Cathy's Christmas

Things just seem to work out sometimes. As I was able to track down my long-lost package of PT supplies the morning of Christmas Eve, I knew it was going to be a great day. Despite the fact that the box wasn't even at the post office, in some ill-marked shack and had in fact been sitting in its location for 15 days, the anticipation of meeting with Cathy and her family blinded me with patience and acceptance. I think I even managed a laugh when they said "Oh, its been sitting here forever! You should have come earlier!"

In the face of loneliness that always arises during a Christmas spent away from family, an awareness of what this day was expected to bring, supposed to mean and eventually delivered in a way that anticipation always completely lacks, my emotional state was one that was enveloped in true happiness. I can say that not many things have brought a sense of satisfaction as great as what coordinating Cathy's prosthetic has. Getting to see her walk around smiling, is something I wish each of you could witness. To that end, I boarded my matatu bound for Muserechi, arriving about an hour later at a small "center" along the road. The center consisted of 3 or 4 wooden shacks selling Dasani water and other Coke products, Safaricom cards(the local phone service provider) and honey. Perpendicular to these was a long, dusty, unpaved road. Following my directions, I started my way. With mountains at my back and the sun almost directly overhead, I traipsed and tripped down the path with farms lining both sides. I was looking for Cathy's primary school, directly across from her home, which according to the sign at the intersection was 4.5 km away. I passed farms and yards with mango trees, huge gardens and towering strange plants all, unfortunately, not near the road and unable to provide any shade. I've been saying that it has been getting hotter lately, and the stroll was as hot as I have been here. You can truly sense that you are appreciably closer to the sun, as in the shade, it is quite cool throughout the day. In the sun, it was just scorching. Then again, I do have somewhat of a heat intolerance.

I'd guess about 35 minutes later I saw the school and across the road, at the entrance to the yard, was Cathy and her mom, both standing and waiting for me. On two legs. It is a sign of reverence and respect to take your left hand and hold your right forearm to shake someone's hand here, and this is how I am always greeted. Cathy is still using her crutches for balance, but it is improving greatly, and she now scoots about the place pretty quickly. Over the course of the day, I found out a bit more about the family. Cathy's father left when he could not afford to support them. Cathy's mother worked as the school cook for Cathy's primary school, up until Cathy's graduation 2 years ago. The "compound" they live on has 5 buildings, in which one other family and numerous animals live. All of the structures are no more than 15' x 15'. The one Cathy and her 5 other family members lived in was struck by a falling tree during last year's rainy season. So, they rearranged and shifted to their current one. They have no lease and are staying free due to the kindness of the school owner, as Cathy's mother is no longer the cook now that Cathy has moved on to secondary school. I met one of Cathy's two sisters and her brother and numerous other friends and family, of which is exact designations are really hard to decipher as everyone calls everyone else aunt, uncle, brother and mother, though sometimes no real relation exists.

After I sufficiently cooled off from my hike on Mercury, we almost immediately sat down to our Christmas dinner. Forgotten by me, I had actually talked about mala (the soured/curdled/seasoned milk concoction) to Cathy and her mother before, stating that I had not really enjoyed the encounter so much. They eliminated mala from memory of my statement from the menu, which eased my stomach right there. We had rice with cabbage, sukumuwiki (definitely spelled wrong... and which is like spinach) and chipati (which is like flour tortillas). It was all quite good and followed by drinking chai. I was then serenaded by Cathy, who is the lead vocalist in her church choir, and her whole family with a Swahili Christmas carol. I was able to capture the whole thing on video, but which you guys will have to wait for, as it is a huge file. I gave Cathy's mom a framed picture of Cathy and Cathy an album of her "milestones" at the hospital. They were looked at multiple times by each of the people there, as they really have a fascination with pictures. Maybe I could import them, so someone could enjoy all my slide-shows consecutively!

Everything was very relaxed and conversation ranged from local politics and Obama to US visa regulations. Kenyans are very keen to move to the States, as visions of the American dream flourish over here.

As I had told Emily I would be returning in the evening, I set off before dusk, saying many reluctant goodbyes. It was a Christmas with nothing resembling normal, but stuffed with more meaning than any I can remember. Everyone who gave to this cause was thanked by Cathy, her mother and family, the leader of the church and all of her neighbors. Her mother pulled me to the side as I was leaving and said that Cathy has renewed hope;

"hope for her life and future in this world... we thank you."

Have you ever given a better gift? Have you ever received a better gift?

I haven't.

