Planes and pink backpacks

You all can rest assured I have arrived in Kenya safe and sound. This has not been the best travel experience I've ever had, but I'm sure it could have been worse. Let's start with the positives first. I got to spend the whole day on Thursday with my mom in Chicago since she was kind enough to help me pass my 12 hour layover. My bags didn't get lost. My driver was right on time to pick me up from the airport. Turkish airlines has absolutely scrumptious food.

Now, for what you all really want to hear....what went wrong. Well, it started in the RDU airport when my fav hiking sandals broke and fell off my foot, just minutes after checking my bags and sending all my other choices of footwear to the belly of the plane. They actually broke as I was saying that they were all I was planning on wearing because they are the best sandals ever. Oh, the irony. But thankfully, with a modified paper clip and hair rubberband they were at least functional again to get through the airport.

When I got to the airport the TSA lady saw me waiting in line alone, with a teary and distressed mother standing by (as supportive as my mumsy is, she doesn't like the actual sending off part). Based on my pink backpack, ponytail, and no makeup I think she deduced I was about 13 years old and flying alone for the first time. She promptly put her arm around me and whisked me to the front of the security line, all while calling me sweetiepie. While I was slightly insulted that my calm maturity and airport proficiency werelost on her, but it was a 45 minute line.... So I just smiled and thanked her and asked if I'd be able to wave to my mom after I went through security. Hehe. On the flight to Istanbul I was sitting next to an 18 year old boy on a class trip, and after chatting on and off for the first few hours of the flight he asked me how old I was. When I told him, his response was, "wow, I had no idea you were that old!". It was then I started to seriously consider traveling in a business suit, or at least ditching the pink backpack ;)

Now this is where things start to take a downhill turn (and for those of you who cringe when I tell my gross medical stories you should skip this paragraph). We got almost to Istanbul just fine, and then we hit a storm. And it got a little rough. Now, it wasn't quite brace-yourself-on-the-back-of-the-seat rough, but pretty close and we had to circle the airport for over an hour. The lady in front of us thought she would help by screaming in turkish and wringing her hands whenever the plane lurched. Thank you for that. The drunk lady to my left would not stop her hyena laughing, and the sound of wretching could be heard from behind and in front of me. Now for those of you who know me well, know that I get nauseous just looking at the spinning teacups at the fair. And I don't normally take any motion-sickness meds on these huge planes because they are usually so smooth........but I do have impressive control of my gag reflex, so what did I do? Instead of just throwing up when everyone else was, when it was at least a little socially appropriate and the hyena laughing and Turkish screaming may have drowned it out, I waited until the plane was actually on the ground and everyone was standing around me trying to get off. And if I could give Turkish Airlines a little feedback- they need to made the openings of the barf bags a little bigger. Seriously.

Needless to say, I could have been in better spirits when I arrived in Istanbul. I wanted to take some meds (better late than never) but was out of water and they wouldn't accept American bills and I didn't have time to change money. It was almost sit on the floor and cry time when I found one little packet of chewable meclizine (thanks dad) and the day was saved. The remaining 6 hours I spent on a plane were delightful. I was so grateful to finally get to my room in Nairobi and slept that blissful sleep that can only come on a 6 inch foam bunk bed mattress after 16 hours on a plane. Why do I love traveling so much, some days I just can't say.

 

I spent today getting my ducks in a row and getting phone and Internet set up. This is a photo of my little charging station in my room :). The charger they give you with your phone doesn't fit into all outlets. What in the world !?. But all you need to do is stick something plastic into the remaining outlet hole while you insert the other two prongs. What could possibly go wrong with that, right?

Tomorrow I leave for Maseno via the Easy coach, and I have high hopes for my next travel day.

I sincerely hope my next post will have no mention of vomiting, and my apologies that this is so long. I tend to get a little wordy when I have my thoughts all to myself for a whole day :)

Jessie

I'm off for another adventure....

 

Hey friends,

Just a little update on my life for those of you who haven't seen me in awhile. I'll be traveling back to my dear Kenya for the month of April this year to work on some projects and work as a clinical instructor for a group of nursing students from St. John Fisher College. I'm quite excited for this opportunity and will no doubt have some adventures to report very soon, as I leave on Thursday.

I will be with my students in my village of Maseno, as well as in a city that's new to me, called Nakuru. Before they arrive I'll be spending some time working with the Phoebe House (a home for women and children abandoned due to their HIV status). I will have lots more to report to you all soon!

