Week 2 and 3

I began my classes at USIU last week. On my first day, I had to change my schedule in order to make it home by 6:30 every night. We aren't allowed to walk on the streets or take public transportation after 6:30. A class ending at 5:00 pm would have meant a 500 shilling cab ride home twice a week. Allowing over 2 hours to get home after class on the other side of the city may seem unnecessary, but traffic in Nairobi is insane. During rush hour, most traffic comes to a complete stop and 2 lane roads quickly become 4 or 6 lane roads.

I am taking Critical Issues in U.S. Foreign Policy and Development Journalism on top of my Swahili classes 3 times a week and Lynsey's, our programs director's, 3 hour class on Friday. My development journalism class is one of the best I've taken including my classes at AU. The professor asks all of the students, from Kenya and the United States, tough questions about our own development as a country. So far we have covered 3 theories of development journalism as well at the history of the media in Kenya.

Last Wednesday, Damien and I visited ISSA, a youth organization in Kibera. Kibera is the largest and oldest informal settlement in Nairobi. It is almost entirely constructed out of mud buildings with corrugated tin roofs. The "streets" are nothing more than rocky dirt paths that wind through the neighborhoods. As we were walking through, groups of children would sing "How are you?" over and over again. Lynsey said they don't understand what that means, and they associate it with seeing a white person. I was surprised at how active and lively the community was. Everyone seemed to be busy or on their way to go somewhere. The main street was lined with kiosks and people going about their daily business.

This week I began my internship at EcoSandals, www.ecosandals.com. It's a small business that makes sandals from recovered tires. It is based our of a workshop in Kariobangi. The first day was overwhelming as the business didn't seem to have any organization or role for and intern to fill. They didn't have any plans for me and one sandalmaker, Francis, asked "What do you have planned for us?" I'm currently trying to make contacts with businesses in the United States for them to export their sandals to and creating lesson plans for teaching English. It's difficult though because their seems to be so much to do and so few resources or guidance.

Pictures

Picture taken from the top of a biocenter in Kibera, the largest and oldest informal settlement in Kenya.

Lake Naivasha

The Great Rift Valley

Week 1

I arrived in Kenya late on Monday night and took a bus with the other 10 students to our apartment in Westlands. When we arrived the power had been shut off only in our apartment and we were told, "It's Nairobi, sometimes you don't have power." We didn't really care though as all we wanted to do was go to sleep.

On Tuesday, we left for Naivasha, a small town West of Nairobi near Lake Naivasha. We spent an intense two and a half days learning about the program and learning some basic Kiswahili. We spent Wednesday afternoon at a campground playing games and enjoying Lake Naivasha. The lake didn't resemble any other lake I had been to. The water was very shallow and mixed with red dirt until we reached the end of a very long, dangerous dock. The area around the lake was beautiful with green grass and trees and monkeys. On Thursday morning, we did a drop off. The bus drove us outside of town and we had to find our way to a place we had never been before. As Lynsey told us, "It was our time to go for a walk and get lost." I really enjoyed the drop off. It was my first chance to test my new Kiswahili.

Friday and Saturday we spent time getting to know our way around Nairobi. The first day was really overwhelming with all the people and the insane traffic that never stops for pedestrians. We went to the grocery store in Westlands to buy food for dinner that night. We helped our program assistants Collins and Ruth make dinner including Chipati with carrots and cinnamon and beef stew. It was fantastic. Saturday we visited the Kenyatta International Conference Center and the memorial museum for the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy.

Today has been our first day off and as a result we've been incredibly lazy. Monday we learn more about our externships and start classes at ISIU.