Another Great Day!

Yesterday was a top ten day in my book. The day started out with the three Muslim girls heading into Nanyuki to go to the mosque and break Ramadan. Turns out there was some confusion and about half the town thought it wasn't breaking until today. The girls called home to Isiolo and their families were celebrating, so Daraja did too!

Around 10:30 I headed into town with six girls to go get HIV tests. The girls were very nervous and were anxious to be the first to be tested and get it over with. I can't even express how great it feels to see a girl come out of the testing room with a giant smile (or jumping up and down in one girls case). HIV is a real fear here. Unprotected sex, rape, and drug use are common. Many girls have watched family members die as a result of AIDS. But they are starting to accept that HIV is not a death sentence, and that they can live full and happy lives if they ever tested positive. That being said, I am SO grateful to report that all 23 girls that have been tested are negative! And one teacher!!!

"I will remember this day for the rest of my life, the first day I knew for sure that I did not have HIV" Faith Form 3

After the testing we walked into town and got some supplies for the end of Ramadan feast! We got sweets and soda for being brave and getting tested, and then I had to wait in the butchery for 25 Kg of meat to be chopped up. I am the worst kind of meat eater and really don't like looking at raw meat, but while I waited I made plans for the woman at the desk to come visit me in New York (she made the plans and I agreed).

We're Having A Baby!

Not me you silly goose! I took my good friends Andy and Betty to the hospital bright and early this morning. Yesterday they called me up to their house because they couldn't get ahold of their doctor and Betty's water broke. I had them wait out the night and we went this morning to Cottage. I am so excited! She hasn't started contractions but I might go in for the night shift tonight so that I can be there for the delivery. Good luck Betty and Andy!

It is officially one week until I board a plane back for the states. I can't believe it is here already. The feelings are so complicated- I am excited to see Phil and Josie and my family/friends, but the thought of leaving Kenya for an unknown period of time sends me into panic! It is just so expensive to get out here and even with help from all of you I can't keep quitting my job and flying off to Kenya. Or maybe I can, who knows.

This week I'm taking 6 more girls to get tested for HIV, I will be working a few days at the hospital and then spending Saturday-Monday with the girls who are coming back from break.

Two Days of Travel for One Day in Tanzania

So apparently New York is the weather central of the world right now... stay safe guys!

Wednesday: We left campus around seven to drive to Nairobi, pretty uneventful trip there. I really like Nairobi, it's like an African NYC. We stopped for lunch there and I was able to get a cheese quesadilla in KENYA! SCORE!!!! Next we get on a bus that is bound for Arusha. The bus itself was pretty nice and since we only paid $15 it great. Think China town bus playing ABBA and Walking through Memphis for 6 hours... The only problem was that I was sitting next to the door and it didn't alway want to stay closed. It took about 2 hours to get out of Nairobi because they kept picking up random people along the road, but once we got out it was about 1.5 hours to the boarder. I was nervous because I didn't have proof of my Yellow Fever Vaccine but they didn't hassle me. I got a multiple entry visa which is cool because that means I can go again any time between now and August 25th of next year for free! We got through the boarder and it was another 3 hours to Arusha. The landscape was different- and very dry! Arusha itself was big! We stayed at a cheap hotel and crashed for the night. I noticed the bed nets but didn't think of using it until Jenni mentioned it the next morning - oops!

Thursday: Bumming around Arusha. We got a taxi and drove around in circles. The one difference I noticed was that the people were not as wazungu friendly as I have experienced in Kenya. Oh well. We dropped Sarah off at her study abroad program which was really amazing! She is staying at the East African Community Center where they study peace and conflict resolution. It is also the site of the ICC where they are currently trying War criminals from Rowanda.

Friday: Back on the bus. 12 hours from Arusha to Nanyuki and I was exhausted. I slept 10 hours last night which was great, I'm very happy to be back in Nanyuki!

I wanted to post some pictures from a Scavenger Hunt we did with the girls last week. Highlights included: take a picture with a cow - extra points if you are touching it. Take a picture with a chicken, Take a picture of the whole team on a slide, take a picture in the shower, extra points for shower caps, human pyramid, take a picture dancing with a teacher. Enjoy!

Time is Ticking!

Only two weeks until I'm back in New York! Right about now is when my brain/heart get confused and get stuck between missing home and anticipating missing Kenya. But such is life. Here is an update on what has been going on:

Sad News: I didn't get a chance to post this last time because I was trying to write about my trip... While I was away at the Mountain, Tusker was put to sleep. Some of you might remember Tusker as the amazing dog that gave us the story of the goat leg. He was my best dog friend here at Daraja, he gave me dead gifts and often slept on my bed. He smelled and was dirty but I loved him very much. The last few days of his life I knew it was over, I was helping to had feed him and he could barely lick milk off my fingers. I left for Mount Kenya knowing that was it, but it is still very sad. He has a very special place in my heart <3.

