Moved into my new residence! 2 room house (1 bedroom and 1 living room/kitchen). I cook with a kerosene stove or a hot plate either at my front door or outside for ventilation. The only type of furniture that I own right now is a bed and mattress. I have a borrowed stool and coffee table, but mostly I sit on the floor. There is no running water, but I do have electricity, except it is only hooked up to handle simple charging and lights. Cooking for an extended period with a hot plate usually ends up with me short-circuiting something (thank goodness for surge protectors). My bucket bathroom is about 10 feet across from the house, along with my choo (this is the smallest choo hole I have seen yet and it causes my overall accuracy percentage to rapidly decrease). I live in a family compound which means my counterpart is in the house 10-15 feet across, but at least it’s a completely separate house.
The town itself is a lot calmer compared to Loitokitok, with less people and no/less screaming obnoxious children. Before coming I was told that Laikipia is dry, dry and dry, so food security is an issue, which is true, except in my town. I live in a small town/village called Sipili and even though it is real dry, people have found a way to have sustainable farms. Many people (especially my counterpart) are also really into organic farming. He saved me a part of his shamba (farm) so that I can grow what I want, which is AWESOME! Also, they don’t just eat simple carbohydrate foods like ugali and rice. They believe in whole grain and in spices (other than salt)! I almost forgot what pepper tasted like. By the way, if anybody gets a chance to taste a tree tomato, do it! It is my new favorite fruit!
The school I am teaching at has 4 greenhouses, a botanical garden (in progress), a huge farm, and some cows, chickens, rabbits, and goats. The school itself is the biggest school I have been in since coming to Kenya. It has over 400 students, which means each one of my classes will probably have around 40-50 students. Classes start “January 4th”, but that does not factor in Kenyan time (which is 5x worse than Asian time). The students will still be helping out in the shamba, since it is still harvest season. Thus, I was told not to expect the majority of my students until mid/late January, maybe even February.
If you already sent something and it is on route to the old address, don’t worry, it will find me somehow.
Happy Holidays everybody!
