The beginning

Jambo! Hope you are all well. Things are off to a good start here. We arrived late Weds. night and the airplane lost 6 of our bags (3 of which were soccer equipment for CFK). We got 4 of them back yesterday and a still waiting on the last two. On thurs we rested and visited nearby internet cafes. Later in the afternoon we went into Kibera for the first time. It is incredible to say the least. It is crammed full of shacks built out of sheet metal, like on an airplane hanger. Many of them are rusted and worn, but a noticeable percentage are made of brand new metal. These are the homes and shops that were burnt down during January's election violence. In between the shacks are dirt walkways which are lined with trenches of sewage, old shoes, animals, and garbage. The people are friendly, but surprised that 'mzungus' (white folks) are in this part of town. When we walk past children they yell 'mzungu! mzungu!' and then reach out their tiny hands to touch you. The more shy kids will just stare with a wide grin and turn their heads as you pass. To me, Kibera is best represented by one word: lively. Everywhere there is laughter, random animals (like goats and baby chicks), music, and foot traffic. Kenyans greet Kenyans (and us) with a simple hand slap (maybe a mix between high fivin and a hand shake!).

I am staying with another volunteer with a woman named Jane. We practically live in a fortress of gates, padlocks, and bars so no need to worry about me; I am very safe. Blair and I are still getting adjusted to the time change, one night we both woke up wide away at 2 in the morning. We giggled, made peanut butter and jam sandwiches and told each other stories about home. Blair and Yaniv ( the other two summer volunteers) are wonderful, we all get along really well. We are hoping to go on a safari, see the coast (Mbosa), and spend some time in downtown Nairobi. In the meanwhile we spend the early evening hanging out at Adam's Arcade or Nakumatt which have free wireless internet, food, and coffee.

I met the Binti Pamoja girls for the first time today. Lucky for me, today was a field trip! Wahoo! We all squished into a bus (at least 3 or 4 girls to a bench) and traveled across town to another girls school. The whole bus ride there the girls sang at the top of their lungs. There were no breaks between songs, someone would just decided to change the song and sing it loudly until everyone caught on and switched. We toured the school, played games, and the girls performed some of their poems and skits. The performances were great; one was about rape, another:HIV-Aids, another: the African Child. The games were also lots of fun, although it was all conducted in kiswahili so I often found myself copying the girls and just skipping with them. My favorite game was Mingle; where the leader yells "mingle, mingle" and then all the girls yell "MINGLE" which continues as we walk amongst each other. Then the leader yells "back to back" or "elbow to elbow" etc and all the girls frantically find someone to connect to. My personal favorite was "nose to nose" when all the girls shrieked with laughter and a young girl ran up to me, closed her eyes, and stuck her nose high in the air. I, of course, bent over and touched my nose to hers, while everyone laughed.

Throughout the day the girls would try to sneak a touch of my hair, which was in a low ponytail. they tried to do it so I wouldn't notice, and when I turned around they would pretend nothing had happened. Finally on the bus ride home, this happened again with the girl who I did "nose to nose" with and I just took down my hair and let her play with it. Soon enough, everyone within reach ran their fingers through my mzungu hair. we all laughed. hard.

It has been good. I miss you all. please email me when you can.

Alisa