Simply Beautiful

SLU KSP!

Dorobo!

Hunting crew!

Bows and Arrows

Living sunrise to sunset

This is what I looked at every morning when I woke up in Tanzania.

Baobab Trees

Tattoos. I have decided that my next tattoo will be of a baobab trees in between my shoulder blades right above my bra line so you can only see it in certain tops, dresses, or bathing suits.

The baobab is found in the savannas of African and India, mostly around the equator. It can grow up to 25 meters tall and can live for several thousand years. The baobab is leafless for nine months of the year. If I were to describe the baobab, I would say that it looks like it has been picked out of the ground and stuffed back in upside-down. The trunk would be the tap-root, and the branches the finer capillary roots. The Arabian legend of the baobab is that "the devil plucked up the baobab, thrust its branches into the earth and left its

roots in the air". Another legend describes what happens if you are never satified with what you already have;

"The baobab was among the first trees to appear on the land. Next came the slender, graceful palm tree. When the baobab saw the palm tree, it cried out that it wanted to be taller. Then the beautiful flame tree appeared with its red flower and the baobab was envious for flower blossoms. When the baobab saw the magnificent fig tree, it prayed for fruit as well. The gods became angry with the tree and pulled it up by its roots, then replanted it upside down to keep it quiet."

The baobab looks like this for a reason. In the wet months water is stored in its thick, corky, fire-resistant trunk for the nine dry months ahead.

The baobab's bark, leaves, fruit, and trunk are all used. The bark of the baobab is used for cloth and rope, the leaves for condiments and medicines, while the fruit, called "monkey bread", is eaten. Sometimes people live inside of the huge trunks, and bush-babies live in the crown.

Nirvana H. 2000

Driving to Arusha

Lake covered with flamingoes

Jordan, the hunter?

In the morning, we had to wake up before sunrise to go hunting. I was in a group with Bond, Anna and Emily Fleming and was paired with three boys under twenty. One of the boys was ten haha. They walk so fast and sort of left us in the dust. In the beginning, I thought they were hunting baboons but then I realized we were hunting small rodents called pimbis. They actually lost of a few times and I had to yell “wapi?” to find them in which they whistled to us to come. When they hunt, they communicate in a lot of clicks and whistles. They have amazing hearing and their language is based around clicks so they are better hunters. Finally they realized they would have to lose us to catch anything. When we found them, I looked up on the rock I was climbing and had a dead pimbi in my face. WIN! Of course they don’t speak English so all I could say was “Muzuri” so they knew were thought it was good they killed something! They ditched us again on a really cool rock in which we relaxed and talked. We wandered to other rocks and eventually got honey with them. But by the end I was done, the flies and bees were SO ANNOYING. And it was very hot.

Pretty miserable afternoon. First true day of African heat and bugs.

That night we had a question and answer session with the Hadza so we could create our presentations. We all informally sat on a rock and talked. MY questions were based on formal education for my presentation. The most interesting thing about this talk was that the outside world has come to their land to research with they have tails. The outside views them as animals that are uncivilized when within their community they have never had conflict. In the end, we asked them if they had any questions for us and all they wanted to know was if we could date in college. So interesting.

I slept on the rock that night and the stars were even better and the rock was soo comfortable. I fell asleep to watching fires the pastoralists had created in the distance and the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack. Epic.

The next day we took the open air bus alllllll day to the Dorobo site. I basically did not talk and just listened to music. It was wonderful. I was truly sad to leave this place and these fabulous people.

When we arrived at Dorobo, we roughly put together a presentation on education. We concluded that they only needed formal education to keep their land. They need Hadza to fight for their land. Also, primary schools need to be closer to their land so that people actually want to go to school and can keep their culture. We came up with some solutions to the issue but the government support most likely would not be there.

In the morning, we met up with Njao and Sinnary and also met the people who are the head of Dorobo. Ironically, they are from Minnesota. They observed our presentations on land, education, tourism, and outside perception. The guy from Dorobo had a lot of useful information. He educated us on their lack of religion. Even when missionaries come in, they take some morals but then use bibles as rolling paper. They are true to their culture always and believe just in life. When you are dead, you are dead. After the presentations, we departed for another long, long journey. But we got to see zebras so it was worth it.

Regan gets iced by the Hadza.

The next day we trekked across the valley to a different Hadza campsite. We trekked with a few of them and Dorobo. It took us about four hours to get there. We were lucky because it was a clear, hot day but incredibly breezy. My friend, Blaire, described the trek best. She just thought she was tripping. Although I have never tripped, it was so surreal observing such a foreign place. It did not seem real that so much wildlife survived in such a dull place. It did not seem real that we passed elephant tracks along the way. It did not seem real that we saw impalas running past us. It did not seem real that pastoralists in huts were encroaching on these infertile areas trying to burn the land to grow anything. Everything I have learned about was right in front of me and I did not know what to do with it. Something I did not like about this valley was THORNS. They get in everything.

I took a bus up to the campsite when we reached the other side of the valley and it was no more peaceful than hiking because I was introduced to the infamous tsetse fly. Although the flies in this region did not carry disease, they can bite through anything and they never leave you alone. Also stingless bees follow you around everywhere during the hottest time of the day. It just makes you want to scream.

