Notes from Kaswanga

Ok, so I'm not actually in Kaswanga. Since the village doesn't have electricity, I had to take a piki piki, the local motorcycle public transportation into Mbita to find an internet cafe. But anyways. I've gotten over my culture shock and am very happy to be here. My mud hut has it's charms, and looking at the stars when there are no streets lights is absolutely breath taking. I also met an American who has been living in Kaswanga for the last 8 months. It's nice to have a genuine friend who has no interest in marrying me or being taken back to Canada. Now that I've relaxed a bit, I've noticed some things that really make me appreciate this island village.

1. The way everyone laughs at me and yells mzungu (foreigner, or in my case, white lady) every time I walk by.

2. The dress. Many things have reached the Nyanza province much later than in North America - the cassette tape, for example, or negative attitudes towards polygamy. My personal favourite is the shoulder pad. Whether in Kaswanga, Mbita or Homa Bay, you don't have to look too far to find a woman wearing a shoulder-padded shimmery ball gown. I just don't get it.

3. The attitude towards warmth. This is actually a general Kenyan thing. It's 30 degrees here, I'm sweating like never before and everyone else is wearing a winter coat. I'm starting to wonder if I'm the one who has temperature issues.

4. Everyone spontaneously changes their clothing after lunch time. It's as if they go to bed wearing what they've had on all afternoon, wake up, hang around in those clothes for a few hours than SURPRISE! New outfit!

I have also noticed that my idea of work does not at all match that of Kaswanga. My first day my job was to rest. The second day I picked rocks out of a bag of beans. After 30 minutes I was told to rest. I've been begging for more to do, so yesterday I went to Agira Primary School and taught some English and Social Studies classes. I get the impression that the staff didn't actually need any more help, but they were happy to have an extended tea break.

That's all for now. Expect more updates soon!