The Blog about No Blogs

Well, well – it has been a VERY long time since I last wrote.  But I can and will explain my lack of action.

Once I started teaching January 18^th, my schedule became very busy.  I awoke at about 7a.m., helped prepare breakfast, cleaned myself up with a washcloth and basin of water, then went off to the KBTC office.  There I worked on course curriculum before and after teaching.  I would also assist with some KBTC administrative duties (like making student I.D. cards) and try to leave sometime between 5 and 5:30 p.m.

Upon arriving home I lit the jiko, the little cooker fuelled by wood charcoal.  Some days it was more cooperative than others.  Gradually my skill improved – which was good when the rainy season arrived!  I cooked supper for the three of us, one pot at a time.  Supper was generally ready between 8 and 9 p.m.  After eating I relaxed briefly before going to bed.  Some nights I went right to bed after supper!  That was my Monday to Friday schedule, though on Mondays and Fridays I didn’t teach, so I worked on other tasks during that time.

The weekends in January were filled with report writing for my own education.  The first weekend I didn’t have a report to work on I was sick with a cold.  My body needed a break!  Then the fun began as I had the opportunity to explore other parts of the country.

First I went to Ejinja, where I had a good chance to actually relax – when I wasn’t fighting off mosquitoes!  The following weekend I went to a rural area outside of Eldoret, where I met some farmers.  They had been attending workshops provided by KBTC, and I was able to talk to them about nutrition (with a translator).   We visited them again the second weekend in March.  At that time they put what they learned into practice and dug a garden bed, biointensive agriculture style.  It took place in a school yard that had nothing but dust and weeds growing on the surface.  The farmers had their work cut out for them, as there was a hardpan about a foot down, which they had to dig through.  They used a jembe, a type of hoe, for all the hard work.  They were tired but proud when done!

After the first trip to Eldoret we went to Busia, a border town.  And it isn’t just next to the border – it is split in half by the Kenya/Uganda border.  I visited both sides, and found the Ugandan side more lush and less developed than most of the land I’ve seen in Kenya.  We spent extra time there as I was trying to bail my friend out of the police station through the hotel manager.  My friend had stopped to assist with cyclist accident, and ended up being charged for some unrelated traffic violations.  Could have been cleared up quickly, but his cell phone battery was nearly dead and he couldn’t reach me right away . . . sigh.  It all worked out in the end, but I learned a lot that weekend!  It is a big disadvantage being white here, as people take advantage of ‘mzungas’ because they believe they are walking bank machines.

I also spent a number of days in Nairobi.  We visited another organisation that uses and promotes biointensive agriculture.  It was very interesting and inspiring, but also provided some information on what we don’t want KBTC to be about.  The next co-op student arrived to adjust before teaching next month.  It was much more enjoyable than my first time in Nairobi!  Though I don’t think I had as much sleep. 

I am off to Nairobi again this week, but this time for my flight back to Canada.  Rather than be sad about leaving, I’m keeping in perspective that I will be returning!  The three months I’ve been here have passed very quickly, and I’m sure the three months I’ll be in Canada will pass quickly too.  Time really does seem to be picking up speed!  I hope to access the proper software for shrinking the photos, and get some of them posted on my Flickr page.  Until then, it’s been great here and I look forward to filling in the details later!

Home Sweet Home

(originally written 30JAN11, late posting because of delays in internet access!)

I am thoroughly settled into my new African home.  So much so I have decided I will return permanently this summer.  I do need to return to Canada to officially say farewell and deal with my ‘stuff’.  So look forward to a really great yard sale!

January 18^th found me teaching my first ever class in holistic nutrition.  I didn’t waste any time and started off with the importance of water and carbohydrates.  The class, about a dozen students, were attentive and respectful.  They even waited until I left the class before they did when it adjourned.  I don’t think I’ve seen that happen since primary school!  It threw me off guard, actually!  The classes are an hour in duration – fortunately my notebook is the right size for determining how much information I can cover in that class time.  Though last week was a little different – they started asking more questions about the information, rather than just asking to have something repeated or spelled.  But it is good they are more comfortable with me and have started doing so – I want them to understand the material, not just write it down.  So I will amend the lessons as I go.

