ngozi in the office. After that I went to the teacher's lounge to help grade more exams but all they had were Igbo exams and I can't grade those. So I went back to the house and killed twenty minutes helping Ifeoma cook lunch for the tank cleaners. (Workers cleaned the water tank so now all we need is a delivery of water or rain and we should have running water. I am soooooo excited.) After that I was out of things to do so I went back to my room and fell asleep. I took a two hour nap and I really needed it. I haven't been sleeping very well this week, mostly because of the heat. I woke up around 1:30 and I decided that I needed to do some actual work. So after grabbing some rice for lunch, I went back to school. I graded Agriculture exams until almost five and then I called it a day. This evening was just a typical Thursday: Fr. Nwodo came to say the weekly mass at our house but of course he was forty five minutes late, then we ate dinner, and we finished the night with this week's episode of Super Story.

The biggest adjustment to life in Nigeria for me has been getting used to the slower pace. The nuns are amused that I am constantly looking for something to do but I need to keep busy. If I wanted I could probably come back to the house and take two hour naps everyday but that would make me go crazy. The day goes by so much faster when I have things to do. Back home I could do any number of things with my free time but I am pretty limited here. So I keep looking for more work and I try to appreciate having so much free time.

Exam Week

2009-03-24T20:08:00.002+01:00

Once again I find my normal routine disrupted, this time because it is exam week (which technically started last Thursday). In the past we have had week long assessments but this is more important. The children are taking exams to pass the second term. So I find myself looking for work yet again. For a couple days I worked in the office, going over four months worth of financial records. There are three different records kept of every bank transaction and I was given the tedious task of comparing them, to make sure it all matched up. Today I wrote out bills that itemize the children's' school fees for the third term. Primary 1-4 students pay about $80 in school fees which is a lot of money for some of these families that can barely afford to keep their children fed. After filling out over 200 bills, my hand was starting to hurt and I decided to look for another job. I helped Sr. Helena sort newly arrived books for the library. The rest of the week will probably be more of the same, looking for anything to keep me busy. I am starting to resent exams and how it disrupts my schedule. I am still new to teaching and I feel like every time I start to make progress with the kids, another week of tests hits and disrupts us. Oh well.

On a happy note, this week school gets out at 1:30. So that gives me time to do household chores like laundry and fetching water but mostly I have been reading. One of the nuns lent me Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. It is a really good book about Nigeria during the Biafra War and you should read it sometime.

Happy Birthday Sr. Helena!

2009-03-22T17:29:00.004+01:00

Today we had a birthday party for Sr. Helena. Sr. Helena is British but she has lived in Nigeria for over twenty years and it has become her home. Technically today is her 70th and a ½ birthday but she was in England for her real birthday.

In many ways, I enjoy the party preparations more than the celebration itself. Yesterday I helped bake the cake. Nigerian cake is sorta like pound cake with raisins, usually heart shaped, and served without frosting. Today I chopped liver and carrots and washed dishes. Those things might not sound exciting but I love hanging out in the kitchen. The best conversations take place when everyone is cooking together and we laugh a lot.

It was a fun party. SNDs came from around Nigeria and I think there were almost thirty people here. Typical of a Nigerian celebration, there were speeches and toasts in honor of the chief celebrant, lots of food, and lots of dancing. I have two left feet but that has never stopped me from dancing. The party broke up about an hour ago and we finished the cleanup. Now I am just relaxing and enjoying what is left of my weekend.

Long live the Mountain Troubadours!

2009-03-21T08:26:00.004+01:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to all my friends in the St. Mary's Youth Group, especially the Mountain Troubadours. You guys are awesome.

To answer your questions, Nigeria is a deeply religious place. About half of Nigeria is Muslim and half is Christian, with a smattering of traditional religious practitioners. Generally, the south is Christian and the north is Muslim. Even though I live in the south, I can usually hear the iman calling Muslims to prayer throughout the day. However, more often than not when I hear someone on a loud speaker it is usually a Christian. My neighborhood has churches everywhere and they like to make a lot of noise. It is not unusual for them to have loud all night vigils, which can be annoying when I have to get up for school the next morning.

The church I usually belong to is called St. Theresa's. I usually go to the 8 am service because that is the mass for children (they walk to church and attend mass without adult supervision). I like the children's mass for two reasons: one it is nice to see my students at church and I feel bad saying this but it is shorter, only an hour. Mass at St. Theresa's is in Igbo and I only understand a handful of Igbo phrases. The other services can last up to three hours and that is a really long time when you don't understand what is being said. Still I find it interesting going to church. Nigerians have different customs, for instance all the women cover their heads in church, people bring yams or toilet paper for the offering, and there is a second collection for community development where the altar servers squirt people with water. What I really appreciate is the things that are the same. I like the fact that half way around the world, I am reading the same bible verses and saying the same prayers as you are at St. Mary's. Just like you, we are celebrating lent. Although we don't worry about eating meat on Fridays because we only eat chicken or goat once or maybe twice a week. I am looking forward to Palm Sunday because the Sisters tell me that people cut down their own palm leaves from the trees.

If you are interested in sending something here are some things we could use:
Colored chalk
Educational posters (the walls of the school are depressing)
Flash cards (for either math or reading)
Colored pencils
Markers
Masking tape

Please address it to:
Sisters of Notre Dame
CO: Katie O'Dea
14 John Nwodo Close
PO Box 3777, Enugu
Enugu State, Nigeria
Please don't send anything breakable, valuable, or perishable (although I would kill for a cheeseburger). On the customs form you might want to list it as used school supplies without any value, so corrupt postal officials won't be tempted. My mom sent be a package and it took several weeks to arrive but it made it in one piece.