They're Back!Well, some of them. The form 3's returned on Saturday to start their tuition studies (they come back two weeks early to study for an exam that is another year away!) I'm very glad to have them back, it was so quite without them. Yesterday we had a scavenger hunt - I will have to post pics because it was pretty amazing!

Working at Cottage Hospital:In my free time I have been trying to get to the local hospital to do some volunteer work. They have been very welcoming and I am already learning a lot. I worked the morning shift today, and it was eventful. I got their just after one of our patients suddenly died - I saw her Sunday and she was ok, she was HIV positive and had meningitis but we had been counseling her about her future. She was afraid to tell her husband and we had finally gotten her to agree. Then she dies, 31 years old. Turns out the husband is HIV+ also and has been taking ARVs. He didn't want to tell her. She had two children under 8 years old. Please people, I am begging you!!! If you think you have been exposed (even if you don't think you have been exposed) go get tested! I honestly believe that the more open people are to testing the easier it will be to break this stigma. It is like the stigma kills people here, they are so afraid that they don't seek treatment. On a good note, we had a women come in to have labor induced, and that was very cool to watch. I'm exhausted and ready for a nap!

I am off to Tanzania tomorrow to drop off another volunteer who is studying abroad there until September. Wish me luck!

That's the last time I talk smack about Mother Nature!

Day One 8/8/11: Arrive at Mount Kenya around 11 AM, followed by a 3 hour hike up. Let me start by saying that before this trip I believed that hiking was just walking, maybe up hill. I never really thought of how a backpack full of crap changes it, or altitude. Back to my story - on the way up we saw some elephant and hyena poo, but no animals. We also saw some intestines of a small animal but not what ate it. We arrived in time for a late lunch but I felt great and had a nice nap before dinner. Dinner was butternut squash soup and fried fish, I can't believe they could cook that in the woods. 11,000 ft

Day Two 8/9/11: 6 AM wake up (BOO). This walk was much steeper and SUPER wet. It was up and down the whole time, and down is just as hard as up! We walked a total of 7 hours with a short break for lunch in the rain. Around hour 4 I started working with some mantras to keep me from going crazy. Om mani padme hum x 1000 I felt great after the 7 hours but my shoes were SO WET. I should have known I was in for trouble when I saw everyone with great hiking boots and equipment while I had some fancy Northface shoes that I got as a give and have wholes in the sole so water can get in and out. Not a good idea for icy mountain hikes. It was COLD that night, we played cards and wore every item of clothing we had. 13,000 ft

Day Three 8/10/11: Woke up at 2:30 AM to start hiking, it had started snowing. I didn't feel great as we started, thought it was nerves or the 2:30 AM part. Snow was falling pretty fast and about an hour in my headlamp broke. Perfect. Around 5 AM I started to feel dizzy, and I noticed that my mantra started to mutate in my head (really weird to realize you have been saying the wrong words for hours.) It was about that time that my brain melted. I kept falling over and though "I'll just stay here for a while" as I sat down in the snow and couldn't move. I didn't want to go up or down but the guide made me look him in the eyes and apparently my pupils were freaking out. So that was the end of my hike. He made me go back down at 14,500 feet. SO CLOSE to the top that it hurt. As soon as I got back down to 13,000 I felt better, and I was able to finish the 5 1/2 hour hike back down to the lower camp that day. We got there around dinner and got to share the camp with 25 drunk Russians.

Day Four 8/11/11: Late wake up and 3 hour walk downhill... so painful. We saw some baboon and hyrex and lots of elephant poop!

So my advice to you is don't underestimate Mother Nature, she fights dirty. Thankfully Kenya is not a once in a life time thing for me, so I will get it next time!

What a week!

Hi Guys!

So I have about 5 blogs lined up but I wanted to post some pictures while I'm in town with good internet service. I will post the corresponding blogs in the next few days!!!

Soul Searching

Tomorrow is the big day - I'm headed up Mount Kenya! The hike will take about four days - the mountain is about 17,000 feet, the second highest mountain in Africa (Kilimanjaro is first). We will make it up to about 15,000 because you need some sort of rock climbing certification to do the last 2,000 feet. I'm anxious/excited, I know a few people who have gotten altitude sickness and I don't want to deal with that. Excited to see snow in Africa!!!! Wish me luck!

What a Bummer...

Girls left this morning. Boo. The form 3's will be back August 20th but the form 1's and 2's won't be back until September 3rd.

