Apartment hunting and Hospital visits…
Well the good news is that I finally found an apartment! After a week of hostels and running around looking for places, we found a two-bedroom apartment that’s about a 10 minute walk away from KGSA. Fully furnished and has a pool! That’s right, a pool. I’ll try and send some more photos of the place but it takes quite a while to load to the computer.
For those that don’t know, I am living with two girls (Susie and Jamie) from my MSID program 3 years ago that are doing similar work but with a primary school in the Kangemi slums. The school is called Hamomi - www.hamomi.org
Definitely check the website out, they’re doing good work. I’m learning a lot from them already as they have been around about a year and a half longer than KGSA in the states. Quite an ideal living situation if I do say so myself…
It’s by far the most productive house I’ve ever lived in – sorry Danny. We wake up and immediately make some coffee, obviously, and get on our computers and start working. We pretty much work straight through the afternoon and night taking turns with the inter-net and then around 8:00pm we’ll break out a book or an intense game of Kenyan Poker!
As to the hospital visit – yes, I unfortunately had to go to Nairobi Hospital - which was quite the experience. Last Thursday I woke up at around 3:30am with severe chest pains and had difficulty breathing. Anni and I went in around 9:00am and the testing began. From 9:00am – 5:30pm I had blood work done, EKG’s, Ultra Sounds, and a lot of waiting around. Finally, they diagnosed me with having Acute Pericarditis. Basically, the protective wall around my heart was inflamed, hence the chest pain. Movement irritates it, so I basically just sit around and read and work on the computer. Apparently cold symptoms, which I had for the first couple of days here, can turn into this if not treated right away.
So now I’m on some anti-inflammatory medication and pain pills and just trying to rest and recover. Reading a lot… The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is what I’m working on now. I’m doing a lot better though, but I really just can’t walk around a lot. Luckily, I have inter-net and can work here at the house, but it’s quite miserable not being able to go to the school and get started there.
Last but not least, Anni left for Mfangano Island last night and has arrived safely. It was great spending the week here with her and I’m very excited about the work she’ll be doing on the island with Organic Health Response. Their website should be up soon, I don’t think it’s ready yet but the address is www.OrganicHealthResponse.org
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you are all doing well. In case anyone would like to write to me, you can send mail to:
Ryan Sarafolean
c/o MSID Kenya
P.O. Box 66731
00800 Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
It’s my study abroad’s P.O. Box and it’s way easier this way. Talk soon, love you all.
-Ryan
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
“Things are not all so comprehensible and expressible as one would mostly have us believe; most events are inexpressible, taking place in a realm which no word has ever entered…” - Rainer Maria Rilke
It was Saturday afternoon, my third day back, and I had a few hours to spare before meeting with members of the KGSA team (Abdul, Carol Ann, and Jaime) for a vision meeting. With a cup of black coffee in hand, I began reading Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. The quote above rested within the lines of the first paragraph.
Beautiful.
As Rilke references, there are experiences that live within a realm that have no diction to describe their entirety. That idea holds true for my first week here. This past week I’ve spent the majority of my time around the girls of the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) - getting to know new faces, talking with familiar ones, and ultimately having to remove myself a bit and just laugh as this is all so surreal.
Thinking back to the beginning of KGSA three years ago – a single school room, 12 girls, and 2 teachers, to now 4 classrooms, an office, a computer room, a salon, ~120 girls and 10 teachers (not to mention the addition of the clubs) is all unbelievable to say the least.
This is my first time coming back to a place I’ve visited overseas. Being able to navigate and already have a sense of the culture has been comforting. This is also though, a place that has provided some of the most difficult life lessons. Being in Kibera already has presented its challenges and I will need to find a way to work with it without being distracted. Poverty here takes on a whole new meaning.
With that being said - the sun is in fact just behind the clouds. There is hope here, there is community here, there are dreamers here, and the school is here... and thriving!
This past Friday there was a drama competition amongst the secondary schools within Kibera. The girls choreographed a dance sequence for the competition and ended up taking first place! They were awarded a trophy and 12,000 shillings for school supplies.
Incredible.
Saturday afternoon they went on to win their football match 3-0.
Exciting.
Saturday evening Abdul, Carol Ann, Jaime, and I sat down to discuss this upcoming year and how we will move forth (Jake, Danielle, Shaun… you were missed).
Inspiring.
Things are already moving for me here and I have been able to jump right back into this all. Once I get settled in my role here I will send a better description as to what I am actually doing here. Many of you have asked, “What is it exactly that you intend to do during this trip?” Logical question. For this month – relearning the way KGSA is functioning on a day-to-day basis, the ins & outs basically. I’m also working on creating a budget for the school and a KGSA profile portfolio. I have other assignments but I’m going to focus on getting settled and comfortable here until I move forth.
Thank you all for the support you have shown me thus far. Know that I love you all.
-Ryan
It was Saturday afternoon, my third day back, and I had a few hours to spare before meeting with members of the KGSA team (Abdul, Carol Ann, and Jaime) for a vision meeting. With a cup of black coffee in hand, I began reading Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. The quote above rested within the lines of the first paragraph.
Beautiful.
As Rilke references, there are experiences that live within a realm that have no diction to describe their entirety. That idea holds true for my first week here. This past week I’ve spent the majority of my time around the girls of the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) - getting to know new faces, talking with familiar ones, and ultimately having to remove myself a bit and just laugh as this is all so surreal.
Thinking back to the beginning of KGSA three years ago – a single school room, 12 girls, and 2 teachers, to now 4 classrooms, an office, a computer room, a salon, ~120 girls and 10 teachers (not to mention the addition of the clubs) is all unbelievable to say the least.
This is my first time coming back to a place I’ve visited overseas. Being able to navigate and already have a sense of the culture has been comforting. This is also though, a place that has provided some of the most difficult life lessons. Being in Kibera already has presented its challenges and I will need to find a way to work with it without being distracted. Poverty here takes on a whole new meaning.
With that being said - the sun is in fact just behind the clouds. There is hope here, there is community here, there are dreamers here, and the school is here... and thriving!
This past Friday there was a drama competition amongst the secondary schools within Kibera. The girls choreographed a dance sequence for the competition and ended up taking first place! They were awarded a trophy and 12,000 shillings for school supplies.
Incredible.
Saturday afternoon they went on to win their football match 3-0.
Exciting.
Saturday evening Abdul, Carol Ann, Jaime, and I sat down to discuss this upcoming year and how we will move forth (Jake, Danielle, Shaun… you were missed).
Inspiring.
Things are already moving for me here and I have been able to jump right back into this all. Once I get settled in my role here I will send a better description as to what I am actually doing here. Many of you have asked, “What is it exactly that you intend to do during this trip?” Logical question. For this month – relearning the way KGSA is functioning on a day-to-day basis, the ins & outs basically. I’m also working on creating a budget for the school and a KGSA profile portfolio. I have other assignments but I’m going to focus on getting settled and comfortable here until I move forth.
Thank you all for the support you have shown me thus far. Know that I love you all.
-Ryan
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