Doxa in Kenya: Back to School

Friday, July 21. Nairobi.

I'm back! ... Well, not in the US, but in Kenya.

Tanzania was actually quite nice, but I'm sure I've only seen the nicer parts. The school is coming together, but I wonder if it will really be done by end of next month.

The deaconess that I met yesterday arranged to have her two daughters join us for breakfast. Mrs. Kim, Pastor Lazarus, and Rajabu had to go back to the construction site early, so I had breakfast with the two girls, Hannah and YaeJin. Hannah is going to be a Junior in college planning to go to med school, so I was supposed to give hers some advice, especially on scholarships and stuff, but since she's an international student, I couldn't really help her much. I got a ton of financial aid and some research grant because I'm a California resident, but it's a completely different ballgame for international students. Anyhow we had a good time just chatting.

Apparently broadband internet is quite common in Tanzania, or at least among the Koreans in Tanzania. On the other hand, broadband is really expensive and not as common in Kenya, even in Nairobi. I heard that it's somehow related to the fact that the current president owns the majority of the shares in the major broadband provider. From the grassroots level all the way up to the president, corruption is prominent in Kenya. I'll write more about that some other time. Or maybe I shouldn't write about it, at least about the leaders, because there isn't much freedom of press here either... I'm afraid I'll get slapped in the face (literally) by the president's wife or have my computer destroyed by the armed forces. That's what they do to people who say things that are unfavorable about the leaders, or so I hear. [Dear President Kibaki, if you're reading this, please don't hurt me. I'm just an innocent musungu, and whatever I say are only the things I hear, so it could be completely false anyway. Just stop the freaking corruption, darn it!]

I really can't get used to the pollution here. Just riding a car with window open gives me a headache. Coming back to Nairobi was terrible because of that. I miss Tanzania already. I could smell the mountains there... Or not.

I cooked some of my sticky rice for the first time tonight. It was so good that I wanted to cry. Seriously. I can pick them up using my chopstick! I was so touched that I gave the rest of my non-sticky rice to Richard right after dinner. I can never go back. The whole world should just eat sticky rice (and nothing else). I want to feed sticky rice to the starving children all over Africa. Ok, now I'm just playing.

Would anybody dare me to go without shaving for a whole month (or perhaps longer)? Well, if nobody dares, I'll just take on my own dare. In fact, tomorrow will be a week since I shaved last time. I figured I don't really have anyone to impress, and maybe I could look a little older with some beard and mustache. It's been my childhood dream to have a big beard... Ok, just kidding. But I've always thought of trying some facial hair, but it grows unevenly, so I couldn't stand the look of the short stubs scattered around my mouth. Maybe it'll look better if I grow it a little longer. Or maybe not. I guess I'll find out when I come back from Lenkijape.