Maisha (life)

I know it's been too long and I have no excuses except that I'm now writing up a storm (ie 40 pages) about my treasure hunt through Kenya to find biogas digesters. Yes it's been an adventure! I've mastered many matatu routes out of Nairobi, eaten goat twice in one day with some new biogas friends, walked miles, been picked up on the side of the road, etc, etc. I'm sure you're probably wondering about all of what I just mentioned, especially the part about being picked up on the side of the road (don't worry though, it's not nearly as sketchy as it sounds). I know I probably could have expounded on any of these events and turned it into a nice blog post, but despite the excitement, I've been hesitant to write. Here's the thing – I've reached a point in my time here that I've really begun to feel like I'm living in Nairobi. I've never spent such an extended period of time somewhere besides Ipswich, MA or Rochester, NY until my time in Kenya. A crazy matatu trip has become the everyday, not just some absurd amusement ride like it was three months ago. Marriage proposals from strangers seem normal. And three weeks of diarrhea just seems to have become a part of life. I no longer feel like I'm traveling, just living. But unfortunately (or fortunately...) for you, I sort of feel like it's a little boring to read a blog about everyday life. Thus my lack of motivation to keep you updated. (I apologize if this seems like a cop out.) And now that we're all just hunkering down to write, write, write, I don't think I'll really have anything to share, that is unless me or one of my friends gets swept away by the rainy season flooding. We'll be heading back to the coast in a week for our final presentations which I'm obviously excited for, and then it's off to Zanzibar!

In a digester

Biogas and Elephants

I said I'd share a little bit more about my ISP, and I figured now would be a good time since I actually have some things to share! I think I may have mentioned that things have been moving pretty slowly in terms of my research. (Africa time gets you every time...) I've been busy venturing out into the field but I've had trouble accomplishing what I've actually set out to do, and only had my first formal interview with a biogas plant owner on Friday. My original goal was to visit 20 homes with biogas over the course of the month, so at this rate you might imagine my ensuing anxiety. However, yesterday was a game changer, as one of the biogas contractors I've been in touch with over the past few weeks was able to take me to three sites! And not only that, but because I was going to an area on my side of the city, I didn't have to go into city center to catch a second matatu to my destination. Having walked through city center every other day this week from the bus station to the matatu sector (from here you can pretty much get anywhere in Kenya...) I have experienced far too much sensory overload. If the masses of people don't get you, the massive clouds of bus exhaust will. (And these are the reasons I don't like cities.) I've found this to be the most exhausting part of my ISP period thus far, so I was all over yesterday's simple outbound commute.

As I mentioned, I visited three sites in the Ngong area, and although that's not many, I'm starting to see some trends. Although biogas was introduced to Kenya over 50 years ago, it has only started to gain popularity in the past five or ten, while plant production has grown drastically in the past one or two years due to a new subsidy program which makes the technology more affordable. Even so, most are still uneducated in regards to the technology and its potential, and many who are still find the cost to be prohibitive. As a result, it seems that biogas hasn't reached the people who can benefit most from it, however I'm sure that this will come with time.

The first home I visited was of a middle aged woman named Ester and her family. We started in the kitchen where they had a nice six burner stove (up to this point, I had only seen four) in addition to a microwave. But on the opposite side of the room was the two burner biogas stove. Ester's daughter demonstrated that it did indeed work, lighting the stove and allowing me to see the strong blue flame that erupted from the burner. We went and had a seat in the living room where the boys were playing FIFA soccer on the family's PlayStation. (Haven't seen one of those in Kenya!) Ester grabbed a few eggs from the stockpile in the corner went to whip me up an omelet. Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea may not tell the true story, but he at least got it right about the tea. In many parts of the world it is common courtesy to insist on a cup of chai (or meal) to any visitor. Kenya is no exception, and I enjoyed a delicious omelet at Mama Ester's and an excellent glass of milk tea at my second visit. This surely beat the glass of fermented milk known as maziwa lala I was offered on the previous day's visit... After enjoying my second breakfast, Ester and I talked all about biogas. She has four cows which provide her with two valuable commodities – milk, and now poop. Someone in the family feeds the digester every day, which produces enough gas to cook breakfast, lunch, and part of dinner. When the gas runs out they transfer to the other stove to cook the remainder of the meal. In this way, they've been able to reduce their use of conventional LPG fuel by more than half, which is about a fifty dollar monthly savings. Ester says that she hopes to reinvest this savings into another cow or a milking machine to further her business. In addition, she has realized that the plants in her garden sprout up faster than her neighbors' since she started using the bioslurry byproduct as fertilizer.