When we reached the top, there was this incredible rock we could relax on that gave you a few on the Rift Valley and the Yaeda Valley. Unreal. So I sat down and had a few Serengeti beers with birthday girl, Regan, and basked in the sun. 21^st Birthday!

The Hadza set up a target about an hour before dusk. They taught us how to shoot bows and arrows. Moshi showed everyone a hundred times. As we learned how to shoot bows and arrows, Moshi approached Regan with an ice. The best 21^st birthday ice ever. Then Moshi insisted on having her shoot 21 arrows hahaha.

At dinner the Hadza brought Regan a cake and everyone sang a Hadza song (most likely about honey) and Regan just starts balling. We all sang and danced and it was truly a cross-cultural experience for both.

"Jambo puppy, Pole puppy!"

I felt so much better when I woke up. Before departing for the Yaeda Valley, we discussed a brief history of Tanzania with our guides and then were off for a long journey. Tanzania is a country that was colonized by the Germans then taken over by the British. After the British departed, they attempted to become a socialist country. Due to their Ujamaa socialism the country does not identify with their ethnic groups first like the Kenyans and many other African nations do, they identify with their country. The community overrules the individual. Over the last twenty years, they are becoming more capitalist and democratic but the politics have made the country much different from other East African nations.

Driving to the valley but a cold, bumpy, thorny ride. But we saw a cheetah on the way up so it was worth it.

We arrived at our campsite and on Hadza land and basically everywhere you looked was brown. We all thought to ourselves, “How do they survive here?” Everything looked dead except for the thriving, grotesque baobab trees everywhere and hints of green here and there.

As we began to eat dinner, we kept wondering who the men were by the nearby fires. They looked like ordinary Tanzanians. When we asked, the guides laughed and simply told us they were the Hadza. They were wearing ordinary clothes and were smoking tobacco around a fire. After dinner, we had a brief question and answer with Hadza. We asked them about marriage, birth, celebration and what they hunted. The people get married at pretty reasonable ages in the eyes of the west. Eighteen usually; women usually younger than men. They only celebrate the gathering of honey. They do not celebrate killing any animals, birthdays, or mourn death. They do not keep track of birth either so everyone only roughly knows how old they are. The people hunt everything from small rodents to lions and giraffes. They are too afraid of elephants to kill them and they cannot kill hippos or rhinos. Everything else is fair because they hunt sustainably with bows and arrows which they have been doing for 10,000 years. At first, I thought this was pretty awful but then again they are not injuring the population and are trying to survive like all early people did. Plus they use every part of the animal so, why would I care?

When we asked them if they had any questions for us they simply asked about dating in college? My reply was we are hunters and gatherers of dating.

That night I slept under the most beautiful stars I have ever seen in my life. No lights for miles so I could see the milky way. I slept outside on a rock but of course I dropped my sleeping bag in a puddle before going to sleep. I did not sleep much that night but every time I woke up the sky looked completely different.

I woke up at 6 AM for the sunrise. I climbed half asleep up a rock to watch the sun come up over the hills. All you could see was baobab trees scattered all over the hills. It looked like the only thing surviving in the hills but every animal was still asleep at this point. All you could hear was the birds rising for a brand new day.

Living in East Africa is living from every sunrise to sunset and I feel I have not valued the beauty of the sun’s daily routine enough in my life. Days seem beautiful and longer when you live this way.

The first day adventuring with the Hadza was an interesting one. We began our trek to one of the Hadza camps which was made out of straw. This was where I met Moshi Moto, the fan favorite Hadza of St. Lawrence University. I opened up conversation by roughly saying “I like shoes” when I meant to say “I like your shoes” in Kiswahili. Good job Jordan. The good thing is I think Moshi was always way too stoned to really know what any of us were saying.

We walked down to the larger camp where there were many women and children that unfortunately looked very afraid of us. So I avoided this situation and hung out with the funny men who were showing us how they smoke tobacco with newspaper and how they burn the hell out of their lungs with the charcoal and marijuana. It was the most incredible smoking I have seen. They just suck puff suck puff. Unreal. Moshi then realized how much we loved dogs so he began joking around with the puppy by imitating us in Kiswahili. Hilarious. POLE PUPPY, HABARI GANI PUPPY, JAMBO PUPPY.

We walked down with the women to gather roots. On the way, we ran into a man with a baboon mask. Very bizarre. The women leisurely sit on the ground with their children talking and just digging for roots. They will eat berries and baobab fruits as they do so. It is so laid back. We helped out as best we could but mostly plaid with the children.

Afterwards they showed us how to make fire from scratch. They did this in under one minute. We attempted and were epic failures.

We wandered around with them to the honey trees. WE ate honey from a stingless and sting bee hives. The honeys were both very different. The first was like molasses and the other very sweet. While getting honey, we see a bunch of Hadza running up the hill from another location. The guides let us know that they heard elephants and ran because they were sooo scared. The funniest thing I have EVER SEEN.

By one o’clock, it is hot and time for a nap. But finally some hot weather haha. We headed to places around the campsite for some serious naps.

