day twenty nine

Did you hear about the one where the mzungu finally found free wi-fi but forgot her power adapter so had to leave her prime spot next to the power point to go an buy an adapter only to come back to the source of the free wi-fi and her spot has been taken... bugger.

Anyway, one of my favourite things to do in life is go grocery shopping, especially when overseas. I love walking up and down the aisles, and looking at all the options and laughing at the hilariously odd names. Kenya has provided some doozies so far, and armed with my trust Blackberry Q10, I have taken pictures of some in order to share with you.

Enjoy

Okay, maybe not funny per se, but it's always cool to find things named after friends. 

Why on earth doesn't Australia have this?

Next to the pineapple creams and chocolate digestives comes these goodies. 

Because ordinary mortein just isn't enough.

Because you want your mouth on fire when brushing your teeth...

Umm... actually both of these packets are ummm...

The idea of salty toothpaste makes me gag

You can wash your virginity back to life?

Yet another find whilst shopping for toothpaste. Seriously what is wrong with plain old mint people?

day twenty seven

I think the honeymoon period is wearing off and the reality of the fact that I actually have another 11 months living here is setting in...

Earlier this week I got to go do supervision visits at various different health facilities around the Ikolomani sub-county with the Chief Medical Officer, Head of Laboratory, Head of Pharmacy, and the Disease Surveillance officer. I got to see first hand the various levels of infrastructure, capabilities, ridiculousness and sheer wasted opportunities that are the health facilities. I experienced my first real wtf/banging-head-against-wall/disbelief of politics and the laziness and "the church" which everyone had warned me about.

The view from one of the facilities I visited - this is their Pharmacy. The building at the back is actually not-fit-for-use however, as this is a private-public partnership, the owners refuse to fix the building up so that it can be used as an in-patient ward. The government cannot fix it up as it would be deemed a violation of contract. And yes, those are cows.

But I also met some incredibly ingenious people who in the face of scarcity and insufficiency, they have excelled themselves and shown creative ingeniousness. At one facility, this one guy nurse had taken it upon himself to go to the local internet cafe and create bar charts of case data and print them out - incredible! He's no different to any of the others, and yet he took initiative and created something beautiful (well, to me it is).

Look at these beauties!

I've also discovered that my supervisor is rather down-to-earth - yes, he's the head medical officer for the sub-county region, but he's just like any other person... I loved the fact that when the 4WD broke down he was one of them to get out and push. Good leadership!

L-R: Head of Laboratory, Chief Medical Officer, Disease Surveillance Officer...

The other two days of this week have been filled with many, many, more examples of my experiencing this sheer disbelief at what Ps Darren would say as "TIA" and it is with this that I came home this afternoon with a huge pit in my stomach wondering why on earth I thought this was a good idea and how will I ever make a meaningful and sustainable difference? But writing this post has helped me calm down and say pole pole - I've still got eleven more months, so what's the rush?

Yep, a box of condoms nailed to the wall outside the Pharmacy. I thought it was funny.

day twenty two

This week has been full of ups and downs and round-and-round...

I think the biggest challenge I've faced this week has been dealing with my own irritation at the stupidist thing - I am seriously over everyone shouting at me "Hey mzungu" or "Hey pretty lady, how are you?" or being called Mary or Miss California or any other terminology which clearly points out that I am white, I am completely foreign, and that I will never fit in here, no matter how much Swahili or Kiluyah I learn, even if I wear local clothes and take matatus and eat as the locals do... I will always stick out like a sore thumb.

I think the tipping point was on Saturday. I had decided that I should get out of Kakamega/Iguhu and go see something different, so I jumped on the matatu and made my way to Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa. Kisumu is located on the edge of Lake Victoria which apparently has hippos in it. After having traveled to several foreign countries where I don't speak the language and have managed to have a great time, I thought this excursion would be no different. Yeah nah, never again am I going anywhere on my own. The shouting, the pulling of my arm (literally), the jeering, the constant fear of being charged the mzungu price and thereby not buying anything, and the fact that I was feeling slightly under-the-weather meant that whilst it was a great lesson learned, I would've preferred to have just stayed in bed all day. In the end I cam home and had a small tear fest and the devouring of Tim Tams whilst watching a Jane Austen movie.

