So I arrived on Sunday and SO much has happened...obviously. And from the beginning...
My flight landed around 4 am Kenyan time-the flight was tolerable besides the fact that I actually fell asleep and then 3 hours later was woken up for the landing-customs went rather smoothly and I now have a pretty sweet Kenyan visa taking up an entire page in my passport. As I walked out of the baggage claim area I spotted James with a sign saying "AYP Krissy" and a huge smile came to my face-even though it was 4 in the morning, James was there to pick me up and man I was SO happy to see him.
The journey to Paige's house was about 10 minutes without Nairobi traffic...we had to ring the door bell a few times before they woke up to let us in the house but I finally got to a bed around 5 am and fell asleep for a few hours.
Around 9 Paige woke me up and we were off to a volunteers meeting...conveniently, Danielle (another volunteer) lives in an apartment complex right next door and so we met her at the top of the driveway and walked to the matatu stop with her. Matatus are the privately owned little shuttle buses that are a really cheap way of getting around the city. They look kind of sketchy but like I said, they're really cheap and once you get the hang of them they're pretty easy to use. But I am in yet another country where there are no driving laws. They will jam over 12 people in the matatus no problem-and there is one person collecting the money sitting in the back who manages the door and makes the deals with the passengers. So the ride from Westlands (where I'm staying) to Ngara (where I'm working) is 20 shillings-hmm about 25 cents...yea that's pretty effing cheap. The trip takes about 10 minutes with no traffic but from my experience, traffic is really inconsistent and the trip can sometimes take up to 40 minutes.
Nonetheless, we arrived at Sarakasi Dome and met up with Emily (another volunteer) and some of the yoga instructors. Here we chatted and made a plan for what we're going to accomplish for the month. Emily is here studying abroad and is interning for AYP and we are kind of partnering on a project...
AYP is starting a mentorship program in January where either individual people or yoga studios will sponsor the instructors here to give them a monthly salary of about $110. (Email me if you're interested in getting involved!!) and basically, Emily and I are collecting information on each instructor...i.e. where they're from, how old, how they got into yoga, what yoga has done for them, their biggest challenge in life, where they would be without yoga, where they want to be in a year...etc. All of this information will be put onto the AYP website with a podcast of them talking about their lives a bit and also a podcast of them teaching a yoga class. SO needless to say Emily and I have quite a lot of work to do in the next month or so because there are close to 40 profiles we have to create and also go to close to 40 yoga classes to record them...After we laid out a plan/idea of how we wanted to approach this, we went up to the dance studio and had Margaret (an instructor) teach us a quick class of yoga to help her prep for her first private class the next day. She is amazing-Margaret is 20 and just got back from Mexico Level 1 with Baron Baptiste (the same teacher training I did), and WOW she's an amazing teaching. Her story is incredible-she grew up in the Kariobangi (one of the slums)...When asked "What has yoga done for you?" her response was:
"For me, yoga has made me a good girl-I don't have to steal anymore, now I can stand in front of people and not be shy-I can look people in the eyes"
It's hard to explain in writing how powerful this girl is, but in her presence you just feel her energy. She has changed her lifestyle drastically and yoga has given her an opportunity to get out...to change her life and help others in her community.
After her short class we headed back to the house-after unpacking a bit and getting somewhat organized, Paige, Billy (her fiance), Jacob (the Maasai warrior who was staying at their house for a few days) and I went to a shopping center to get some groceries and a sim card for my phone. The shopping center was very westernized-it looked like a mall I would go to in the states. First we had lunch-food is always a priority. We ate a cute cafe style place that was one of the most diverse places I have ever seen: Indians, Kenyans, Americans, Europeans-it was quite a mix of ethnicities which was interesting. I learned about Jacob's tribe and he ended up giving me a necklace (which I later found out was an engagement necklace?!?) The Maasai people are one of the largest lasting tribes who reside in both Kenya and Tanzania-there are warriors, herdsmen, and the women are known for their beading skills. Jacob told me a lot about them which is too much to write, but what I found really interesting is that they hunt lions and elephants for fun. I asked him why/what they do with the carcasses, and he simply replied there was no reasoning for killing them, just for fun and they usually leave the bodies for the vultures. I have done some reading up on the tribe since our conversation and found out that the government is trying to convince them to stop doing this, but how can the government change a way of life that has been instilled in these people forever? But that is a whole discussion I don't want to get into...