When I arose from my slumber in the back of the bus, I wandered over to the rocks to learn how to make arrows. Basically, they use a certain type of stick and they initially put it on the fire. The heat helps you to peel off the outer layer of the stick. Then you begin to shape the stick with a knife. You peel it to make it smooth and use your teeth to make the stick straight. Once you have that down, you create a point at then end. Then the men will carve designs around it and wrap giraffe tendons around feathers to make sure it can fly! This old man assisted me greatly on this project. When I finished my arrow, he handed me another one 5 minutes later. I don’t think he thought I did a good job haha. Also, some other men were showing us how they make the points out of nails.

That night some girls and I went to hang out with some of the Hadza. We ended up dancing and singing in a circle and it was fantastic. SO much energy. Of course Moshi was off beat screaming, “MOTO!” (“HOT!”)

When I was getting ready to go sleep on the rocks, all the Hadza were gathered on the rock with bows and arrows. All I could hear were some random animal noises. I quickly realized elephants were nearby and the Hadza were not happy. We could also hear hyenas as well. Eventually the sounds died down and the Hadza relaxed but the wind did not.

Jambo TANZANIA

After finishing my history of conservation paper at 1 AM, I decided to pack my things for our journey to Arusha, Tanzania, which was in 4 hours. I am a pretty punctual person… not. Also, getting ready for this journey was quite difficult because we were just finishing our second week of classes and honestly we do not sleep. We start at 7 AM and get home to the compound at 5:30 PM due to traffic. That is honestly longer than most days I had in high school.

Anyways, we had to wake up and basically break apart half a chicken breast to make sandwiches for the journey. I was so exhausted I ripped half the breast and did not know what to do with the other half so I ate it. The night before a caterpillar attacked my hand when I decided to do handstands in the grass at 1 AM. Thus my hand was ridiculously swollen with caterpillar hairs in it. So I showed Sinnary right after he told the group, “You guys are rough in the morning.” He created a sodium bicarbonate solution for my hand and it was the only thing that brought the swelling down. Benadryl and Hydrocortizone both failed me!

We got in the car delirious and began our 8 hour journey to Arusha. When we got on the road, there was a fog storm. Ha. Basically you could not see more than ten feet in front of you. So I decided to sleep instead of get freaked out. A few hours later we arrived at the border. Entering Tanzania is like entering Mexico with mountains around the desert. You walk through to the other side. Tanzania definitely has the most interesting visas. It was really sad it was such a hazy day though because we would have been able to see Mt. Kilimanjaro if it was not.

We kept driving on this really nice road funded by the World Bank but of course that turns into an awful rocky road through the desert. I hate riding on the buses but I love driving with so much interesting scenery. You look out your window and you have to do a double take because you see an ostrich running. Surreal. Also, there were these amazing scrawny trees all around that had at least twenty birds nests on the branches. It seems as if the trees could hold no weight at all. Along these roads there are so many Maasai. It is like they are imaginary with the extravagant jewelry hanging from their ears and their bright red and purple clothing contrasting so strongly with the desert. But after miles and hours of driving, you realize there are thousands of these people and this is a symbol of their culture. I am so excited to learn more about their culture.

Finally, four cranky hours later, we arrive in Arusha at the Dorobo Tours location. We jump out of the stuffy bus and are greeted by four friendly faces: Maggie, Killerai Simon, and Peter. Honestly when we left for Tanzania, I really had no idea what we were doing because the schedule they provided was completely wrong and none of us did the readings ahead of time. All I knew was no United Kenya Club or Swahili class for a week! So when I met our guides I was wondering, who are these people?

We said goodbye to Njao and departed on an open air bus with our guides to our campsite for the night. Honestly, I was delusional on this bus ride because I was so tired and so overwhelmed by the location. It was stunning. As we drove with our broken speedometer, we stopped suddenly to observe the three giraffes running through the land. For such a large animal, they can blend in with their surroundings better than many large animals. We passed the Ngorogoro crater and drove past a gorgeous national park full of storks. We stopped to observe a huge lake that had hundreds of flamingoes around it. Breathtaking.

Eventually we arrived to the campsite and began our six days of living in tents. Everyone was telling me I was being quiet and boring. I am pretty sure I spoke less than one hundred words this day. I tried to pass right out but it sounded like a fifth grade sleepover outside my tent. Oh women.

URBAN

Well I am snuggling up in my maasai blankets on my bed that is not a sleeping bag or a bunk bed in my urban homestay, and it feels soooo good. I could not have asked for a more wonderful host family. Before I get into the beginnings of living in the bustling city of Nairobi, I am going to catch up on the last ten days.

I would love to post some pictures right now with entries but my internet will not permit. I just got this modem from the program that plugs in the USB drive and I have to refill it based on how much download use I use. So facebook and this modem are not friends haha. I will add some when I steal internet from the evil United Kenya Club tomorrow! For now, I will post my Hadza entries now!