A Very Merry Christmas

Well, Cathy has her leg! And, she has taken her first steps in over 9 months! I have video galore of her first steps, but it would literally take 7+ hours to upload, based on the last video. All thanks to you guys who assisted with this... While there are finishing touches to be made cosmetically, it is essentially a done deal. Due to her extensive, 9 month stint on crutches, "trusting" her new leg was, and will be difficult to master. After seeing this, it is very apparent where the extra money from your donations will have to go. PT. She needs proper therapy on how to walk again correctly, as she is "afraid" of putting her full weight and trust into this artificial "thing" on her leg. She actually made great strides from day one to day two: needing parallel bars bolted to the floor the first day, to walking with crutches the next. So, this bodes well to her progressing quickly. The therapy is actually quite cheap, but she has to be transported to/from the hospital for each session and that is a few dollars per day, an enormous expense over here. The extra should cover the 2-3 weeks worth of therapy I think she will need, so everything is set up perfectly!

Though the remainder is now allocated to a cause, I thought I should post the results of the vote:

For schooling: 5
For a goat: 2 (though with some stipulations...)
For an LSU hat: 1 (Thanks Nate, I had already thought about it, but they ran out of stock last week...)

Cathy is normally pretty quiet and reserved, but she literally was beaming from ear to ear when she finally stood on both legs again. She is extremely motivated, as she wants to walk back to school next semester without her crutches. She is all of 18, and she definitely has the want to "fit in" visually. Its been a good source of humor between us all, as we have said that the finishing color would be bright green and that this was a smaller version of her leg which hasn't arrived yet. In the end, we assured her this was her leg, and that the colors would be discreet. Everything is being done to progress her as quickly as possible, so that she can walk back to school, unsupported. I have already set her up with a home exercise program to do over the holidays, and as soon as the theraband arrives, she will have even more to do.

Being invited to Christmas dinner feels like such an amazing gift. Being part of their family, even if for a day, will be immensely rewarding and impactful. I will try not to choke on the mala. Mala, somewhat unfortunately for me, is a special drink to Kalenjin's, the tribe of Cathy's family. It comes in two forms: one you buy at the store in a package, and the other is entirely homemade. I will let you guess which one I will be drinking. The processed one is essentially milk with some additives, which makes it slightly curdled. The homemade version is milk, which they let spoil over some undetermined time, and then in which they add some seasonings. Ouch. I'm really just hoping that I don't pull a George H. Bush and puke on the person sitting next to me.

Since all of the clinics are done, the hospital is essentially closed until the new year, and I feel like doing something physical, I am going to be leaving Nakuru on the 28th for Western Kenya province. I will be building mud bricks to be formed into a school for the orphanage that Rose, the country coordinator of Cosmic Volunteers, runs herself. I'll be there about a week, before returning to Nakuru and packing for my tour. So, likely I will have one more post before I head out there to catch everybody up on Cathy's Christmas. Speaking to another volunteer who was at the orphanage, there is no running water, no electricity, etc. Should be interesting.

Gorge Myself

Well, the past weekend was spectacular. James and Angela are two med students from Britain who are volunteering at the same facility, and we have been doing alot together lately. We decided to strike out towards Lake Naivasha NP, which should be about an hour away, but in reality is 3 1/2 hours due to the patch of land that vaguely resembles a road. We arrived at Lake Naivasha Country Club, which is the only place you can catch a boat to Cresent Island on the lake. When I say it was like Jurassic Park, I truly mean it. It is one of the few places where you can walk on foot through wildlife legally in Africa. No fences, just you and the animal: mano y mano. I stood less than 10' from a giraffe, had a field of wildebeest, zebra, waterbucks and gazelles part like the Red Sea to allow us to amble on through, and, finally, saw hippos in broad daylight - in all their hulking purple fat glory. We only dared get about 20 yards from them... Monkeys, eagles and even wild horses were some of the other animals we saw. To get to walk through the place was really special, and this really isn't on the main tourist circuit, which really baffles me.

We moved on from there to camp near Hell's Gate NP, just a short ride away. We had very ambitious plans of starting out at 06:30 the next morning to avoid the mid-day heat, but got going around 09:00, due to our discovery of Vat 69 whiskey.

Now, I love hiking a gorge. You give me something to climb on or through and I am a happy camper. Anything that resembles my first gorge, the Samaria, in Crete, really gets me going. Add to that the cool factor of this one being in Africa, and I am really excited. Then layer on the fact that it was where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider II and that about seals it. (It seems as though I subconsciously really enjoyed the Tomb Raider movies, as I have followed them from Cambodia to Kenya. Then again, maybe it was just Angelina...)

