November-December Newsletter: Update from Gatundu, Kenya
God is good. All the time.
All the time. God is good.
Wow. It's already Christmas time and as always, I am very late in
sending an update. When I last wrote, I had not even begun teaching at
Icaciri Secondary School! Currently, the school is on "holiday" for 5
weeks until we begin a new school year in January. Next term I will
continue to teach Form 1 and 2 (9th and 10th grade) English.
I definitely have a newfound appreciation for teachers. It is a lot of
work! I thoroughly enjoyed myself, however. What you may notice about
me when I return is I now enunciate like nobody's business. =) What is
typically pronounced as "I don know" in America, is now, "I don-t
know." The "t" has it's own syllable! Last term, I had about 40
students in each of my Form 1 and Form 2 classes. I will continue with
the same Form 1 class as they are now Form 2s, and I will have the new
Form 1s fresh from primary school. I'm excited to go back to Gatundu
and get started with the new year.
As I wrote in my last newsletter, I "competed" in the Nairobi
International Marathon's 10k race. I finished and even ran across the
finish line. For those of you who know me, I don't run unless I'm
being chased. =) I also attended a Kikuyu wedding of the woman who
sells me my weekly vegetables in the Gatundu market. Unlike the
35-minute wedding ceremonies in the U.S., this service was over four
hours long. The service even included a "talent show" of sorts, when
all of the guests were invited to come up to the front and perform for
the couple. Unfortunately, my Kikuyu has not improved beyond greetings
and counting to ten, so I politely clapped in the congregation. =)
However, I have improved my bargaining skills at the market. Since the
general thought is that all Whites are rich, they usually ask for a
ridiculously high price for their merchandise. Of course, if it had
been me, I would have done the same thing. This weekend, I found a
soapstone sculpture at the market (found only is the Kisii area of
Kenya) and they asked for 2,100 Kenyan shillings. 2,100 Ksh is
approximately $35 USD. After many moons of bargaining, I finally
bought it for 200 Ksh ($3.35 USD)! I was so excited until my host
mother told me it was probably only worth 100 Ksh. *sigh* I tried.
As the Christmas season approaches, I have tried to get myself into
the Christmas mood. It has proven to be much more difficult that I had
anticipated with the lack of snow in Kenya. The weather resembles July
in Minnesota (minus the horrendous humidity), so I have to walk 45
minutes to the nearest mall in Nairobi just to see the Christmas
decorations! There is also a lack of lefse and lutefisk (surprising,
right!?) so I'm trying to find a carbohydrate and smelly fish
substitute. =) This will only be the second time I will be away from
MN for Christmas (the first time was the Bangladesh mission trip in
1998), but I am excited to share the holiday with my friends and
family here in Kenya.
The Kiswahili lesson this month includes phrases I hear often:
*Sikukuu njema: Merry Christmas
*Bwana asifiwe: Praise the Lord
*Mungu ni mwema. Wakati wote: God is good. All the time. (This is a
call a response that is said before most people begin speaking at
school functions.)
Call: God is Good.
Response: All the time.
Call: All the time.
Response: God is Good.
Prayer Requests: Kenyan Presidential elections take place on December
27th. Please pray for clarity, honesty and peace.
God Bless you all in this Christmas season,
Sarah
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