World Bicycle Relief

Bicycles offer a lifeline in rural Zambia

From Brent Swails, CNN and Catriona Davies, for CNN

September 8, 2010 -- Updated 1328 GMT (2128 HKT)

Bicycles of hope

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• World Bicycle Relief has distributed 30,000 bikes in Zambia
• One headmaster says they are more valuable than cars
• School roll has increased from 300 to 867 since bikes were given to pupils

Lusaka, Zambia (CNN) -- In rural Zambia, a bicycle is one of the most important possessions someone can have.

At one school, when they were given out to pupils by World Bicycle Relief, the roll increased from 300 to 867 pupils.

Headteacher Michael Gogolola explained: "Bicycles in Africa, especially in this part of Zambia, they are more valuable than a vehicle, because they use them even for grinding mill, they use them for transport to the hospital, to the clinic and to the school.

"When we came to this school, the enrolment was 300, now when the World Bicycle Relief came with bicycles, even the girls who had left school, just because they heard about the bicycles, they came back to school."

Bicycles in Zambia are more valuable than a vehicle.
--Michael Gogolola, headteacher

RELATED TOPICS

• Cycling
• Zambia
• Poverty
• Education

Not all the 867 pupils have bicycles, but those who do treasure them as a lifeline in an impoverished country and a powerful incentive to stay in school.

World Bicycle Relief is a Chicago-based organization which began by providing bicycles in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami.

In 2006 it moved on to Zambia, where it began distributing bicycles to healthcare workers helping people living with HIV and AIDS, and in 2009 started giving them to schoolchildren as part of its Bicycles for Education Empowerment Program.

World Bicycle Relief has so far supplied 30,000 bicycles in Zambia, as well as training a network of maintenance mechanics.

Dave Neiswander, World Bicycle Relief's head of Africa operations, said: "It's connecting people with education, it's connecting people with healthcare, it's connecting people with their own economic development. It's a tool to help themselves."

The bikes themselves had to be designed to cope with the rough ground and heavy loads that many people need to carry.

"Our bicycle is designing to withstand the difficult terrain of Africa," said Neiswander. "The rack can withstand 100 kg, that's ideal if you're taking produce to market or someone to clinic. We use heavy duty rims and spokes, reinforce the tires, it's basically a tank."

World Bicycle Relief administers its program in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Education, community organizations and several other international NGOs.

The organization points out that many children in rural Zambia do not complete their education because their families -- especially families with HIV or AIDS -- are dependent on their children's economic activity.

Because many children travel long distances to school, it identified providing safe, reliable transport as a key way of keeping children in education longer.

Zambia has the world's third highest death rate and second shortest life expectancy of 38, according to the CIA World Factbook.

The county is estimated to have 1.1 million people -- 15 per cent of the adult population -- living with HIV or AIDS, which kills an estimated 56,000 people a year. It also has the world's eighth highest infant mortality rate of more than 10 percent.

Among those who have received one of World Bicycle Relief's distinctive black bicycles is 15-year-old Fewstar Walweendo. She uses it to cycle the two kilometers to Gogolola's school after completing her daily chores, including sweeping the yard, making breakfast and cleaning the plates.

Her deputy headteacher Monica Mtongadaka said: "To a Zambian child, to a rural child, to have a bicycle really motivates, because it eases her movement to and from school, and that's what's happened to Fewstar."

Meru Boys

I forgot to mention this during my rural home stay posts. My friend, Boss, lived behind my house in a little house by himself. He was finishing secondary school. He explained to me that after primary school, the men are circumcised (14 yrs old usually) and then move out of their home. They take meals separate from the rest of the family and live a very independent lifestyle. This is extremely common among the Meru people. It is a part of the traditional lifestyle that has continued.

Reflection: I found that this was a very respectable idea. Boss and other boys his age were very responsible and independent when applying for university and doing work in the shamba. This idea of at fourteen years old having independent teenagers sounds amazing when I have children.. but it would have to go for girls too... haha.

National Geographic

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/hadza/finkel-text

The Hadza

On Saturday we journey to Arusha, Tanzania at 6 AM. We are going to stay with the Hadza all next week hiking, hunter-gathering, camping, and simply taking it all in. At the end of the week, we must present on the Hadza to our professors. It should be a rustic experience.. and a hot one.

The Hadza

They grow no food, raise no livestock, and live without rules or calendars. They are living a hunter-gatherer existence that is little changed from 10,000 years ago. What do they know that we've forgotten?

Eco-colonialism

"..rich are more interested in making the third world into a natural history museum than they are in filling the bellies of its people."

More Longonot

Mt. Longonot

So the whole group signed up to climb Mt. Longonot and we had the mindset we were simply going for a day hike in the Rift Valley..

Info about Longonot:

Mount Longonot is a dormant stratovolcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s. Its name is derived from the Masai word oloonong'ot, meaning "mountains of many spurs" or "steep ridges".

Mount Longonot is protected by the Kenya Wildlife Service as part of Mount Longonot National Park. A trail runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim, and continues in a loop encircling the crater. The whole tour is only about 8–9 km long but very steep, so that the round trip of park gate - Longonot Peak - park gate takes around 5 hrs hiking. The gate is around 2150 m asl and the peak at 2780 m asl but following the jagged rim involves substantially more than the 630 m vertical difference.

