Exploring Kenya

On our first non-program day in Kenya we decided to go on a hike, then visit an AIDS support group and head to the market in the afternoon.  The hike was through a huge cornfield descending down to the base of a waterfall.  It was really pretty but we couldn’t wade in the water because there are snails there that will burrow into your feet…

At the AIDS support group, Friends Fighting AIDS Together, we heard from several woman who are HIV positive and have been for at least ten years.  They told their stories to us, from the Maasai woman who gave HIV to her son not through childbirth but sharing a razor blade to a completely healthy-looking woman who passed around a picture of herself in a hospital bed at her lowest point.  They also told us about the counseling and testing work that they do for people in the area and their attempts to get rid of the stigma that comes with being HIV positive.  They say that it has improved, such that their children don’t get teased as much at school anymore, but AIDS is still prevalent in the area and is especially common among women because of polygamy and the sharing of wives among local tribal people.  The people that live in the Oloitoktok area are lucky because all of the AIDS medications are provided free of charge, not true in other areas in Kenya.

From the clinic we could walk into town to shop at the market.  I was with a few other girls in the group and we made a beeline for the food- to buy mangoes and avocados.  They’re sooo good here!  Everyone speaks English, since it is the language of instruction, so there is much less of a need for Swahili in Kenya.  It makes it easier but chances are I won’t learn much more Swahili here.

After we went to the Kimana market and wandered around for a little while.  At one point I had around ten Maasai mamas surrounding me and trying to sell me jewelry so that I couldn’t even move.  They’re really persistent!  We walked to Club Kimana, the local bar in town, and passed a school with hundreds of children in the schoolyard outside.  They all ran over to the fence and every single one of them was waving to us and trying to get our attention.  We are literally treated like celebrities. 

Back to classes and papers…and a trip to Amboseli National Park tomorrow!