No NFL, But Maybe Rugby?

Kicking off the NFL season without spending all day in a bar seems a bit un-American, so I still might have to do something similar, except with Rugby World Cup. C'mon Pats and Ireland. And go rooks for the Sox.

Days 11-12 More than Halfway Home

First let me give a sincere thanks to everyone who has emailed me or commented in the blog with kind thoughts about my trip or about the blog. I truly appreciate the great thoughts and helpful suggestions from all of you, and I apologize for not responding individually in my limited time online, but you should know that your love has been a tremendous lift to me.

As for the action, it has remained at its previous medium pace, which is to say I still don’t feel like I am doing a whole lot, but now I am getting used to that feeling and trying to make the best of it. Frustration has turned to something like resignation, yet it has not made me regret the trip in least. I certainly cannot really blame my hosts here- they want me to do more too, but I am not sure that I have any skills that are particularly useful to them.

Thursday at least the power was back on, allowing me to resume my position in the library. I was there for a few hours in the morning, mostly reading on my own, doing some more sorting of the shelves, when I came across something that really made me smile- the 2006-07 Georgetown Basketball Media Guide. It is nice to see that some predecessor from the Hilltop had made sure there was a sports section in the library.

I also got a brief chance to talk with the biology teacher, Suzy, about her career. She seems quite young, maybe 24, and she approached me to ask if I was able to talk about careers. I immediately she assumed that she wanted me to talk to the students, and launched into my defensive explanation of how I did not think it was a good idea before I realized she just wanted to talk about herself. If there is one thing I have learned here, it is that I really need to work on listening to people.

Her questions were actually about obtaining a masters in public health, and what she needed to do for a program in the US. She is very interested in helping out with disease in Kenya, and I know there is a serious need for more help, so I was happy to tell her what I know, but unfortunately that is precious little. I promised I would do some research when I get home and email her the results (this is a reminder for when I re-read this later).

I went over to the office of Hands of Love around 11 and spent a few hours there with Access. Unfortunately, there seems to be some conflict between the various organizations that help St. Al’s, and I was not able to get my hands on all the student records, but I did at least get to enter the names and year of graduation for the entire current student body. I am pretty sure I am forcing a foreign concept on this group with trying to separate out first names and surnames, but I am also pretty sure I am not the first to do so.

In the mid-afternoon, I went back to St. Al’s to meet up with the gang for Games, the Thursday afternoon activity. I wondered where we would go, and the walk was pretty far, I would say over a mile up a hill, but when we got there it was spectacular- a huge polo field on top of the hill, with views out west to the Ngong Hills and no one else around, save a dirtbike park across the street.
I walked up there with my library buddy Jared and another Third Former named Cyrus who had been very helpful to me during the week. We talked the whole way about our different countries and I really enjoyed the conversation. I think they were disappointed to learn that Arnold was now the Governator and would not be making any more action films. I also might have burst a bubble by telling them the truth about professional wrestling, although I believe they felt better about their comparative lack of muscle mass when I explained steroids.

When we arrived, I presented them each with Red Sox hats that I had brought along to give as gifts (at the helpful suggestion of Bwana Brooks Goddard). It might not have been the ideal time to make the presentation, with the entire school also on the way, and immediately I had 4 or 5 other kids asking me for a hat, and Jared’s cap was quickly passed around among several classmates. I do have a few more caps to give, but will need to figure out a way to do it with less commotion

Then for the next few hours the field was alive with football (soccer), volleyball, and netball- a game for girls a bit like women’s basketball used to be- no dribbling, no jump shots, no contesting shots, but also no backboard and a smaller rim. I took part in volleyball, where I did not totally embarrass myself. I finally had to leave as the sun was setting and I had limited interest in walking through Kibera after dark, but the kids (and several of the teachers) showed no signs of quitting. It was great to see everyone away from Kibera and enjoying themselves so much, I only wonder if it would be possible to do it more than once a week.

The other reason I wanted to get home as soon as possible was to finish Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, and it did not disappoint. Once again, I was revisiting the biggest hits of 2004, this time the story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his incredible organization, Partners in Health. Farmer began running a clinic in Cange, Haiti while he was still at Harvard Medical School and it has become the model for healthcare in impoverished setting everywhere. Since then Partners in Health has expanded to take on daunting challenges in fighting deadly tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS around the globe, and Farmer’s dedication and advocacy has been tireless and nearly completely selfless. When I finished the book I gave it to Suzy, the aspiring public health worker.

It has been said the Farmer is both inspiring and discouraging, because his work is awesome, but also impossible for any mere mortal to replicate. His response to such talk is frustration, that he does not ask everyone to be him, merely to do their part. I took inspiration from him, but also found myself feeling somewhat incompetent- not because I did not have his dedication, that goes without saying, but because I did not have his skills. A good doctor can still do great work in a place like Kenya, even if it is only for a month. An aspiring lawyer and former college admissions officer does not have the same impact on the people, so I suppose I need to hope I can do good in another way, and maybe this journal is part of that mission.

Friday I returned to St. Al’s for the day without a clear task in mind, except to meet with the law club at 4 pm, the end of the school day. And without a clear task in mind, I admit I did not accomplish much. I briefly met a young man named Brendan, from Cambridge, BC High and BC, who had previously worked at St. Al’s at the conclusion of a semester in Nairobi, and who is now back in Africa with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He was helping out with English classes and seemed to know his way around, so I wanted to pick his brain a bit on how I could be more effective, but he had to run off to another meeting. He told me he would be back in the afternoon, but I did not catch up with him, much to my disappointment.

Other than that, I read almost all of The Kite Runner and chatted a bit with the teachers. There was a meeting for Form IV parents and guardians to discuss the bridge year program, and I had originally intended to attend that until I realized it was going to be all in Kiswahili. There was also a small group of students who had gone for the day to a local giraffe center, and I might have been able to join them had communication been better, but I am now scheduled to go on a similar trip Monday.

So the meeting of the law club was the highlight of the day, and I went in without a great plan. I had intended to have debate about the death penalty, but found no one willing to take the pro position, so that ran out of steam pretty quickly. Even so, I managed to make over an hour of discussion, ranging from a boring explanation of inchoate crimes (thank you BarBri) to more interesting topics like the crimes of Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. I was attacked, albeit civilly, for US policy toward Iraq and asked to give a strategy for Iran. I also got to try to explain why Mitt Romney might end up President. It strayed a bit from the law, but it was still fun and several of the students were quite engaged.

When I got home I once again ran into the friendly housekeeper who invited me to join her family for the day tomorrow. I felt terrible telling her that I already had plans for the day, as Ben had invited me to meet his family. She was really disappointed, apparently she had already told her parents that her American friend would be coming, but I have no way of being in two places at once, and Ben also appears to be putting some significant effort into our lunch. On the plus side, I did get her to write down her contact information, so now I know her name is Irene.

I finished The Kite Runner before dinner (another good read, but I will refrain from the book report) and then prepared myself for the inevitable Friday night fish dinner. Except that apparently the sisters are so concerned about me that they make sure there is an alternative to fish whenever it is served while I am there, which meant more beef stew, making 6 consecutive nights of eating some piece of beef (none of it filet mignon, I assure you). I am happy to avoid the fish, but I wouldn’t mind occasionally mixing in some chicken. Then again, I am certainly not going to complain.

So my second week at St. Al’s is in the books, and I only have one more full week in Nairobi. I won’t say time has flown by, but for as much as I have learned I feel like there is so much more still to be done. The weekend awaits.