Glorious Avocado
Sunday I was definitely put to work at the orphanage. I washed dishes, mopped ALL the floors (really mostly just spreading soapy water around, but it does get rid of the dust for a few minutes!), fed babies, and hung laundry out on the line. A lot of laundry. I didn't realize I was going to be outside for so long, so I got a sunburn (oops) but it's not too bad. Don't worry, no skin cancer for me! Speaking of laundry, I don't think I've yet mentioned that I did laundry for the first time completely by hand the other day. They have this wierd bar soap (that I have since replaced with a tiny bottle of concentrated liquid stuff, hard to find) that you just rub on clothes to lather up, and you fill a basin (plastic bucket) with water to put all the clothes in. Then you rinse and go out behind the hostels where there is a gated area with a bunch of clothesline so you can hang things up to dry. I don't really know how clean my clothes get, but hey, better than nothing! There is also a laundry service on campus, but I only use it for things like pants.
Monday I taught my first official yoga class here at 8am. There were four lovely ladies there, and it was really fun! The people who came in afterward for aerobics were asking about it, so supposedly there will be some more students in class on Wednesday. Yay! After history class (he said 'recapitulate,' but wrote recapulate :)), some friends and I went to lunch at a place called Nacey's (outside the gate). Not only does it have yummy food for really good prices (today I ate there for less than a dollar), sometimes they have avocado. Beautiful, sliced avocado that you can order for 10 shillings with any meal. Oh how I had missed them.
The reason we ate out there was actually because we were on our way to the World Social Forum, which is taking place all this week in the Nairobi Sports Complex about a 15 minute walk from campus. It is a huge event, with people (mostly activists and activist groups) from all over the world in attendance to listen to discussions and talks and exchange ideas and information on social issues in the world right now. Yesterday we walked around and looked at booths and talked to some of the people manning them, but today was actually the best experience at the forum. We got up and went back early this morning to listen to 3 Nobel Peace Prize winning women speak in a panel discussion. There are only 12 women total in the history of the prize that have won, and only 7 are still alive today, and 6 have created the Nobel Women's Initiative (www.nobelwomensinitiative.org) to share support for projects across the globe. We had the privelidge of seeing three of them in the same room:
Professor Jody Williams, USA - won in 1997, founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Iran - won in 2003, efforts to promote human rights, especially of women, children, and political prisoner. 1st Muslim woman to win, 5th Muslim overall
Prof. Wangari Maathai, Kenya - won in 1994, founded and expanded the Green Belt Movement; was elected to Kenyan parliament
It was incredible to hear them all speak on both their individual endeavors as well as their collective endeavors. I especially liked Wangari Maathai, who seemed so loving and open-minded. The other two were also incredible women, but certainly came across as the stereotypical activist in that they were more extreme and aggressive in their opinions. Wow. What a once in a life opportunity - to get to attend something like the World Social Forum here in Kenya. I'm blown away.
PS Swahili class is still fun and the Russian professor still cracks me up.
Monday I taught my first official yoga class here at 8am. There were four lovely ladies there, and it was really fun! The people who came in afterward for aerobics were asking about it, so supposedly there will be some more students in class on Wednesday. Yay! After history class (he said 'recapitulate,' but wrote recapulate :)), some friends and I went to lunch at a place called Nacey's (outside the gate). Not only does it have yummy food for really good prices (today I ate there for less than a dollar), sometimes they have avocado. Beautiful, sliced avocado that you can order for 10 shillings with any meal. Oh how I had missed them.
The reason we ate out there was actually because we were on our way to the World Social Forum, which is taking place all this week in the Nairobi Sports Complex about a 15 minute walk from campus. It is a huge event, with people (mostly activists and activist groups) from all over the world in attendance to listen to discussions and talks and exchange ideas and information on social issues in the world right now. Yesterday we walked around and looked at booths and talked to some of the people manning them, but today was actually the best experience at the forum. We got up and went back early this morning to listen to 3 Nobel Peace Prize winning women speak in a panel discussion. There are only 12 women total in the history of the prize that have won, and only 7 are still alive today, and 6 have created the Nobel Women's Initiative (www.nobelwomensinitiative.org) to share support for projects across the globe. We had the privelidge of seeing three of them in the same room:
Professor Jody Williams, USA - won in 1997, founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Iran - won in 2003, efforts to promote human rights, especially of women, children, and political prisoner. 1st Muslim woman to win, 5th Muslim overall
Prof. Wangari Maathai, Kenya - won in 1994, founded and expanded the Green Belt Movement; was elected to Kenyan parliament
It was incredible to hear them all speak on both their individual endeavors as well as their collective endeavors. I especially liked Wangari Maathai, who seemed so loving and open-minded. The other two were also incredible women, but certainly came across as the stereotypical activist in that they were more extreme and aggressive in their opinions. Wow. What a once in a life opportunity - to get to attend something like the World Social Forum here in Kenya. I'm blown away.
PS Swahili class is still fun and the Russian professor still cracks me up.