March Madness

so I have officially been here 6 months... how did that happen?

Work is going great. I am becoming much more adjusted to the Kenyan ways of doing things. We have about 150 teams participating in our leagues, so we are essentially organizing competitions for 3000 kids!

This past weekend I went to Nairobi for the day on Saturday (took the night bus there on Friday and the night bus back on Saturday). I went just to watch the Harambee Stars play, which is the name of the national soccer team here. They played Tunisia in a World Cup qualifying match, but we lost 2-1... bummer! It was an awesome experience though. Live events always are.

On Sunday, I went to a party with about 40 other Americans. It was on a barge that was anchored just in a bay here on Lake Victoria. We hung out and had drinks and a buffet dinner. I ate tuna, brie cheese, shrimp and turkey. All things I have NEVER eaten in Kenya before then. It was amazing! Then in the evening, people started jumping off to go for a swim so of course I also had to do it. I was assured there were no hippos in the area even though we were in a place called Kiboko Bay, which means Hippo Bay in Swahili. So I did it and it was my first official swim in Lake Victoria.

Today I spent the day at a local school where school games were held between four schools from around the area which have all students who are special needs. Here they are called "intellectually disabled." The kids, of all ages, competed in track and field events as well as a soccer game. Little did I know, I was the guest of honor so they talked about me for about 10 minutes and then I had to give a speech to the 150+ people who were there. Good thing people don't understand my English very well...

So overall things are great and going very well. I could essentially start a youth football organization ANYWHERE in the world right now with the experience I have had here in the last 6 months. People around here are starting to know my name and not be afraid to talk to me (they used to call me "mzungu" or "white person"). I've been invited to a lot of events as a special guest of honor which is flattering but also making my schedule quite crazy.

Also, March madness has not quite been the same here without other college basketball fans. I have tried to explain the brackets and the tournament to people and no one gets it. Oh well.... as long as Carolina is in the Final Four it's allllll good with me!

GO HEELS!

Thinking outloud

The last few weeks have been very interesting and much different than the rest of my Kenyan experiences. Before now, I was absolutely in love with Kenya and everything here. Recently, I have experienced the other side.

Being in the developing world is wearing. Poverty is a powerful force. Kenyans are wonderful people and for the most part they are friendly, caring, welcoming and enjoyable, but there is this culture of materialism and monetary values. Everything is about money and people without money can be driven to do some pretty crazy things. I have a hard time subscribing to that idea because I'm used to a culture of generosity without expected reciprocation. Many people here are reliant on others (other people or organizations) for everything. They think "Why should I volunteer to support my community when I can be doing something else to make money?" This mentality is tough to break, especially in my arena of soccer participation. The youth leagues I grew up in with volunteer coaches, parents, referees and organizers is non-existent here. People expect everything to be given to them with no responsibility for their own contributions.

These philosophies are proving to be quite stressful for me. I'm really starting to be engulfed in this culture, including the good and the bad. I'm just reminded every day that no matter how long I am here, I will never be Kenyan. I will never be OK with lying or cheating or taking advantage of others.

Otherwise things are well. It's warm and sunny every day, I am meeting so many wonderful people, I am watching so many kids play soccer and I'm learning to fend for myself. I used to think I was finally part of the "real world" but I now do not consider this the "real world." I am totally wrapped up in a crazy, confused and contradictory world.... and I love it.

I'm now heading to the shop right below where I live. They stock everything from milk and bread to nail polish, soap, toothpaste and soda. Essentially, everything I need. Even though it's dark already, it's totally safe for me to go outside because my building has armed guards.... armed with a bow and arrow (no joke).

March

I have been in Kenya for a little more than 5 months... how did that happen?!? Work is going well. Still 7 days a week about 9 or 10 hours a day. We are in the middle of kicking off all the leagues, organizing coaches and referees trainings and securing corporate sponsorship. Basically, tons of stuff to do and not enough time.

The HOVIC football team that I am supporting is doing so well. They are training almost every day and as of now, I think none of them are using glue which is SO EXCITING! HOVIC just opened a night shelter for some of the street boys so some of the players will be able to stay there overnight, instead of on the streets.

It's hot here every day. Usually around 90. The rains will start in April so more dust for the next month. I had Chinese food for lunch today, I'm using internet in my house and watching college basketball on ESPN. For all of you who thought African all lived in huts in the middle of nowhere... that is not so true haha.

P.S. I finally posted a few pictures online. Enjoy!

http://community.webshots.com/user/kelmo17

the real world?