A forest of small trees covers the crater floor, and small steam vents are found spaced around the walls of the crater. The mountain is home to various species of wildlife, notably zebra and giraffe and buffaloes (droppings on the rim) and hartebeest. Leopards have also been reported but are extremely difficult to spot.

--

The hike was pretty hard but it was the first day of great weather we have had all semester. Plus it was great to do such a challenging hike with sixteen other people. This was definitely the most challenging thing I have ever done. The sights were unbelievable and I was unable to capture how gorgeous the landscape was or how steep the hills were.

Elephant birth control?

Courtesy www.wildlifecampus.com
Original post The Star Newspaper
Secondary Source africanhuntinginfo.com

By Rudi van Aarde
The effort involved in stabilising a large elephant population through birth control is labour intensive, costly and unrealistic.

Take, for example, the average age at which cows have their first calves (a crucial determinant of growth rates). This will increase only if 50 percent of cows under 15 years old are on birth control.

In the case of the Kruger, a zero growth rate can be achieved only if nearly 75 percent of adult cows are treated continuously for a minimum of 11 years and indefinitely after that.

This equates to administering the vaccine to at least 4 000 cows, then finding those same cows on an ongoing basis to deliver the boosters.

African countries and conservation agencies have neither the finances nor the infrastructures to sustain such intensive operations. Contraception is suitable only for small, confined populations and then it will only reduce growth rates - not impact.

The pros

Contraception can reduce the growth rate of populations.

The pZP vaccine seems safe to use, even during pregnancy. In elephants it has no side effects other than occasional lumps at the site of vaccination and increased incidences of sexual heat.

pZP is administered remotely by darting and immobilisation is not required.

The cons

Contraception does not reduce elephant numbers, it reduces birth rates and relies on natural mortality to decrease the population.

It raises ethical questions, as it excludes cows from the gene pool.

Despite some optimism, steroid-based contraceptives may have side-effects on the health and behaviour of cows. Reducing reproductive rates will destabilise the age structures of breeding herds, which in turn could affect social behaviour.

It can be expensive - cows need to be darted repeatedly, which means paying for helicopter flying time, the services of a vet and the darts and vaccines.

An endless succession of sterile oestrous cycles in elephants is not good.

As far as males are concerned, all must be treated for contraception to be effective.

My first ice.

The first night we went out on the town in Nairobi, we went to the Karen Country Club. Bunch of Europeans either visiting Kenya or who are from Kenya and their parents are colonialists.

The place is pretty fancy shmancy but they have a sick dance floor so I will take it. I went out with a few girls and was iced for the first time.. and then.. was iced in the shower the next day (thanks Conor) and then ironically iced again when I unwrapped one of the meals for dinner (thanks cook and jon). So I chugged three ices in 12 hours. Ew.

Then miss Amy decided to dance to Michael Jackson on the roof by herself.. in which I tried to get her down and almost fell through the roof. I was a little upset because I was really into watching Jungle 2 Jungle. Then I go back upstairs and Amy duct taped all my belongings to the ceiling including my malaria pills, cookies, and my nalgene.. gotta love Middlebury "b" throwers..

Chakula

Why can't American food be this cheap and delicious?

Everyday after class, we go int Nairobi to eat with only 250 shillings per meal. Which is a little over $3. We can get a huge portion of food that I cannot even finish for 120 shillings.

PROMULGATION DATE!

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya's president signed a new constitution into law Friday that institutes a U.S.-style system of checks and balances and has been hailed as the most significant political event since Kenya's independence nearly a half century ago.

Kenya's new constitution is part of a reform package that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga committed themselves to after signing a power-sharing deal in February 2008. That deal ended violence that killed more than 1,000 people following Kenya's disputed December 2007 presidential vote.

"I feel honored to be your President at this moment because this is the most important day in the history of our nation since independence," said the 78-year-old Kibaki. He was a senior official of Kenya's independence party, the Kenya African National Union, when Britain handed over power in 1963 to its leader, Jomo Kenyatta.

Odinga said the new constitution was a major step in bridging Kenya's political and ethnic divisions.

"No one could have thought that out of the bitter harvest of the disputed election and the violence that pitted our people against each other just two years ago, we would be witnessing today the birth of a national unity that has eluded us for more than 40 years," Odinga said.

Friday's event comes after an overwhelming majority of Kenyan voters adopted the new constitution in an Aug. 4 referendum. Kibaki's signature formally marks the end of a decades-long struggle to cut down the massive powers of the presidency.

The government and parliament now must implement the ambitious document, a process expected to take up to five years. The document requires, among other things, the formation of a Supreme Court and a Senate. It also demands that the country's judiciary be vetted to rid it of corrupt or incompetent judges and that parliament pass 49 new laws.

Patrick Gichuki, a street vendor, painted his body in the colors of the Kenyan national flag and the words "Kenya mpya" – new Kenya.

"We are happy to be Kenyans and we are happy that Kenya has a new constitution," said Gichuki, who hopes the new constitution will help address the many problems facing Kenyan youth.

Duck's moves

After our rural home stay, we had to attend this Kikuyu presentation that we DID NOT WANT TO DO. But we were entertained by Bond and Sarah's dance moves.

