Doxa in Kenya: Success!

Friday, July 28. Kiluani.

I finally figured out how to use my phone to connect to the internet. I had to call customer service to get the setup information and figure out by trial-and-error which modem script I needed to use. Safaricom customer service can't support very many calls at once (and it's a telecom company, how ironic...), so I had to keep dialing until I got connected. The speed is only 9.6kbps (max data rate is about 1.2KB/s), which is 156 times slower than regular DSL (1.5Mbps or 187.5KB/s), and 5.8 times slower than dial-up (56kbps or 7KB/s). So you get the idea. On top of that, it costs Ksh10 per minute, which means it's Ksh600 ($8.40) per hour. That means I can get a maximum of 4.3MB of info in one hour for $8.40. I don't even know the upload rate, but I'm guessing it's the same or less.

So I'm going to restrict the use of internet through cellphone to maybe once or twice a week for checking/sending e-mail, posting on my blog, and downloading RSS feeds. I can post on Blogspot without using a web browser, but I can't with Xanga, so I'll update Xanga when I get better internet connection. Meanwhile, Xanga users, please visit http://doxadeo.blogspot.com to read my most updated blog (This will be the last post on Xanga for a while). You can even subscribe to my RSS feed (http://doxadeo.blogspot.com/atom.xml) using an RSS aggregator such as RSS Owl (for both Mac and PC) or Vienna (Mac only, recommended). Even if it's not for my blog, if you like reading news articles or visit a specific website regularly, RSS will make your life so much easier. So go try it! (Sorry I can't give you direct links. I'm typing this offline).

Well, all this is only possible if I have electricity. And unfortunately, I won't have any electricity when I go to Lenkijape. It's much farther from the main road than Kiluani. Apparently, permanent electricity is coming to Kiluani very soon, but not for a while in Lenkijape. It will be a good practice to live without electricity though. I'm such a city boy... (that reminds me of Sierra Leone, where most of the cars I saw had a big sticker that read "City Boy," but that's irrelevant). It'll be a big test for me.

So, what did I do in Nairobi today? Well, if you're reading this, I'm sure you've noticed that I posted a lot of journal entries. That's because I went to a cyber café in Nairobi. It was a first time I got internet access since Sunday. I think they ripped me off at the café though. It's supposed to be Ksh3 per minute, and I only used for about 50 minutes or no more than 60 minutes, but they charged me Ksh210 (which would be 70 minutes). But I was in a hurry, so I just paid and left. Then I realized I was ripped off, and I should have asked for a receipt. Always remember to ask for a receipt if you pay for anything in Kenya. It's not like Panda Express where you get free meal if they forget to give you a receipt.

Anyway, that was only one of many things we had to do in Nairobi. First we went to a big mall where we did some grocery shopping. I got a bar of soap and a shower scrub while PuiMeng got a lot of food and a haircut. She got a haircut all the way in Nairobi, because at the place she went a lady from Korea used to work there, and they know how to cut Asian hair. Otherwise if you go to a regular barber shop, you'll probably come out bald. Well, since I'm already experimenting with my facial hair, maybe I'll try shaving my head too... one of these days. Don't worry, I'll take pictures for you all to enjoy later.

While I waited for PuiMeng, I got a cup of coffee, and waited in the car. A guy named Jackson drove for us, so I got to talk with him for while. I found out that he's a Masai, and he used to hangout with morans a lot before he became Christian. He was never a moran because he went to school instead. Basically, all boys, around the age of 15 gets circumcised and become moran if they're not going to school. So before there were schools, all Masai boys became moran. So I guess there isn't a crazy ritual to become a moran (except that you get painfully circumcised). Usually there's a big ceremony when kids get circumcised. They slaughter goats (and maybe cows) and the whole village eat together. I'll write about Masai culture more later. Besides, I'll probably learn a lot more when I go to Lenkijape. I've already found out that lot of the things I heard about their culture from outsiders weren't so accurate (e.g. on promiscuity). It's better for me to learn about their culture directly from them.

We stopped by the foreign exchange, the bank, and the cyber café. We also stopped by a warehouse where they distribute free medicine to missionary clinics. The government provides vaccines, mosquito nets, and some food for babies, but we get all the medicine from a missionary organization (I can't remember the name right now). On the way back we stopped by another Nakumatt, so I bought some candles and matches in preparation for Lenkijape. I also got some potato chips. The chips here taste really good, but probably very fattening.

It takes three hours one way, so we had to travel for a long time.

I didn't get to go back to BCEA today, but I got a hold of Richard, and he's going to get the stuff for me and give them to Rev. Kim. So I'm all set as long as Rev. Kim comes down this coming week.

Tomorrow, we'll have a fellowship at someone's house, go to Namanga, and then maybe take a walk up a hill (where David Ahn said I should go). It should be a pretty eventful day.

I think they're about to turn off the small generator now. I should wrap it up for tonight.