Kibet, the language and culture coordinator, had asked me to write up a speech for swearing in. The speech would be done in Kenyan Sign. I had written up a speech reflecting the Deaf Education group’s experiences in Machakos, which was different since we were geographically separated from the other 20-something people down in Loitokitok. Our training experiences shared parallels, no doubt about that. When the groups arrived into Nairobi for the week leading up to swear-in, Joseph, the training manager, called me in and told me that I would be signing the speech Paul, another PCV, had written. I was a bit sad but, after reading the speech, was okay with it. I vowed to share the speech that I had written in some way. Here it is with the speech I actually presented first followed by the speech left under wraps.

Deputy Chief of Missions, Mr. Lee Brudvig, thank you for welcoming us to your home this morning. We also recognize the presence of Professor Klyiape and Mrs. Retich from the Ministry of Education as well as Northern Kenya Representatives Dr. Omar and Mrs. Koros. We have been on a great journey these past 9 weeks. Let us share some thoughts about this journey with the words time – trust – thank you.

We met in Philadelphia, each with our own ideas about Kenya but with similar motivations and expectations for an adventure we called Peace Corps Kenya. We all believed the words of President Kennedy -”Nothing carries the spirit of American idealism and expresses our hopes better and more effectively to the far corners of the Earth than the Peace Corps.”

At the time, we were excited to be going to Kenya but we really did not know what life would be like in this new country. When asked to name one thing about Kenya, we all gave a fact we had learned – an impersonal fact. Kenya was just a place on the map.

We left Nairobi as two groups. One group leaving for Machakos to learn Kenyan Sign and to become deaf educators. The other group departing for Loitokitok to learn KiSwahili and to become Math & Science teachers. However our experiences had much in common.

Our first letters back home and our conversations all focused on how things were done here compared to back home. We talked about our host family and our site assignment still in terms of an adventure, not the life of a teacher in Kenya.

The great thing about time is that without knowing it, those differences become the norm; our host family became our family and we were greeted in town and we are comfortable here. Our letters and calls back home no longer have comparisons; they are now full of the richness of our new life – this is our new home.

We talk not about going to our site assignment but to our village – home. I believe if asked again to name one thing about Kenya, it would no longer be an impersonal fact – Kenya is now home. It will never be impersonal to us again – it is indeed a home with connections and roots.

Something happened a few weeks ago that made the trust that has been placed on us very real. We were asked by Enos to pin a label on that said, “I am a teacher.” Step by step, we indeed had become teachers. We learn in Kenya that once a teacher, always a teacher – what an honour to be given this title and trusted with the education of the youth of Kenya. With all of their dreams, they are this country’s future and we have been asked to help mold and guide them. We are indeed humbled by this invitation to teach in your country.

We are ready now. We accept this challenge of continuing our new life – the life of a teacher in Kenya. However, we did not become teachers without the help of so many. The welcoming spirit of our host country Kenya has supported us throughout this journey – from our family, our trainers, our Peace Corps Staff and fellow PCVs of Kenya to the friends we have made in the towns. We say thank you. Thank you for we are here today n large part because of all you have done for us. Thank you.

And now – we are honored to say we are Peace Corps Volunteer Teachers in service to Kenya. Thank you.

 

Here’s the one I wrote – it isn’t fully edited, mind you.

All of us in the training group have had different experiences and upbringings but we have one thing in common – we have an American shell into which we’ve grown and become comfortable in many aspects of our lives. For whatever reason we chose, we decided to embark into the unknown. On October 13, we broke out of the shells that had been protecting us and hatched as Peace Corps Trainees. Once out and trying out our new selves in Machakos, the initial reactions were a mixture of excitement in learning a new culture and way of life, shock at the amount of trash, dust, animals, and attention we saw, and finding some semblance of home with the beloved Naivas. As quickly as we got to the Tea Tot Hotel, we were shuttled out to our host families. Integration had begun and so had Kenyan Sign classes during the days. Slowly, but surely, we started to get to know one t and the shells whence we sprang forth. We all realized Karl and Anna’s hillside woes as we trekked up for a visit one weekend. There was yoga, plenty of Catan, and the Lion King. After our Shadowing Week, where we caught a glimpse of what we’ve gotten ourselves into, the group became stronger. All 12 are here, so we must have seen something we liked! We celebrated Thanksgiving at the ABC School with a tad much grape juice and our best attempts at imitating American dishes. As we fell into our routines of walking to language class and whatever else the Peace Corps had planned for us, with the asterisk at the bottom of the schedules, we became comfortable and Machakos had built a little place of its own in our hearts and minds. At Model School, where we had our first hands-on experience for teaching in Kenya, we saw one anothers’s confidences soar. All along the way, we have learned a tremendous amount, even though there were some frustrations on sign variations and a wee bit too much grass blowing. We want to thank everyone who helped us along the way: our host families, the training staff, Carol, Isabel, Washington, and Josephine, the interpreters, and Aggrey. A big thank you to all of you. From Philadelphia, we drove to New York City where we flew to Amsterdam, and then Nairobi. Once there, we matutu’d to Machakos. Today, we swear in as Peace Corps Volunteers of 2010-2012. Now, onto our sites all over Kenya, we fly.