We hired mountain bikes from our camp and took off! Straight up a mountain!

Yeah, that part totally sucked as bad as it sounded. But, we did this consciously for the cooler morning weather and the assured descent in the afternoon. The region along this hill/mountain is one of great wealth in Kenya, due to it flower farms. Entire villages are formed around these farms, paid for by the owners to entice workers to the area, due to the poor wages. Soccer fields, housing projects, bars, etc. are all placed as bait. We rode past all of this to the park entrance, where we bargained for resident rates, as we actually do work at a public hospital. After much negotiating we were in. We rode past the geothermal power plants, which are eventually to supply the entire country with electricity and on into Hell's Gate. It is very aptly named, as it is really hot and really dusty. You leave your bikes at the park rangers station and hike down into the gorge. Amazing erosion patterns are around every turn. Boiling water pools overflow down rock faces which nourish a covering of dark green algae. Waterfalls shower you at irregular intervals. Sunlight creates all kinds of dancing shadows off the undulating wall surfaces and overhangs. Really magical place.

After exiting the gorge, we had to make the final leg of the bike journey. I was really whipped at this point due to lack of good sleep (really cold night and aforementioned Vat 69) , being in the sun all day, and 30, I guess. The path out of the park was through huge fields flanked by high rock cliffs that were glowing red by the time we rolled through. Monkeys were in the trees, warthogs, gazelles, zebras and numerous other animals were all around. We made it back to camp, showered in really cold outdoor showers and headed back to Nakuru.

We did this instead of listening to our bodies messages of "Sit Down! Lay Down!! Just Don't Move!!", due to the fact that we had chosen to put on soccer matches for the street boys of Nakuru, followed by a proper lunch. I teamed up with ICROSS members to help set this up with a former street boy, who now runs a rehabilitation center for these abandoned 5 to 20 year olds. Basically, they usually come from a normal family, but the father can't afford to support them everyone, so he leaves, and then the mother can't support them, so she leaves, and the boys are left to fend for themselves on the streets. At night, you can walk around and see these guys carrying a bag, looking in all of the road-side stalls for one that he can sleep in. They beg during the day, and I'm sure, steal when they have no other resort. What's really sad to me, is that most of them go around sniffing glue. They just walk around with a bottle "attached" to their nose. Mwangi, the former street boy, said they do it to get high and forget their problems, but also to reduce their appetite, as they can go days without eating. All of them look like they were dipped in mud after having their clothes/rags thrown under a lawn mower.

So, we had them come out to the pitch (soccer field) and we had at least 3 good games. Kenyans really love their soccer, so the games were played amazingly well. No fouls, no arguing. Afterwards we fed 70-80 of them a huge plate of rice, potatoes, peas, meat and pineapple flavored cordial. They definitely liked the food and games, but really did not like us trying to take away their glue as "admission price" for the food. Basically we had to just give up on that and just let them go. Still a really great thing to be a part of, and a massive success in organizing, as this is Africa.

So, needless to say, I was in the sun all day Saturday and Sunday. Still can't pass for a local, but I am getting there.

Cathy came today for another adjustment for her socket, which went perfectly. So, Thursday is the day (as it stands now...) for her fitting and "first steps." Also, I will be joining the Keoch family for their Christmas dinner on the 24th. Due to the abundance of generosity from you guys, there is a little extra money from the "prosthetic drive". I was thinking of 2 things: 1) buying a goat for her entire family to use or eat, or 2) give the entire remainder to help with her school fees next year. I was hoping to solicit everyone's opinion/vote on this. The leading vote-getter I will make happen. If there is a tie, I guess I will just chose...

Cast your vote!

Sick of Kenya...

... in my stomach. So, I knew at some point I would get sick over here. Never turning down an opportunity to eat new things will do that to you eventually. But, I found that here, once it happens, your mind starts running away with itself over the possibilities. Looking back, it was simply food that did not agree with me, my political views or thoughts on life. But, as I laid there in bed at 5PM on Sunday and I started to feel hot and feverish, I started going over all of the scenarios: malaria, TB, some yet-to-be-discovered and completely incurable disease, or possibly the first Kenyan case of Ebola brought in from the outbreak in Uganda. I didn't notice blood coming from any orifices, so I was fairly sure that I would live another day. I think only Leslie and Nicole have seen me sicker off of food, but this time, no IV was required thankfully. I just medicated myself to the max and all things seemed to settle and since this is Tuesday, I think I am out of the woods.


