Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Bargaining at the Masai Market and more..
On Sunday we went to the Masai Market market to buy souvenirs and such and I got to use my bargaining skills!-- Well it was my first time ever bargaining, so I think I was pretty successful. So basically when I came into the shops the shopkeepers thought we were Muzungus (white people/ people from west), so obviously they would quadruple the price of EVERYTHING in the store. lol. But since I went to Mombasa before coming to Nairobi, I said that I just came from Mombasa and that they couldnt rip me off because I wasnt a tourist-- so that cut the price in half. lol And then I started reallllly bargaining-- having watched my mom bargain, I must say I have picked up a few tricks. I think my biggest accomplishment was bargaining the price of a necklace down from 5000 shillings to 600shillings!
After we went to the Masai market we went to a nearby theater and watched.... drum roll.... HARRRY POTTER! It was so good! The theaters here are so tiny compared to the HUGE ones in toronto, I think this theater had a max of 20 rows and the screen was pretty tiny, but the amazingness (yes I know thats not a word) of the movie made up for the tiny old theater, lol.
Its so interesting though how there is such a huge difference between the huge western mall that the theater was in and the slums! Its quite sad really! Makes me feel a guilty that I went and enjoyed a good movie whilst my friends in the slums were probably working hard fetching water from a bore hole or other such strenuous work... They seem like two completely differnt worlds! How could we have left these people to live in such conditions whilst we are enjoying our posh lives =/ I hope I never forget my trip and that I can help improve the lives of the people here!
After we went to the Masai market we went to a nearby theater and watched.... drum roll.... HARRRY POTTER! It was so good! The theaters here are so tiny compared to the HUGE ones in toronto, I think this theater had a max of 20 rows and the screen was pretty tiny, but the amazingness (yes I know thats not a word) of the movie made up for the tiny old theater, lol.
Its so interesting though how there is such a huge difference between the huge western mall that the theater was in and the slums! Its quite sad really! Makes me feel a guilty that I went and enjoyed a good movie whilst my friends in the slums were probably working hard fetching water from a bore hole or other such strenuous work... They seem like two completely differnt worlds! How could we have left these people to live in such conditions whilst we are enjoying our posh lives =/ I hope I never forget my trip and that I can help improve the lives of the people here!
Letter from Lavender
Today this girl named Lavender came up to me and gave me a beautiful letter that she had written for me! Basically she said that she loved me and was so glad that we had come to her school and had taught her new games and she was so happy to be my friend and that she loved my smile! Isnt that so sweet!!?!? I must write a letter and give it to her tomorrow!
All of the kids here are so cute and sweet! I want to take all of them home with me! lol. My friend was like "No wonder Angelina Jolie just comes to Africa and adopts all these kids, they"re so adorable!!" Its so true!!!
All of the kids here are so cute and sweet! I want to take all of them home with me! lol. My friend was like "No wonder Angelina Jolie just comes to Africa and adopts all these kids, they"re so adorable!!" Its so true!!!
Green Pastures Parents Day
On Saturday there was a Parents day at Green Pastures School. The Parents day started off with the little scouts marching, doing a little dance, raising the Kenyan flag and leading the national anthem. Then each class went one by one and did a little presentation. The pre-unit class (pre-schoolers) went up and did a little song about what they want to be when they grow up. So basically each kid in the class went up and sung a verse of the song-- it was something along the lines of -- when i grow up i want to be a ___ for my country Kenyaaaaa--- well thats a shortened version =P I videotaped it, so I will show it when I get back!
And another class did a song about how they love MATH!!!!!!!!-- say whatt!?!?! I doubt theyll have any desire to sing that song after taking calculus!!!
The 8th graders did a play-- It was a bit disturbing I must admit-- It was about teenage pregnancy, child prostitution, drug abuse, child abuse and there was a funeral in the play!!-- And the parents were laughing--- I asked one of the teachers later why all the parents were laughing and he said that these things are part of their daily life so the parents were laughing because they see themselves in the play-- apparently the point was to get parents to stop such behavior.-- Its sad that such problems are so common in this society!!
Then after the presentations were finished the principal of the school gave a speech. The speech was directed at the parents of the students and some of the things that the principla said were realllllllly shocking!!! Apparenntly most of the kids are beaten at home by their parents and the principal was saying that beating your kids will only harden the hearts of your children and they wont respect or love you. And then she said that one parent of a pre-school student had gone so far as to cut off the fingers of her child because he had stolen something!!! It is sad that such backwards parenting still exists in this world!!! I asked our group leader why the mother had not been reported to the police! She said that there is no child services here, so the mother would probably go to jail and the child would be left without anyone to care for them, so they were trying to change the behavior of the parent rather than punish them. That is so sad! The principal was also telling other stories about how some of the students had been kidnapped and hurt and was warning the parents to be careful of their kids and not send them out alone in the slums and such.