Chillin' lakeside at Railway Beach in Kisumu - the breeze coming of Lake Victoria was glorious

However, not everyone here makes me feel out-of-sorts - I am making some good local friends which make feel right at home here in Kenya, especially my host family. Sure, there are some frustrations, like the constant argument over the apparent lack of food I consume, but overall I am ridiculously blessed. They happily teach me Swahili and local recipes, play scrabble and cards, take care of me, stick up for me and generally have accepted me as part of the compound family.

Making a ridiculously large amount of Kitheri 

Sunday afternoon scrabble session

Learning to make Chapatis with Anita (yes, I live with another Anita)

Another up from this week was my first experience of driving in Kenya! Holy Swiss cheese! The rural roads are something like I've never experienced - I swear whilst driving today I was praying for God to just get us home safely. Speaking of roads, whilst on the way to Kisumu the locals of Tigoi decided they were sick of all the traffic and dust, so they blocked the road and refused passage through for any vehicle, which meant that the cars, buses and matatus banked up, and eventually we all had to turn around and make our way passed using a different route.

Don't know if you can see, but the locals have placed huge rocks across the road to block traffic

Lastly, the mvua (rain) has started, albeit in dribs and drabs, but the shift in the air is tangible, as well as in the community. Oh the smell and the freshness and the biaridi  (cold) makes me so happy. There was huge sheet lightning tonight, so I whipped out my camera and attempted to take some shots - a lot more googling of camera settings is required but basically you can see the enormity of the storm. That is definitely one thing I love about Kenya so far, is how vast the sky seems.

Umeme - lightning. The windows in the bottom left are of one of the houses in my compound. 

day eighteen

I am slowly learning that I actually know things.

Whilst working in Australia and England, I was always having to check my work with supervisors, constantly feeling inferior, and completely unsure of what I was supposed to know. I finished my two Masters degrees with no confidence whatsoever in my abilities as an infectious disease field epidemiologist.

Whilst I still question my ability to get a "real" job as an Epidemiologist at this point, what I do know is that my Masters in Infectious Diseases was not a complete waste of time. In fact, it is this training that has cemented my belief that this internship is the right thing for me to do right now. I have gotten out from the cynical, micro-managed, compartmentalised institution that is developed countries and government departments, and found myself in a place of possibilities, where I am able to marry public health with laboratory practices, and where I genuinely know things. Each day my confidence gets better and better.

Where I sit to write this blog post. The wind has picked up dramatically and blows through the office. Hopefully that's a sign that the rains are coming, because it is stinking hot during the day here!

Today I diagnosed a patient with Entamoeba histolytica - a parasite which causes diarrhoea. Whilst it is horrible for the patient, and I pray they have a speedy recovery, it is pure excitement for me as it proves two things - one, that I know my parasites and two, that there is a problem with water-borne diarrhoea, specifically parasites, here in Kakamega. I have been told by clinicians that there isn't a problem with parasites, or Chlamydia, or this, or that; however, the laboratory is currently using methods which are not sensitive or specific enough to determine these things, therefore you cannot tell me there isn't a problem, nor can I tell you definitively that there is a problem, until we rectify the situation with the testing methods and determine the prevalence. Data is key my friends.

The laboratory service delivery charter. For all those people who think "if we had a medicare co-payment people would stop coming to the doctors" then you should take note - most things aren't free in Kenya (only HIV and TB treatment, medical treatment for children under 5 years and antenatal care)

Each day I come to work I am excited about what I will discover - the other day I learnt that someone had previously come in to try and network the hospital so that everyone could use computers but never finished the project, or today I learnt that we have all the chemicals and equipment to start testing for Cryptosporidium spp. through florescence microscopy. If I had not done the two different Masters degrees, if I had just done the one Masters of Public Health like everyone else, then these two discoveries may not have been so important. But for me I see potential in both of those things to impact the Ikolmani sub-county community for the better.