Of the families I've spoken with, many aspects of Ester's story are shared by others. Because her home is connected to the grid and she was unable to afford a larger digester which would have produced more gas with enough input, Ester isn't using biogas lighting. Moreover, because her family was using LPG before biogas, they were already benefiting from health impacts associated with indoor air pollution that comes with cooking with wood and charcoal. This means that the impacts for her family of using biogas are mainly financial. I'm excited to see if this trend continues as I hear from others using biogas!

In other news, we decided to play tourist yesterday and visit the elephant orphanage in Nairobi National Park. Every day from 11-12 you can come and see the babies during feeding time, and your toes may even be lucky enough to get a trunk kiss like mine were! The elephants range in age from only a few weeks to three years during which time they're completely milk dependent. They're fed every three hours and have to be watched at all times which means that a worker must sleep with them in their individual enclosures every night. But because elephants are known for strong familial instincts, they sleep with a different worker every night to prevent imprinting. It's an incredible program and boy are the babies cute! And I'm thinking that with the poop of about twenty elephants they could make some serious biogas...possibly a follow-up case study to my ISP??? But for now, just enjoy some cute elephant baby pics.

Feeding time.

Does this make my butt look big?

Love.

No News is Good News

I had planned to give you an update a few days ago, but I'll be completely honest. The primary purpose of this blog is to let my grandmother know I'm safe, having fun, and still alive. But thanks to the wonderful world of technology, she was actually able to see my face the other day on Skype when she was in Ipswich for the weekend. So, sorry for the rest of you, the post wasn't really necessary when I could tell her all about my latest adventures “in person”. But I guess I should still share with the rest of you.

I've eased back into city life after enjoying a relaxing time in Tanzania. Our ISP period is in full swing and the clock is ticking! (I won't go into detail about how crazy it seems I only have a month left in the program because then I'll just get stressed out about all the ISP work that I need to get done...) And because we're in Kenya which runs on Africa time, it usually takes a whole lot longer to get anything done, but I'm trying my best and hoping that things will start to come together.

Because the goal of ISP is to let us loose and see what we can come back with, they really let us make all our own decisions, one of which is housing arrangements. Last week, five of my friends and I moved into an apartment fairly close to our school where we'll be living for the month. It's been weird to be living out of my homestay and I've been missing my family and my mama's incredible chai, but it's been nice having a little bit more independence. Our apartment is also really nice, complete with wood floors, a TV and DVD player, excellent internet, and really comfy couches. So on the few days that I was busy at home writing my final paper, I had to force myself to get out of the house just so I could remember that I was still living in Kenya... I'm not particularly proud of this, but it makes me all the more excited to get out in the field for my ISP.

I have nothing else especially exciting to share. My friends and I went on an upcountry adventure this weekend to hike Mt. Longonot, which was once a volcano (like Ngorongoro Crater) but on a much smaller scale. But, it was still a great climb. I'm really not motivated to write any more (sorry), so I'll just post some pictures instead. Enjoy!

Stopping for a good view and a rest before exploring the crater rim.

Trash at the top...

Me at the top...

And we just missed the rain!

