Forms of transportation..

I was organizing some old computer files and I came across this little blurb I wrote about public transportation here in Mombasa. It is a large part of my life, and often one of the most exciting as well. So this was written when I was living in Likoni last year.

Hope everyone is well!

Mary 

On any given day here in Kenya, I take at

 least three to four forms of transportation. In a place where poverty is so high, few peo

ple own cars, so do most people. 

In the mornings I either walk the 3 kilometers to work or if I am running late, which is usually the case, I take a piki piki, a motor bike with room for one on the back or a tuk tuk. They are both flagged down much the same way that a taxi would be. They are always driven by men, usually between int ages of 17 and 40. I generally have a policy of using older piki piki drivers because the young guys go so fast and I assume older equals more responsible drivers. Sometimes they have operating licenses, sometimes not. When I asked a friend about the license issues he said “It's not a must.”

The tuk tuk is by far my favorite, as it is small, slow and generally safer than the motor bikes. Apparently tuk tuks have the same name all over the world, due to the put put (or tuk tuk) noise that they make. Interesting fact, Piaggio is the Italian company that makes tuk tuks. The model that they export to Africa is called the “APE”, which I pray is an acronym and not a racist slur. Anyway, I am in to process of convincing my neighbor who owns and drives a tuk tuk that he should teach me to drive it. (Note: in nearly six months of being here I have seen one ONE female driving a tuk tuk)

On rare occasions there will be a boda boda, a regular bicycle with a padded seat on the back. If these are around I try to use them based on the principle that they use no gas and few people use them. Apparently just two years ago there were almost no motor bikes and everyone used bicycles and boda bodas for transportation. But motorbikes mean getting passengers from place to place faster which means the potential for making more money in a given period.

If I am going into Mombasa, I take the ferry. I know I have mentioned this before, but the ferry is not nearly as cute as I originally pictured in my head. They are large flat bi-level boats which carry everything including large trucks, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, and pedestrians. The bottom level is for vehicles and bikes and the top level is for pedestrians. They are brightly colored green and orange-y red. There are four boats in total, although only two run at one time, three during rush hours. While they say the capacity is 150 people, they admit that at times there are upwards of 300. If there are few cars (cars get the priority over people), they will cram more on. I once did a quick estimation though at there were at least 400 people on there.

Loading onto the Ferry is a a slightly hectic, but at times fun adventure. To load

 the ferry you have to get in line (called a queue) which is about 15 feet wide fenced off, tin-roofed hallway next to the road that leads up from the water. It is usually crammed and recently very hot. There are two blind musicians, one who plays gospel music on his accordion and another who plays one song on his harmonica while keeping the beat by shaking his tin bowl of change, so there is always something to listen to. Recently they put up huge movie screens on both the north and south sides of the ferry so sometimes they show sports bloopers or this stupid show where Ashton Kutcher plays tricks on other famous people. I was thinking they could show news or something worthwhile, because this country has enough bad American TV already, but no dice. Anyway the motorbikes, cars and truck load first. Once they are all on, the bicycles and pedestrians are allowed on.

Then the ferry takes off across the channel. The view is wonderful on both sides. To the east is the Indian Ocean and to the west is the port where most of the goods transported to

Eastern Africa are imported with lots of tall ships and docks. It only takes about five minutes to get across and while it is generally pretty crowded, it is fairly calm and quiet. There are women selling drinks if you are thirsty which is nice. I like to stare at the 

water and look for fish, although due to the proximity to the city I see more plastic bags than marine life.

Once it reaches the north side, the vehicles are allowed off first and then the people. The people have to climb this fairly large rocky hill \towards the matatu station. On the hill there are a lot of people selling cookies, phone cards (cell phones all operate on prepaid phone cards), handkerchiefs (everyone carries them to deal with the sweat, myself included), watches and greeting cards.

Once you reach the station which is just a large open parking lot, you find your matatu. <

> If you don't know which matatu to take there are boys right there who have the job of telling people where to go. If they bri

ng someone to a matatu they get a little tip. You can also just listen because the captain of each matatu will be outside of it calling out the destination. It is an incredibly hectic place with lots of yelling, honking, but sensory overload is part of the public transportation experience and charm.