So the last few weeks have been totally consumed by work. I love what I'm doing, but it is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week job. The way things are done here is so much slower and less productive than I'm used to. We had a meeting every day last week with each zone we operate in. Each meeting was supposed to start at 2pm. NOT ONE meeting started before 3:30... not one! Time is so not a factor here and it's extremely frustrating.

I just got back this morning from a workshop in Nairobi. It was for a select group of sports and development organizations that have been identified by the Dutch government to participate in creating a program to allocate funds the Dutch have available. It was a great two days and I met other really interesting people. There are so many great organizations here and it definitely inspired me to try and do even more.

The soccer team I am sponsoring played in an open tournament last weekend. They were definitely the youngest team, being all under the age of 16 but they played well and really held their own. People around town are starting to talk about them and complement their efforts and motivation... so nice to see! It's crazy how these kids play in tournaments against all these other teams and at the end of the day, the other players will go home to their houses/families/meals/bed, while my team all lives on the streets... pretty unbelievable huh?

I have met some more Americans who are living here in Kisumu as part of a program similar to the one I did in 2007. It's so nice to have more American friends and be able to speak normally and talk about stuff from home. I miss that so much.

Let's see if I can recount some recent awkward moments...

1. A man in the matatu this morning introduced himself to me and shook my hand but did that wierd thing where he tickled my palm with his middle finger while he was shaking my hand...

2. As I was riding in a matatu last week, I was sitting next to the driver in the front seat and he's muttering to himself "where are the keys?" We were driving around town with no keys in the ignition (?!?!) but finally we stopped and he found the keys under the seat.

3. I went to the movies last week with some friends because they have a special on Tuesday nights where you get a hot dog, soda, popcorn and ticket for 4 dollars. the power went off three times during the movie and we were the only ones there

So many other funny/crazy things happen and I will have to start writing them down so I can share.

There has been some big new the last few weeks in Kenya with the fire at a downtown supermarket in Nairobi. I man I know was killed in that. Also the tanker which overturned and then exploded killing like 120 people last week. Lots of sad new here...

Yet, things with me are good. Keep the updates coming. I will be waking up in the middle of the night to watch the Carolina Duke game tonight which will HOPEFULLY be aired. GO HEELS!

So far so good on the job front. This past week was a lot of planning for the upcoming year. From what I have heard from some friends, people around town are pretty excited about me working at the organization, which makes me feel good. I still feel really confident about the work we are doing and I think I’ll be able to help a lot of it get done.It has just been a difficult transition to adjust to the work atmosphere here. Things that are so important at the work place in the US like efficiency, effectiveness, timeliness, productivity.... none of these exist here. There is a lot of sitting around, a lot of talking/gossiping and not a lot of actual DOING. This will take some time to get used to and things will still get done, just not as quickly as I would like or am used to.

My sister left last week so for the past few days I have had no family members here with me… first time in a month. It is still hot here every day. Three days ago it rained for the first time in literally two months. It was starting to get horrible. It was just so dusty and dry everywhere, but it’s rained a little in the past few days so it’s a little better.

The inauguration was pretty exciting here. Even though it wasn’t declared an official holiday like election day, people pretty much stopped working around 1 pm and celebrated the rest of the day and night. It was quite the event. There was a big get-together in town here in Kisumu with music blasting all day. There is a popular reggae song here with a chorus that just repeats “Ba-rack O-bama, Ba-rack O-bama.” We heard that song all day long…

UGANDA!

So I started my new job last week. The first week went really well. I think everyone is receptive to me being there and they are excited to work hard this year... hopefully. My week ended short because we left for Uganda Thursday afternoon.

My sister, my friend Elizabeth, a family of 7 I know from Portland and I all decided to make the not-too-far trip to Uganda for the weekend. We left Kisumu in the afternoon and took a matatu (14 person van) to the border town, Busia. Immigration is quite easy to pass through.. especially after you have to pay USD $50 on the Ugandan side to enter the country. We then took another Matatu to the town of Jinja which sits right on Lake Victoria and the source of the river Nile. The family we were with had contacted a rafting company and already set everything up for us. So we arrived at the camp at night and relaxed at the bar/restaurant before bed. In the morning, we were able to see the place in the daylight... pretty sweet. The bar overlooks the Nile and it's absolutely beautiful. We left in the morning around 10 for our white-water rafting trip. There are two options for the trip: wild or mild. Of course, we did wild. Our guide was Canadian and pretty experienced on the river. The water was so warm and the sun was so hot. We went through 11 rapids, 4 of which were class 5 rapids. Our boat flipped three different times. It was such a fun day, but also scary. Some of the rapids were huge and you're basically guaranteed to flip. In which case, you either hold on to the boat or get rescued by one of the ten rescue kayakers who follow the boats. Two different times I was trapped under the boat when we flipped, yet I cam out fine. We stopped on an island for a great lunch during the middle and there was plenty of calm water where we could leisurely swim. Overall is was an awesome day, but there were plenty of scary moments. The family we were traveling with were doing a 2 day trip so they continued on when we came back to the camp at night.