You might see the Ebola poster, but I see the networking cables.
No, there isn't Ebola here, everywhere has these posters up as precaution.

Thank you God.

day fourteen

This week I've learnt that the best thing to do when a passenger in Kenya is to close your eyes and hold on for dear life. Or just look left out the window and ignore what is the scariest live-action game of car/matatu/piki-piki chicken ever.

Going for a drive with Shida

I've started a page of all the Kiswahili terms I'm learning and use in this blog, so that if you wonder "what is a piki-piki?" you can click on that page and learn some new vocabulary.

Two weeks ago today I was landing in Kisumu. Whilst it doesn't exactly feel like I've been here for ages, it's hard to remember what a cup of coffee and bagel for breakfast was like. There are definitely things I wish I had packed, and there are things that I've come to love in Kenya, but most of all I miss the ability to actually speak Australian English at a normal speed. Life is slow here, even when they talk English (but not when they talk Swahili).

Chilin' on the front porch

One thing I love about where I live now is the incredible sunsets. I wish my photographs did them justice. Unfortunately most evenings I don't have my camera with me.

Does not do justice to the beauty that is Ikumu village.
This was taken with my Blackberry Q10

It gets dark here at around 7pm, and it is very dark. Last night we were sitting on the porch taking chai and the power went out - I literally could not see my hand in front of me it was that dark. Thank goodness for torches and mobile phones.

Baby Tashley playing with the lantern when the umeme is out

Everyone over here, no matter who they are, has a mobile phone, and they are constantly ringing. Often I'll be in the middle of a sentence and the person I'm speaking to will just answer their phone, talk, and then once finished start talking to me as if it was no big deal. The first few times it happened it was rather shocking, but I've gotten used to it.

The other thing I am getting used to is the fact that no matter how many times you wash, there will always be more dirt to wash off. Sometimes I think "ooh, I'm getting nice and tan" and then I wash my arms and I'm back to being very white... hahaha

On my way home from work... most roads are unsealed and as the rains have not come yet EVERYTHING gets covered in a fine layer of dirt. Tip: Keep your mouth closed when a car goes past...

So two weeks down, fifty more to go. Not that I'm counting time until I can get out of here, because right now there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be.

day eleven

The problem with being a mzungu in Kenya is that they can see you blush.

Background: For this internship, I'm based at Iguhu District Hospital, which is the sub-county headquarters for Ikolomani, also known as Kakamega South. How it works in Kenya the country is devided into 47 counties, and each county is devided into sub-counties - I'm in the Kakamega county and it's devided into five sub-counties. It is then broken down further to village and sub-village - for example, I live in Makhokho village and Ikumu sub-village. Each village and sub-village also has a chief. Pretty cool huh?

My role for this internship is to work with the Public Health officers and the Laboratory staff to come up with a project/s, and then carry those projects out. The projects need to be in keeping with the principles of sustainable development, that is, "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (UN).

There are no words that can describe how awesome this sign is 

So for the past few days I have been sitting in various departments, e.g. the laboratory, VCT testing, registration, to see how their department works, what assets are there and what the people bring to the facility. And let me just say the people are what make Iguhu District Hospital a fantastic place. Especially the laboratory - they won best department for 2014! 

Me and Sammy holding the trophy for Best Department 2014.
I have no idea why I am holding it, but it's still cool!

Anyway, it's on this tour through the facility that a recurring theme arises... that I am single. "Oh, we will find you a Kenyan man" the women say. "No, I am here to work", I reply. "Ah, that is okay, you do your work, and we will find him for you"... and then comes out my list of polite but blunt rejections to their offer:

I am too expensive - a mzungu with two masters degrees, I cost 200 cows and 2 million Ksh in one payment, no paying off... "Ah, Anita we will find you a very rich man"

My parents are very strict, so he would have to fly to Australia to ask for their permission to date me... "Anita, we will find you a man who has a passport"

I would not make a good Kenyan wife - I want to work and get my PhD, I don't want to be home cooking and cleaning for him... "Anita, the young men these days, they are enlightened. They know you are a learned woman. We will find you one who will respect your work"

I have my heart set on someone back home... "Anita, if you have someone back home, then why did they let you come to Kenya for a whole year. No, the right man for you is in Kenya"

This goes on and on and on... it is rather embarrassing and makes me continually blush. They are worse than my Mum when she is in a Mrs Bennett mood! It's not that I wouldn't want to find someone, it's that I am here for my internship, and a relationship is just not an option right now. Try telling that to a bunch of Kenyan women...