The matatus are the most common, cheapest and many times entertaining of all the types of transport. In fact tatu is the word for three and ma- is added when there is an amount of something so matatu means three, which is how much it used to cost in shillings for a ride. At least that is according to the Rough Guide to Kenya. Matatus are 14 passenger vans, but the engine is under the front seats. There are two people who run each matatu: the driver and the captain. The captain is in charge of collecting the fares, telling the driver when to stop to let people off, and recruiting more passengers after people have alighted. There is a lot of yelling involved with his job. Then are the drivers. Some drivers make you feel like you are in a video game because they drive so fast and crazy, but 90% of the time I feel totally safe riding in the matatus.

On a given day, transportation is one of the most interesting parts sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. Here are a few pictures! I have always wanted to take pictures of the insides of matatus. They are often themed and, in my opinion, pretty artistic, so maybe that will be in an upcoming post:)

a few thoughts

So I have found myself having small bits of time where I feel like writing a bit and I think this is probably a better way for me to do my blog. Last time, I felt like I needed to write really important, well-written pieces on here. I may put some of those in, but I'll mostly just use it as a way of updating people about what I am up to.

Saturday, August 22

I am sitting on the steps outside my apartment. Around me I hear the call to prayer being sang at several different mosques simultaneously. Sometimes it sounds like a jumble of noise, but today it is nice. Several beautiful tunes, all of them saying “Allah au Akbar” in different ways. There is one that has emerged as my favorite and I catch myself singing along to the Imamu’s beautiful tenor voice each time I hear it through out the day. I often stop, feeling that singing along is not something that I am supposed to be doing. I asked Abdul if that was ok, to sing along and he shook his head. I guess this makes sense, but it feels like such a contrast from what I am used to in a church. I have met so many Muslim people over the last year, but Islam still remains largely a mystery to me. Now the sun has gone down completely and the neighborhood is closing their fast after the first day of Ramadhan. I am now staying in Old Town, the historic Swahili neighborhood of Mombasa. Nearly everyone living here is Muslim, or so it seems to me anyway. I remember last year when I tried fasting and the excitement I felt that first day when the sun went down and we got to eat. I have the feeling that around me in the stacked apartments and crowded houses, there are a lot of people who have that same feeling of relief right now.

I find that I am still in the honeymoon phase of being back, especially when it comes to Kenyan food. I am back in the land of mangos, avocados, grilled meat, deep fried everything and spiced chai. On top of that Ramadan is the season of good eating.  Yesterday I stopped by one of the food stands that pops up only at this time of year and found a whole table of goodies. There was the typical mahamri, which are triangular doughnuts, some doughnut hole type sweets rolled in sugar and simosas with beef and onion filling. But then there were all these other things, like ground cowpeas deep fried, mashed potato balls stuffed with beef and deep fried (sensing a theme yet?) that I had not seen since last year! And dates! Tons and tons of dates. I was making dinner for some friends so it seemed like a good excuse to get a sampling of what this man was selling. It was a great dinner and I want to go back and ask the man selling the food if he will teach me to make the cowpea things. Wow, it wounds really good now. Tonight I had ramen (ew, I know, I was tired).  Recipes, if I can get them, will be forthcoming (Not the ramen).

One thing I have gotten really into is using this masala tea mix. It is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, nutmeg, cloves. This is part of the Indian influence here on the coast. Holy smokes, that stuff is good. It is meant for tea, but you can put it into coffee too which is quite good. I have also started mixing it into my oatmeal, rice pudding, and pretty much anything sweet.

August 24, 2009

Being back feels like coming home in a way that I did not quite expect. I know my way around town, I can hold basic conversations in Swahili, I have a lot of friends and people who have come to feel like family here. I knew I was returning to a place and people I knew, but somehow being here and seeing them is more comforting than I anticipated. I think part of the amount of time to plan for this. And what tends to happen when I have a lot of lead time (and this certainly happened before my original trip here), is that there is an enormous amount of time to project what things are going to be like, what I am going to feel. And somehow, in my mind, who I am at home, and who I “will be” when I get to Mombasa feel like they are going to be two different people. It seems silly, but I find it hugely comforting that I am, in fact, the very same person. I think we expect ourselves to change a bit when we travel away from home.

