Moving Once Again

28/04/13
The Elewana camp is all finished. To be completely honest, I'm really sad about leaving Amagoro. I had a blast working with those students. Not to mention, I met a ton of great people along the way. I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks since I left Nairobi. We facilitators have promised to keep touch and meet up when we all happen to be in Nairobi.

On the second to last night of camp we engaged the students in a debate. The topic of discussion was: women should NOT be leaders in society. Think about that for a second. This is not western culture we're talking about. Kenya, slowly but surely, is moving toward western thinking in that they are starting to consider men and women to be equals. I'm not saying there is any RIGHT way for a culture to think. I by no means am saying that Kenyans are wrong simply because they are different, but as one of the boys put it, If we want to become a developed Nation, we have to look at the already developed Nations and see what they are doing to be the way they are. Kenya can't move forward unless it reevaluates a bit. Gender equality is a start. The debate was fascinating, infuriating and at the same time uplifting. Both sides proved methodical and informed points. Though the supporters (those who believed women should not have leadership positions) were heavily outnumbered, the four of them stood their ground. There were times when my own biases got in the way and I had the urge to throw my hands up in the air and stomp out of the room in anger, but I heard them out. At the same time, the opposing side made me want to stand up and applaud. The public speaking training we did over the camp must have payed off, but we can't take all the credit. There were a few boys have really mastered the art of persuasive speaking. There are two parts to persuasive speaking. One: content. Two: delivery. Okay I lied, Three: knowing ones audience. We had one boy on the opposing side who put his thoughts directly into the perfect words. They had so much confidence in themselves. Another kid took it upon himself to keep everyone on topic. Once people started getting up in arms about a woman spending too much time on her hair and makeup, he simply stood up and reminded us that we are talking about what makes a good leader. I was so impressed with them all, even those with whom I didn't agree. The best part, in my opinion was the outcome. The audience had all decided on the opposing party, and those who were appointed supporters were all that remained. The supporters stayed true to their topics. I wonder if any of them had doubts. If they did I wouldn't have known from the way they stuck by their points.

The last day of camp was a little bitter-sweet. I had been the only Muzungu in Amagoro for about 3 days since the peace corps volunteers had to leave a few days early. That left me with the three Crazy Nairobians. Nairobiers? Nairobeites? Emphasis on the crazy.

We had the Vicar Isabella come to close the camp with a sermon to send us on our way. She brought with her a visiting pastor/lawyer. Interesting combo, huh? I think Kenyans have an interesting custom of making speches where ever they go no matter the company. I've noticed more and more that practically every social gathering consists of the head of the party, and most of the guests, standing up and making a speech about why everyone is gathered together or the things they are happy about. They are never shorted than 5 minutes each. Each of the remaining facilitators said a few words. All of the staff, and a few of the students chimed in as well. Kenya is full of tradition and custom. That is for sure.

Remember how I mentioned the Kenyan tradition of soaking people with dirty poopy dish water on his or her birthday? Well, I had forgotten all about it until about 3 seconds before I was ambushed with aforementioned sludge. The last thing I remember is seeing Nasi coming at me with a basin full of water and God knows what else. I think I still have some chapati flour residue in my hair. Happy birthday round two? Could there be a round three? Well, be patient and you'll find out!

But I digress. The camp ended and the four of us had the house to ourselves. We weren't sure what do do with all the free space and time, so we went for a walk. During this walk we bumped into a friend of the Elewana organization. He invited us to come visit a local gathering place. We didn't exactly know what we were getting into when we agreed, but I was a little sketched out upon arrival. It was a very clean place but it was most definitely a bar.

What at first appeared to be shady, turned out to be one of the friendliest places I've been in Kenya. Our friend wanted to introduce us to his entire family. Apparently, I was the first White girl to ever step foot into their restaurant. It was an honor for both parties. They were so excited to have me and did absolutely everything to make sure I was comfortable and happy. Each of his three brothers made a point to tell us how glad he was that we were a friend to Oscar, our host. Even their father came to greet us. At one point I let it slip that we had celebrated my birthday earlier that day. (even though my birthday was over 2 weeks ago) That really put them over the edge. The owner of the bar, who earlier had shaken my hand for a good 10 minutes, ordered a few people to run out and get candles. Ready for birthday celebration number 3? The candles were placed on the table(we melted the bottoms first so they would stand up on their own) then set ablaze. Happy Birthday to me. Again!

This morning I woke up super early to say goodbye to Nasi, Matt and Gil, The Nairobians. I took the better part of the morning to pack up and say goodbye to Amagoro. I didn't realize how much I actually would miss that place. I have a lot of fond memories and I can see myself coming back to visit and strengthening the relationships I made in the short time I was there. I'm once again settled in at the Open Arms Village just outside of Eldoret. This leg of my adventure will be a bit short, only a week and a half. Now that I'm running out of time, (only a month left! What!) I am trying everything and anything. It's time for me to get some shut eye. Who knows what tomorrow will have in store. :D