"Oh Anita, okay, you will focus on your work, but if the right man comes along, we will tell you, because you should have a Kenyan man, it would be good for you"

I cannot win

day nine

On Friday I was heading from Iguhu (where I live and work) to Kakamega (the big town), which normally takes about 30 minutes on the matatu. Except this Bishop guy was also going towards Kakamega... when the bishop comes to town, the whole freaking county comes to town!

Not sure you can see him, he's in red standing up from the car, but you can see the convoy of cars, children, pikipiki and every other member of the church to wave at this guy. I managed to take this photo from out the back of the matatu as we passed.

This Bishop guy was standing up through the sunroof window of the car and waving, kinda like a "pope-mobile", and every single man, woman, child, pikipiki (motorbike), matatu and bus was on the road waiting to wave at him.

However on Friday this was definitely not the case - it took over an hour squashed into the back of a minivan with about 20 other people. And as the road is not yet finished nor wide enough to host such volume of traffic in two directions (as people were coming from the Kakamega direction to meet him too), most of the journey was taken off-road on side roads and other parcels of land which our matatu decided was good enough to drive on.  Lesson learnt? Always wear a good bra! Far out brussel sprout! I've said before the roads were bad, but this was a whole new level of bouncing up and hitting your head on the roof of the van.

It wasn't all bad, and for most of it I had a good laugh at the situation. Whilst on our way there we pulled up next to a school bus full of primary school children, who thought it was hilarious that a mzungu (white person, singular) was in a matatu and were waving and giggling. I personally think it's hilarious that they find me hilarious, so it wasn't so bad waiting in all the traffic.

What amazes me is how everyone is so thankful that I have come, that it's like I have honoured them with my presence - by me even walking past their house it's as though someone famous has dared come down to their level. I can't believe how excited kids get when a mzungu waves at them. I do feel famous, but also slightly out of sorts about it; I'm just a regular person - sure I have white skin and yellow hair and speak Swahili with a funny accent, but I've actually come to Kenya to learn more about infectious diseases and epidemiology from them! It is an honour to me that I am able to come here and live amongst them for a year and be blessed with such an incredible experience. I'm sure their just being uber-polite and respectful, something I love about Kenyans so far, but it is slightly weird and makes me feel as though I am on top of a pedestal.

Yesterday was really slow, we just sat around the compound taking tea and watching the chickens. However it wasn't all bad, as I have a shadow who follows me constantly....

How cute is she? I am so spoiled for a host-niece 

This is Nicole, also called Konyee (con-yay), she is 3.5 years old, can already speak three languages (Swahili, Luhya and English) and can read and write in both. The smartest kid I have ever met, seriously she is amazing. We spent the day writing on the concrete with chalk names and numbers, and she is teaching me Swahili. So whilst it was a slow day, it was fun.

day six

Today was a day of many firsts...

• My first matatu ride -  A matatu is a mini-van that has been fitted with seats and is shoved full of people until bursting which shuttles people from one "stage" (stop) to another. I was lucky enough to be squeezed into the front seat of the van with another woman and the driver for the 45 minute drive from Iguhu to Kakamega. The road from Iguhu to Kakamega is sealed for about 60% of the drive, the rest is unsealed with many, many potholes.
  
• My first desire to escape this heat - Whilst out buying some coffee and airtime (credit for my phone), I discovered that Tusky's (one of the supermarkets) has airconditioning... to which I wandered around for several minutes with no real purpose just so I could enjoy being out of the heat. It's not actually that hot here, average of 30C, but it is constant. It does cool down a bit at night so you can sleep peacefully under your mosquito net.
  