I took pictures of the students with their plots – where they are putting their newfound agricultural knowledge to work.  They are very diligent!  Eventually I will figure out how to shrink my picture sizes so I can post a few on this blog.  Sigh.  New software!  I miss my GIMP (previous photo editing software)!

In my personal life, I am pleased to announce that I can officially – and independently – light the jiko.  Yippee!  This is the little cookstove (using charcoal) that all the meals are cooked on.  What a great way to celebrate my third week anniversary of arriving in Africa!  So I’ve been cooking most of the meals for the family this week.  Even managing to get supper ready on time!  I start the fire at five or five-thirty, so supper will be ready by eight.  Most things (like beans and rice) take the same amount of time to cook as on an electric stove element.  Except I only have one element!

January and February are the dry season here.  So the road is dusty and water is getting a little scarce (we collect rain water for drinking, cooking and bathing).  We’re all looking forward to the crops being assisted and the dust settling for a little while.

A couple of Sundays ago I went for a walk with a friend to an area not far from home.  Well, not far for us – about a ½ hour – 45 minute walk in one direction.  Which apparently for most people is VERY far!  It was nice to see a different area and actually have some R&R time.  I finally finished the last of my reports due in Toronto to complete my program.  Very exciting!  But I find myself quite busy still – working full-time for my co-op/OAP (Overseas Apprenticeship Program) and assisting the KBTC with their work as well.  But I really enjoy being here and being involved with the organization.

Well now I’ll spend some time posting this blog from home.  Internet in Africa is pathetically slow – slower than dial-up as a matter of fact (the wireless at home at least).  Hard to believe possible, but yes, it is true.  Direct line internet at an internet café in Kakamega is better, but you have to pay for transport there and back (not to mention the time involved). It also cuts out frequently – much like the cell phones.  Nobody in the rural area has land lines – because there are no land lines!  So, we get used to phone conversations of undeterminable duration.  It is expensive for us to call internationally and there are no such things as long-distance calling cards.  SMS (text) messages aren’t much cheaper.  So don’t take it personally that you’re not hearing from me directly!

Africa Arrival

Greetings!  It has been two weeks since I arrived in Kenya.  Hard to believe!  It was a long journey across the big pond, and more interesting travelling to get from Nairobi to here.  I caused a bit of chaos with not having a cell phone of my own at that time of arrival, but it all worked out in the end.  Patience is a necessity in Africa.  So is buoyancy when travelling on the ill-kept roads.  Vehicles drive on whatever side of the road has the fewest potholes.  Or even on the side of the road.  But on the (limited) smooth highways, speed bumps make for an interesting way to maintain speed limits.  I considered it all to be a good way to get the lymph fluid circulating after so many hours of stationary plane sitting.

I’m now living in a rural area outside of Kakamega.  It feels very good to be back on a farm – home sweet home!  There are a few chickens around, a bull in the back yard, and tethered livestock on the lawn now and again.  Many garden beds surround the house with some familiar crops (amaranth) and some new to me.  Since it is the tail end of the dry season, most of the plants are maturing to harvest the seed.  I look forward to the opportunity to plant some of my own crops at the KBTC.

The KBTC (Kenya-grow Bio-Intensive Training Centre) is where I am volunteering to teach nutrition, starting tomorrow.  It is a good fit to the curriculum of organic and intensive farming practices.  The family farms here are small in comparison to Canada – more like the back yards of larger homes or ‘hobby farm’ sized.  But it suits the needs of feeding families, for the most part.  Part of the KBTC mission is to educate people on how to grow more food on small parcels of land.  Many produce maize (corn) but it is not necessarily the most nutritious or efficient crop to grow.

I was able to (somewhat) participate in a community outreach project the first Friday and Saturday of my visit.  The KBTC provided an information session to the community as to what they are about, and then some basics on soil fertility.  English words are often interspersed amongst Swahili, so I picked up on a bit of what was going on.  The periodic translations were also helpful, as well as for me being able to provide a bit of information to the attendees.  It has taken many, many years, but finally my agricultural, environmental, and now nutritional education and experience can finally be combined.  It no longer feels like I have spent the last nearly twenty years of my life wandering aimlessly.  I have found the venue (KBTC) through which it all works together perfectly.