Its so different from the parents nights we had when I was in elementary school--- at those all the teachers did was praise the students, but I guess if such horiffic problems exist in the community, this is the teachers only chance to try to change the behavior of the parents..
Despite the gruesome stories that the principal told, the parents day was so much fun and the kids are all so inspirational and have such high aspirations for their futures!! I hope that the dreams of every single one of them will come true!!
And another class did a song about how they love MATH!!!!!!!!-- say whatt!?!?! I doubt theyll have any desire to sing that song after taking calculus!!!
The 8th graders did a play-- It was a bit disturbing I must admit-- It was about teenage pregnancy, child prostitution, drug abuse, child abuse and there was a funeral in the play!!-- And the parents were laughing--- I asked one of the teachers later why all the parents were laughing and he said that these things are part of their daily life so the parents were laughing because they see themselves in the play-- apparently the point was to get parents to stop such behavior.-- Its sad that such problems are so common in this society!!
Then after the presentations were finished the principal of the school gave a speech. The speech was directed at the parents of the students and some of the things that the principla said were realllllllly shocking!!! Apparenntly most of the kids are beaten at home by their parents and the principal was saying that beating your kids will only harden the hearts of your children and they wont respect or love you. And then she said that one parent of a pre-school student had gone so far as to cut off the fingers of her child because he had stolen something!!! It is sad that such backwards parenting still exists in this world!!! I asked our group leader why the mother had not been reported to the police! She said that there is no child services here, so the mother would probably go to jail and the child would be left without anyone to care for them, so they were trying to change the behavior of the parent rather than punish them. That is so sad! The principal was also telling other stories about how some of the students had been kidnapped and hurt and was warning the parents to be careful of their kids and not send them out alone in the slums and such.
Its so different from the parents nights we had when I was in elementary school--- at those all the teachers did was praise the students, but I guess if such horiffic problems exist in the community, this is the teachers only chance to try to change the behavior of the parents..
Despite the gruesome stories that the principal told, the parents day was so much fun and the kids are all so inspirational and have such high aspirations for their futures!! I hope that the dreams of every single one of them will come true!!
Green Pastures School
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tumaini = Hope
Every morning when our matatu (= van) drives into the mathare slum we are greeted by the smiling faces of young children. And of course the frequent call of "muzungu", which means white people or rich people. lol. Anyway it never seizes to amaze me how happy everyone in the slums is!! And how the eyes of all the children are filled with so much hope! When I think of the streets of Toronto, I think of the way everyone is so busy and running everywhere and no one ever has time to smile!!-- Seeing the cheerful faces of the people here definately confirms the fact that wealth is not related to happiness!
I've been reading this book called "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff"-- its a really good book that my aunt gave me and one of the things it says is to smile at random people as your walking along the street--- when I initially read that I was like everyone will think im some sort of creep if i do that--- seriously next time your walking on the city-- look for people smiling at strangers-- you wont find any! Anywayy point being that after seeing how the people here smile at complete strangers and how good it makes you feel, I will definately try that once I get back to Toronto!-- And you should too! lol
I've been reading this book called "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff"-- its a really good book that my aunt gave me and one of the things it says is to smile at random people as your walking along the street--- when I initially read that I was like everyone will think im some sort of creep if i do that--- seriously next time your walking on the city-- look for people smiling at strangers-- you wont find any! Anywayy point being that after seeing how the people here smile at complete strangers and how good it makes you feel, I will definately try that once I get back to Toronto!-- And you should too! lol
Visiting a patient who has HIV
Yesterday we went to the house of an HIV patient. The mother passed away 6 months ago and the father was raising four kids on his own-- two of which had HIV. Their house was a tiny little shack made of metal sheets. They slept on the floor b/c they only had one tiny matress which the baby used and they relied on government aid for food b/c all of the fathers money went towards paying for treatment for the children with HIV. It is such a sad situation!!! But luckily the giraffe project is paying for the schooling of the kids so the father said that he hopes they will have a better future! The man was so grateful that we visited and his optimism was truely inspiring!!! Before I came to Africa I was reading an article by a girl who went with the charity to Nairobi last year and she said after visiting the slums you "lose the right to complain about your life after seeing how the people in the slums live" and after seeing the home of this family and hearing about the way they live, theres no better way to describe how I feel.
O and one thing I forgot to add the the post below is that I got to give a tetanus shot to a patient (by myself!!) and do an HIV test-- which was thankfully negative!
Miss everyone back home! Cant wait to get back-- have so many stories to tell!
O and one thing I forgot to add the the post below is that I got to give a tetanus shot to a patient (by myself!!) and do an HIV test-- which was thankfully negative!
Miss everyone back home! Cant wait to get back-- have so many stories to tell!
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