I recovered enough to go see Lydia, the other volunteer, off back to Nairobi for her flight. There was many a blessing and prayer said by the locals for safe travels. They use the word Jehovah about a hundred times, but I haven't seen anybody knocking on doors, so I will continue to look into this...

Cathy's leg is still on schedule for a pre-Christmas delivery. This despite the standard Kenyan delays and problems, including the person in charge of prosthetics trying to rip off all of us who have contributed and, most importantly, Cathy. As far as I can figure, he just tried to switch cheaper, worse components for the really good ones I ordered, and had agreed on, hoping that I would not notice, and, then he would pocket the difference. No one should worry, as I handled it like the cool-headed, serene, calm and amicable person you all know me as. Oh, sorry, that might have been from some book I've read... While not the most ingratiating or tactful comments followed, I did manage to get my point across. When I feel cheated, thats one thing. When, because of me, my friends and family are about to be cheated, thats another thing. And then, when someone is trying to essentially steal from an 18 year old girl, with no leg, thats a completely different level of another thing. Thankfully, I have Vitalis to back me up, and he is fully, and is also, now, the main cog in getting things done. Plus, I am now very glad that I squashed my thoughts about being "rude" by demanding to only give a deposit for the components, with the remainder only after completion.

I hope that you guys don't read too much into this. Its pretty much par for the course over here. On one side are the vast majority of Kenyans, happy with life and whatever they have. The minority, though, sees white skin and is determined to see what they can extort from the situation. This percentage is highly concentrated in those who have the most here: the employed, ones with homes and cars, politicians, etc. I even had one guy from work ask me, with Cathy in direct view, if I could help sponsor his Masters degree.

Its those who have the least who expect nothing and are so thankful and amazed at what you do for them. This is Cathy and her family.

Cathy

So, it has been increasingly tough over the past week or so. The grind of daily life in Nakuru is pretty staggering. The stares at my skin (despite my best tanning efforts), the sure lung cancer I will have from the dirt/grim/dust, and more recently the apparent infatuation with my window by a cow and rooster at around 4 AM all seemed to be wearing on me. It is certainly the harshest environment I have been in.

I mentioned in a past post of my perfect little travel moments. Moments experienced when acute awareness of the site I am viewing, the people I am visiting with, or the view I am staring at come into clear focus in my mind.

Yesterday, I experienced something that actually had meaning. Something so grand that, for the first time in a long time, my logical mind could not understand it, my rational nature could not break it down, to take emotion out of the equation. When Cathy and her mother told me that they both cried for an hour when Vitalis told them that she would soon have a leg, that she would walk again, I was frozen. Frozen with an inability to recognize, understand or fathom the feeling it evoked in me. Their tears then, as they told me, in addition to saying that I was a gift directly from God further enhanced my inability to speak, move or think. If ever I have, or will, experience a moment that transcends "meaning," it was this moment with Cathy and her mother. If ever there was something to make me forget about any struggle I am experiencing here, it was hearing their words.

I hope that those who have contributed to this can share in even a small part of what it "meant", as my words can only capture a fraction of what it was.

Thank you.


So, yesterday Cathy was casted for the socket of her prosthetic. Tomorrow, I will accompany the director to Nairobi to purchase her other components. It really looks as if she will receive her leg before Christmas. Simply awe-some. I have been invited to spend an evening with her and her family for supper. Being stupid, I asked what they normally have for Christmas dinner, and they replied "Whatever we have been able to grow." I could have shot myself right about then for being so amazingly unaware and inconsiderate.

So, sometime around Christmas, I will go.

And, I will enjoy whatever they have growing.