So we shopped a bit and then James picked us up and took us home. At this point, I was exhausted and Paige needed to pack for the states-she was heading home for 2 and half weeks to lead a workshop in Boston-so we all kind of just chilled out for a while...
Around 8ish we headed out to Pizza Garden for dinner. We met up with a couple that Paige knows from the states-they're here on a project mapping all of Kibera (the largest slum in East Africa). The food was good-ambiance was good-and music was amazing. Paige and her friends discussed the different difficulties they face on a daily basis trying to run an organization in Kenya...i.e. the corruption factor-visas-getting funding etc. It was really interesting to listen to because these are the people who are living/working in the field that I am probably going to get into.
After we finished eating, Billy and Jacob went to the dance floor and started jamming out pretty hard to the reggae/hip-hop tunes that were blasting from the speakers. (Oh, I forgot to mention that Billy is a professional dancer... ) Obviously I jumped in and started dancing with them and this was hands down one of the best dance sessions I have EVER had. Words cannot describe how much fun I had-there's nothing like a good introduction to Kenya with a solid night of dancing-and WOW Kenyans know how to dance...
Hmm-next we had James pick us up and when we got home I took a shower then said bye to Paige (her flight was at 4am) and went to bed...
Monday-so everyday there is an aerobics class at Sarakasi (where I work)...the dancers and acrobats who train there all participate in this class that is a mix of kick boxing, dancing, zumba, step class, and some yoga-basically it is a ridiculous work out session that gets really sweaty and has left my body sore for the past week. It is amazing.
So each day this week my mornings have gone something like this: aerobics class (kicking, punching, jumping, swaying our hips, hopping around, dancing...you name it-we did it) then interviews/editing interviews and my evenings have been varying...The interviews is where the reality of Kenya hit me...
I explained the types of questions we were asking all of the instructors, but to begin to explain the answers we received is impossible. The answers we got went something like this: "without yoga I would probably be dead" "yoga has inspired me to transform my community" "teaching the children and seeing how yoga gives them hope makes me feel good" "the most important thing yoga has taught me is to spread the love"-and these are just a few of the quotes we have received throughout the week
It is really amazing to see how far these people have come and the opportunities that yoga has given them. It is hard for me to relay the feeling I got from the interviews...the stories that each person told were amazing-I consistently got the chills-the way they spoke to us was so raw and like nothing I've ever experienced before. Yoga has given these people so much more than you could imagine-they have completely changed their lifestyles to a way that is giving instead of taking...and the most amazing part about it is that they recognize now why they need to change their community. A majority of the 17 people we have interviewed this week have talked about how they used to steal, gamble, drink, do drugs, etc. and now they are healthy-physically fit-and reaching out to their community trying to help the people that are stuck. I wish I had the energy to write each individuals story here but thats just not practical-eventually each instructors story will be posted on the AYP website and I will be sure to post that on my blog whenever that happens so you can read for yourself the amazing progression of these people's lives.
One specific conversation I would like to share is one I had with Basilio...we were chatting after our interview and he started to ask me a bunch of questions-he was kind of doing his own interview on me...I was getting questions like "what is it like int he US" "how much do yoga classes cost there" "how many people do yoga" "how different is it from Kenya" "what do people our age do"
WOW-answering these was really hard...where do you begin to explain a life that is SO completely different than that in Kenya. I started with an explanation of how most people our age go to school-not just primary school-but high school and college-then I told him how yoga classes can cost up to $25 a class and he couldn't believe it...I explained the idea of a yoga studio and how you can basically find yoga in every city/town in the US-then he proceeded to ask me if I had a car...I was starting to feel like quite a brat at this point...Yes I have a car-yes my parents have a house-yes I have my own room-yes I went to college-and the list goes on...I know I can't feel bad for this kind of stuff, but it really puts things into perspective-the lifestyle we live in the US is so hard to explain to people...it's almost embarrassing to be honest...
