jenly in kenya

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Nothing in particular.

"4:53am Sleep is the last and final sanctuary for the troubled soul. For the same reason that I am never having babies, I bet Hitler was an insomniac."
That was the start of an entry I've decided not to post. This morning, after listening to the dogs in my yard bark for an hour, I wrote it on the back of a stationery pad that I've started taking to bed with me. I write letters until I get sleepy or until I give up fighting the cold and tuck myself in.
I finally went back to sleep around 7, but because I wanted to get a lot done today, I was really nervous about sleeping too late. I woke up every three minutes to check the time. When I finally got out of bed at 9, I felt a lot worse. The screaming toddler next door did not help.
As I left my house I saw a little chameleon on our front gate. He was so cute I considered taking him home. "After all," I thought, "he won't bark or cry, and he has prehensile hands and feet!" I had to undo the latch he was standing on, but he held on as it swung him around. I closed the gate again and turned to him. He watched me suspiciously as I pondered how, evolutionarily, he could be so much like a primate. He reached around for a swaying branch like a human baby reaches for invisible things in the air, then caught it and got a bit greener. I wondered what defense mechanisms he could use against me. He inched forward, his eye swiveling keenly, and browned. I wondered how long he could survive in a cardboard box with only a branch to keep him company. He inched forward again, hiding in a dense bunch of leaves. I decided to leave him alone.
I'm going to a nearby school today to do a story-sharing activity with the students who board there. It's a simple activity, a binary tree optimization, where each person shares a story with another, and the partners pick the one they like better. Then the pairs pair up and repeat. This goes on until you only have a few groups left, and each group tells their story. You can do it with whatever theme you want, and our theme today is going to be how AIDS has impacted us personally. I think I'm going to have them present their stories in skit form, because Kenyans love skits. At the end I'll give some stats about how AIDS has impacted the world and various parts of it, and then we'll call it a day. The beauty of this activity is that they do all the work, so I don't know what can go wrong, but this is my first class ever, and I'm nervous.*
As far as teaching in schools is concerned, I think I'm going to hold off on formal sessions. I'll do some games here and there but I'm trying to find a couple of Kenyans who can teach with me as a team so that we can reach more schools and provide feedback for each other. After a year or so of us doing all the teaching, I want to train teachers to teach it in their own schools, though I feel hesitant about it because schoolteachers already work from dawn to dusk. The officer at my local Ministry of Education department said he didn't have a problem with it, but only after he essentially washed his hands of doing anything to help me organize. In the meantime I'm going to continue developing lesson plans and meet the local chiefs, because even though I was reluctant to meet any of them at first, I've decided that I really want people to get to know and trust me before I start vocalizing issues that the community is relatively hush about.
Other than that I don't have any news. I look forward to every chance I get to see my Peace Corps friends as The Homesickness Ache evolves into something permanent, a little chameleon clinging to my heart, silent and resolute, changing from fond reminiscence to unbearable longing and back again. I wonder what would happen if I tried to flick it off. I don't think it would budge.

*The activity went really well, entirely because the kids were amazing.

13 Comments:

  • You are fucking amazing and the community you live in is benefitting so much from your work . love, susan

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:20 PM, October 11, 2005  

  • Nice entry, Jen :-)

    Is the comment above from your sister Susan? That's so cool if it is. I wish I could say that to my brother someday. hahaha.

    Love,
    Michelle

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:27 PM, October 11, 2005  

  • Wow, yeah, that was from The Susan. Mom and dad say, don't cuss. Hahahaha

    It's ok Michelle, you can say it to me in the meantime! Hahahaha

    I'm in a good mood cuz this is my second day in a row of internetlands.

    Looooooooove,
    me

    By Blogger jenly, at 3:25 PM, October 12, 2005  

  • Jennifer -

    Your writing skills are stunning. Why the heck did you major in computer science or whatever???

    Hang in there with the insomnia. Someday it will become your friend. Not.

    Chris

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:40 AM, October 13, 2005  

  • hey jsl,

    i'm sorry i didn't mail you anything yet. i still have a partially filled box at home which has yet to make it's way to the post office. med school has been taking up a lot more time than i thought. it's about 2am here in nyc and i have an exam at 10am. i'm still trying to study but decided to take a break to read your blog. it sounds like you are growing and changing a lot and i'm glad i know you because you're doing great things that i wanted to do but was too selfish to. i aspire to make an impact in public health but right now, i feel so selfish studying all the time and focusing on the minute details of science that engulf my life. i try to look ahead and think "i'm building up the skills now in order to affect change in the future" but one can lose sight of that sometimes. reading ur blog motivated me to do some more studying, haha. i promise to write! i swear!

