Real Talk

*Disclaimer* This blog is long and doesn't have many pictures. But please read it thoroughly!! Especially the part about the the conversation with the form 4 boys. 😊

Right now I am sitting in the Florence Restaurant, on the first floor of the hotel I reside in.

Normally, I don't really enjoy eating here because I hate eating alone. But today, I really don't want to leave. It's thunderstorming. And badly. I'm talking, power going out at least 7 times, wind howling, thunder crashing and lightning striking. And I am alone. Do y'all know how terrifying that is?! To be alone in a major thunderstorm?! As soon as I thought it was safe to go outside (and when I thought there would be enough time in between the blackouts for me to make it to the first floor in the elevator) I rushed out! At least here in the restaurant there are other people. Though I am eating alone, there are people to provide some comfort. (Though they probably don't know they are doing me such a service). Now, I am not writing this to get your sympathy. So don't start calling me (mom, grandma, bapa) and making sure I am okay. I'm fine. I just thought I would share what I am feeling and thinking right at this very moment. Also, I ordered some comfort food...

Apart from the major thunderstorm, I had a great day today. I went to school and the girls (students) actually talked to me! They stopped being scared and started asking me questions and joking with me. We are "age mates" as they like to say. Meaning, we are all the same age. And they've decided to teach me the local dialect along with Swahili. I don't know how to spell it or what it is actually called otherwise I'd tell y'all. But I will find out! And during lunch (as usual) the gang of form 4 boys came to discuss politics and whatever else they had opinions on. Vincent, Arnold and this other guy whose name I haven't learned yet. They talked about Westgate and how upset they were with how long it took to fix the situation. Then the conversation became one that I got very involved in. They started talking about the difference between people here and people in America. As in, why America seems to be a less divided nation than Kenya. The guys were explaining to me how Kenya has so many tribes and people have such different backgrounds that it's hard to be able to relate to each other. But I pointed out to them that America is the same as well. We are considered the mixing pot of the world. We just don't mind where you come from. We embrace it. (Or at least, most of us do). Then the issue became whether they would want to teach their kids their African traditions or go for a more modern approach (by not teaching anything). The overall agreement after 10 minutes of yelling was this: you can't ignore your culture or your heritage, but you shouldn't force your kids to follow such customs that are outdated (such as if a women is widowed she lives the rest of her life as a beggar).  Your kids should learn about them and be able to choose what they want to follow. They should be given the freedom to decide how they want to live their life...once they are adults. That was the big thing Dorcas kept emphasizing. Once the kids are 18, they can choose. But you can't not teach them about where they are from. They should still learn about their tribe or their families. And what they decide after that is up to them. It was a really enlightening conversation. A kind of conversation that I don't think I would have had at school back home. A kind of conversation that makes me appreciate America but at the same time makes me appreciate my opportunity to be in Africa. It was a conversation I might have never had if I hadn't chosen to travel.  

Then some form 1 girls had to clean the library. And they used rags to do it. No mops, they had to be on their hands and knees, like Cinderella! Apparently, all the students on Fridays stay after school to manually clean. The staff room, the classes, the library, and the dormitories. No such thing as janitors here! 

That was the bucket with the rags that they used to clean the library. Every day I get amazed by something new at the school. And I've only been there 2 weeks!!