Settling In

Well, jet lag is a thing of the past and thankfully only lasted two days. I can’t believe that is only one week since I left Canada, let alone only five days since I got here. I have shifted into this life being ‘normal’ and am enjoying experiencing a new way of life and learning lots.

Each day of the week, volunteers are supposed to sign up to help with various aspects of running the orphanage or working in the community. The scariest one for me is helping out in the garden and farm because I might have to use a machete- I cut myself with small knives at home and I might have to swing this massive knife at fast speeds in the direction of my legs to chop corn for the cattle or something. To me, it seems like a recipe for disaster and infection at this point. I will have to work on getting more courage before I sign up for that one 

I arrived on a Tuesday and on Wednesday entered the pace of life here. Well, sort of entered. Us volunteers are asked to be ready for the day between 8 and 9am while the staff is up at 5:30, kids are at school as early as 7:30 and by the time 8am roles around, the orphanage is filled with staff cleaning, cooking, and getting ready for the kids to come back. So, I guess it would be an exaggeration to say that I entered the pace of life here- I sleep in until 7 usually.

I decided that laundry and me would be a good match for my first day. After four hours of ringing out clothes by hand or with a squeegee thing, I was getting excited to see the large mound of laundry disappearing… only to have another couple loads brought in to wash! I am so impressed the people here. They work so hard and exude peace and joy with life- even while they wash clothes for 35 kids plus bedding every day except Sunday. And clothes get so dirty here! I will have to have a whole blog on the effects of red soil on the way of life. I never imagined how much the colour of soil could affect life.

On Thursday, I signed up for the kitchen, deciding that I didn’t want to see anymore dirty clothes for at least a day. The cook speaks a lot of English so we sat and cleaned lentils and maize for the next days meals while we discussed the effect of stigmatization on people with HIV, the earthquake in Haiti, and way of life in Kenya. She gave me the job of cutting up the pumpkins (they look more like what I think of a squash, but are orange inside). I was working away at peeling off a very hard rind with my little knife but that didn’t work. Then I tried a bigger knife, and as predicted, I cut myself (only a little cut- not to worry) but then I decided that it was probably better to let her do the cutting, at least for now. On a side note, it is amazing what these people can make look easy. Everything looks fluid and smooth and I think to myself ‘I can do that’ and then I try and it is most awkward! I washed my own laundry by hand today and almost ended up spilling an entire bucket of water on me!

On Friday, I went out into the community to do ‘field work.’ Field work consists, from what I understand, of visiting homes and checking on the 59 sponsor kids that do not live at the orphanage, but who get food, and other supplies from here. There is a WWB staff who has a degree in community development who recently took this job who is in charge of keeping track of all those details. I have never walked so much in my life! I think we walked for four hours straight! I was really tired by the end of that. But it was worth it. Eric, the WWB staff, speaks really good English and taught me a lot as we walked. We got to the first house (after over an hour of walking) and found out that the person we went to see was not there. As we walked away, he said that that was the hard part of field work, but it was not good to tell them you are coming because they are so poor and need to be taking care of their needs all the time (getting food, harvesting, etc.) so if you tell them you are coming, they might have to give up another activity that would cost them a meal or bring them closer to a deeper poverty. I was struck by my arrogance in the matter. My initial, unchecked reaction was that they should be so grateful that they were getting money so they could at least put in the effort to be there when they were getting a visit. Eric was much more humble and gracious, understanding the demands of life and realizing the complexity of the situation. I am so honored to be able to be here and learn a completely different way of doing things than I am used to!

Saturday was sponsor day where all of the kids that are sponsored by the orphanage come to the orphanage and write letters to their sponsor, take a picture and get supplies. It was an interesting experience, but this is a long enough post already so I will save that for the next sponsor day- apparently they happen once a month.

I wish I could tell you what it feels like to be here. It is like the extra stresses in life fell off and I am at peace. I can rest- like really rest and not feel guilty for resting kind of rest. But even saying that doesn’t cover it. There is a joy expressed in laughter and fun in the people that is so beautiful. But, like I said, this is long enough. For those of you who are leaving comments asking questions, make sure I have your email address because I can’t respond to your comments, or at least I haven’t found a way to yet. Talk to you later! 