On the agenda for the next month:
1. Working at Cottage hospital (intensive care, peds)
2. Epilepsy Walk August 13th! DONATE IF YOU CAN!
3. Hiking Mount Kenya August 8-11, I can see the snow from here!
4. Maybe taking a safari with Aunt Karen and Uncle Jack to the Masai Mara
5. Street boy study club/lunch dates!
6. Analyzing the data from my HIV classes
7. Running!! (Half Marathon in October eeek!)

Recap of this week: After the lion attack of Monday, I thought Tuesday and Wednesday would be a piece of cake! Tuesday I took the first three girls into town to get tested for HIV. We first went to District Hospital, the "cheaper" of the two hospitals in Nanyuki. They were only doing CD4 counts that day, so we had to look for another clinic. We went to the local VCT clinic (down an alley), VCT stands for Voluntary Counseling and Testing. The people at that clinic had gone out for an outreach in a local village. Our last stop was Cottage hospital, the more "upscale" hospital. We finally had success there. I can't even describe to you what it felt like waiting to find out the results of these tests. The girls were so worried, and I think I was more worried then any time I have been tested myself! I just knew that it would be such a struggle for these girls to accept if they were positive, even if they did have access to the meds. The stigma here is out of control. Thank GOD they were all negative, seeing the smiles on their faces makes the top five moments of my life, I'm serious. I was so happy that I decided to take them to Kongoni, a really nice restaurant nearby. The girls were in awe of the place, and all ordered meat because we have it so rarely at Daraja. The waitress brought out hot towels and the girls looked confused, but not as confused as they were by the napkins folded into boats!!! One girl told me that it was one of the best days of her life, and that she was going to take her sisters to get tested when she got home. I can not thank ALL OF YOU enough for supporting this project.

Tuesday when we got back home to Daraja we tested 5 girls in Nurse Jacinta's office. It was great to watch the process but really scary to actually give the test. I was not as gentle with the finger prick as Jacinta. Each girl who got tested was able to pick to presents to take with her (most of them picked mirrors my sister Jenny sent from Mary Kay).
Wednesday morning we tested 5 more girls, and then headed into town with 3 girls for testing. One girl started vomiting in the taxi so that wasn't a great way to start. I took those girls to lunch before the test so they could calm down a bit. EVERY GIRL TESTED NEGATIVE. That is a miracle considering many of these girls have had unprotected sex, have a family member with HIV, or have been sexually assaulted. I am so grateful.

I seem to be always asking for money!

Sorry about that, I hope to someday have unlimited funds to support the projects I take on without thinking!

Today's fundraising effort: Nanyuki's first ever 12K Walk for Epilepsy! My very good friend Nurse Jacinta is planning a walk to raise money for epilepsy patients at Cottage Hospital. It is taking place August 13th, and we are looking for donations. You might not realize, but even five dollars goes A LONG WAY here. So consider donating if you can, and I promise to stop asking for money!

That's something you don't see every day...

Well yesterday was quite interesting. I called a taxi and headed into town to get some supplies for my last class. My taxi driver talked to me about Kenyan politics for most of the ride, explaining how most Kenyan’s will “die with their education” because even if they complete school there are no jobs. Once I got into town I went to make copies of some HIV/AIDS awareness posters for the girls to bring home to their communities. Turns out the power was out and so I had to wait around for a few hours until it came back.
I had planned on meeting Daraja’s school nurse (Jacinta) at Cottage hospital where she works when she isn’t out at Daraja. I’m going to be interning there over the next 4 weeks while the girls are away. I took a boda boda (a motorcycle taxi) out to the hospital which was pretty terrifying (no helmet!) Once I got to the hospital I was told that I had to wait for an hour or two because Jacinta was “in the theater”. I had no clue what that meant, but I waited anyway. Turns out the theater is the operating room, and she was working in there because a 73 year old American woman was attacked by a lion at a nearby conservancy. When that mess was finished I met with the hospitals only doctor and planned when I would be able to work. Somehow Jacinta was convinced I was a nurse (EMTs don’t exist out here so I don’t think she understood). I tried to explain that I definitely wasn’t a nurse and they should not just turn me loose in a hospital!
After Jacinta got off we went to her house (on hospital property) and I met her two sons. One of them is 15 years old and Autistic. He wasn’t diagnosed until a few years ago, and he is absolutely wonderful. A family friend stopped by with her son and he wouldn’t even come inside the house because he was so afraid of the scary white man sitting on the couch (me). When they finally got him inside he warmed up a bit but was curious because he had never seen a white person before.
I am staying up at Jason's house tonight because Tusker (of goat leg fame) is really sick. I just had to sing him Amazing Grace to get him to eat a scrambled egg. Tomorrow I am bringing 3 girls to get tested and then will bring more girls spread out through the week. Friday they go home - boo!