I just got back from our “educational” excursion to Tanzania and have returned with one pressing question. Who needs Jamaica when your spring break involves sacrificing a goat, having a rager Maasai style, going on safari, and hiking on Mt. Kilimanjaro among other awesome things? We all decided that this was indeed the best spring break we've ever had. Just about every experience was a highlight, so my usual highlight list isn't going to work so well, so you'll have to bear with me...

After traveling to Tanzania by bus we made our base camp in Arusha at the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC), which was no ordinary hostel. The organization is run by Black Panthers Pete and Charlotte O'Neal. Pete is infamously known for starting the Kansas City chapter of the Black Panthers during the civil rights movement and threatening to gun down the House of Representatives. At age 30 he was accused of carrying a gun over state lines. To avoid what would likely be an imminent death in jail, he escaped to Algeria with his 19 year old wife before they settled permanently in Arusha. While most only hear about violence associated with the Black Panthers they had a strong commitment to community service which Pete and Charlotte have kept with them. On their compound shaded by banana trees and brightened by painted murals they teach English and computer classes to adults in the community while caring for over 20 local orphans and also hosting students like us. Having self-exiled from the states and without Tanzanian citizenship, Pete calls himself a citizen of the world. Having learned from his experiences which none of us could ever imagine, he gave us some good life advice and laso cooked us some really great food!

After a day in Arusha, we left the UAACC to spend a few days with a Maasai community about an hour north of town. From the road we drove a few miles into the bush under the backdrop of Mt. Meru. There seemed to be no signs of human life until we found ourselves right up in front of one of the community's bomas. If you are a long time fan of Survivor you will recall that in Survivor Africa the camp was surrounded by a wall of tree branches and pricker bushes to protect the contestants from lions and other intruders. This is all I could think of when we first arrived and I saw the same type of structure around the homes. but don't worry, there were no lions. Our stay with the Maasai was incredible. Let's be honest, when you celebrate an occasion with a goat sacrifice how could it be disappointing? We were welcomed to take part in as much of the process as we wanted, and as one in the “vegetables are what food eats” camp, I felt it was important to participate as much as I could. This meant restraining a flailing leg while one of the local Maasai warriors knelt on its neck with a hand around its mouth. The Maasai kill their animals by suffocation because it's cleaner and preserves more of the animal's blood. In that regard it seems like a good strategy, but after holding on to that goat's leg for what seemed like an eternity, I can tell you that's sure not the way I'd want to go. But I will say that goat pancreas is mighty tasty and liver isn't so bad either. I can't tell you about raw kidney because I just couldn't say yes to the elder who shoved it directly in my face after cutting it out of the body. The goat definitely didn't enjoy the experience, but I certainly did.

Another highlight of the stay was taking part in a traditional Maasai dance. I still remember the time in first grade when we had a Maasai jumping contest as part of our Africa unit. (Mt. Kilimanjaro was also one of our spelling words – thank you Ms. Willig). Morgan Nadai won the contest with the highest jump as I recall. Looking aback on this activity now I can only think that it was fairly culturally insensitive, but it was a good time in first grade. Well, this week I came full circle. I found myself under the stars in the middle of nowhere, singing and dancing while watching about ten Maasai warriors show off their traditional dance moves. I don't think Ms. Willig knew that the jumping is all about showing your strength and bringing home a pretty lady (or maybe she just didn't tell us). Sorry to disappoint, but I did not come back to Nairobi with a Maasai warrior boyfriend.

We then said goodbye to the Maasai and headed off in our Land Cruisers in search of one of the last few hunter-gatherer communities in East Africa. We picked up our guide who makes a living bringing tourists to visit them, and he was able to show us the way. Sitting in this tank of a vehicle, I soon realized that we were on a human safari, and I didn't know how I felt about that. I justified it by considering that the people we were visiting were also compensated, allowing them to purchase new arrow tips, beads, and the occasional sack of maize flour when food is scarce. Although the hour visit was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, it was still very much enjoyed. This community lives so far from the modern world, that I thought I could only be in a movie or National Geographic documentary for that matter. The men wore baboon pelts on their backs, making them look like serious badasses. I tried my hand at making fire and shooting arrows and was almost successful at starting a fire with sticks, but I didn't quite move fast enough and the men really wanted to smoke their weed. But, with the right materials, I think I might be able to, but don't hold me to it. After an opportunity to purchase jewelry and such we hopped back in the Landies to travel to the next day's location for the slightly more comfortable animal safari.

