It’s official. I’ve just passed the middle of my first school term in Kenya. The first term is 14 weeks long, the longest of all the terms. I’m glad because the next two terms, I will have a lot more on my plate to keep me busy and I will know my way around the school so it won’t be as stressful. I hope. I very much hope so.

Lately, I have been either extremely busy or stressed. I don’t know how, but the two managed to tag-team eachother on me every single day and even on the weekends. When I last wrote, I mentioned that I would be going to visit 2 fellow PCVs in Sipili. Let me tell you about that experience.

I left school immediately after my 11 o’ clock class to take a matatu to Nanyuki, 2 hours away, where I would transfer to a matatu heading for Nyahururu, 3 hours away. There, I would make a final transfer to get to Sipili, 1 1/2 hours away. As I type this, I realize that it’s about the same amount of time to fly from LA to DC and I remember being so impatient on those flights. On these matatu rides, I radiated patience. What really got me through the trips was just thnking about all the good times I’ve had with friends and family. I swear, there was a few times the Kenyan man seated next to me started to look at me as if I was some homicidal psycho who escaped to Kenya from whatever mzungu country I came from. I smiled a lot on the rides, just admiring the scenery. I remember leaving Meru’s lush green trees covered in tropical vines and entering a desert terrain. Much closer to the Kenya I had in mind, the car leaving a billow of dust in its wake.

I arrived Sipili at around 6:30. Immediately the locals crowded around me, asking how I was in a very high nasal voice and greeting me. Around the corner of a little duka, I saw familiar faces and was overjoyed to see Jessica and Jenny! We started walking towards Jessica’s house and I took in the differences of their quaint little town to my bustling big city. I envied them in a way for they would get to know the people in their community in a way that I would never be able to in a big city like Meru. Another stark difference is how dry and sparse the terrain was. I’ve always had a liking for terrains where you can look out to the horizon and just take it all in. Here in Meru, there are trees everywhere, as well as Mt. Kenya and it’s bastard child, obstructing the view. I’m entirely grateful for both, don’t get me wrong. It’d just be nice to actually look out onto the horizon and see the sun set or the moon rise.

A light blue gate marked Jessica’s home, and so we entered. We caught up with what we had been up to and just basked in the comfort of eachother. It wasn’t long before we left for Jenny’s house. Dinner consisted of sandwiches containing cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, and Hungarian salami. It does not compare at all to the real thing in Hungary!) It was delicious, regardless, because none of the 3 of us could remember the last time we had sandwiches.

Saturday, I went to visit the Deaf school Jenny works at. There were only 50 students – I didn’t get a chance to meet them all but they were so friendly, so warm, and so open. I love this about the Deaf Kenyan children I meet – they all seem to share that inner kindness despite all that they go through in the schools. It was really nice to see other kids for a change, but it only made me realize how much I already missed my own kids at Kaaga. A beer at the local bar and then an awesome Glee marathon while downing some Jose. A night to remember. I love Glee :) Cannot wait to watch the captioned versions of Season 2.

Sunday, I reluctantly took my leave from the girls. Instead of the 1 1/2 hour it normally takes to get to Nyahururu; it took 3 hours. All along the while, there were two people sitting on me with an older woman practically sitting on my hip. I was so relieved to get out of the matatu. In Nyahururu, a conductor tried to cheat me by selling me a ticket to Nanyuki for 500ksh when it was only 200 from Nanyuki to Nyahururu. I stood my ground and said 200. He was persistent so I started walking away but he gave in and pointed me at a matatu. I confirmed whether it was going to Nanyuki – I even asked the people on the matatu. The engine started, and we were off. It wasn’t long before I realized we were going a different direction. Nyeri. The bastard swindled me and sent me to Nyeri so that his company would get an extra 150 I’d have to pay to get to Nanyuki. Bastard. On the way to Nanyuki, I boarded 3 different matatus because the first two I boarded broke down midway. To top it all off, upon leaving Nanyuki for Meru it started pouring cars and trucks causing the matatu to be driving at a snail’s pace of 30kmph. I traveled for 11 hours that day and walked into my house soaking wet from walking back home in the rain.

There have been a few incidents at the school between a particular teacher and myself. By incidents, I mean butting heads. Each time I try to be nice to this teacher, the teacher does something to piss me off and the cycle starts all over again. The most recent one was today. Well, it was back-to-back from yesterday and I suppose today is the spill-over. Basically, the issue stems from signing which I think is the most retarted thing in the world because this is Kaaga School for the DEAF (or hearing impaired, whatever you want to name your school but I will stand by it being named Deaf) and what language do the children communicate in? SIGN LANGUAGE. Today, the teacher proudly (yes, I saw pride and I don’t understand it) denied my request to interpret what was being said. Enough about this teacher. There is not a single hearing person at this school that has the decency to start signing in a regular conversation when I enter the room or if I’m sitting there. Basically, I’m just sitting there with words flying over my head. I have been told to understand that the school has never had a Deaf person around and that they are used to speaking all the time. It’s sad but I do understand but what I do not understand is why there isn’t more of an effort in being inclusive, especially when all of the teachers know how to sign a little. I’ve tried reiterating that practice only makes perfect but it just doesn’t seem to get through. I’m biding my time. For now, I’ve decided to just focus on teaching the children and setting my roots down. Come 2nd term, though, watch out Kaaga Deaf.

I suppose this blog turned out to be a bit of a vent session. I’m sure someone out there will find this interesting, so I’m not deleting it. It is what I am experiencing here at the moment and I will not hide it for the sake of anyone.

I met a man named Charles, son of one of the school’s cooks, last Thursday and he signs remarkably well for having very little interaction with the children. Then again, I don’t know his full history but he does sign well and he understands me when I am signing at medium speed which is better than what I can say for most of the other people. Really nice man – I hope that a friendship might come out of that.

I’m going to Nairobi this weekend!!! So excited for that, especially because I’ll be meeting with Noelle whom I have not seen since training in Machakos. We’ll be discussing the details of our trip to the World Federation of the Deaf conference in Durban, South Africa this summer and how to raise money for it. If any of you out there know any good ways to raise money via grants, donations, or sponsorships please let me know! This is largely so that we can give one select teacher from each of our schools to acompany us to the conference so that they can see ‘through Deaf eyes’, pass along the information to the other teachers and make an effective change.

Rather off-topic but I notice myself constantly rededicating myself to this service which is something I have never experienced before in my life. I feel a new wave of motivation wash over me despite the stress and frustrations I endure. Honestly, it is because of the students. They are my rock here and they may or may not realize how much they matter to me.

All of you back home, you are my rocks as well. Each contact that we make brightens my day in ways I never thought feasible. Much love.