Getting Into A Routine

Kisumu is starting to feel like home. I’m getting into the routine of living here and I’m feeling less like a wide-eyed tourist. Still, there are moments that bring me back to the reality that I’m living in Africa. The other day after having my morning breakfast of cereal and brewed coffee (a local rarity and one of Cindi’s and my few in-house luxeries) I left for my 15-minute walk to work. It just felt like the start of another day at the office. However, there to greet me a few metres down the dirt road were three Maasai men. Unlike most Kenyans who dress in western clothing this tribe of people still tend to wear traditional garb. They have the appearance of fierce warriors and a look to them that says, “don’t mess with my cattle.” As I passed by them I smiled and said hello and they responded in an equally pleasant manner.

I’m also getting a good handle on the situation at work. The problems aren’t anything dramatic or unsolveable and in a best-case scenario I would have things cleaned-up and running smoothly in about six months. However, I recognize that the realities are such that I can only hope to make things better than they were. While my best-case scenario is still worth aiming for I won’t let myself be disappointed if its not attained. Although I’ve had some slow days at work, I was very pleased to discover that the game CD that I purchased before my departure includes the card-game “Hearts.”

On Wednesday I accompanied the partnership workers from TICH as they visited some rural communities that they work with on community health and development issues. I ended-up in Siaya (about half the distance between Kisumu and the Ugandan border) in a primary school class-room with local volunteer health providers. I could tell that they don’t get many mzungus (white-people) in the area when I got out of the back of the truck and had over 100 school-children staring at me. I took a few photos of the kids and showed them the result on my digital camera, much to their fascination. Later the school principal toured me to this shell of a room where their dream is to build a library. Like everyone else they just need more resources.