September 6, 2009

Three and a half weeks in to my stay here and things are still going very well. Since I arrived I was staying at my friend Alia’s place. I have just moved to Nyali, the area north of Mombasa, to live with my friend Kati for the next month. She has a lot of traveling to do and two boys (Malcom, 12 and Caleb, 9 almost 10), so I am going to look after them while she is away. So I have a few weeks to find my own place, hopefully back in Old Town.

Work has gotten off to a good start. I am learning all of the ins and outs of the FSD policy and trying to read all of their extensive material. In the next three weeks or so we are doing a comprehensive impact assessment of all of the FSD projects that have been undertaken in the past three and a half years. It is a good step for us because we often have a good idea about how some projects help the targeted communities in the short term, but we don’t always know if the projects are sustaining themselves and achieving the longer term goals. We are hoping that this gives us better information about our impact, help us better train our interns and figure out better ways of supporting our partner organizations. So far we have met with a few organizations and the feedback has been positive. More information to come once we have actual concrete data.

Let’s see other than that, my birthday this week was just fine. I didn’t do anything super exciting to celebrate 26 years. I had to work all day Friday, my boss brought in a yummy chocolate cake, then we went out to eat for lunch and had some delicious chicken biriani. In the evening I got home and there was a leak in the water heater and the kitchen flooded. After we cleaned that up I made a nice dinner of mshakiki (think the best shish kebobs you have ever eaten) with Abdul and watched Little Miss Sunshine. It was pretty low-key and felt sort of unlike a birthday, but it is hard to have a party during Ramadan, because it is a time of fasting and prayer, so a lot of friends would not be able to make it.  Ok I am off to a friend’s going away party. More to follow.

Love from Kenya,

Mary

Update

Dear Friends and Family,
Merry Christmas! I feel strange saying merry Christmas when it is 90 and and humid. Somehow having to wear SPF 45 sunscreen does not make me think about Santa Claus...
Overall things here have been going well. I moved a few months back, am finishing up my MIMA project, getting started on a new one and traveling a bit. I also just posted some pictures that I have taken. I apologize for the slowness on this, but my camera wasn't working well and now has stopped working altogether. That means I have not taken very many pictures. However the ones I have taken are now on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75253098@N00/

The last few weeks have been spent trying to finish up my project here at MIMA. The business plan is almost done, they have a new board which will be overseeing their work, and a few more internal policies and procedures which will hopefully help them as they grow. I feel a little guilty because in a way, the project created a lot more paperwork for the staff, but in the long run hopefully it will benefit the organization. It has been fun in a lot of ways, but it has also been a huge challenge to adjust to new working styles, and figure out how to best work with people who come from totally different backgrounds. I have learned a lot, but I am ready to move on. I'll still come in a day or two a week for the next two-three months, but for the most part I am finished.

I'll be starting a small research analysis project with a professor come January here in Mombasa. She is a medical anthropologist who focuses on reproductive health issues. The project I will be looking at involves analyzing a lot of data on a project for orphaned girls in Zimbabwe that used micro finance. It will be a lot of time in front of a computer, but I might be able to continue to the work when I return to the States in March.

In other news, I had to take a random trip to Tanzania and then Zambia this past week. I was told by immigration that after six months of being here in Kenya, I had to leave the country. I had heard rumors that I had to leave East Africa, so I went to double check and I was reassured, that no,I just had to leave Kenya. So my friend and I went to Tanzania, just 4 hours south, to see his family whom he had not seen in a long time. When I got to the border I was informed that I did in fact, have to leave East Africa. So, I spent what was my last official week of work traveling to Zambia and back with my friend Abdul. It took us six days and 48 hours on 8 different buses, but we made it ok. Tanzania is a beautiful country with lots of mountains and beautiful scenery. I wished that we had more time to explore and less time sitting on a bus.

So the office has closed for the year, and it looks like I will be staying in Mombasa for the Holidays. My Christmas plans involve eating some fresh fish with friends on Christmas Eve, then probably spending the day of with my good friend and her family while we cook food and watch some movies. I was thinking of going rafting or camping, but I decided to stay put. I mean, my apartment is on the ocean, so I sometimes lack motivation to leave.