So thank you for everything. Everyone at St. Mary's has been very good to me, especially the Youth Group. I appreciate all your prayers and support. I would not be here without you. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Love from Africa,

Good News

2009-03-20T15:09:00.004+01:00

I got a call from Sr. Theresa today. The Catholic Secretariat told her that my passport has a brand new visa. I was expecting to get only one more month but I got a three month extension, which is so much better. That means that I can stay in Nigeria until June. I am so excited.

So my plan is to spend the next three months enjoying life in Nigeria and then God willing I will go to Kenya. Right now there are four volunteers living in Malava, Kenya. Sissy Corr, our Executive Director and Fearless Leader, has found me a job working at the Divine Providence Home for abandoned and abused children. I would live in Malava with Jean and Sue and the SNDs in Malava and I would commute to the home in Kakamega. It seems like an ideal situation for me. It will be nice to be around other Americans again. I also think it will give me a better understanding of Africa to live in both West and East Africa. If I can't stay in Nigeria, going to Kenya would be the next best thing.

Raining Buckets

2009-03-19T21:02:00.003+01:00

Today it finally rained. The Nigerian rainy season usually starts in March and I have been waiting for it to rain for weeks. Today the sky was pitch black when I left school at 2 pm and a half hour later it started pouring. We really needed the rain. Awkunanaw has been parched and the dust is awful. When I get home I have to wash off the layer of dirt that I acquire throughout the day. I have become accustomed to that gritty taste the dust leaves in my mouth. The rain also means that we are less dependent on water deliveries. As soon as it started raining, Blessings, our cook, positioned four huge containers and assorted buckets in the courtyard to collect the rainwater. It was raining so hard that within twenty minutes a huge garbage can was full. Later on the rain will probably cause flooding and problems with the roads but right now it is nice to have a break from the dust and the heat.

I'm back

2009-03-18T20:51:00.002+01:00

I am back in Awkunanaw. I had an interesting trip to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Sr. Theresa and I made the eight hour bus ride on Monday. We got to the bus station around 4 pm and then made it to the hotel. We stayed at the Pope John Paul Catholic Center (and hotel). It was a typical Nigerian hotel. Not nearly as nice as American hotels but it was clean and had running water. I was excited to see that my room had a fridge, tv, and most importantly an air conditioner. Unfortunately, those commodities were rarely used because NEPA (Nigerian Electrical Power Association) was rarely working. On more than one occasion I was forced to use the flashlight on my cellphone because the lights went out. Monday night we went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Sr. Theresa was worried about finding something I could eat. I assured her that I can eat swallow (bland tasting pounded yam which ends up looking like mashed potatoes) and vegetable soup with stock fish. Nigerians roll the swallow into balls, dip it in the soup, and swallow it whole. I have yet to master this technique and I have to chew it. Swallow is not my favorite Nigerian dish but I can force myself to eat it.

Tuesday we had an appointment at the Nigerian Catholic Secretariat. We took a taxi to the Secretariat office and this was probably the most enjoyable part of the trip because we got a little tour of Abuja. We drove by landmarks such as the Central Mosque, the Central Church, the football stadium, and the American Embassy. We went to the Secretariat office for two reasons: I need help getting a visa extension and Theresa is trying to get an American visa so she can work in and observe Notre Dame Schools in the US. The Secretariat has two employees, Yakob and Stella, who deal strictly with immigration issues. Sr. Theresa's situation was more complicated than mine and we spent seven hours going through various documents. The good news is that Yakob told me that it would be no problem getting a three month visa extension. Apparently the Secretariat has good contacts in the Immigration office, so we left my passport, documents, and most importantly the money. They told me that I could go back to Enugu and Sr. Theresa could collect my passport when it was completed on Thursday or Friday. I am a little nervous about the visa extension but I am trying to keep the faith. I keep telling myself that there is no sense in worrying about things I can't change.

After leaving the Secretariat's office, we went to the bus station to buy my return ticket. Since restaurants are fairly hard to find in Nigeria, we ate at the bus station. It was a nice meal of rice and fried chicken. I was hoping to do some sightseeing or even some shopping but Theresa wasn't feeling well so we went back to the hotel. I lost the desire to explore by myself in the oppressive heat and I just went back to my room too.

This morning I left the hotel by 6:15 am. So it was a necessary trip to Abuja but not exactly an exciting one. The eight hour bus ride can be long and grueling especially on the semi-paved roads but I also find it interesting. I can't stand the Nigerian movies, which are full of overacting, bad special effects, and oftentimes casual violence against women. So instead of watching the on board entertainment, I enjoy watching the passing scenery. In the country there are communities of mud huts with thatched roofs. There are herds of scrawny cows with massive horns, sometimes wandering the roads. Almost all of the rivers have dried up by now and the dust is horrible. Trees and bushes look rusty brown because they are covered in dirt. Still the land is very green and the mountains are beautiful. Most days I forget that I am half way around the world in Africa but during the bus ride that was pretty much all I could think about.

So I am off to bed and it is nice to be sleeping in my own bed again.

Love from Africa,

Going to the Immigration Office

2009-03-15T09:00:00.000+01:00

Today I leave for the Nwodo house. I am going to spend the night there and early Monday morning Sr. Theresa and I take the bus to Abuja. Tuesday, we are going to the National Immigration Office and hopefully I can get my visa extended. My current visa expires on March 23rd which is coming up quick. I don't know how long it will take to get an extension but Martina suggested I pack enough clothes for an entire week. So once again I find myself at the mercy of immigration. They could extend my visa for one month or for the full six months or possibly deny me an extension at all. I hope to get the full six month extension but I am trying to prepare myself for the worst case scenario. Please pray for me and a nice long visa extension.