Kicking it in Karare (or, I'm back (for a bit))

Habari everyone! I have finally regained the internet (kinda)! The Catholic radio station in Marsabit allows the sisters to use their Wifi whenever they need, so sometimes they’ll be able to drop me off here to use the internet while they run other errands. It also means they can update their computers and let me watch over them so that they don’t have to sit around and wait. Benefits for everyone!

Karare has been pretty awesome so far. I’ve been here for three weeks now, and in that time I’ve led a career guidance seminar, supervised study time for the students, done a ton of arts and crafts, and also taken the Form One through Form Three girls home for their Christmas holidays. All that are left are the Form Fours, who are in the process of taking the KCSE, also known as the horrible and life-destroying national exam.

Here, have a lot of pictures so you can see what I’ve been doing!

So this is my house at the edge of the compound

And these are the water tanks

The girls go to get their water for cleaning and washing each day

Gotta wash the clothes, it's super dusty here

And they also do seminars here sometimes!

These are the younger kids

And they also gave the puberty talk because someone has to

It's a sunset!

I've also been learning some cooking

Though I eat dinner in the dining hall kitchen

There's also lots of arts and crafts!

I was particularly proud of the New Zealand crown

It was all for World Mission Sunday

Which was a feast day!

And then we had my career guidance seminar

Which went surprisingly not horribly

And Sr. Cecilia taught the girls some dancing!

We do a lot of dancing here

The girls also really like candy

More sunset!

Plus this cool looking tree!

So the Form Fours have their big exam and got blessed by the bishop

And the rest of the girls went home for break

Which means everything has gotten really quiet

I miss them :(

We also had the staff Christmas party!

Lots of good food

Also, we did skits (I was John leaping for joy in Elizabeth's womb)

This is Ohkolam, who walks me to my house every night

The dancing went...poorly this time

AND I DID IN FACT SEE ELEPHANTS

Another fun fact is that the rainy season is beginning, which means that all the little and big insects are crawling out of the ground to welcome us. I have removed a gnarly-looking grasshopper, a fairly adorable frog, a quarter-sized spider, and a multitude of beetles from my house. This removal occurred at night each time. I actually don’t mind the spiders so much because they’re pretty quiet and I have a mosquito net (which I thank God for every night).

The freakin’ beetles though. Those jerks are so loud and they’ll just suddenly buzz and it freaks me out and makes me super paranoid. I have since turned off the security light outside and gotten a doorblock thing which will hopefully limit the number of insects getting into my house. I also may have a small animal friend living in my attic crawlspace, but I’m ignoring that possibility for the sake of my mental health.

Anyway, the sisters go to town a little sporadically, so I’m not sure when I’ll next be able to check in.

Kiswahili Phrase of the Month

Naenda nyumba – I’m going to the house (the phrase I say to Ohkolam, the watchman who escorts me to my house every night with a gun because hyenas)


Kwaheri!!