Ok that is it for now. just wanted to say hi and I am thinking of and missing you all this holiday season.
Love,
Mary

Obama Fever!

So this blog post is only about three months overdue. I have been wanting to write on here about the sincere love and pride that folks here in Kenya have for our next president. His father was from Kisumu, which is not near here, but still, the pride is very strong. It is apparent in the music, clothing, rumors, naming of things and the fact that walking down the street you often hear his name come up in conversations. In fact, President Kibaki was so thrilled with Obama's victory, that he declared the day after Obama's victory a national holiday to honor him! You didn't even get that in America did you?

The first thing I encountered that was all about Barack was a song by Coco Tea.

This song is played all over the place. Every club plays it at least once a night. People blast it from their cars. I once met a three year old who was running around the house singing it. I was hoping that it might make it as his campaign theme song, but no luck. There are several other good Obama songs (all available on youtube), but this one is my favorite.

When walking through the streets you see his name and face all over. There are boys who sell posters, usually of Premier League football teams, maps, celebrities and animals, who are now also selling Obama posters. Most of them are photo collages with pictures of him and his family and funny quotes to go along with them. My favorite is one where Obama and McCain's faces have been photoshopped onto the bodies of athletes. I can't explain the hilarity, but once my camera is back up and working I will send along a picture. If you go into stores, many have his picture hanging on the wall, just below the Kenyan president's. Then, if you go to the market, there are people selling kangas, which are brightly colored clothes that are worn around the waist and shoulders. There are several with President Obama on them. The one I just purchased Has his picture in the middle, flanked by two maps of Africa. At the bottom it says "Upendo na amani ametujalia mungu" which means something like "God will grant peace and love" (if someone with better Swahili skills wants to correct me, please do)

I recently met a small baby who was called Obama. Here, when there is something special about the time a person was born, they are sometimes named for that special event, whether it be a time of year, historical event, etc. For example, my friend's aunt was born during the Pepsi launch in Africa and her name was therefore, Pepsi. By the same token, some children who are born now, are being named Obama. I have also seen two of the new shops around Likoni which have his name: "Obama's Wine and Spirits" and "Obama Community Phone Center"

In addition to seeing him all over, you hear about him too. The rumors about Obama started a long time ago. As rumors tend to do, they change, there are dozens of versions and sometimes they are heard by young impressionable children who believe them. "What will Obama do for Kenya" is a popular topic and the possible answers vary a great deal. I have heard some of the following:

• There will now be direct flights from Kisumu to the White House


• All Luos (his tribe) will receive American Visas


• All Kenyans will receive American Visas and Americans will all receive Kenyan Visas


• Kenya will now get more foreign aid.


• Kenya will be the "51st State" in the US

Again, sometimes these are told to me by small children and the other 95% of the time it is told to me in jest. I hope that Obama will do something for this country, but what many people have said is that the biggest thing he can give Kenya is hope for the future and the motivation to continue to work on the issues that plague this country. I guess we shall see how it all works out, although it sounds like he has his hands full at the moment...

Ok enough of the Obama stuff for now, but I wanted to let you all know that he is everywhere here. They love him a lot and really respect what he has been able to accomplish. Many people feel like if he can become president then surly they too can accomplish great things. I have a disposable camera while I try to get mine fixed and I have a few great Obama pictures on there. Hope all is well over there! Love from Obama's Father land!

PS: It is also interesting to note that in Swahili the words baraka/barack mean blessing/blessings respectively. Swahili has its origins in Arabic and a Bantu language. Barack is one of the words that comes from Arabic. So our new president's name means blessings. Now I missed out on most of the BS about the fact that Hussein is his middle name, but I don't know if anyone ever cared to mention this little fact.

Jambo!

This week I received an email that said (and I quote) "Blog more dammit!". My apologies for not posting, but my computer access is fairly limited these days.

Here are a few things I have been thinking about, experiencing, etc. Today I am feeling like a list format will be best.