Jessie

 

 

 

Dad has arrived!

I am happy to report that my dad has finally arrived in Kenya after much anticipation. He arrived late last night, instead of yesterday morning, because of some delays in Chicago made him miss all his subsequent flights. Being the seasoned traveler that he is, he managed to get them to reroute him all the way to Nairobi. The glitch (of course there was a glitch) was that he had a layover in South Africa. If you know your african geography then you'll see that it's a little out of the way. Like, across the continent out of the way. It put him about 12 hours behind schedule, but he arrived in one piece. After a white-knuckled drive from the airport (nothing particular happened, that's just how all driving is here) we arrived safe and sound in Maseno.

We've spent the better part of his first day at the St. Philip's apiary (that's where Steven's beehives are) and later that day they officiated over the first Maseno beekeepers association meeting :)

Dad has already made fast friends with Owen, our favorite 3-year old
:) Dad obviously doesn't speak much swahili, but owen doesn't seem to
mind a carried on a whole conversation with us today when he joined us
for lunch. Dad played the "kill the spider that is my hand" game, and
that transends all languages.

He came to my HIV support group meeting today and the ladies loved him. He made many of them very happy when he presented them with reading glasses. Now they won't have to hold their beading 3 feet from their faces when they're making their crafts :)

As soon as I can get to a faster computer I will post some pictures for you all to enjoy. I have been documenting on camera or film, every even remotely interesting thing that happens while my dad is here, as promised to my mom :)

jessie

Nursing students and new shoes

I apologize for the lapse in my writing. As they say in Kenya, I have been lost. But now I am found and I will update you all on my recent escapades. For the last 2 weeks I have been the host and cultural guide for two different groups of nursing students and instructors from NY.

Despite all the craziness that comes with getting a group of 10+ people to do anything together and on time, I absolutely loved getting to show off my little corner of Kenya. For many of the girls it was their first time out of the US. Traveling to Africa isn’t exactly the smoothest transition to international travel, but they handled it well and I was continually impressed.
After the 2 week whirlwind, Steven and I were invited to accompany them on a safari to the Maasai Mara, which was absolutely fantastic. The lodge we stayed in was sinfully luxurious and the food was better than anything I’ve ever had in america. Issac, our faithful guide, was superb, and got us within spitting distance of lions, hippos, giraffe, water buffalo, zebras, and elephants. Did you know that no two zebra’s stripes are the same?? Their uniqueness is equaled only by the snowflake.
We decided to stay in Nairobi for the next day since it was our anniversary. Yup-the big 04. Steven took me to the giraffe center and the elephant orphanage. It’s not every day you get to spend your anniversary petting baby elephants and feeding giraffes. Did you know that giraffes have 18-inch gray tongues that I would argue have the dexterity of the human hand?
Being cheap people who tend to overestimate their own physical abilities, we decided to forgo the taxi and walk from our hostel to our two activities for the day since they were in the same area of town. One hour later we arrived at the Elephant orphanage sweaty, dusty, and blistered (I insisted on wearing flip-flops with my new skirt instead of hiking sandals). Thankfully we met a wonderful woman named Donna, who took pity on us and let us hitch a ride with her for a good portion of the afternoon since she was also going to see the giraffes. She even took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch, which was definitely better than the granola bars and beef jerky we had planned on :) Another great anniversary for the books!

We’re now back in Maseno busy as little bees. I got to see my little darlings at the Phoebe House again today, which always strengthens my spirit. I was feeling a little disheartened in regards to the phoebe house because I just can’t seem to get things started and moving. They need to move into a different location because the one they’re in right now doesn’t have a legitimate kitchen, they have no land to grow their own veggies, and there is literally no place for the kids to play or even do school work. Hopefully we'll find something soon. We've just taken 2 more kids, so our total is up to 4 adults, and 10 kids. This picture is of Brain, 6, being very generous with his high 5's. The visiting nursing group brought them all a few new outfits and a pair of shoes. Naomi was so cute with her little pink sandals on. She just stood still and stared at her feet. Apparently this was her first pair of shoes (she's 3 years old) and I think she wasn't sure how to walk in them. This little one is Arnold, a relatively new inhabitant of the Phoebe House. He is 3 years old, has a healthy appetite, and his prefered outfit is a t-shirt, tiny tennis shoes, and nada else. Undies are overrated in his book.
That's all for now. The official countdown is down to less than a month until my dad gets here! Yeah! One of our friends have offered to slaughter a goat for his arrival :)

