Family Life:
I'm adapting to my host-family more and more each day, but of course it's "pole pole" (slow). For dinner, we always eat Ugali (maze) and Sukumawiki (kale), which I really like... however, I’ve decided to really delve into the cultural food here and perhaps… have a bite of…. Kuku, or chicken! My vegetarianism, excuse me, my “fishatarianism” is going on hold; the rationale being that the meat is organic and free-range. I mean the first bite I had was from a chicken from our yard that I saw being defeathered that morning. Now that’s fresh! I live in a “compound” that is part farm and there are 3 cows, 2 baby cows, and tons of chickens and ducks. They are so entertaining I just sit out and watch them peck around while the rooster, who I’ve named Ted, struts his stuff.
A little intro: My Host-Father works in agricultural research, testing the breeding of maze seeds in various conditions. My Host-Mother is a veterinarian. My Host-Brother, Dennis, is very bright and wants to go to college for engineering. My younger Host-Brother, Ian, is obsessed with Chelsea soccer and I've been teaching him some card games. I recently met my Host-Sister Valary, who is 17 and so awesome! She's into art and learning Spanish. She's made cool jewelry from coconut and has taught me a little calligraphy. I think I'll get back into art while I'm here.
Yesterday we had a Thanksgiving Mass. I kept hoping to see turkey and cranberry sauce, but there were none. Still, it was a really nice time with around 75 people at the house to give a holy thanks for the accomplishments of their son, Dennis, as well as the rest of the family. I helped cut tomatoes and a little with set up as much as they would let me. I was shy to take photographs since I don’t want to seem like such a tourist, but my Host-Father insisted so I ended up taking tons of pics, much to the priests delight who really hammed it up!
Work:
My role is International Program Coordinator, managing the sustainable development internship program. My counterpart here is Caro, who is the Local Program Coordinator. So Caro and I work closely together. Our supervisor is Peter, the Program Director. Together we are the big, bad “Site Team.” The biggest challenge so far has been power outages. Due to the monsoon weather, we've had them frequently for long amounts of times during the day and night. But we're resourceful as this is a normal occurrence here! In the meantime I have been visiting many grass-roots organizations to get updates and confirm the placement of interns with them. It’s been amazing to see the work people are doing with so little resources and staff. I've visited orgs doing work in micro-finance, education, orphanages, agriculture, youth development, women's health, etc.
A few places have stood out to me- one is Divine Providence, a Catholic Orphanage. Caro and I went for a meet and greet and wound up in the nursery. Oh. My.... Goodness. Those babies were the cutest, sweetest things ever!! I about adopted a little girl, Chelan, right then and there, but I controlled myself. When we tried to leave, the children started crying and I felt bad for the nurses there. They were like- Thanks A LOT as Caro and I apologetically exited. Another awesome place was Daisy Special School for physically and mentally challenged children, which also integrated them with other children in need around the area. That way they can help break the stigma of such challenges and bring everyone together.
Caro has been great, showing me around town and teaching me to cook a little... and I also found out she is a twin! SCORE! She has 2 sets of twins under the same parents! I didn't even know that was possible.. and she has around 13 siblings so a big family. It’s funny because they call us "Julia and Carolyne," which is like me and MY twin, Carolyn. Don’t worry Carolyn, I couldn’t replace ya ;D
I'm adapting to my host-family more and more each day, but of course it's "pole pole" (slow). For dinner, we always eat Ugali (maze) and Sukumawiki (kale), which I really like... however, I’ve decided to really delve into the cultural food here and perhaps… have a bite of…. Kuku, or chicken! My vegetarianism, excuse me, my “fishatarianism” is going on hold; the rationale being that the meat is organic and free-range. I mean the first bite I had was from a chicken from our yard that I saw being defeathered that morning. Now that’s fresh! I live in a “compound” that is part farm and there are 3 cows, 2 baby cows, and tons of chickens and ducks. They are so entertaining I just sit out and watch them peck around while the rooster, who I’ve named Ted, struts his stuff.
A little intro: My Host-Father works in agricultural research, testing the breeding of maze seeds in various conditions. My Host-Mother is a veterinarian. My Host-Brother, Dennis, is very bright and wants to go to college for engineering. My younger Host-Brother, Ian, is obsessed with Chelsea soccer and I've been teaching him some card games. I recently met my Host-Sister Valary, who is 17 and so awesome! She's into art and learning Spanish. She's made cool jewelry from coconut and has taught me a little calligraphy. I think I'll get back into art while I'm here.
Yesterday we had a Thanksgiving Mass. I kept hoping to see turkey and cranberry sauce, but there were none. Still, it was a really nice time with around 75 people at the house to give a holy thanks for the accomplishments of their son, Dennis, as well as the rest of the family. I helped cut tomatoes and a little with set up as much as they would let me. I was shy to take photographs since I don’t want to seem like such a tourist, but my Host-Father insisted so I ended up taking tons of pics, much to the priests delight who really hammed it up!
Work:
My role is International Program Coordinator, managing the sustainable development internship program. My counterpart here is Caro, who is the Local Program Coordinator. So Caro and I work closely together. Our supervisor is Peter, the Program Director. Together we are the big, bad “Site Team.” The biggest challenge so far has been power outages. Due to the monsoon weather, we've had them frequently for long amounts of times during the day and night. But we're resourceful as this is a normal occurrence here! In the meantime I have been visiting many grass-roots organizations to get updates and confirm the placement of interns with them. It’s been amazing to see the work people are doing with so little resources and staff. I've visited orgs doing work in micro-finance, education, orphanages, agriculture, youth development, women's health, etc.
A few places have stood out to me- one is Divine Providence, a Catholic Orphanage. Caro and I went for a meet and greet and wound up in the nursery. Oh. My.... Goodness. Those babies were the cutest, sweetest things ever!! I about adopted a little girl, Chelan, right then and there, but I controlled myself. When we tried to leave, the children started crying and I felt bad for the nurses there. They were like- Thanks A LOT as Caro and I apologetically exited. Another awesome place was Daisy Special School for physically and mentally challenged children, which also integrated them with other children in need around the area. That way they can help break the stigma of such challenges and bring everyone together.
Caro has been great, showing me around town and teaching me to cook a little... and I also found out she is a twin! SCORE! She has 2 sets of twins under the same parents! I didn't even know that was possible.. and she has around 13 siblings so a big family. It’s funny because they call us "Julia and Carolyne," which is like me and MY twin, Carolyn. Don’t worry Carolyn, I couldn’t replace ya ;D
2 comments:
Your blog entries are fascinating. You really are in a different world. Keep up the good work and keep making great observations.
Mom
Hey Julia! Glad to see you're doing great amazing things! That's good that you get along with the host family. Keep soaking in the local culture! Good luck with everything! :)
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