OK-moving on...so Monday night I went home and I hung out with Jacob for the evening...he told me more about the Maasai people and his life (he has 2 wives, 9 children, 20 cows, over 150 goats...he's killed many lions and elephants and is proud of it, etc.) We sat around did some handstands then he made dinner for the house-dinner consisted of ugali (a Kenyan starch? tastes interesting-basically is kind of tasteless and takes on the flavor of whatever you eat it with), spinach, and a meat dish-to be honest I actually really enjoyed it...I'm not a picky eater but I was still pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. Hmmm-we watched some tv, chatted a bit more then I went to sleep.
Tuesday afternoon-returned home thankfully before the rain (conveniently I have arrived during the rainy season-awesome) to an empty house. I hung out for a bit-blogged for a bit-then Billy's sister came over. Edna was awesome! She is 20, lives in Kibera, and is studying PR and communications at the University of Nairobi. She didn't know if anyone was home but showed up anyway and I'm really glad because we had really conversation and now I have a guide for when I go to Kibera this weekend...we talked about various things like school, her life, my life, things we enjoy, etc. She was beautiful-I really enjoyed her company and am so glad that we met. We exchanged numbers before she left and we have plans to meet up this Sunday when I go to Kibera...
Wednesday evening-Emily invited me over to her apartment to make dinner and hang out with her and her roommate-YAY friends :) so after work we walked to her place...she lives in city center and in close proximity to everything. She is a junior at Colby (in Maine) and from Baltimore originally and is in Nairobi studying abroad through the St. Lawrence program-what a small world-same program miss Lizzie Bogosian is on. Her roommate, Kristina, actually goes to St. Lawrence and knows of Liz, and knows Grace and Scotty-weird how small the world is...and its funny now that twice on my trip miss Bogosian has been a common connection for me and various people I have met-I love the randomness of life...
So Emily gave me a brief tour of the city while we were out buying some stuff to make for dinner. I'm so thankful for meeting her-she's a really cool girl and definitely someone I will be friends with for a long time. After the grocery shopping we went back to her apartment and hung out until Kristina came home-Kristina is also a very cool person and I'm glad to have been introduced to her...the 3 of us have made some plans for the weekend that I'm really looking forward to...I'm going to Kibera to the Red Rose School (where Liz worked when she was here) and we're also going to shop and walk around various markets...
In a joint effort we made rice and stir fry-how Asian of us-and sat down to eat like a family. It was great-we had some really stimulating conversations as well. We talked about various religions, how women are treated around the world, the craziness of Kenya, the corruption within countries, and different educational obstacles that the world faces. Their company was amazing and I can't even explain how happy I am to have met them...
Ok onto Thursday-today was interesting...the people we interviewed were very well versed in English and began to explain a lot about their ghetto and how things work. Brian (one of the instructors) told us about how this one man-some sort of police official-has come into their slum and his way of dealing with thieves is just to kill them. The thieves receive one warning and then if they are caught a second time this police man hunts them down and literally will shoot them right there on the spot. He will go to their houses, their hang out spots, basically if he sees them he will shoot them right there point blank. Brian said he has killed over 500 criminals in the past 6 months!!! I can't even really wrap my mind around this, but he explained to me that now their slum is much safer and even though it is a really unconventional way of dealing with crime, the official is the one who can take the credit for this. WOW 500 people in 6 months...that's ridiculous-I cannot even comprehend that, but it's their reality...that is what goes down here in Kenya...so yea-let that one soak in and my next blog will consist of my observations and descriptions of their slum because I will be visiting it/attending a yoga class there in the near future.
alright-enough blogging for the day-I think I've sat long enough at this coffee shop-but hopefully I will be able to upload some pics/write more soon! AND as always, it would be awesome if you could donate if you haven't already!! I've written only a brief description of what goes on here, but clearly the money would be going to a good cause!!
https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/ayoga/campaign.jsp?campaign=7
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