For our game drive, we visited Ngorongoro Crater, which was formed after a volcano erupted and collapsed about 2 million years ago. The crater is 2000 ft deep and 100 square miles (thank you Wikipedia) and inhabited by a huge selection of animals. After driving up the side of the mountain, we dropped into the crater. The road was extremely treacherous and one wrong move and you're off the edge. The was slightly unnerving, so I tried to distract myself by looking out the roof of the vehicle at the gorgeous scenery. This wasn't too difficult as this place is one of the most beautiful places I've been, which is saying something because I like to think I've seen a fair share of beautiful places. I'll post a picture and it won't do it justice, but when you find yourself in this enormous hole surrounded by green grass (don't get a lot of that in Nairobi), zebra, and bright sunlight, you can't ask for much more. The highlight of the day came with the interactive animal experience when a lurking eagle swooped down and snatched up my chicken leg right off my lunch plate as I tried to seek shelter back in the car. The look on my face was apparently priceless, and I seriously hope that bird enjoyed its lunch.

In case goat sacrifices and safaris weren't enough, we celebrated our last day in Tanzania with a hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro. I could end here and you'd probably be way impressed picturing the 15 of us at the summit, but I'll be honest, we didn't make it to the top. 2700 meters doesn't seem too shabby. but in actuality, we didn't really even make it on the mountain... We hiked to the first camp of what is known as the Coca Cola trail, for being the easiest route up the mountain. (The most difficult is known as the Whisky trail...) However, this is all relative, as the Coca Cola route to us seemed more like maybe the Tequila route. We had a great time, but we definitely paid for it the next day. Unfortunately it was cloudy at the summit so we couldn't really see the mountain from our highest point, but we did get some excellent views of scenic Tanzania.

We were all sad to leave the country and head back to the bustling metropolis of Nairobi to looming papers and ISPs, but all good vacations have to come to an end, just like this endless post, so I'll talk to you later!

Ali

Sometimes you just have to be a tourist...

Attempting to start a fire.

Not quite sure what part of the goat this was...

Sunrise over Kilimanjaro.

Everybody Poops

I'm overdue for an update, but I'm sorry to say that I really don't have any crazy adventures to share. For the last week, things have been all about ISP (independent study project). As part of our program, we're each required to complete an independent study during the month of April. We can pretty much study anything, go anywhere, and do anything...as long as we come back with a forty page paper at the end of the month. For the last few weeks we've all been stressed out trying to finalize our topics and make contacts. My adviser neglected to tell us that in Kenya in order to successfully get in touch with a person or organization, a call or email hardly ever works, and you often have to just go track them down in person. Thankfully, I got lucky...

Considering I've spent the past week writing my ISP proposal, I figure it's a good opportunity to share what I'll be doing next month. I came to Kenya knowing that I wanted to study something related to energy use and alternative energy. When you think of alternative energy, the big five come to mind – wind, solar, biofuels, hydropower, and geothermal. But, I can bet that when you think of alternative energy, you probably don't think about poop. But let's remember the wise words of Mama Ham - “poop is always funny”. And, if you're the Denver Zoo which has just unveiled its new poop-mobile (see here, courtesy of Alexa Freedman) or a rural Kenyan farmer for that matter, “never underestimate the power of poop”. So yes, for the month of April, I'll be studying energy from poop, more specifically, biogas digesters.