NJAU POOPED ON THE FLOOR! KELLY POOPED ON THE FLOOR! WIARIMU POOPED ON THE FLOOR! CONOR POOPED ON THE FLOOR!

Smirnoff Icing War

When we reunited, we decided to continue our icing war in Karen. Icing has come from SLU. Basically if presented with an ice, you must chug the ice on one knee. Creativity encouraged.

We even made the NY Times. Guess what we brought it to Africa bitches?

Have you been made aware of the masochistic alcoholism pandemic known as Bros Icing Bros? It's a "game" that turns all of your friends into sadistic, binge-drinking, paranoid terrorists. The kind who will stop at nothing to peer pressure you into drinking The Worst Malt Liquor Beverage on Earth, Smirnoff Ice. And now, the New York Times has caught Icing fever.

The Gray Lady is basically asking to get 'Iced,' and her Icer is the Metro section's Seymour Hersh of the Viral Culture Beat, the exceptional J. David Goodman, who is making Times readers pay attention to the way Young People Are Entertainingly Ruining The World. He was the first Times reporter to recognize this issue, and he's followed up on his initial filing with a full report. This is no exception. His headline:

Popular New Drinking Game Raises Question, Who's 'Icing' Whom?

Who's 'Icing' Whom? indeed! From the first line, Goodman -- if that is his real name -- is approaching the issue with the correct amount of paranoia. After a lede following gentlemen summering in the Jersey Shore who have now taken to arming themselves with bottles of Smirnoff Ice via carabiner -- as in, the apparatus that holds your rope when you go rock climbing, thereby keeping you from dying (SYMBOLISM MUCH?!) -- Goodman takes Times readers through a crash course in how 'Icing' works, and then correctly notes:

- The Genesis story of Bros Icing Bros.

- The Icing bounty on Ashton Kutcher.

- The Icing of Popular Musical Acts.

- The Icing of Popular 'Niche' Celebrities Like Dustin "Screech" Diamond.

- And most importantly, the bizarre catch-22 that is Smirnoff's simultaneous denial and reluctance to encourage icing while benefiting from something that's predicated on just how fucking terrible of a product they have:

"Beyond the implicit slur on the beverage's taste, I doubt any alcoholic beverage company would want to be associated with a drinking game that stretches the boundaries of good taste and common sense like this one does," said Dick Martin, a former executive vice president of AT&T and the author of several books on branding. "It's too obviously a self-destruct button on all their 'drink responsibly' advertising."

Exactly! But what Martin doesn't say -- which, come on, he just should -- is that truth of the matter mostly involves the fact no liquor company really cares how you drink their swill so long as it doesn't cost their bottom line anything! And Smirnoff will take whatever uptick in sales they can get, and only actually condemn it and consider legal action once it starts costing them money.

Problem is, we strangely couldn't find that uptick in sales of The Ice in New York. Ah, but this is what Times-quality journalism will get you: they ventured to foreign lands and sought out concentrated Icing biomes. Bang bang, goes the journalism:

"It started last week. People buying Smirnoff Ice like crazy," said El Sayed Hayed, who has owned the King Street Grocery in downtown Charleston for six years. "This is the first year this happens."

Economists everywhere shudder. [N.B. Paul Krugman should weigh in any moment now.] And now, it gets intense, as Goodman goes on an embed mission, a la David Rohde. They call this kind of work "deep cover":

While its exact origins are murky -- some say Vermont, others Saint Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. -- the game gained early traction among fraternity brothers in the South. Members of Pi Kappa Alpha at the College of Charleston said they were the first to put the rules online, posting to BroBible.com in early April. "I didn't expect it to be crazy like this," said one fraternity brother, a business administration major who asked to remain anonymous because he did not want his name connected with the game.

Finally, Goodman -- who made it out alive -- leaves Times readers, who are now obviously ensnared in a web of fascination, paranoia and fear with the perfect kicker. Sweet relief:

Mr. Rospos, the aerospace engineer from New Jersey, doubted it would continue for long...He said he could see his friends surprising each other next year, but added that he thought that their current exuberance would not last through the summer.

Followed by the scene after the credits when the vanquished monster appears in the backseat, waiting, watching, ready to strike:

Nevertheless, he was enjoying himself over the Memorial Day weekend, hiding bottles around his parents' backyard, including in the pool skimmer. Lukewarm traps, he said, for his unwitting friends.

That sound you hear? It's Pulitzer knocking. Bravo.

Last day

They got their hair did for my departure. All they wanted was my soft skin and soft hair.

Rolled Paper Beads

I learned how to make these and it is my new favorite hobby. A family of HIV/AIDS victims helped me.

Rafiki

These two made my Meru experience what it was. Boss and Moreen.

Chapati

My favorite bonding moment was making chapati in the kitchen and dancing around to reggae music. Words cannot describe how wonderful it was to sing "Peace, Love, and Harmony!"

Somali terrorist attack

Paris, August 25, 2010

A Mogadishu hotel was yesterday the target of a bloody terrorist attack. Around 30 people, including members of parliament, are dead.