It has been relatively easy for me to adapt to the living conditions.  I don’t mind using a latrine (outhouse) as I prefer not to waste water if I don’t have to.  We have enough electricity for lights and charging cell phones and my laptop.  There is a small television but it hasn’t been on since I arrived, which is fine with me.  I’ve laundered clothes by hand before, which was a bit of a surprise to my host family.  Apparently the previous two volunteers had to be taught that trick! 

This week will see new challenges, as I start teaching and will start training in home cooking duties.  The daughter of the family left to return to boarding school Sunday, so she didn’t have much time to prepare me!  I’m sure I’ll be fine once I get the hang of lighting the fire . . . I never really was one for starting fires!

I’ll wrap this posting up here, and hope to post something weekly now that I’ve figured out the Internet access.  I can’t promise any pictures yet, as I have a new laptop with a new program and I haven’t figured out how to shrink the images yet.  Though with two more assignments hanging over my head for school, I likely won’t be taking pictures for a little while . . . sigh.  No rest for the weary or wicked!

Overdue Update

Well, well . . . long time no Blog!  The last month and a half has been quite crazy and stressful for me – I’ve felt quite upside-down!  Classes finished the first week of December, but the work is not over yet.  I finished one assignment the week after, but unfortunately handed it in four days late.  Ouch!  It is what it is though.  I finished two more this past week, printed them out and Express posted them to the school.  God willing, they will arrive to their destination safe and sound.  Thanks to the wonders of technology, I lost the electronic files for both of those papers!  Oh well!  I hope cyberspace enjoys learning about posttraumatic stress disorder!  Just as well I lost the checklist used to diagnose the disease . . .

I still have three more papers to write, and I’m really dreading the task.  I would much prefer to throw in the towel all together.  But that doesn’t really jive with trying to live with more integrity.  Sigh.  Sometimes it takes a lot of work to clean up messes that should have never been made.  I am overdue on stopping the ‘professional student’ life I have created for myself.  It is time to really start living, and to stop running from what I really want to do with my life.

Ideally that life is filled with photography, poetry, writing, and volunteer work.  The last part is easy – I’m on my way to Kakamega, Kenya for that part of the equation.  As long as I leave time and space for my creativity, the rest will fall into place as well.  I will be teaching nutrition part-time, and developing curriculum for the three month advanced program the rest of the time.  I start teaching January 17, so I hope to be over the jetlag and my final assignments before that date.

I am currently in the Amsterdam airport terminal, which is likely bigger than the village I will be living near (Sigalagala).  Because I have had too many sleepless nights recently, I slept much of the flight here, some napping upon my return, and will likely sleep on the flight to Nairobi tonight.  I don’t know when my next update will be, it will take some time to sort out where and how to use the Internet.

Happy New Year everyone, and may 2011 bring you all many blessings!

A Poem instead of a Picture

I attended a Baha'i Feast last week, which is when members of the Bah'ai Faith gather for a 'spiritual' feast. (more info available at the 'Baha'i Faith' website in the 'Links I Like' section on the left of the screen).  The committee for the devotional portion of the program had created a very soothing environment and I was grateful to be there - and was inspired to write the poem that follows below.  Enjoy!

Petals on the Floor
By K.A. Duffin
03NOV10

Scent of roses whispers welcome
Piano recording plays empty handed
Open for greeting and receiving
thoughts, wishes, dreams, prayers
plentiful
as the petals on the floor

Smiling faces offer subtle greeting
Words from friends old and new
Cheer and warm us from the fall
Kindness, love, acceptance, patience
plentiful
as the petals on the floor

Dim light offers calm refuge
Circular seating - room for all
Embracing those present and more
Space, company, comfort, safety
plentiful
as the petals on the floor

We too will bloom and fade
The light will shine and fade
The music will ebb and fade
as we eventually join
petals on the floor