A hodgepodge of life in Kenya

On Sunday, I visited Janet's parents home in a village about an hour and half drive outside of Kisumu (if you notice, I describe every destination this way. I don't know where anything is). We took a matatu there. Three weeks in, I've finally learned the names for the major forms of transport in the area. A matatu is a van (most similar to a Maruthi) that "fits" anywhere from 15 to 20 people. There are only about 12 seats. It is incredibly crowded and uncomfortable and you see them on the streets everywhere driving like maniacs. But it is cheap. It is not wise for a mzungu to travel alone in one. There are also tuk tuks which are auto rickshaws. I love riding in those in India but here I've discovered that if the road is slightly bumpy, it is just painful and nauseating. My preferred mode of transport has been the piki piki or motorbike. It's quick and cheap and only slightly terrifying. I refuse to try the bicycle taxi called the boda boda.

Floor and I on a piki piki. Natalia calls Floor my bodyguard because I make her sit behind me. 

Anyways,  Janet's hometown seemed to be representative of a typical Luo family. There are several tribes in Kenya and this region is home to the Luo people. I learned that it is tradition for the father to build a home on the compound for each of his sons to live in even if they don't live there. So, the area consisted of 3 small homes and a farm with animals running around. Janet's brother went to college in India so he knew way more Hindi than I did. The family was very welcoming and it reminded me of family gatherings in India back in the day but a million times less loud.

On Tuesday evening, we had dinner with a professor who is friends with Dr. Bailey and 10 undergrads from Maine who are in Kenya for 3 weeks for class, basically just sight-seeing and "helping" NGOs. Most of the students were environmentalists and marine biologists and seemed caught off guard to find out that the "talk" over dinner would be all about male circumcision! In the '90s, Dr. Bailey was part of the research that found that male circumcision could reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS. He founded the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society (NRHS) based on that research and that is technically the organization that sponsored all of us to come to Kisumu even if I don't directly work for them. When I tell people my association with them, I can't believe how willing and open people are to talk about their own circumcisions. It was not traditionally done in Luo culture so getting people to accept it was a barrier at first. But now it has become a male rite of passage. It has replaced the previous rite of passage of removing the six front teeth. 

The Maine professor then made us go around the table  and offer our words of wisdom  as grad students and tell our "story" of how we ended up here today.  My story seemed especially convoluted and made me realize how random it is. A year ago, I didn't really realize I'd be leaving Canton, let alone moving to Chicago and going to Kenya. Even my psychic didn't predict it. I wanted to tell the kids just be cool, let things happen; the universe will take care of it. But I don't think they would have appreciated my hippie nonsense. 

Other happenings this week:

• Someone at work randomly emailed me this video:

• Kenyan music is pretty much awesome and people at work have been more than happy to give me some of it. The 19 year old intern made me a mixtape (that situation was as awkward and hilarious as it sounds). Others just upload it on to my computer. On Thursday, we went to see a live band at a bar in town. They were great. One of the guys looked exactly like the glasses guy from Boyz II Men back in the day. Janet keeps saying that she's going to take us out dancing. I am now terrified of this because it seems like all Kenyans can dance really well. There better be a lot of other mzungus there. 
• I had dinner with a former sex worker on Thursday night. Natalia (one of the UIC students) works for an advocacy NGO and brought her coworker along to dinner. She was fascinating and hilarious. Circumcisions and Sex Workers. That's public health in a nutshell. 
•  I have been told that I look like I've gained weight since I've been here. I blame the tea with milk. We have tea time at work twice a day at 10 am and 4 pm where I have tea with whole milk and probably two spoons of sugar because they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for black tea. I have another two cups at home. Yesterday, I finally broke and begged Collins, the tea guy at work, to make me a cup of coffee. I don't know how I survived two weeks without it but I'm never leaving it again. 
• Today, I was out in the field all day and ate nothing but deep fried street food. Samosas, and bhajis, and doughnuts! I am now cradling a bottle of pepto as I prepare for bed. But it was completely worth it.