    ~jyf4

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:54 AM, October 17, 2005  

  • hey hey, thanks all for the comments. Chris - computer science is sexy! really! jyf - you didn't have to write 4 cuz you're the only jyf i know! hahaha and don't feel bad about sending stuff, pcvs have a LOT more time than med students. hang in there and know that what you are doing is really important, don't lose sight of the fact that you're pursuing your dream. :) i am often reminded that that's what i'm doing, and it really helps. i want to write you some more stuff cuz they have so many kinds of stamps here. there are these fruit ones that are funny cuz they look so yummy you almost expect them to be scratch&sniff!

    miss you all. i dreamt i was eating cornbread with frosting last night. it was great, much better than the bbq ribs dream where i didn't get to eat the bbq ribs, onlu salivate. i have a lot of vivid food dreams thanks to Larium. :)

    By Blogger jenly, at 11:05 AM, October 19, 2005  

  • stop eating while you sleep.

    nerd. xp

    By Blogger jeansunlee, at 4:28 AM, October 23, 2005  

  • i can't help the food dreams! last night i dreamed about legos though. legos are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
    actually i was opening a laptop, and it unfolded into two halves, and those unfolded into four pieces, which means the keyboard was in two halves, and then those quarters kind of broke apart, and then while trying to reassemble the keyboard, the whole thing morphed into a pile of legos that were very sad and loosely fitting.
    did i mention legos are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    By Blogger jenly, at 1:30 PM, October 24, 2005  

  • I miss you and love you loads. According to Mark, you have put him to shame for all the good you are doing.

    love,
    kanapooooooo

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:01 AM, October 25, 2005  

  • Hey jenny lee
    - i just randomly found out that you're in Africa off the Columbia facebook, and, randomly, couldn't help saying hi after how impressed I was with your blog and pictures. Even though I don't think we've even really talked since the days of john jay, let me know if you're in Europe any time as I'd love to hear stories from Kenya. Till then, you've made it in my bloger "favorites" folder. Congrats!
    seriously dude,
    Severin

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:09 AM, November 14, 2005  

  • Hi Jenly,

    I found you via Steve’s blog… sorry you can’t sleep, but sleep will come… I worked in Kamba land doing AIDS seminars for high schools in 1988. It is taboo and your path of establishing trust with the ministry and local leader is a good one., you have seemed to catch on to life quickly, it took me a while… the kids want to learn about AID but then need a safe haven where they can talk without their teacher looking over their shoulders… I like how you question development work, I stayed for an additional 6 years with the UN and your thoughts are encouraging, I am still on the fence if it does or not , and believe that the local should take a strong role… the loneliness will fade and believe it or not you’re in for a great two years that will stick with you for the rest of your life, you prpbaly already know this and your dreams are in line… I was a PCV in Kenya in 1988 and still dream of Afrika, I couldn’t leave stayed around for 8 years with the UN…I am writing as I am looking for PCV in Kenya now who can help me with a simple school exchange… I did it when I was there and had a good time with it… simply put, would be a letter exchange with my son’s (first grade) school in Menlo Park CA… the students from both sides get to send letters (and photos) and the school in Menlo Park can send some dough so the school can buy books and sporting equipment… this would all be done locally in Kenya for several reasons… If you could pass this note around to the other PCV there or would like to help please let me know… have fun in Silibwet… your blog is great, the stories are really well written and bring back fond memories of live in Kenya… My best to you…

    enda salama

    asanti sana

    By Anonymous Dave, at 6:45 PM, November 23, 2005  

  • Hi Jenly,
    I hadn't talked to you in so long I forgot you were going to Kenya. What you're doing there is incredibly impressive and very admirable. I really enjoy reading about your adventures. Take care,

    Zach

    By Blogger PhoenixDebaser, at 1:52 AM, December 07, 2005  

  • Dave - thanks for the comment.
    Ukambani! Love it there, that's where our PST was. Going back for IST felt like a homecoming to a time when I was younger and more naive. Which I guess it was, in a way.

    I gave up on meeting the local chiefs because I got spooked by the DO's office, but I love the Ministry of Agriculture people. I plan to work with them as much as I can.

    Thanks for your feedback, it's really great getting the views/feelings of people who've been here and done it.

    As far as the letter exchange, are you talking about the one that PCVs are allowed to sign up for when they're invited? I never signed up for it but now I think it'd be cool. If you haven't found anyone to do it yet, I'm sure I could sign up, specifically with your school. I think I'd really enjoy that. Let me know.

    By Blogger jenly, at 1:54 PM, December 14, 2005  

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