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hey everyone, I realize that I haven't been sending out my weekly email update from kenya to everyone, so here's what the last two email said (I posted the first as my last post). Anyway, see everyone soon. AFRICA IS AWESOME! :)
HERE IS THE ONE FROM LAST WEEK:
Jambo,
Hope everything is going well back home (wherever that is for you). Things here in Nairobi have been very exciting and interesting. We've been here a week and a half now and we really feel at home. Last week and through this past weekend we did most of the touristy stuff around the city which I have a lot of pictures of that I will be happy to show you when I get back. On sunday we spent a few hours working at an orphanage for abandoned children, most of which were HIV-positive. Their situation is really heartbreaking but it was nice to see them have some fun with us as we spent the afternoon with them. They really just need human contact as the orphanage is really understaffed.
On the documentary side, we're finally getting started. After having all of last week to just get acclimated to life in Nairobi, yesterday Casey and I, accompanied by Jessica and Ester (the Kenyan doctor working with some of the refugees) went out to one of the refugee slums via Mutatu (Moo-ta-too). Mutatus are essentially conversion vans that many of the local Kenyans ride in to get around. They are extremely overcrowded fitting about 16/17 people in each one. They drive extremely fast and often there are people hanging out the side doors as they pick up more passengers. The benefit of a Mutatu however is that it is extremely cheap to get around. It only cost us 50 shillings to get out to RuiRu (the refugee slum) on a Mutatu while it would have been upwards of 2000-2500 shillings each way if we took a cab. Plus, we got to experience what the real Nairobi is like. I enjoyed the experience a lot and we will probably always take Mutatus from now on, as long as we have either Ester or Timothy (a very intelligent and articulate refugee who has agreed to help us) with us, as it us unsafe for Casey and I to take Mutatus by ourselves.
Life in the refugee slum was really shocking and I was speechless most of the 5-6 hours we spent there. Whole families live in single concrete rooms with tin roofs with no running watter and one electrical outlet to plug in a light bulb to hang overhead. The are placed right next to one another in small alleys off of the main town road. The roads of Ruiru itself are all dirt/mud and are literally covered in trash with a corresponding smell. We met with some of the refugees in the morning in the RuiRu church to discuss the video but communicating with them is very hard, especially when there are more pressing issues they want to talk about, specifically the status of their resettlement. We need to have any of the refugees we film to sign a waiver saying that they agree to be film, but many of them are reluctant to sign it because they feel they are being exploited, especially when they fear that participating in the film won't do anything to help them get resettled. Filming/taking pictures there is going to be tough, but some of them agreed, so we hope to start filming them either Friday or Saturday and hopefully by them some of the other refugees will come around.
Anyway, we are going to go eat now @ a great local restaurant and then spend the afternoon @ the orphanage. The internet cafe I'm at right now is just a short distance from our apartment complex, so I am able to check my email regularly, so feel free to respond and let me know how you are doing.
Love,
Kyle
HERE IS THE ONE FROM YESTERDAY
Jambo Everyone,
Well everything is going well here in Nairobi. This is the second attempt at writing this email because the internet went down here just before I sent it out. Luckily I was able to print a copy so I'm just going to re-type most of it. Yesterday was our alst day at Ruiru so we are basically done with the majority of our filming,. We still have a few interviews to do but they shouldn't be as exhausting as a day at Ruiru. Actually being there isn't bad at all, we just feel completely drained when we finally get back home. We went out there to film on friday, saturday, monday, and tuesday and we got to spend a time with about 5 different families. They were very welcoming and we had a great time observing thier way of life. There were several moments where I kind of forgot that we came from two completely different cultures, spoke different languages, and had completly different experiences. Sometimes that happened when I just exchanged a look of understanding with one of the refugees who was my age, or like on thursday, when we were sitting down waiting for a refugee we were supposed to interview to arrive, his wife just sat down next to us and gave a sigh of relief and a small laugh as we waited together.
Saturday was probably the most interesting day out there. We were uneasy about shooting in the streets because we didn't feel it was safe, but we took a chance and got some great footage, and mroe noticably, a large train of children behind us as we walked around. You'd think that the president was walking around or something. All these kids followed us, manyof them the whole time we were out there. At one point we probably had upwards of 30 kids following us around. I was taking some pictures of them and I ran out of film so I showed them how I change rolls and I let some of them check out the film I had. It was a lot of fun and I think I have a lot of good pictures from it.
Sunday was another god day, although not at Ruiru. After doing some laundry (all by hand) and eating some lunch, Casey and I went back to the orphanage for a couple of hours. The kids recognize us now and when we come in they get really excited and start smiling. One of my favorite kids, Usufu, puts his arms up in the air for me to hold him whenever he sees me - it's really awesome. After the orphanage, we went to a once-a-week market where I discovered I had an unknown ability to bargain with people. I don't know what came ovre me, but after a few minutes of arguing and hussling the sellers, I was able to get some incredible deals which in turn means more presents for you all. I just kept trying to lower the price and throw in some more items into each of the deals - it worked out really well.
Last week we also spent about an hour at the Norfolk hotel, the oldest hotel in this part of Africa, that is perfectly preserved in its 1904 condition. We had tea there and pretended we were really rich and could actually afford to stay there. We did notice however, that many of the people who stayed there would leave directly for safari and would miss the side of Kenya that we get to see everyday by dealing with refugees and travelling to the 'more real' parts of the city.
Anyway, today we said goodbye to Jessica as she left to escort a group of Samali refugees back to the states. This afternoon we are going to an african restaurant we really like then going back to the orphanage. Tomorrow morning we are interviewing someone from the UN which is exciting. On friday we are going on a safari to the Masai Mara for the weekend, I'm definately looking forward to that. Next week we hope to take a matatu up further north in the country to perhaps Meru and definately to the Shaba Game Reserve (where Survivor: Africa was filmed). I'll keep you updated. Take Care.
Kwaheri,
Kyle