Hello
Friends!
So it’s been about a month since I’ve
updated my blog and I think it’s high time J Term 2 just finished
week 5 and sometimes I forget it’s June since I’m in the middle of a term
teaching. I’ve been busy making posters, running with the kids twice/week and
having a pretty good time thus far. It was so good when school started and the
compound had life in it again. I was starting to go a little crazy the week
between IST and school beginning since I was stuck in Sipili with not much to
do.
I
am getting more into the swing of teaching but some days I feel like I have no
idea what I’m doing or how to teach a lesson in a better way. I was excited
when one of the teachers asked me to help make 8 social studies posters for
Classes 6 & 7; the students appreciate them a lot and I think they help get
the information across better. I also made one for a science class for a
different teacher and a few vocab ones for my classes. The only trouble is
that, especially in Class 4 & 5, the posters don’t always stay up for too
long because the little kids like to tear them down but for now, they’re up
there.
Last
weekend I left Sipili and visited my first volunteer who had 2 volunteers
already staying with her. It was really good to talk with other PCVs and see a
new town. I traveled 5-6 hours to Nanyuki. It was a little wild in that since
it was a colonized area there is a large mix of people living there. It was
kinda mind-blowing after being in Sipili for so long. Nanyuki has a store
called Nakumatt which I’ve been to in Nairobi and it’s kind of similar to a
wal-mart. Nanyuki also has a few little cafes with free wi-fi and food that has
cheese in it-2 things Sipili does not have. It was interesting being with other
volunteers because they’re all in the same group, the public health/CED
(Business) group that is done with their service in August so they’re view
points on things were slightly different than mine. They have a totally
different experience than the Education volunteers and they’re almost done.
Strange stuff.
This
weekend has been pretty awesome for me! I’ve been waiting to blog until I got
this one project under way and since basically everything here happens at a
slower rate, it’s taken awhile to get started. I got the a-ok about 2 weeks ago
from my headmaster to paint a map of Africa on a wall somewhere. A week later
we were supposed to buy paint together (so that I wouldn’t get ripped off) but
that didn’t happen so Friday I went on my own (and didn’t get ripped off) and bought
4 liters of paint!! I was soooo exited walking home with that paint can in my
hand. Saturday mid-morning we started painting. I had made a chalk mark along
the border I wanted and the boys got to work. All of the kids were out there at
one point or another watching/helping but the older boys did most of the actual
painting. We are doing it on the outside of the boys dormitory. The kids and I
worked for 4 hours on Saturday getting white paint on a first coat. It’s a hard
surface to paint because it’s really rough and we only had one small paintbrush
but it worked and we got it done. Then on Sunday while all but a few students
were at church, 2 boys and I painted a 2nd coat. I had a small can
of blue paint that I’d used when I was painting the inside of my house and I
decided to mix part of that into the white paint so it would look more
ocean-esque as a background. The kids were super pumped to see it when they got
back. And just so you all can picture it better, it’s about 100 inches tall and
90-95 inches across and a beautiful light/medium blue color. The next step is
to draw a grid on it and then proceed to enlarge the map I have square by
square onto the wall. That will probably be the hardest part but that’s
something to worry about a different day since today was about a base paint
job.
Other
news in my life, hm. I had a sore throat maybe 2-3 weeks ago and it made me
appreciate sign language even more!! It was fantastic and I think my throat
healed the fastest it ever has because I only talked when I was talking to the
teachers in the staff room but for all of my lessons that week it was totally
fine and most of my students had no idea that I was even sick. They do however
notice when I don’t bathe for a few days or when I do but I miss a spot on my ankle
or neck hahaha. One Sunday recently in the afternoon when I was planning
already on bathing in 2-3 hours, I hit record of having at least 8-9 kids tell
me my neck was dirty within 30 min. I went into my house shortly after that and
got my bath on, hakuna matata. They love to tell me when they see a rip in my
skirt or a dirt streak behind my ear or anything like that, they keep me in
line; it’s pretty mutual when it comes to that. Other exciting stuff is that I
successfully completed my first puzzle ever!! I got one for Christmas from
Danielle, 500 pieces, and I finally got up the umph to take it on! Usually with
puzzles I get frustrated and don’t get very far. I like to do them with other
people and then when I get up to go somewhere I know that most likely when I
get back a little more will be done and it might be easier. However when you
live alone and you want to solve a literal puzzle on your own before you do it
with munchkins and lose pieces, it only gets done when youre working on it. But
I did it and it felt great! That same night I attempted to make deviled eggs
for the first time, in Kenya and, well, ever. I got the recipe from my Aunt
Mille but when I looked at the recipe I realized I’d have to make some
adjustments. I don’t know if you can call what I made deviled eggs exactly but
they looked like them and tasted egg-cellent! and in case anyone is interested
here are the American and Kenyan recipes to try-both super good!!!!! Thanks
Millie!!!
Hope
everyone is having a super duper luper summer and it’s off to a great start! If
anyone travels anywhere cool, they’re more than welcome to send me a postcard
;) Hahaha and congrats to all the graduates this year!!!! Special shout-out to
BekBekBekBekBek! Way to be a graduate of Solanco High School, and Anna, a
graduate of Solanco Kindergarten, and to my parents for embracing both
graduations J
American
Aunt Mille Version:
6
eggs hard-boiled
¼
C. Mayo
1/8-1/4
tsp. salt
½
tsp. dry ground mustard
Paprika
for garnish
Boil
eggs, cool and peel. (Use 3+ wk old eggs because they peel easier).
Cut
in half and place yolk in bowl.
Add
salt, mustard to yolks and mix until broken up fine. Add mayo and mix well-may
add more mayo or salt for taste.
Fill
in egg white halves and sprinkle with paprika.
Refrigerate
and enjoy!
Kenyan
Peace Corps Version:
3
eggs hard boiled
1/2
medium avocado
Pinch
or 2 of salt
Regular
hot dog mustard
Boil
eggs, cool and peel. (don’t get over excited and peel before cool, speaking
from experience, it doesn’t work too well)
Cut
in half and place yolk in bowl.
Add
salt and the same amount of mustard you’d put on a hot dog if you put it on in
a straight line (though that’s only a guess because I don’t actually put
mustard on my hot dogs and I haven’t eaten a hot dog in a looooong time)
Mix
well and add avocado gradually until you feel like you have enough. It will be
a creamy mixture. You can add more mustard or salt for taste then fill in egg
white halves. Eat right away and enjoy! Also, you can use the rest of your
avocado to make guacamole with tomatoes, an onion, salt and lemon juice, voila,
dinner is served!
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