Hippos and Protecting the Gonads of Africans

Over the weekend, I was able to travel up to Lake Baringo NP. This place is famed the world over for its winged wildlife. Home to hundreds of different birds, the place definitely lived up to its billing. However, for me, the most fascinating thing I saw, I could barely see. As the matatu trip itself wore me out, I was in my tent pretty early. At some pint during the night I was awakened by a deep, cackling, burst of a "roar". Not having ever heard this in my life, I still had serious doubts that this came from a bird. So, peering out from my screened tent, I saw a massive, hulking creature the size of a Honda CRV... 10 feet from my tent. Now, I had been warned that hippos might be on shore during the night, and was further warned to NEVER take a flash photo, as it would turn hippo on me and try to crush anything in its path back to water. I decided to listen to this bit. I was still able to unzip the cover and get an unfiltered view of my first hippo, who was hiding behind it, a baby hippo. Now I really got nervous thinking about it charging me if the wind happened to blow a leaf into its eye or something. Thankfully, its so hot here that not many leaves remain on the branches for that to happen. It managed to eat its fill of grass and then retreat back to the water. Over the course of the night, I must have seen 10 hippos, all within 100' radius of my tent. It was truly breathtaking to see these hulking creatures evolve out of the darkness, lit for moments by the full moon peering through the branches. Waking up the next morning, me, Lydia (the other volunteer) and the 2 Israelis we met at dinner at the "Thirsty Goat" camp restaurant, went out on a boat tour of the lake. While I can say that bird watching does not thrill me like a certain trampling death from a 2 ton animal outside my tent, the place was teeming with so many birds that it floored me, nonetheless. Eagles diving into the water for fish, lizards sunning on rocks, teams of swallows and other crazy looking birds made it worth getting up at 06:30 after having not slept much. If people could please email me more ways to say "amazing", I would be appreciative.

A side note, Israelis must be the toughest people on the planet. The ones I have met have a total disregard for conventional means, personal safety, and tact, especially when it comes to personal space. A few Kenyan touts (people responsible for convincing you that their bus is better than the one you are already on) who were trying to pull their arms away from the bus they were entering found this out real quick. Strangely, this was very similar to my first Israeli female encounter at the Cambodian border, the verbal lashing so amazingly abusive that she almost got the whole lot of us stranded. At least that one was in English, so I understood the pounding the Cambodian took. This however, devolved into a Hebrew lashing no one but the 2 Israelis knew the specifics of, but everyone certainly knew of the meaning. Needless to say, they got on the right bus... the one they wanted. My respect for them continues to grow.

Now on to the gonads. It seems as though the biggest therapy achievement that I will have here comes in the form of an idea I had about why so many clubfoot babies were crying uncontrollably after corrective casting treatments. It has been frustrating Vitalis immensely. Upon viewing the methods, I happened to notice a lack of space for the boys' essentials between the two casts. So, after looking back on the reports for only two weeks, it was fairly easy to see that bilaterally effected males (needing casts on both legs) were the ones coming back with the casts removed by their parents. So, a simple bar included in the plaster mold, holding the legs enough apart to allow for some gonadal freedom has seemed to do the trick. Vitalis can't stop smiling every time he now uses it, calling it the "Meella" (Miller) method." It feels good knowing that it will be used after I leave.

My lasting gift to Kenyans? Healthy gonads.

Nuts, isn't it?

A Bit About Africa

About the environment of my town and life. I have started to count the progressive layers of dust I acquire on my walk just from my home to the main road. Averaging about 2.5 layers (every time a car drives by, the wind blows, or a butterfly flaps its wings in Mongolia), I think. In general, if you offer an African a better/more efficient way of doing things, they will very politely nod and say "yes, yes, that is a good idea!" then go back to doing it the same way. All of Kenya is on what I call AST, African Standard Time. Its somewhere between half-past that and a quarter of this. No one wears watches, which may be the culprit. What they say one minute will certainly change in another, and if you alert them to this fact and ask for clarification, you are going to get a 3rd answer. Basically, I just do what I want and think is best, and no one really minds.

There is a scarcity of jobs. So much so, that probably a 3rd of the people working for the hospital are designated as volunteers. They have gone through school, but with there being no jobs, they work gaining no income from the government, and rely on small gifts from patients and the paid therapists.

Politics is especially important these days as the December 24th presidential vote looms. Everyone talks about PNU vs ODM candidates. Obama's family is related to the ODM candidate/tribe.

I treated a UN Sudanese peace-keeping force member today. 29 years old, Muslim, extremely bright, named Juma. Talking about the world issues with him was amazingly interesting. Learned that his imam in his Mombasa mosque loved Clinton and actively promoted integration and understanding with the US back in 92-93 when Bill was elected. He could not say what the imam thought about Hilary... he has been involved in war the past 8 years. He broke his hand playing soccer and will return to Sudan in 2 weeks to rejoin the peace force.

A Continuation of Awesomeness

I am running out of vocabulary for describing my experiences. Then again, I think Grisham and King might have issues describing them. Everyday holds new challenges, experiences and feelings. Today, me and Vitalis and our mobile clinic made our way out west to a small school for disabled children. Again, we are more like the front-line access to all medical care for the people we see, so diagnostic skills come in handy and truly determine what outcome they will have. When I say that a few of the kids came crawling in to our room, I mean it literally. Basically what we could figure for one of them, a 22-year old that has never received medical care, is that he developed scoliosis, had it become so severe that his pelvis rotated so far right in compensation that it likely occluded blood flow, causing muscle wasting, disuse atrophy or some combination thereof. He basically had a 2 foot crutch under one arm and and a used glove on the other hand and just scooted around. Normal arm strength and use. Crutches anyone? We basically borrowed a pair from another kid and he could 3 point gait with the best of them. Six years + of scooting around on the ground because no one told him, or was able to provide him with crutches. Sponsoring him is a no-brainer, as he would be benefited the most and easiest.

