Kenya 2010

I joined some American delegates to a trip to the mall. We finally arrived
at the mall after walking through a hailstorm of car exhaust. I swear I
nearly used up my nine lives just crossing the road! The mall had
everything, yes I mean everything under the sun that you possibly will ever
need to live! The store even sold the steel welders masks! Our stomachs
dictated that we stop wandering in the Eden of all stores and find some
food. After much discussion and detours I was so happy that my group agreed
on an Indian restaurant! Read more »

In the past three weeks all of us have had our fair share of embarrassing
moments. They come quite generously, especially to all of us Americans.
However, this particular night brought an experience that many of us will
continue to remember for years too come…

First… A little background… The weather in Kenya has been rather bipolar for
quite some time… It rains, shines, freezes, scorches, all in a day’s work.
Because of this, many of the girls had tied their hair up to a bun or
braided them in a Kenyan style. Read more »

The Kenyan Youth Leadership Campers arrived last week. Some came in buses,
others came on foot. There was a lot of uncertainty in their eyes as they
huddled over to the cafeteria with their bags. It was clear that their
uncertainty had put them on guard. They stayed closely knit with their
schoolmates throughout the night.

To be honest we, the delegates, had no idea what to expect either. The chaos
of opening night had thrown all the delegates into a temporary state of
confusion. Read more »

After two weeks in Kenya, the Kenyan food had begun taking its toll on the
Americans. One by one we fell ill. Those of us who didn’t have a cold were
affected by the food. Julie and I were sitting across each other on
Wednesday night, staring at each other. We made no faces but both of us knew
exactly what the other was thinking. We were struggling to force down Ugali.

Kenyans are known to value bland food over spicy food. (eg. Beans, spinach,
rice, etc.) So, one of their favorite dishes is Ugali. Ugali is a unbearably
bland Kenyan food that starts off looking like a white brick. Read more »

Wednesday, July 28th 2010. We no longer saw each other as Americans and
Kenyans but as GRO Delegates. We knew why we were here. In four days 36
Kenyan students would be coming for KYLC (The Kenyan Youth Leadership Camp)
and we would be running it.

The next three days had become very intensive. The air around the room that
would become the staff headquarters was filled with pressure and heated
debates. The walls of the room were plastered with large sheets of paper
covered with endless words and numbers.

We had discussed everything from the curriculum to security. Read more »

However, it contains somewhat graphic content, so if experiences in the
bathroom do not appeal to you, I’d suggest not continuing with this post.

It was the night of the Amazing Race. Read more »

The Amazing Race began early on Sunday , we had just spent our first night
in a tent on the campus. The delegates awoke in the morning as if they had
just slept on a grand down bed. (Things had been different in the hostel at
the YMCA). It was a blessing, a welcome start to our Amazing Race.

The delegates had been divided into three teams of four. Both American and
Kenyan alike began to prepare in their own way for the race. We took team
photos, gave ourselves whacky names, and got each other pumped up. Read more »

We are well into our second week of our stay in Kenya and of course… the
thrill of thieving baboons has pretty much died off. A few days ago, the
Americans arrived at the Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf
where our campgrounds were. It was here where we were to meet the Kenyan
Delegates that we would be working with for the next two weeks.

Not surprisingly, the second we jumped off the van and unloaded our gear we
were greeted by several fascinated students. Some of them had never met
Americans before. Read more »

A funny thing happened on the road today. The American delegates woke up
with surprising ease at 5:00 am on a Saturday morning. It must have had
something to do with the time zone difference. We had been staying at the
local YMCA for a few days. As a convenient farewell gift to us, the YMCA had
lost power the night before. Read more »

Today is the Amazing Race! This year, Kenyan delegates join US delegates for
a long fun-filled day of Amazing Race in downtown Nairobi. Whoooo!

The teams are: The Elephant! The Clever Chameleon! Yes, We Can!