I'm still suffering from some jet lag & yesterday I was
exhausted and fell asleep by 7pm... I got up for half an hour for dinner (at
9pm) and quickly went back to bed (because in recent days I've had trouble
sleeping around 10pm and needed to catch my sleep window. So last night was the
first time I have slept through the whole night.
The rooster crowed at 6:05am (a few minutes later than he usually does) and I've been up since then. I wanted to go running, but all of the girls attending the Chogoria Girls School next door have just returned from Midterm break and are hanging out and studying all over their school field. I am too self-conscious to go run laps around them, especially because everyone stares at a Muzungu (white person). They wouldn't do so maliciously, but enough to make me a bit uncomfortable. They are especially excited and swarming around the school reconnecting with their friends after having each gone home to visit their families for the first time in months. I think I forgot to tell you that Mamma Lucy is the Deputy Headmaster (aka: Vice Principle) of the Chogoria Girls School (a secondary school: aka high school), so I will hardly see her anymore, as she works 5am-midnight most days. She tucks the girls into bed in each dormitory and goes to wake them in the morning as well. She is extremely dedicated to her job and I can't think of anyone better to care for these girls.
I will still be receiving big home cooked meals at the home daily though, as her family hires a "house girl" (aka a cooking/cleaning maid who comes here every day). I'm not used to having a house servant, so it is a little awkward for me. Especially since the "house girls" are high-school aged girls who had to drop out of school to work and help earn money to support their family (typically to support their parents and siblings, but sometimes to support a small child or two of their own). At least, this is my understanding of it. So the "house girls" don't know very much English, as they would have learned that in school. It is difficult to communicate with them, so I just make sure to smile kindly every time I see Winnifred (the house girl hired by my host family). I wish I could get to know her and ask her about her family and life, but the language barrier is just too great to overcome.
The rooster crowed at 6:05am (a few minutes later than he usually does) and I've been up since then. I wanted to go running, but all of the girls attending the Chogoria Girls School next door have just returned from Midterm break and are hanging out and studying all over their school field. I am too self-conscious to go run laps around them, especially because everyone stares at a Muzungu (white person). They wouldn't do so maliciously, but enough to make me a bit uncomfortable. They are especially excited and swarming around the school reconnecting with their friends after having each gone home to visit their families for the first time in months. I think I forgot to tell you that Mamma Lucy is the Deputy Headmaster (aka: Vice Principle) of the Chogoria Girls School (a secondary school: aka high school), so I will hardly see her anymore, as she works 5am-midnight most days. She tucks the girls into bed in each dormitory and goes to wake them in the morning as well. She is extremely dedicated to her job and I can't think of anyone better to care for these girls.
I will still be receiving big home cooked meals at the home daily though, as her family hires a "house girl" (aka a cooking/cleaning maid who comes here every day). I'm not used to having a house servant, so it is a little awkward for me. Especially since the "house girls" are high-school aged girls who had to drop out of school to work and help earn money to support their family (typically to support their parents and siblings, but sometimes to support a small child or two of their own). At least, this is my understanding of it. So the "house girls" don't know very much English, as they would have learned that in school. It is difficult to communicate with them, so I just make sure to smile kindly every time I see Winnifred (the house girl hired by my host family). I wish I could get to know her and ask her about her family and life, but the language barrier is just too great to overcome.
My host father, Timothy, is a teacher at the Chogoria Boys
School down the road. My Kenyan parents both work much longer hours than they
are actually paid for (reminds me of my own American dad).
Their son, Tosh, is the sweetest boy you will ever meet... and the shyest. When he speaks (which is a rare occurrence) it is barely a whisper, but he has a kind disposition and clearly enjoys when I talk to him. I've learned that the way to have a conversation with him, is to ask him questions with multiple choice answers. Instead of, "what is your favorite subject in school?" which is a question he would struggle to find the words to answer, I would instead ask him, "Do you like English or Math class better?" It is still difficult to hear his responses, as they are barely an audible squeak, but he nods and smiles after he answers each of my questions.
Their son, Tosh, is the sweetest boy you will ever meet... and the shyest. When he speaks (which is a rare occurrence) it is barely a whisper, but he has a kind disposition and clearly enjoys when I talk to him. I've learned that the way to have a conversation with him, is to ask him questions with multiple choice answers. Instead of, "what is your favorite subject in school?" which is a question he would struggle to find the words to answer, I would instead ask him, "Do you like English or Math class better?" It is still difficult to hear his responses, as they are barely an audible squeak, but he nods and smiles after he answers each of my questions.
He is most animated when I bring up Liz, the former Muzungu
global health fellow, because he absolutely adores her. I hope he will be able
to open up to me as he did with her. I'm working on it.
So today, I offered to wake Tosh up for Lucy. She had already prepared to bring Tosh breakfast in bed (Chai tea, bananas, and bread with butter & jam), so I brought it in and gently woke him. He wanted to go back to sleep, but was surprised and excited to see me in his room, so I was able to coax him to sit up and eat breakfast with me :)
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