Its basically been like this in each of the clinics. The more I find out about a Kenyan's description of what is "provided" by the government, the more I realize there are always conditions behind them. Not much is provided by the government, its through donations. I am also seeing that all of the ministries and donor organizations really do benefit those in need. All of the buildings at this school were built/funded by organizations and individuals; a Scottish group and a Danish doctor and his family. That really makes the cynicism melt right out of you, seeing so many students sit in a proper building, learning despite all of the hardships.

I think I finally got a picture uploaded, though this computer won't display it. Please let me know if you guys can see it, so I can continue to try if its successful and quit if its not...

Lions, Rhinos and Gazelles Oh My!

Yesterday, I got to experience an African national park. A "lesser one", at that. Lake Nakuru is only about a 20 minute drive from where I am staying. It is known for its flamingo infestation. I, however, found it to be packed with gazelles, lions, rhinos, monkeys, baboons, zebras, and numerous other creatures I could not recognize. All in the wild. All sometimes feet from the car. Signs alert you to the dangers of getting out of your vehicle, but this is rarely enforced and even more rarely obeyed. Needless to say, I have some amazing pictures with me and various wildlife in the not too distant periphery. The other volunteer and I rented a friend of our hosts car for the day. The friend drove; for most of the way. After the standard African delay getting started, we arrived in our Toyota station wagon at about 09:30. Not exactly what I pictured to be our mode of transport, but it was very comfortable. I mean, immediately, we started to encounter wildlife. Monkeys on the gate, led to water buffalo around the lake which inhabited, oh, only a few hundred thousand flamingos. So many, that the shoreline was completely pink in most parts. We drove around and came to the southern end of the lake and BAM 10 rhinos! I have always wanted to see a rhino, so this was definitely my highlight. Literally about 30' from our car were white rhinos; blew my mind. After one got up from the ground (they were lounging in the shade), we quickly shuffled... um, dove back into the car and made it a little more safe of a distance. We then got lost on the park roads, but made it close to the airstrip, where we picked up a machine-gun wearing, Massai park ranger, who after about 30 minutes found us lions. Afterwards, we all had lunch alongside a large waterfall at the southern tip of the park. On our way out we stopped at a 1000' high overlook called "baboon cliffs." This is about the only thing here aptly named, as hotels are, and can be, nothing but restaurants. Anyway, the cliffs provided one of the most amazing views of nature I have seen, with the vast lake spread out before you with those pink shores flanked by undulating plains and hills spotted with wildlife. All this from a "second-rate" park. Massai Mara will have to really blow me away for it to top this.


To answer some of your questions, I normally am up at 06:45 and at work for 08:00 taking a breakfast from my host family; 2 sisters: Emily and Rose. That is normally some cake-type things with Kenyan coffee. Right up my alley. I take a tuk-tuk or matatu (small bus) to and from work. I am actually based in a "large" provincial hospital, but I am sent into the rural parts of the area with a Community Rehab Initiative. We provide services, diagnoses, and referrals to people too far away, too poor, or both, in most cases. I finish at 3-5, and stroll around the town until diner, which is normally ugali (dense cornmeal ball), fresh veggies, and some meat or fish stew. It is actually prepared very well, taste-wise. They also seem to humor us with spaghetti, every once in awhile... There really is not that much to do, and I have already blown through A Thousand Splendid Suns, which is an amazing book, BTW.

The only day that is different is today, Monday's, when we hold a clubfoot clinic for children. Today I treated, via the Ponsetti Method, about 15 kids with various levels of severity. Some of them are fresh Spina Bifida surgery kids, some with hydrocephalus/MR/Down's, you name it. Obviously, I am learning from them at this point, as pediatrics is something I have never done before. But, I am able to throw in some knowledge every once in awhile, especially with wrapping/casting and alignment issues.