For my project, I'll be working with a business, Takamoto Biogas. My aunt in Michigan is good friends with the aunt of the guy who started the business (small world, right?), and she had given me his contact info before I headed off. My new friend Kyle is a recent Brown grad and started the company just about a year ago. He and his childhood friend Graham have worked hard to get the business up and running, and Kyle's sister Laura has also recently come over to help out. They also have an extensive local Kenyan staff. A biogas digester is essentially a big sealed hole in the ground that you throw a bunch of poop and other organic waste into (they say cow poop is best). You wait a while while bacteria eats away at the poop, and then you're left with methane gas which you can use for cooking and some really great fertilizer. So, for my project I'll be studying the economic and social impacts of biogas digesters on rural farms north of Nairobi. I'm very excited because it really means that I get to have a two hour matatu adventure every day, visit families to talk about their cow poop (among other things), and drink a whole lot of chai (Greg Mortenson's story is debatable, but he's definitely right about the tea). My goal is to visit about twenty sites throughout the month, so I don't think I'll have too much time to sit and pick disgusting black Nairobi boogers out of my nose.

In other news...in order to give us time to prepare for our ISPs, we haven't really had any formal classes this week, but we had a visit on Thursday...to America (sorry I didn't come visit you all). Actually, we just went to the US Embassy to visit the USAID offices, and I guess technically it is US soil (at least I think that's how it works), but if I were to have been drugged in America, taken to Nairobi, and woken up in that building, I would never have known the difference. How could you when there are US power outlets, American style bathroom stalls (you're questioning me, but really they exist), and automatic flushing toilets? It then became clear why Mr. Embassy who came to visit us during orientation had never ridden in a matatu and likely knew five words of kiswahili...

I'm sorry I don't have anything more exciting to share now, so you'll have to hold out for next week. We're leaving early on Sunday for our “educational” excursion to Tanzania where we'll be spending time in a Maasai village, going on some game drives, and climbing part of Mt. Kilimanjaro (be jealous). So I'll talk to you in April!

Ali

I will preface this post briefly with a few words just to let you know that I am safe. If you're like most of America and don't follow the news from Subsaharan Africa then you might ask why. (I don't blame you for this – the news giants need to get their acts together). Anyways, this weekend there was a small suspected Al Shabab attack near the city center. This definitely put us a bit on edge when we first heard about it, but we actually live pretty far from the city cetner and don't go there too often. At this point most Kenyans I've spoken with don't see this as a serious threat, but it certainly makes you remember the security we share at home.

In other news, this wee our schedule was a little bit different, giving us some extra free time. We had our kiswahili oral exams all day Monday and Tuesday. I strategically chose the second possible time slot on Monday, giving me plenty of time for extra adventures. A few of my friends and I decided we'd like to visit the Ngong Hills just outside the city. We had read that it was suggested you hire an armed guard to escort you through the park and I was rather sure that wasn't because the area is home to lions and other dangerous animals...this turned out to be a true assumption as the only animals we saw were goats, sheep, and a few cows. Regardless, after informing our academic director of our plans, he immediately got on the phone to enlist the service of a friend. He then gave me the phone number, instructed me to call when we were on our way, and the person on the other end would come to meet us and set us up with a guide. After picking up a picnic lunch from the grocery store, we were off!

I think this is now an excellent time to share with you a little bit about matatus. Matatus are 14 passenger vans used throughout Kenya and its major cities. (The 14 passenger limit really means 17 or 18). Each van is numbered and follows a specified route (don't ask to see a map) and many matatus have really gangsta names while also proclaiming God is great and similar sentiments all over the windows and sliding door. They blast music and if you happen to be riding at night, which you shouldn't in Nairobi because it's not safe, you may be lucky to find yourself in a matatu with some groovy neon lighting. In this way, matatu is synonymous with party bus, but in another way, a matatu is all business. The driver and conductor work together with the goal of bringing in as much money as they can. For the driver, this means driving as fast as you can, in any lane (that is if you choose to use the road), and dodging anything that comes between you and the prize. For the conductor, this means yelling loudly anytime the van makes a stop in order to find more passengers, and if it's already full, no need to worry, he'll find a way to squeeze you in. The conductor is also responsible for effortlessly orchestrating the fare collection and drop off of each passenger. With a few taps on the van's metal frame he communicates with the driver to stop, and a few more taps signals to go.