1. Jambo! When I walk down the street I am greeting in one of two ways generally: "How are you?", which is said really fast and sounds like "Hawayuu?" or "Jambo". Some Kenyans say jambo (swahili for hello) to one another, but not many. BUT when I am walking down the street, lots of people say "Jambo" because they know it is typically the only phrase white folks know (that and "Hakuna Matata"). I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I do know it and it is a perfectly fine way of saying hello, but I know all the other greetings. There are a wide range of other salutations like "Mambo" and "Sema" which are typical among younger people and "Habari yako" or "Salama lekum" to adults. And I want to use the Swahili that I know. The other thing that I find slightly irritating about jambo (and "hawayuu") is that people often say it in this sort of high pitched voice. It is hilarious! Just now a man who must have been in his seventies was slowly walking down the road. He saw me coming and in a voice that sounded like the way you might talk to a 4 month old baby said "Jambo Mzungu!". It often feels slightly patronizing, so I generally respond in the same high pitched voice and that seems to crack people up.

2. Last weekend I went to a small island called Wasini with my friend Lily and her friends from her Rotoract (Rotary for 18-30 year olds). We spent the day on a large boat (dhow) and went to the marine park there. First we snorkeled around the coral reefs. It was amazing to see all of the kinds of fish, sponges, coral and urchins hanging out there AND I didn't get attacked by jellyfish, sharks or other marine predator. I was pretty excited about that. It was fun to just sit and watch how the fish interacted with one another too. Lily tried chasing a few, but she didn't get any. Then we got back in the boat and ended up seeing a school of about 12 dolphins. It was so amazing! I was like a kid at the zoo, talking to them like they could actually hear me. "Where did you go, I want you to jump again, please jump!". It took me back to the days when I was about 6 and wanted to be a dolphin trainer. After that, we sailed to a small island where we had lunch. That leg of the journey was really rough and involved several of us getting sea sick at once, which was hilarious in retrospect.After lunch we took a tour of a water project they have there. It is a small island and they have no access to fresh water. So they set up the roofs to collect rain water. There were all of these low long corrugated metal roofs which collect the rain water which then runs into one of several big holding tanks. As we walked around the small island most houses seemed to have the rain collection system set up with the pipes to carry water which reminded me of Marble Works (the toy we played with when I was little).
The rest of the weekend was spent playing jenga (Jenga is Swahili for building, which i thought was interesting), eating freshly caught fish, touring Wasini, dancing and talking.

3. So I continue to be Suleiman's tutor. Ok so I make him do his homework. At first it was kind of cute, because he would get so excited to have me help him. But now that my "new mzungu" appeal is gone and he is used to me, it is not as cute. There have been crying tantrums on a few occasions, he dawdles and finds ways to procrastinate (last night he had to pee three times within the half hour we did his homework). So anyway, sometimes i will give him a little incentive for completing his homework. Last week, he was whining, and not doing his work when I told him I would give him a small present if he finished without complaining and without making too many mistakes. He wanted one of the 10 old water bottles I had in my room which I was more than happy to give him. Then a few days later we were again doing his homework and he was getting cranky the conversation went like this:
Me: please finish your homework
S: You give me sweet and i finish
Me: No. write
S: you give me a cell phone and I finish
He had me laughing for quite some time with that one. He has also just started walking into my room and demanding my possessions. For instance, I have a small statue of the Virgin Mary that I keep on my desk. The other day he walks in, looks at it for a minute and then demands that I give it to him. He has done this with my flashlight, pencil sharpener, shampoo, deodorant and sunscreen. I have yet to give into his demands.

Generally life here is good. I am in the process of trying to figure out what to do after my internship is over in December. There are a few opportunities around Mombasa which would be realy fun. One of the options involves organizing a conference for a friend who is starting up a new NGO. It would enable me to continue working with MIMA which would be good. I am in love with this city so it would be great to stick around for a bit. There is also a technical vocational school in Tanzania where I might be able to do some art classes. Or there is a language school in Tanzania where I could get really good at Swahili. We will see. I have also been getting some inquiries regarding my return date. It will be in March or April, depending on how many people want to come visit and how long I can make my savings last. Miss you all lots!~Mary

Please Help Support MIMA

I have just two days left to raise $4500 to support the work of MIMA! The money raised will go toward providing loans to our clients, most of whom are women running microenterprises in Likoni. All you have to do is click on the link to the right!