We went into Jinja town to a restaurant for dinner and had REAL pizza and burgers with ACTUAL Heinz ketchup... quite the gourmet meal for us. In the morning, my friend Elizabeth and I had decided to bungee jump. The company has a bungee jumping option so we had decided when we arrived to do it. The platform is 145 feet over the river. I was definitely scared but it was absolutely worth it. They wrapped a towel around my ankles and then fastened a cord around that. I hopped to the edge of the platform and they told me how to jump out. After 3, 2, 1, BUNGEE... I don't even remember how I jumped. I just remember falling, but knowing it wasn't like a free fall. I could still feel some resistance and slowing as I fell. I was AWESOME. Swinging back and forth over the river and dangling from my ankles... quite a rush! Then they lowered my into a raft below and brought me to the shore. I watched my friend jump from down there. Kenzie filmed us from the lookout at the bar and had a great view of everything. We left for Kenya soon after.

Overall, our two days in Uganda were great. It was only about a five hour trip to get there so not too bad. I had quite the thrill-seeking weekend and it was totally worth the money (lots of money haha). Back to work tomorrow...

more from the Moore's

Today I have not left the house. It feels quite good to do absolutely nothing for a whole day. The last week has been the exact opposite. Last Saturday morning, I left Nairobi with the fam on the bus. I had complained many times in the past about the bumpy ride from Nairobi to Kisumu, but it has gotten a little better and plus, I totally think everyone should experience it and appreciate how awesome our roads are at home. The ride started out pretty good. There were only a few places with some bumps. As we were about 2 hours outside of Kisumu we stopped for 30 mins and had to wait to see what had happened. There was a major traffic jam on the only two lane road across the country (figures). A bus had tipped over onto its side across the road leaving only room for one lane to pass by it. Needless to say we did a little off-roading on our huge coach bus and my mom almost had a panic attack haha. We arrived safe in Kisumu and took it easy the rest of the night. Sunday we went to the field near my house and Dad helpeddo a training session with 14-16 year-old boys. Kenz, Mom and I sat on the side and played with the little children around the area. That night we came to the place where I stayed and they experienced some local food (scrambled eggs!).

Monday morning we visited the street children organization HOVIC. In true Kenyan formal, they had a formal meeting with all the kids and staff and introduced us and made us formally present the gifts we brought to the team captains and staff. It was awkward and funny, but they were TOTALLY excited about the soccer balls, shin guards, cones and pinnies we brought. The kids love white visitors.

Tuesday we did a boat ride out on Lake Victoria. We went on a successful hippo search and saw quite a few (just their heads because their bodies are under water). The lake was pretty cool, but would be MUCH more fun if people could swim in it. Wednesday we visited a local nursery school where an American friend of mine works. It was cool for my mom to see a school and she even taught the kids “The Ittsy Bittsy Spider” and “I’m a little teapot.” That night we went to the well known sunset spot, Kiboko Bay and saw the sunset and had a great meal. You know it’s a good place when you can get mashed potatoes, lettuce, boneless meat and Heinz ketchup.

Thursday we spent the day at Pandipieri, one of the other organizations I’m volunteering with. We were given a tour of the whole compound including the clinic, nursery school, and street kids compound. We gave them tons of school supplies that my mom’s class and another class had collected and also soccer uniforms. They were all SO excited (including the staff members). Friday we spent resting and packing up all my parents stuff and they flew out of Kisumu Friday evening.

Now it’s just my sister and I hanging out here, but we won’t actually do a lot of sitting around because I start my job on Monday. Yes, that’s right… job. The organization I have been working with this time and when I was a student, KYFA, has offered me a management position. It’s called “Interim Management Reinforcement” so I will essentially be overseeing everyone and reporting to the director. I am so excited to have a more influential role in the organization. Hopefully, they will be able to learn from me, but I think it will be such a phenomenal learning experience for me and a great way to get experience in the exact field I want to go into. So that starts tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes with me being younger than everyone there, white and a female. Could be interesting….