Nye Nye

Traditional culture.
Since the missionaries have entered Meru, my nye nye (grandmother) is a product of my traditional world whereas my sisters and parents are a product of the developed world. They watch Spanish soap operas, are educated, listen to modern-day music, and have huge goals. My nye nye practiced traditional religion and rituals. They used to cut slits in their cheeks, knock out their 2 bottom teeth, gauge their ears, and had strict gender roles. Also, arrange marriage was very popular. However, Christianity has changed the culture.
My nye nye was amazing. She was in her 80s. She still cooked and took care of herself even though she was a widow.

Dialy Activities in the Rural

See those clothes.. they would not let me wash them because they do not believe I am capable of washing my own clothes.

Tree planting!

Joshua, the girls and I planted my trees near the coffee and sweet potato plants are. Joshua protected the plants with sugar cane and manure from the hens. It will take twenty years for the trees to be full grown. It is powerful to think that I will have two trees in Meru for many years to come.

Meru

So he decided to teach my mom how to drive up these mountains. Basically we stalled out every 100 feet.

We stopped in a nearby town because my father wished to speak to the police. When we arrived a woman was crying because her son just attempted to commit suicide. Then next thing you know he is walking up the road with his neck gushing everywhere. Considering two friends of mine have committed suicide in the last year, it was incredibly disturbing. Also, my host family did not believe that people commit suicide in the US. Cultural barrier at times. Thinking the US is perfect.

RIP Matt Schillinger. I am thinking of you even in Kenya my friend.

My father wanted to show me a view of Meru.

Albinos in Kenya

When I was watching the news on Sunday, I had no idea that there was a huge albino problem in Kenya. There are over 10,000 in hiding in East Africa because people believe they can sell their body parts to witch doctors to cure medical problems. There was a sale going on in Tanzania that they stopped. Albinos are trying to gain human rights in Kenya's new constitution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ1rZ21mxVA

Unreal.

Church

So when mzungus come into churches in rural Kenya, we have to give a speech...
I have been to church oh I do not know.. 5 times in my whole life!

This was my greeting to the church:
Mugani. Bwana asifiwe (Praise god.) Habari gani?
Jina langu ni Jordan.
Ninatoka Amerika jimbo la New York mji wa Buffalo.
Katika Amerika, mimi ni mwanafunzi wa education katika SLU.
Katika Kenya, mimi ni mwanafunzi wa kiswahili katika Nairobi.
I travel to Meru to live with Joshua and Monica. I am learning about the lives of the Meru.
Asante sana.

Even though I spoke in kiswahili, my friend Moreen had to translate into Kimeru. Gosh, will kiswahili ever be useful?

The service was interesting because they had amazing musical equipment. People sang and danced to African rhythms with Christian songs.

My sisters simply played on their cell phones haha.

Coffee, Kahawa, Java, whatever you wanna call it

When I came to Kenya, I expected to get amazing coffee considering I was drinking amazing coffee at the compound from Kenya. Everyone in Kenya drinks chai however and the coffee in everywhere but the rich areas of Nairobi is awful. All the great coffee is exported. My family grows a small amount of coffee and I realized how difficult it is to produce and make even the minimal living off of it.
Joshua took me to the local coffee factory to show me how the beans are sorted by grade and peeled. Coffee is super complex, time consuming, and labor intensive.

Think about where your coffee comes from next time you drink it.

Coffee

"I'd like to tell people in your place that the drink they are enjoying is the cause of all our problems. We grow it with our sweat and sell it for nothing." Lawrence Seguya, Uganda.

About 25 million people depend on growing coffee but barely any of the money that we pay for a cup of coffee ever reaches them.

Coffee giants like Nestlé, Sara Lee and Kraft are making huge profits at the expense of coffee farmers - many of whom are left malnourished and desperate.

After hitting a 30-year low in 2001, the price of coffee has begun to recover. But the extra cents in no way signal an end to the coffee crisis. Despite higher prices, small-scale farmers still cannot earn a decent income. The coffee crisis has become a disaster whose impacts will be felt for a very long time to come.

Make Trade Fair' s long-term coffee campaign

Since 2001, Oxfam has campaigned to help coffee farmers around the world to get a better price for their coffee. As well as providing grants to coffee cooperatives in Central America and Africa, Oxfam promotes Fair Trade and provides support to organisations representing the interests and voices of small and family coffee farmers in poor countries around the world.

>	Grounds for Change: Creating a voice for small coffee farmers and farmworkers with the next international coffee agreement (PDF, 332KB)

Culture Shock.. you may have heard of it

Everything about Chugu is beautiful and interesting. However, I had a serious anxiety attack. I basically realized I was in Africa for over 4 months. Whenever I travel I have a conversation with myself about my strengths as a person. I was wondering if I was made to do the Peace Corps etc. When we all arrived in Kenya, we were just in this bubble of orientation and it truly does not hit you that you are in Africa or in another country.
I also never miss my mother more than I do when I travel. I think it is because of the host family aspects of my travels. Also, in rural societies, it is expected to bond with the host mother due to the gender roles of the society. I was on a verge of tears for two days. Also, I bonded with my host father like no other. Never have I bonded with a host father in any other homestay. It was like living with Bill Cosby. In my first home stay, my father in Costa Rica worked all day everyday and in Nepal, Brij's father had passed away. So this was the first bonding with a host father and it was unreal. Of course once again brought me close to tears. Emotional mess.
Then you realize that this is all a part of immersing yourself into the culture. Culture shock, crazy emotions. Then you look back and just ask yourself, "What the fuck was wrong with me yesterday?"

