Hamjambo, family and friends! Lots has happened since my last blog update, namely my moving in with my host family and starting my first day at the local secondary school (a.k.a. high school) I was paired with for my internship. I am currently in a small, rural place just outside Kakamega town called Lusui. It’s a little gem of a rural village with a narrow, pot hole ridden dirt road trailing off the main highway, making it a nice, bumpy ride. Once I arrived at my host family, it was as if all the rain in the world poured down on us. The rain was so heavy and loud that I had to basically yell at my host family while introducing myself to them. Once the rain subsided (almost an hour later), I was able to make out everybody’s name. My host parents, Edwin and Odilia (I like to call her Mama Odilia, and she absolutely loves it), are very kind and have welcomed me into the family as one of their own. I have three host siblings, but only two of them live here while one of my host brothers is currently in boarding school. Ivy, who is the oldest, just finished secondary school and is currently waiting to start university. Austin is the youngest and is currently a sixth grader at a nearby school. They both think I’m hilarious (or maybe really weird, I’m not sure yet haha) and are helping me learn some Kiswahili, which is the native language here. They have been nothing but welcoming and kind to me so far. #blessed
In addition to moving in with my family, I was also introduced at the school I’ll be working with. My first day coincided with a school wide assembly, which meant that I going to be introduced to the 250 or so students along with some of the faculty and staff there. As the deputy principal introduced me as an intern from the United States, the “ohs” and “ahs” of the students rang all around and I couldn’t help but laugh. I’ve now spent a week among the students yet the stares and giggles keep coming every time, to which I’ve become accustomed. The students however are always keen to hear what life on the other side of the world is like, from asking me about the food we eat to what I put on my skin to make it so light (they were amazed when I told them that I’m brown and that other people were even whiter!). They always hang on my every word, and its precious seeing them take it to heart! I’ve mostly just been observing and taking notes on how they do things at the school, spending most times in the teacher’s lounge or classroom. Hopefully next week I can interact more with the students inside the classroom.
Electricity was out for three days, hence the later than promised blog post! However, its now back on and I hope to be posting one this weekend explaining in detail exactly what my internship work entails! Keep coming with your thoughts, prayers, and good vibes because I’m definitely feeling them 🙂
Cheers!
Temo (or Tembo Mrembo, my self-proclaimed Kiswahili name which translates to pretty elephant haha)