Not only do I not speak Swahili, but I seemed to have lost any fluency I once had in the English language. My mind seemed to be moving faster than my tongue today and everything I said came out in a garbled rush. I got a little too excited about seeing the new projects and couldn't seem to string together proper sentences. I'm a mess.
It was back to school for Alexia after a three day weekend and she was very reluctant to go. Clad in her blue and white checkered school uniform she squirmed away from Barita who tried to stuff a handkerchief into her pocket. We were both ready to go and Alexia exclaimed "We must wait for the prince!" (referring to Stephen). Walking down the hallway, "Ohh my princesss!". She's so funny!
It was misty and cold again today. Who knew it could get so cold by the equator? We hopped in the pickup truck and headed down the dirt road to Alexia's school. Here and there we slowed down a bit to allow men walking along the road to jump in the back and hitch a ride.
Alexia's school is called the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Kindergarten and was started by the Austrian organization SOS Children's Villages. I don't know much about the organization yet, but I do know that the private school mixes abandoned or orphaned children (who live around the school) with children who live with their families. Their goal is to combat stigmas associated with orphaned children and provide the students with an opportunity to interact with children from families. I talked to the principal about helping out there one afternoon a week. I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet but I should find out next week. She asked me to teach a weekend class on HIV for the older children. I'll probably end up developing this class from the curriculum I put together for the after school health clubs.
It was back to school for Alexia after a three day weekend and she was very reluctant to go. Clad in her blue and white checkered school uniform she squirmed away from Barita who tried to stuff a handkerchief into her pocket. We were both ready to go and Alexia exclaimed "We must wait for the prince!" (referring to Stephen). Walking down the hallway, "Ohh my princesss!". She's so funny!
It was misty and cold again today. Who knew it could get so cold by the equator? We hopped in the pickup truck and headed down the dirt road to Alexia's school. Here and there we slowed down a bit to allow men walking along the road to jump in the back and hitch a ride.
Alexia's school is called the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Kindergarten and was started by the Austrian organization SOS Children's Villages. I don't know much about the organization yet, but I do know that the private school mixes abandoned or orphaned children (who live around the school) with children who live with their families. Their goal is to combat stigmas associated with orphaned children and provide the students with an opportunity to interact with children from families. I talked to the principal about helping out there one afternoon a week. I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet but I should find out next week. She asked me to teach a weekend class on HIV for the older children. I'll probably end up developing this class from the curriculum I put together for the after school health clubs.
My bright and sunny new office
Next we went to MKMF's office where I read over the Foundation's past meeting minutes to get a better understanding of the many projects they are working on. Dorcas and I prepared a lunch of salami and cheese sandwiches with chai tea. I don't generally eat meat, so for those of you who know me well, I've been exercising my "cultural clause" quite liberally.
On Friday the hospital called and said they were running low on baby formula, so we went to the "chemists" to "pick" some. Walking into the pharmacy felt much like walking into an over-sized medicine cabinet. Row upon row of shelves were piled high will all different types of medicines. We passed through a gap in the front counter and headed down a short hallway into a small consultation room. We shared a bench with two other people as we waited for the woman behind the desk to take our order. The place was tiny, but people seemed to consistently and continuously enter the room through either of its two entrances. Men walked by in long faded lab coats advertising the "Best Dewormer" and "Hedex" among other things. One man circled the desk in an endless loop carrying box after box of medicine. I watched him as we waited and felt a slight case of déjà vu set in. When the order had been filled we brought it over to the hospital. To be continued...
On Friday the hospital called and said they were running low on baby formula, so we went to the "chemists" to "pick" some. Walking into the pharmacy felt much like walking into an over-sized medicine cabinet. Row upon row of shelves were piled high will all different types of medicines. We passed through a gap in the front counter and headed down a short hallway into a small consultation room. We shared a bench with two other people as we waited for the woman behind the desk to take our order. The place was tiny, but people seemed to consistently and continuously enter the room through either of its two entrances. Men walked by in long faded lab coats advertising the "Best Dewormer" and "Hedex" among other things. One man circled the desk in an endless loop carrying box after box of medicine. I watched him as we waited and felt a slight case of déjà vu set in. When the order had been filled we brought it over to the hospital. To be continued...