"i'd just as soon play tennis with the net down"

after a great week of teaching kids how to make kites and origami, losing my voice so entirely that i couldn't talk above a whisper (and subsequently having to bang on the roof of the matatu to get it to let me off)and making paper bags in the slums while listening to a famous peter bakke mix--i played tourist a little.
on friday night i went to an art center called "go down" in a warehouse downtown and saw a south-african dance group called umthombi perform a story of a boy coming of age. but the opening act--a group of teenage kenyan boys called kunja--was the real highlight. please can someone find them on youtube (i unfortunately didn't have my camera). they did the most ridiculous set of acrobatics i have ever witnessed. it was kenyan cirque du soleil.
saturday i went down to karen which is just south west of the city next to nairobi national park. i went to an elephant orphanage. they adopt orphaned elephants, feed them, protect them, put sunscreen on their tender ears (who knew?) and then let them back into the wild when they're old enough.
then i visited a giraffe center, run by the african fund of endangered wildlife, and fed, and got head-butted by giraffes. i ended my very touristy day with a trip to bomas of kenya where i saw replicas of the huts and villages of different tribes and watched a performance of tribal dances. i tried to join in and show them my moves, but they were like, "those are west african dances margaret, get out of here"

Amani

i've been spending some of my time at a place called amani ya juu, which means "higher peace" in kiswahili. it is a group of about 50 women from all over east africa who sew clothes, bedding, bags...they've come together to generate income and to strengthen their faith. they have unbelievably beautiful grounds. if anyone wants to further check it out you can go to amaniafrica.org. oh and their american support is based in the lovely city of chattanooga for those of who who frequent TN.


woodshop
silkscreened fabrics
so many singers

also, i went to another church on sunday called Nairobi chapel. maybe victor goes there? it is near his house. it's the biggest church in nairobi and held in an enormous tent. the singing was out of control good.

today i had my most foreign experience yet. i took a matatu downtown to the silkscreen shop. it was another world there..more crowded than time square. someone said to me graciously in passing, "madam, you're too white to be here". i got some supplies and information about their processes. it was amazing, in the us we use these 10,000 dollar machines to expose the screens and they guy there was like, oh, we just take them into the sun for a few minutes. brilliant! then i ate at this dive next door. i had the "special" Kienyeji-like green mashed potatoes,and matumbo--cow intestines stew. it was delicious. so i just got home from there on a matatu..which i had to exit while it was still moving. i stopped on the way to the apartment to talk to nelson who sells bananas on the corner and i promptly sat in an ant hill! i'm still itching in awkward places.

"help my unbelief"

5 days of solid rain and cold here. the slums bleed with red clay and i realize that i have thoroughly mispacked. it has been hard to be here, especially after hearing about mimi. i don't know how much i am doing here. the city is rampant with expats and NGOs all trying to do the right thing and at the same time stealing jobs from capable kenyans. so many clothes have been donated here from the west that there is no local clothing industry. i went to buy something warm and there were redskins jerseys! what is more, the other white girls here complain when they see white people and are less friendly to them. i don't understand this reverse racism thing or why it is somehow more important to care for kenyans than americans. it is also troubling to me that though i, and many other mzungu here (white people), know nothing more than what the history books have told us about africa, the people here defer to us. there is a crisis of confidence that i'm sure has been instilled by all the decades of colonialism and white missionaries.
enough complaining. i am really blessed to be here and need to stop thinking about what else i could be doing. the other day in school one of my students said to me, "you are not in africa cha (teacher), you are somewhere far away." hopefully i've come back.

Light and Power

friday i had a cursory visit at akiba school..just meeting the teachers and finding out what classes i'll be teaching. I spent saturday at light and power-a group of street boys (young men) who make paper bags. i'm hoping to be able to help them with silkscreens next week. on saturdays they run a program for the children in their slum. it was awesome to see the joy of little kids as the older boys played with them. we played all sorts of games..lots of kenyan versions of duck duck goose and other things i couldn't really understand. also mom, the soccer ball is a huge hit. the guys are amazing footballers:bicycle kicks, rainbows and ridiculous balancing tricks.

















these last couple pictures are in the slum Gatina, which is where light and power is located. i went on a little walk and watched a soccer game. it is amazing the priorities of some of the people. i went in a house without a real bed or door yet they had a color tv and a cell. everyone here has a cell!

on sunday i went to church nearby where i'm staying..st. marks church. The worship was good but the sermon was extremely simlistic.
today (monday) i went to akiba school and taught a few art classes. we learned about picasso and made crazy self portraits. I don't know how akiba compares to other kenyan schools..but it needs a lot of work. mom and dad, you should seriously consider expanding imagine schools internationally. the president here,kibaki, promised free primary education..but it hasn't really happened. they need imagine!

ps. mom, the verses have been a wonderful gift..especially at night when my mind wanders towards home.