Cheetah Man: May 2007

Kukus
Ok so this pic is of me holding the first two kukus (swahili for chickens) that we had as pets. I know it looks like I am holding a mutated two-headed kuku, but there are definitely two kukus there, they are just tied together. The one on the right was named Henjamin Franklin, and the one on the left was named Punky Rooster.
Unfortunately, we no longer have either kuku. Henjamin died a horrible death with an intestinal infection, at least that's what Maurice told us she had. Everyone took this pretty hard, but especially Punky. He was lonely without his lady friend. A few days after the funeral, Punky mysteriously vanished, and by "vanished" I mean "became dinner for the neighbors who live behind us." (seriously, our neighbors stole him and ate him).

Webuye Falls

Arielle came down to Malava with her sister and cousin, who were visiting from the states. She wanted to show them where we work, and also the beauty of western province. Webuye is a tiny village about 15 kilometers north of Malava, and supposedly there is a spot where they have great waterfalls. We found them after a forty minute walk from the bus stop

This shot is great. Rain season in western province is crazy. Rain can literally be pouring on your right shoulder, while the left side of your face is getting roasted by the hot sun

Me and Ar

Rescue Dada
The ST. Julie Center was closed for two weeks so the head therapists could go on home visits, so I decided to head to Nairobi. I had the pleasure of visiting Sandy and Arielle where they work. It is called Rescue Dada and is a center that helps girls from the streets/slums. Fortunately for me, I visited on field day, so I thought I was going to be able to show the youngins some of my football skills. I was way off.

Here I am being very upset because it was totally my turn to punt the ball and that selfish little brat stole it from me

This is me completely lacking in ball-handling skills and using the strong-arm technique on a 13 year-old girl to cheat my way to victory

The shot is was taken literally one second before I fell over and started crying. (side note:did anyone notice the girl in the background doing the Monty Python high step?)

Sandy getting a piggy-back ride

Arielle and one of her babies

Coolest girls ever

Rescue Dada

Here I am struggling to pick up a 40-pound girl

For this shot, Arielle told me to pick one of the girls up, but this time don't make a stupid face. I wasn't listening

So Tim and I have had the privilege of being invited as guests to the homes of some of our friends. It is an amazing experience to see how many Kenyans live.

The first home we visited belonged to Maurice. The place where I stay is on the local catholic church grounds, so the pastor, Fr. Paul, is my landlord, and Maurice is one of his handymen. Maurice is a great guy and is always willing to help me and Tim with anything. He invited to his home in the village of Shitoli, and we happily accepted. He lives pretty far away, on the other side of Kakamega, so we went early on a Sunday.

The second home we visited belonged to a fellow co-worker named Tom. He runs the farm at the St. Julie Center, and also works on the farm at the Sisters' house. He lives in a village called Misungu, which when pronounced sounds exactly like MUZUNGU, which I hear every time I leave the house, because it means "white man" (for example: "Hey muzungu, your red hair is scaring my child. Please go away so I can tell her that the devil has left"). Anyways, the village isn't too far from Malava, probably 15 kilometers at the most.

I don't know if I have explained this already, but Kenya's western province is mostly rural, so there are only a few paved roads in the ENTIRE province. I happen to live right off one. The roads don't have names, they just take the name of the big towns they pass by, so I live on Kakamega-Eldoret Road. Now, even when you are travelling down a paved road, you hardly see anything. Every couple of kilometers you will pass a row of stores in one of the bigger villages like Kakunga, Shamalamala, or even good ole Malava. As you might expect, the area gets unbelievably secluded when you travel off one of the paved roads. We call anywhere off the main road "inside" or "the interior". Before coming to Kenya, I thought Pottstown was the middle of nowhere. I was wrong.

Tom's house is about 10 kilometers inside, which compared to other villages isn't that far. Maurice's place was pretty deep though. His lives about 30 kilometers down "the road", then 15 kilometers inside, then when you reach a fork in the path, you go left and proceed another 10 kilometers.

The cool thing about the interior is that everything is so scenic. Everywhere you turn, there is an amazing landscape. I am lucky enough to have mountains, valleys, rivers and streams, etc. all within walking distance from where I stay. Another cool thing about the interior is seeing people LOSE THEIR MINDS when they see some freakish looking red-haired muzungu walking by their hut and talking to them in Swahili. I mean, I get stares and funny looks in Nairobi, one of the largest and most modern cities in all of Africa. You wouldn't believe the reactions I get from people who live 30 kilometers away from the nearest electrical line.

Both visits were a blast. We got to walk around and see a decent amount of both Shitoli and Misungu. Both men have great families, and live in huts on large farms that they share with their brothers. I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that I was sitting in a hut drinking beer and eating freshly slaughtered chicken, while live chickens ran around the hut while we ate. Most of the day involved walking around and playing with the kids

This pic was taken on the walk to Maurice's house. Rural Kenya is beautiful

Last night's dirty dishes and tomorrow night's dinner

Next week's dinner. Don't cry, I am just kidding. Maurice has guard dogs to protect his family and farm at night, and they had some pups

Here's a pic of me with Maurice's (from left) neighbor, mother, brother, Maurice himself, wife, and children. It's probably hard to spot me in the picture. I am in the back row, second-in on the right

Me and the kids

This is one of the coolest things I have seen since coming to Africa. On the walk back to the main road from Maurice's home, we heard what sounded like a drum circle in the distance. Maurice knew exactly what it was and decided that it was something Tim and I had to see. ANy idea what these kids are doing?????

The answer is collecting termites. Kenyans uses termites for food, because they are great sources of protein. So what these kids do to collect termites is first dig holes in the ground. Then they sit around and bang on the ground with sticks, and every so often pour water down the holes, giving the termites the impression that it's raining outside. This makes the termites come up from the ground, and they kids catch them and sell them at the market. Very very cool.