Thank you for your support!!~Mary

Ramadan

The most interesting change in my life here has been the holy month of Ramadan. It has affected every aspect of life here in Likoni. It started on the 2nd of September and will continue through the end of the month. There was a great deal of talk about Ramadan in the weeks leading up to it. Everyone at work, at home, strangers on the street, asked me if I was going to fast. My response was "I am going to try." But then I found out that it also meant no water. Now maybe this is common knowledge to the rest of the world, but I didn't know you couldn't drink water during Ramadan. I thought it was just no food. Considering it is getting to be the hot time of year and it is nearly 90 out everyday, I said I was going to drink water. Some people thought this made sense for me. After all I didn't grow up fasting for a month each year, I am not Muslim, and everyone wants me to be safe. There were a few people who essentially called me "weak sauce", but I was ok with it.
So Ramadan started and I did fast for a few days. However, several uncomfortable things started happening to me, including almost passing out on the ferry ride home one day. After that, my host mom told me not to fast anymore. So I tell people I am "half fasting", which really just means I skip lunch. I have been torn over it. On one hand I am living here and I want to try the traditions and customs and be a part of the life here. At the same time, I discovered when not eating, I felt sick, tired, and was much more prone to crying. Thus, the half-ass fasting.
At work, things have been pretty relaxed. Ok, the work environment here is always relaxed, but this has been different. There have not been very many meetings, women leave the office early to go home and prepare Iftar, the evening meal. There are frequent breaks during the day where people go to the mosque nearby to pray or out on to the veranda where they have mats set up for praying. In fact as I sit here typing, I can here the call to prayer at the mosque. I think they are teaching a small child how to do the call to prayer, because it is the voice of a small child. It is really beautiful. Oh, the regular guy took over now. Apparently that was all the kid could handle. Anyway, it has been an adjustment for me on a personal level. I have a lot to do in the next 3 months of being here and so my inclination is to push to get things done. But Ramadan is not time for getting a lot of work done, it is time for fasting and prayer.
Home life has been different too this month. First, we have a woman, Mariamu, who come to do the cleaning, laundry and cooking. It is a semi-common occurrence to have "house-help", especially in middle class homes here. It has meant that now I have someone who waits on me in the morning and cleans up after me. It is strange for me, but normal for everyone else. (Side note: when I told people that my parents didn't have house help they were very surprised. "If both parents work, who stays at home to cook and clean?" they asked. Then I told them that my parents also do small scale farming for fun! This was also met with mixed reactions).
I think the have it the toughest during Ramadan. The cooking starts much earlier and the meals are more involved than normal. The other day I came home at 1:30 and dinner preparations were already started. I don't know how they manage to cook for hours and are not able to eat or sample anything. That takes a will power that I just don't have. So because there are 5 women who do the cooking at home (Tuma, and Helima, Mariamu, My host mom and Auntie), they usually finish by about 6:00pm and we have to wait around to hear the call to prayer which is the signal that the sun has set and you can now end the fast. I have heard that you are actually supposed to pray and then eat, but whatever. We start with chai and an appetizer of sorts. Last night we had a little cake, the day before it was fried potatoes, sometimes it is bagia, which is deep fried nuggets of dough with onions and spinach (mmmmmmm). So that is the first course. Then we eat. This week there has been a lot of chipatis with beans made with coconut milk. This is one of my favorite meals. What is not to love about deep fried flat bread and milky beans? One of the other favorites is pilau. The closest equivalent I can come up with is pilaf (notice the name similarity), but pilau would kick pilaf's ass. It is rice with ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes, lots of spices and meat. It is served with salad which has some hot peppers in it.....Ok it is lunch time now and I have to stop talking about food. Oh and we have fresh juice too. Tamarind juice is excellent!

Then once we have finished everybody lays around and talks for a while. Everyone is exhausted from a day of not eating, working and now everyone needs to digest, so we just sit outside on the front porch. Suleiman usually entertains us with reciting the songs he is learning at school. We still do his homework together every night. Sometimes we sit and watch TV (I have to do a post about the TV over here soon). Anyway I have a lot more thoughts on this month, but this post is getting long and I need to get going. Hope all is well. I promise to throw a few more thoughts up here next week.