Day 1: Chugu

I automatically click with my family. My sister Kendi and her friend Sonni pick me up from Nakumatt with my parents. I was surprised to find my family owned a car. My sister told me I look like Paloma from the Spanish soap opera she watched. Yeah she is nine.

We drove about twenty minutes outside of Meru town to get to Chugu. When I arrived I could not believe how big the house was. I thought this was supposed to be crazy rural. I had my own room, my family had a huge shamba, and many people to work on the land. However, my family has worked hard to get to this place in their life. My mother was sick for six years with a hip problem.

They spoke unbelievable English so it was extremely easy to communicate. The first day was basically show the mzungu (white person) off to the rest of the community and make me soooo full I am screaming, "NIMESHIBA! (I AM FULL!)"

Green Belt Movement

Before actually meeting our rural host families, we stopped for lunch at a house that works for the Green Belt Movement. We observed substinence farming at its finest, were introduced to African food, and learned about a theme of the study abroad program.

Typical foods of Kenyans:
Ugali (thick flour and water stuff)
Chapati (thick tortillas)
Sweet potatoes
Arrow root
Maize
Papaya
Bananas
Beef

Also, we were given two trees each to plant at our rural home stay to support the Green Belt Movement. I was given an avocado and mahogany tree.

Kenyans are quite funny. They had a bowl of yes and no sheets of paper that we picked from. If it said yes, we received a rolled paper necklace. Ha. I got a 'no.'

The Green Belt Movement (GBM Kenya) was established in 1977 by Prof. Wangari Maathai, under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya.

Its vision is to create a society of people who consciously work for continued improvement of their environment and a greener, cleaner Kenya. Its mission is to mobilize community consciousness for self-determination, equity, improved livelihoods and security, and environmental conservation. It is guided by the values of volunteerism, love for environmental conservation, pro-action for self-betterment, accountability, transparency, and empowerment.

GBM Kenya has used tree planting to realize its vision and mission in nine districts nationwide (Bungoma, Embu, Kisii, Machakos, Maragua/Muranga, Meru, Nyeri, South Nyanza, Trans Nzoia). While tree planting has always been the focal activity, GBM programs have expanded to include projects in indigenous tree planting, civic education, advocacy, food security, greenbelt eco-safaris, and “women and change.” Through these projects GBM Kenya has succeeded in promoting environmental consciousness, volunteerism, conservation of local biodiversity, self-empowerment, community development, and accountability.



For more information, http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/

The Basics

The only information provided to me:
My parents' names are Joshua and Monica. My father is a civil service engineer (had no idea what that meant) and my mother was a housewife. I had five siblings Clifford, Hillary, Remmy, Kendi, and Rose. Kendi and Rose are the only two living at home because Remmy goes to boarding secondary school. They live in the village Chugu.
That's it.
As the bus drives to the local Nakumatt (Kenyan Wal-Mart) in Meru town, I had no idea what the hell to expect.

"It's 60 degrees on the equator.."

Five days after we arrive in Kenya, we depart for a week long rural homestay in the Meru region on the edge of Mt. Kenya. Bus rides in Kenya.. just picture your head banging against the side of the bus every five seconds and really random 80s music always playing on the radio. On the way to reach Nanyuki, we stopped at the equator. The equator literally is a sign and a hundred people waiting for white people to stop and take a picture so someone will buy something.



Nanyuki, Nanyuki. We stop in a random village and run into this white man that runs a rafting business. So we all get excited because we are going to raft. All Njao says is, "Warimu is meeting us here." Well, we play with some dogs and walk around and then we leave. Typical Njao.

We arrive at Nanyuki Sports Club. This is a base for the British to come and train for sports and the army. When some of the girls walked in to the bar area to go to dinner, some British men simply said, "Well twenty years ago, I would be all over you girls." I have not met many white people I have liked in Kenya.

Hodi-Karibu!

So I have never studied Swahili and within a week at Hekima Language Center, I was able to do full greetings. We had class for three hours a day and were split betweeen 4 classes. Bwana Patrick is my professor. He teaches Anna, Conor, Emily Fleming, Regan, Kristina and I. He is from the Kisumu region, has the goofiest laugh, and works part-time at Pizza Hut.

Goal: Fluency in Kiswahili before I depart Kenya

However, it is very hard to be motivated to learn Swahili considering most people speak English. Also, everyone speaks at least three languages. Engish, Kiswahili and a local dialect. Kiswahili is a collaboration of foreign languages. It is interesting how much it overlaps with Arabic and Hindi.

Cars, Trucks and Buses

One word: Njao.
I will try to quote Njao as much as possible. He is the most epic bus driver.

No one told me that class starts at 8 AM. Gah. And it is Kiswahili for 3 hours. Also no one told me that is would be cold in Africa. Flannels and sweaters everyday. This explains my face.