Although that is probably the most memorable experience so far, there have been many more enjoyable experiences since I got to Migori. My host family is great and very easy to get a long with. There are six children, but the oldest four stay at boarding schools. When I first arrived, they were all home before school started, but after a couple days, they all left. After they had left, my host dad claimed we were now a very small family, with only 3 children, including me, at home. I told him three children was an average size in America, which he found a bit shocking. I have now been in Migori for about 2 and a half weeks. I arrived on Monday, the 5th of September, and was supposed to start teaching on Tuesday. However, while we were driving to Migori, I was informed by my Principal that the was a teachers strike and school would not be starting yet. This was good news for me, because at that point, I did not know what the syllabus was or even exactly what classes I would be teaching. I had tried asking my Principal the week before, but he said we would figure it out when I got to Migori. Before this, I had often heard about how life was more laid-back in Kenya, but I had not fully comprehended what that meant yet (I still don't think I fully comprehend it). Yet, while I was using the extra week to get acquainted with life in Migori, I felt bad for the students, especially the Form 4 students (equivalent to 12th Graders in the U.S.). This is because this is the last of three terms for the year, and at the end of this term, the Form 4 students take the exams that decide whether or not they get into College. Here in Kenya, Form 4 students take exams in 8 subjects, and their 7 best are used to determine if they are accepted into College. These exams are the only criteria for deciding who gets into College, so they are very important, and missing a week of class just a month and a half before the exams start does not help.
We finally started class last Thursday, and I am teaching two physics classes (one Form 1 or 9th grade and one Form 2 or 10th grade) and one Form 1 math class. But each of these classes has around 60 students, and one of the biggest problems I am having is trying to learn names. However, although I don't know the names of many people at school they have all been very friendly, and even the students that I don't have in class are eager to talk to me. They all want to ask me questions about America and enjoy listening to my accent. I never really thought of myself as having an accent before, except maybe a slight Northern accent, but here, all Americans have an accent. Since I arrived, I have learned that we speak very fast, and slur our words together, so I have started consciously slowing down my speech and try to pronounce every syllable. I have also had to get used to the Kenyan accent, but I had a two week head start with my time in Nairobi. I think my students understand me most of the time now, but if they don't they usually laugh a bit and I know that means I need to repeat what I said.
The students at school are not the only ones who enjoy being around a mzungu (European in Kiswahili). On my walk to and from school, there are about 3 different groups of kids that always greet me when I walk by. They always ask, "How are you?" but many are too young to have learned the response yet. So, when I respond, "Good, how are you?" they just look confused and laugh. Sometimes, they even follow me a bit on the road. For example, today, as I was walking home, after greeting a group of kids, one child, who looked to be around 6 or 7, walked over and took my hand to walk with me down the road. Here in Kenya, it is very common for two guys or two girls who are friends to hold hands as they walk (but never a guy and a girl). The kid walked with me for about 200 yards, and some of his friends walked along beside and behind us.
A couple last experiences to mention, are that my first Saturday here, I helped work the Shamba (farm). I mostly just planted the seeds where they told me, but they also had me try directing the plow a bit. Also, on Tuesday night, my host family introduced me to chewing Sugar Cane. You take a piece of Sugar Cane, rip off a piece with your teeth, chew the sugary juice out, and then spit out the dry stalk. Kenyans must have some of the strongest teeth around, because the members of my host family would rip off pieces about 10 the size of the small chunks I could handle.
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| One of our views as we walked to Kiswahili classes in Nairobi. |
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| The view from Ben Stucky's host family's house. He is in Tea growing country |
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| Me trying to guide the plow. One of the cows is named Obama. |
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| My house |