I will be in this setting for the next few weeks until the clinics shut down for December due to funding. I will then be moving into their outpatient setting, and this is where the Theraband will come in handy. I was oriented over there the first 2 days, and wow, the therapists have there hands, and well, their hands to help patients. They have a ramp and bars and a few pieces of antiquated modalities, that I am not sure are working right. Anyway, those of you in Austin, and who can and want to help with this could just run it by my sisters work at The Gables West Avenue, and then I will get them over here. Any help is obviously appreciated...

So, there is my life in a nutshell over here. Africa gives me such a range of emotions, a diverse set of feelings about the people, the places, and situations I experience every day here. More time will be needed for me to clarify in my self, exactly what these are and be able to put them into a coherent sentence for you. I believe my pictures will help you... later.

Oops... I forgot to ask...

To all of the medical people out there, I was hoping that you guys could help me secure some Theraband supplies. I am thinking a few boxes of the red, yellow and green or black would last this place a few years. Seriously. If you feel like you would like to help me get some, please give me an email. I am thinking about getting it shipped to my mom's and then getting it shipped DSL. Its basically plyometrics or bust over here, and a some TB would provide the most diverse treatment possibilities. Thanks!!

Firmer on the Ground

Well, I certainly did not think I would be writing about another amazing experience so soon, but yesterday was my first day in the field. Basically the entire health system here is stretched well beyond its limits. Compounding the problem is that most patients have no way to access the care, as they live too far from the hospitals and clinics and can't afford the $2 fare to get there. So, they have set up mobile rural clinics based out of trucks. So, we started out at 08:30 towards rural Kenya, passing the Menengai Crater along the way. The south outcropping which towers over the valley was illuminated through the mist and was truly breathtaking. After 30 minutes of bouncing around on the roads, we began our off-roading portion, going deep into a jungle farming area. Goats, sheep, jack-asses (of the 4-legged variety), and birds galore were everywhere. We reached the meeting point and over the next hour, people from around this portion of the Rift Valley closed in on us. They all patiently waited, some in the rain, for their turn to meet with Vitalis (a local PT), and me. PT's are basically responsible for diagnosing all issues in the field and make referrals to specialty clinics, pharmacies, labs, etc. We refer for surgical assessment and intervention. The Kenyan government pays for all services to those who can't pay, but those who don't know that care is available to them, don't seek it, this is most of the rural population apparently. So, thats where we really have an impact, as we initially diagnosed Down's, Epilepsy/Seizure Disorder, Diabetes, and numerous orthopedic issues. We made numerous recommendations and gave home programs for those who were appropriate and then provided a small amount of money for transportation to that facility, so that they can access our recommendations. Meaning-full work. After we had finished with everyone who had come, they had prepared us a meal to thank us. Rice, beans, I think cabbage, and stewed meat. It was all served in dirty pots on kind of clay plates with normal silverware. I would rather have had NASA-grade GI problems than have turned down their generosity. And, as of yet, no ill effects, thankfully.

Today, I am in Nakuru town,trying to learn my way and tomorrow I will heading out to Lake Nakuru NP, a place known for its flamingos, rhinos and leopards.

I am trying to get my pictures up, but the internet is as slow as I thought it would be...

Feet On New Ground

Well, besides a couple of moments when I thought I had lost something or had left it on the plane, the trip here went off without a hitch. With my bags in hand, I was met at the airport by a man with my volunteer agency who was to take me to the home of the country coordinator. Stepping outside of the airport I was hit by the smell of pipe tobacco, strangely enough, and an amazing sense of where I was, AFRICA!! The drive to the home was in a mini-van-type vehicle, taking me through and around police roadblocks all marked with spiked cement barriers. Being late, I wasn't able to get much of an impression of the land at that point. But, the next day I was taken to the National Museum in downtown Nairobi (which was under renovation which made us divert to the snake park), and my first impression was "Holy Cow, Africa is more like Africa in my head" than I thought it would be. Smog as thick as Bangkok, people and animals roaming the streets in somewhat equal numbers, everyone kind of glancing at my skin, but everyone being so amazingly friendly. The warmth of the people that you hear about, is totally warranted.

The roads however, are an evil, evil thing. The best road is a New Orleans special. The 3 or so hour journey in a matatu (minibus with amazingly loud and amazingly bad 80's music) to my base in Nakuru was an adventure in itself. The actual paved portion was what I described above. The UNPAVED portion was like driving with no shocks across a road that had a 2x4 laid apart every 2 iches. It actually seemed to encourage the driver to speed up, as though if we hit bumps faster, they might somehow merge into fewer bumps. While Kenya can't hold a candle to Cambodia's deep crevasses which make you smack the roof of your vehicle, the sheer frequency of bumps and length of the drive easily places it number 1 on my "I need a back pill and a bottle of rum" roads to avoid.

