Week 2 (April 9-15)

Monday (April 9)

This first teaching day was on “time and stress management.” Today was challenging because we were supposed to teach about time management and stress management for two hours, and I was done with everything I had to say in about 20 min… The kids were very shy and did not participate like I thought they would. We ended up going outside to play games and walk around the school. They were very proud of everything about their school including how clean everything is, all the fruit trees and the animals.

My class (grade 6)!

After lunch, we did activity stations. Whitney and I were at the games station (the others were soccer and dancing). This was kind of awkward because the kids would rather do their own games than play the ones we came up with (relay races and red light/ green light). After the stations, the kids took us for another walk.

Val, Ashvin and Amanda dancing with the kids

Overall, the first day of teaching was not terrible, but I didn’t feel like I taught them anything- it was more of a getting to know each other day. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to teach them something. The skits after dinner went pretty well- they got more into it when they realized everyone was performing and people were watching.

With hours of no technology and no other form of entertainment, we (the ten of us) have a lot of time to talk and entertain ourselves after dinner. Tonight, the entertainment was writing a story, sentence by sentence without seeing the whole story. It got pretty entertaining.

Tuesday (April 10)

Today was conflict resolution day. We went outside for class today and it was hard again to get them to participate. They are so quiet until we play games and dance, then they are loud and open! I tried to alternate between games and teaching about conflict, but as soon as I started teaching they would shut right up. I tried doing charades about conflict but they didn’t get that at all. Tomorrow, I am going to do an even longer lesson plan that is more interactive where they have to write and participate about what they wrote. I am still getting to know the kids and they are so great!

Ashvin and I played soccer all afternoon- so exhausting but so fun! We named the teams Barcelona and Chelsea and they loved it. After soccer, we went for a walk (which they LOVE to do) and Saidi (one of my students) held my hand the whole way and was pointing out every tree and bush and its purpose.

Wednesday (April 11)

Today’s lesson was on peer pressure and bulling. It went pretty well- the kids opened up a lot and my games turned out great and were able to connect to peer pressure and bullying! We played telephone and four corners.

This afternoon we went to the beach. None of the kids have bathing suits, so they just wore what clothes they had. We had a blast! They love the beach and were hanging all over me. We played soccer and did handstands. We taught them “book-chica-boom” yesterday, so they wanted to play that over and over!

We are currently practicing a dance to perform for them tonight after dinner to the song “Waving Flag” (a song they all know), so I think they will love the surprise! Then we are having a bonfire. The dance and bonfire was a huge success! The culture and energy here blows my mind. They loved our dance. One group after another came up to sing or dance or read a poem. We “performed” the hokie pokie and “boom-chica-boom.” A few kids stood up and thanked us for coming to their school, which was adorable. I love this place- I never want to leave!

Our dance outfits!

Thursday (April 12)

Today is relationships, sex, and HIV/AIDS day. While this was kind of an awkward topic, the kids handled I very well and were full of questions. Even though I didn’t know the answers to all of their questions, I felt like I taught them a lot of all of these topics and I think they listened to and respected what I had to say. They are all sad that this is the last day of teaching. There is a tsunami warning, so the beach group didn’t get to go today.

After dinner, we did our last round of skits. These were the best so far, and some of the kids were hilarious! There was a really funny skit about one kid having a lot of relationships on the side- everyone was crying we were laughing so hard. I am going to be really sad to leave these kids. They are all so spirited and great.

We all got adorable goodbye letters from a handful of the kids. They all seem pretty attached to us and sad that tomorrow they have to say goodbye.

Friday (April 13)

Today we have the closing ceremony where the kids get awards for exams and leave for the holiday. The ceremony was very long, but it was cool to see their traditions. They are very strict and singled some children/ classes out for being better or worse than others. Julien and Val gave great speeches saying goodbye and thanking everyone. We performed “boom-chica-boom” in front of everyone and helped pass out the kids’ awards. I gave my class a letter and it was really tough to say goodbye.

After lunch, we ate lunch and headed to the ruins of Gede. We had a hilarious tour guide who loved to make jokes about all the toilets in the ruins. We fed bananas to wild monkeys that jumped right up onto our shoulders!

After our tour, we went to the beach. The water was so warm, and it was beautiful to watch the sun set on the beach. Tonight, we are heading out to a local bar! Saidi sent his nephew with us to be our tour guide and help translate. The bar ended up being a huge touristy place, and it was a blast! We drank the local Tuscar beer and danced the night away! There were a few older men and women at the bar with “escorts.” This is a pretty popular business in Kenya apparently- tourists come to relax and be shown a good time by the locals (I’ll let you use your imagination on this one).

Saturday (April 14)

Last day in Kenya L We started our day at Watamu beach. It was so windy, but we still have a great time. My rash is continuing to spread, but at least my face is all cleared up! I will have to go to the doctor back in Switzerland probably.

We ate lunch back at Bambakofi before heading to explore Malindi. Omar took us around, and we saw so much! Our first stop was a wood-carving factory. It was basically a shed with a bunch of workers, and it was so amazing to watch them work (they hand-carve everything, there are no machines). Next stop was a fruit/vegetable/meat market. The food itself looked great, but the area was pretty disgusting and smelly. Next was the tourist market- we bought lots of souvenirs here.

Wood carving

Our final dinner in Kenya was at a five-star hotel! Ocean Sport had pretty good food and it was great to all be together for our last meal (the nine students, Julien, Said and his family). The electricity went out at one point, so we were talking by candlelight, which was actually pretty awesome. We had a few drinks after dinner at the bar and one last goodbye midnight swim in the Indian Ocean!

Sunday (April 15)

We got a driving tour of Mombasa before our flight on Sunday morning. This is a bigger city in Kenya, and it was interesting to see the differences between Malindi and Mombasa. The buildings and streets are so rundown, and the people beg for money more than anywhere I have seen. But there is a beauty in Kenya that I really can’t describe. There are a lot of smiles, beautiful land and beaches, and the simple lifestyle has a real charm.

Mombassa shore