On first observing a matatu in action, I felt that this venture was complete and total chaos. How could you possibly know which number to take? How would you know how much to pay? Etc. Since this time, I have come to very much appreciate matatu culture, and I have found that instead of the total chaos I had thought, matatu operation is highly choreographed organized chaos.

So, if it wasn't clear from the long digression, we chose to take a matatu to the Ngong Hills. Who needs amusement parks when you can instead pay 50 cents to wind your way up and over steep hills on Kenya's narrow roads? Upon arrival we agreed it didn't matter if our hike worked out because we had already had a great matatu ride. Soon after arriving in Ngong Town we met up with our tour guide/body guard. However, we were unaware that the hills were actually quite a distance from the town center, and we would need more than a matatu or our own two legs to get us there (thank you internet travel sites for your insufficient reviews). But in Kenya it's all about the Kenyattas, so after shelling out way more than we would have liked, our new friend Jackson went to collect his car and we were on our way. We drove high into the hills along a narrow dirt road. The small sedan circa 1995 was already struggling, then we hit the serious off-roading. Just as I had imagined my grandfather's disapproval regarding our boating safety a few weeks ago, this time it was my Sharrigan grandfather's cringe as we tried to drive over a series of rocks protruding from the “road”. After hearing the awful grinding noses of the car on the rocks, I can only imagine what the undercarriage looks like.

While all of us were a bit on edge regarding our driver's renegade tactics, we quickly became distracted by the view. Not only were we impressed by the view of the plains below, but we also found ourselves within a wind farm, driving beneath the massive turbines of seven of the giants. (I will say, I now understand people's concerns about turbine noise and shadow flashes.) We parked right by one of the turbines, took our lunch, (Jackson took his club) and we started our hike. After building up an appetite we stopped for a lunch of cheese and crackers, green beans, and apples. This was quite a luxury because not only did we have cheese, but having bought our lunch from the upscale grocery store we decided to forgo the boil it, peel it, cook it, or forget it rule and enjoy our green beans raw and crunchy. I'll let you know if that was a good decision later... While eating, I was reminded of our hike up Fragrant Hill this past summer in Beijing. In both cases we stopped for a scenic picnic, except this time we took an armed guard. And by armed I mean he was carrying a stick. I don't mean to scare you with all this guard talk (yes, Grandmother, that means you to!) but “Nairobbery” doesn't occur just within the city center, and thieves are notorious for preying on both tourists and locals alike up in the sparsely populated hills – thus the guard.

After lunch, we hiked back down the hill, while also heading over to the other side in order to see the view of the city. Although you don't hear about Nairobi with cities like Beijing, Shanghai, (or any city in China for that matter), or LA for its environmental problems, the city has a serious problem with pollution. This became evident as we looked out onto a hazy horizon of smog. But we could just make out the city center. Satisfied , we returned to the car to head home. After stalling out more than a few times and just barely starting again, the car managed to get us back to Ngong Town where we climbed aboard another matatu for yet another crazy, exciting ride.

Our trusty guard, Jackson.

Thumbs up to alternative energy!

Picture Time!!!!!

I stayed late at the office today and the internet was super fast because no one else was using it, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to upload a few photos. (I'm sorry, I have no idea why this is blue and underlined...)Here's a group shot in Shirazi. I apologize for my friend Lily picking her nose...but please note the attire. Our mothers loved to dress us, and let me tell you, that blue get up I've got on was not at all breathable in the 90+ heat...

One of my jiggers in all its glory.

In Shirazi with my host mother on the left and my sister on the right. The hat was a gift from the family...