Our arrival (there is another volunteer, but teaching in a nearby orphanage, which I will occasionally be visiting) in Nakuru was amazing. Partly because I could feel my butt again, and mostly because my host family (2 sisters, or sistah's as they say) is over-the-top nice and accommodating. I don't know if I have ever had daily maid and laundry service. But, that is certainly the case here. I am living on the 3rd floor in a building on the edge of the city. It has no running water, but thankfully a toilet. You just dump some water into the bowl after you are done, if you're wondering. Its kind of a sponge bath situation for showers. We are fed pretty well, and I had the national dish, ugali, last night for the first time. Its basically a cornmeal ball, tightly packed, that you can slice and then eat alone or with anything else. They seem to just put everything into a bowl and mix it all up. The meat is tough, but the fruit and especially the bananas are amazingly good. The boil all the drinking water and also use it to warm up our showers. Speaking of temperatures, its actually been quite cool. I was expecting temperatures ranging from 80 degrees to 2-feet-from-the-sun, but it has been in the 50's in the morning and generally cool with the wind in the evenings.

My volunteering has been awesome so far. The first day, after orientation to the facility in the morning, I gave a speech about foot care and exercise with diabetes on World Diabetes Day to about 120 Kenyans underneath a large thatch-roofed, open-air structure. I was seated at the table of honor in the front with the other speakers. I remember sitting there waiting my turn, listening to the Swahili being spoken, looking across the crowd, feeling the cool wind blow, and thinking "Wow, this is one of those truly meaningful moments in my life." I can probably name 10 or so moments in my travels where the intersection of special surroundings, things, people, feelings, and, most importantly, awareness create the most magical of moments. This moment was certainly one of them. I mean, getting to sit there, provide helpful information to a group of Kenyans in Kenya is not something I ever thought I would be doing. Until recently... Then, afterward, 3 patients came up to ask advice on a their ailments. They were so respectful and appreciative, to an extreme. These moments are what drive me to keep traveling. They are fleeting moments of pure life, invigorating me to try to do more, see more and be more.

So, today was my 2nd day at work and I got to cast a bilateral clubfooted 5 day-old baby. I guess I shouldn't have to say more about that. They are still orienting me, but it appears that it will be soon that I will be practicing full-bore.

So, wow, it seems as though so much has happened. Its only been 3 days.

The Trip

Understanding that I am being hypocritical, as I enjoy the Starbucks experience as much as anyone, it is nevertheless befuddling to me that I can sit in Starbucks drinking coffee from beans harvested in Kenya and the Kenyans who harvest them cannot afford a simple mosquito net to reduce death in their family 33 %. How does that compute?

The more I read books like "Mountains Beyond Mountains", "They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky" or see a movie like "God Grew Tired Of Us" , it makes me feel as though I need to be doing more and that all of the things I have done haven't amounted to a hill of beans.

For the first time in my travels, I feel as though I am setting out for something more than just to scratch my travel itch. For sure, those selfish, egocentric reasons are still there. But, as I have passed from Europe seeming foreign to it being normal and from Asia seeming alien to it being the most fascinating thing around, I have wanted to use this ripening for something more. Volunteering always is "more". Volunteering in Africa, to me, seems the "most".

So, as much as this trip still is about me and my apparently unending search for meaning, purpose and celestial-intergalactic-omnipresent-oneness, I finally feel as though I might be aiming this ship in a better direction.

So, a rough list of where I will be and what I will be doing:

Nov 11th to Jan 8th:
Volunteering in Kenya

Jan 12th to 19th:
Climbing Kilimanjaro

Jan 21st -April 2nd:
Lake Nakuru National Park, Maasai Mara Nat. Park, Lake Naivasha, Sipi Falls, Giraffe Center, Ngorongoro Crater & Game Drive/Serengeti, Mikumi Game Park, Private Game Ranch, Chobe National Park, Etosha National Park, Cheetah Park, Namib Naukluft Park, Cape Cross Seal Colony, Sossusvlei Sand Dunes, Fish River Canyon

Grade 5 White Water Rapids: Zambezi River

Highest Bungee Jump In The World: 216 meters/709 feet

Shark Cage With Great Whites (they're on the outside...)

Countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe


April 18th to the islands:


Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius


May 17th Egypt
May 31st Morocco
June 14th Southern Spain
July 1st Portugal
July 9th Madrid
July 12th Ibiza
July 16th Singapore
July 23rd Indonesia
August 11th Start back home... maybe.