Hi All!

I thought I would give a run-down of a typical day in the life of a community development worker in Matoso, West Kadem, Kenya.

- We wake up with the sun. Or until the rooster or cow does the job. There are so many chickens, roosters, cows and goats that just roam freely – everywhere. But somehow people still know which is theirs and no one steals them. We typically eat bread and butter for breakfast. Or these little fried “donuts.” They also have a delicious chai tea, which is more like hot chocolate every day. I am thankful I packed so much granola or else I would probably be one of the only people to go to Africa and gain weight.
- Breakfast is at 8 (which isn’t always the case. Well, it actually never is the case because we are on African time which adheres to no standards)
- We typically have a group meeting and then a respective meeting about our majors with the group leaders (Cory, Jess, or Kevin) and work with the community until 12:30
- Lunch is at 1. We normally have cabbage, eggs, and rice for lunch. We sometimes get papaya or pineapple. Very rarely do we get pineapple.
- After lunch, we typically have meetings with members of the community or surrounding areas. But for Brittany and I, we will be having computer classes every day from 4:30 – 6:30. So meetings might be moved to the morning.
-5:30 our work day is over. This is our free time. All of the children come to play with us. I am seriously so happy to play with the children. They all call me Vee-Kee. As if it is two words. We just set up a volleyball net, so the SCHAP compound has been attracting new faces, which is always welcomed and exciting! We also read and do arts and crafts.
-We eat dinner around 7:30 or 8. We have ugali, which is a Kenyan staple. It is like a bread, fluffy, carbohydrate. We normally pair that with cabbage or potatoes and fish, beef or chicken. Beans and lentils are typically served with chipate – which I am no longer allowed to help the women make because I am so bad at it that my help is actually not advantageous.

I have learned a lot since being here:
- There is no wasting of any food, especially meat. I cannot even chew through the beef. I do not eat the beef anymore because I saw it at the market one day in a plastic bag in the heat. I am not sure if my stomach could handle any E. coli right now. The fish is DELICIOUS. It is always fresh and amazing. The chicken is a sight. They eat everything: the tongue, cheeks, stomach, liver. The whole she-bang. There are a few adventurous guys who will eat all of that. I used to stick with the thighs until I ate one that felt so tough that it was like eating a body builder’s muscle. (Sorry for the vegetarians out there).
- Buy local food. My friends Sara, Brittany and I always buy fruit and eggs together. We hard boil eggs and eat mangoes and pineapples to give our poor diets a break.
- No water here is clean except the water we buy. The shower water has algae, sticks, and dirt in it. No amount of boiling will take that out. At least the bacteria is gone.
- We all have jobs to keep the camp organized. We have people in charge of “flushing” our “long call” bucket. Some are in charge of filling our hole with ash for our “short calls.” Some are in charge of the hauling up lake water every day to the camp for our make shift water purifier. And me? I got really lucky and am in charge of the showers. I literally just organize the showers and the order of people going. 20 guesses who always weasels her way into a warm shower. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I am not upset about it.
-When in doubt: walk. The motorcycles are called “piki pikis.” I have had motorcycle knowledge force fed to me since before I could talk. I can always hear when things don’t sound right. And, let me tell you: nothing sounds right. I also always get on the piki piki on the side opposite of the muffler. Plenty of my cohorts have some pretty vicious burns.

Well, that is all for now! I hope this post serves you all well!

Love to you all!