• My first power outage lasting longer than a minute - occurred today at 7pm-ish, just as it has gotten dark. Luckily my host family is well prepared and we had plenty of torches to use, which is how we were able to see our dinner of chapati and lentils. Everyone had warned me of such occurrences, but before today they were only less than a minute.
  
• My first mandazi breakfast - oh I like Kenyan breakfast! Mandazi are balls of dough that are fried, i.e. kinda like a tough doughnut, but not overly sugary. yum, yum, yum.
  
• My first time of catching a chicken -  My host family lives in a compound with a bunch of cows, ducks, geese, chickens, roosters and a dog. This afternoon when I returned from work the women were sitting outside taking tea, so I joined with them, and the chickens were running all about us, so the women grabbed them and invited me to do the same... never thought I would be able to say I caught a chicken, but I did. 

Here are some pictures of the animals within the compound. The other day the chickens were running around the lounge room, and one of them did a poop on the floor... hahahaha

 

day three

The last two days have been busy with orientation - learning the key concepts and principles behind sustainable development, with lessons on grant writing and online fundraising and work plans... all of this will be extremely useful in the future,  but for now I'm just listening and taking notes whilst wishing I could get a cup of coffee with cold milk. Cold milk? Yes, apparently everyone likes their milk hot here, and whilst I'm glad I can get a cup of coffee (even if it is just instant coffee), the smell of heated milk makes me want to puke. The previous night I woke with a terrible headache, most likely due to caffeine withdrawals. It's probably for the best, but I would like a cup of coffee...

I thought I'd share some pictures as I know some of you are wondering what it looks like and what I'm eating etc. etc.

On my way to work, passing a field with cows and a school, with the big developments in the background

The back lane behind the FSD office. Except for the three main roads, the roads are unsealed and very dusty. There are no footpaths and most roads, even the sealed ones, are uneven and littered with potholes.

I said to the waiter that I'd like some fish, as I was told to try it, and he said "how would you like it?" to which I said he could decide. So this is what I got - Talapia fish with chipati. Lots of tomatoes and fresh herbs in the sauce. 

Beef stew with chapati. Pollyne said that we Mzungus eat to be full, but they eat to eat food! The serving sizes I've had so far are really generous, so there goes my plans of loosing my thesis weight this year...

Tomorrow I move from the hotel to my host family, so there will be plenty to update y'all with. But as Peter says "pole pole (slowly slowly) you are here for a whole year, don't rush". I think I'm going to get along really well with the site team.

Okay, goodnight! kwaheri xoxo

day one

"we might have watches, but we don't have the time"...

My first full day here in Kenya and I've already experienced "Africa Time" - the FSD site team here in Kakamega has written up this whole schedule for my orientation, but after about the first 15 minutes I knew that it was just going to be more of a rough guide to what might be going on these first few days.

The view from the window flying from Nairobi to Kisumu

I arrived last night at Kakamega, after travelling for almost 25 hours to get here. The roads to Kakamega are rather interesting to say the least - any of my civil eng friends out there would have a field day looking at the methods employed in the of slowing down traffic. The town is rather hilly and busy and noisy, and there's four shopping malls, several banking institutions including Barclays, and the Nakumatt has an incredible selection of chocolate. So I think I'll be fine *wink*

So here's what has happened/what I know so far...

• The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) has a site team in Kakamega, consisting of Peter the Director, Pollyne the Local Coordinator, Rachel the International Coordinator and the office admin lady (sorry, I've forgotten her name)
• I am the only intern starting in this session - there was supposed to be another guy coming at this time but unfortunately he pulled out two weeks ago. There'll be about ten interns starting in June, but until then I'm on my own.
• I'm staying in Kakamega town until Wednesday, when I'll then move to my host family in Iguhu. They live basically across the highway from my workplace, so I'll be able to walk to work. 
• I've gotten myself a Kenyan sim, so I'm contactable via email or whatsapp, and a dongle modem, which explains how I've managed to write this post.

Other than than that there's nothing really to report - I'm off to have dinner and then to bed - ciao!