Jessie

Jessie

Avacados and Earth Tones

Yikes, it's been awhile since I've updated this blog. My apologies. Life has been busy here getting ready for visitors. First a group of nursing students are coming from NY in about a week, the next is my Dad coming in July!! When I do have a spare minute and want to have a little art therapy I have been plugging away at the mural in the pediatrics ward.
The Phoebe House is truckin' along. Every time I stop by there are new women and children there it seems. The youngest is a little girl named Naomi, who eyes are the size of saucers. Adorable. She has taken a particular fancy to Steven, and him to her. I wouldn't be surprised if we arrived home and found her in our suitcase :)
I brought some pills over the other day to treat them all for worms and was amazed at how each of the little ones just popped that bitter pill in their mouth and didn't complain a bit. They didn't even take it with water. I was a little less impressed when I later noticed some slimy pink tablets hidden under and sticking to Brian's feet (he's 4). I pointed to the tablets and made the "tst-tst-tst" noise-the kenyan sound for disapproval. He just started grinning sheepishly for being caught in the act, and he let me redose him without much of a fight. What can I say, he's adorable-so all's forgiven.
Since I've strategically gotten word out that I love avocados, I've been getting them by the bag full from friends who have them growing in their yards and falling on their heads. To combat this influx of quickly ripening cados, I made a batch of guacamole today that fit into a good sized punch bowl. You can never have too much of a good thing, right?
We are also busy getting the Mother's Union shop well stocked for the big group of visitors coming soon. I have been drawing up some design modification for the ladies to make some things more appealing to Americans. They make the most beautiful and well made baskets and such, but I'm trying to impress upon them a variety of colors and also some neutral tones, as hot pink and teal don't do in many American homes. They seemed perplexed by the terms "neutral" or "earth tones" until one of the women realized what we wanted and I heard the words "American" and "dull colors" in her explanation. To explain her point she pointed to mine and Steven's wardrobe for the day. We both happened to be wearing brown and khaki (I swear we do wear other colors). They all smiled and shook their heads in understanding.
That's all for now. Sorry there's no pictures, it sounds like this computer may blow up if I try one more time to upload an image.

jessie

Hive Drive

In 2003 Thomas Okore and his wife started a support group for widows and other disadvantaged people. In 2005 Thomas’ wife tragically passed away due to complications in child birth leaving him a single dad with five children to take care of. Since that time he has continued to lead Amen Widows and Orphans Group (AWOG) in between working, attending seminary school, and taking care of his kids. The main function of the group is mutual encouragement, although they do occasionally manage to pay school fees for orphans that are being looked after by group members. About a month ago Thomas and I began discussing the prospect of his group beginning a small-scale commercial beekeeping business. Our idea was to start with 20 hives and then re-invest a portion of the proceeds to purchase additional hives. The remaining money raised through the sale of honey would allow the group to have a much more tangible impact in the lives of its members.

One of the group members has some land that would be ideal for beekeeping. Between me and Jess’ dad (coming in July) they will have plenty of knowledge about business and beekeeping. The one thing they lack is the money needed to buy the hives and equipment. One beehive costs $55 which means 20 hives would cost $1100 – far more money than the group can come up with. However, if I can find 20 people back home to each purchase 1 hive we could have a lasting impact on the lives of the group members. In fact, the average beekeeping business of this size in Kenya earns $3600-$4800 per year. That’s a lot of money in a country where the average income is $900 per year. Anyone interested in partnering with us can either comment on this post or e-mail me at steventhomsen266@hotmail.com. If you’d like to help but can’t afford $55 we will also need 2 beesuits and a smoker.

Honey Harvest...kind of

We made our first attempt at harvesting last night and it was one of the most stressful things I've ever done. From the moment we opened our first hive until we decided to call it quits 2 hours later we were swarmed with hundreds of angry bees trying desperately to kill us. At one point I was having difficulty seeing because there were so many on my veil. In that 2 hour span we inspected and cleaned only 2 1/2 hives and retrieved NO honey. I wasn't terribly surprised by this because of the sad state of our hives. I'll be thrilled to get ANY honey from this harvest. My main goal is to get the hives cleaned up and put back together like they should be - a simple task if empty, rather difficult if filled with thousands of African bees. Once we get the hives back in working order the bees can get down to business and start making honey. As excited as I am for this to happen, I'm not in a great hurry to get back out there and do battle with those little demons.