Doxa in Kenya: Baby Goat, Guitar Lesson, and Double Chicken Feast

Saturday, July 29.

I fell asleep right as I was about to start writing my journal. I'm so tired, but there are so many things to talk about.

This morning there was a goat leashed and separated from the flock. I was wondering why it was leashed, then I saw a little baby goat curled up on the ground. At first I thought it was dead, but it was just very weak. The leashed goat was its mother, and she had given birth for the first time last night. The baby goat was so small and weak that it couldn't even stand on its own. So it could not get the milk from the mother on its own either. I wanted to help the baby goat, so I soaked a handkerchief with some cow milk (there was a bottle of it next to the goat), and tried feeding it. The baby goat wouldn't suck on the handkerchief, so I put my finder behind it. But by the time it started sucking on my finger covered in handkerchief, all the milk had dripped to the ground. I figured I would have to either milk the mother or get the baby to suck from the mother. No matter how I tried, the mother goat would not stay still, so I couldn't do either. Then Gideon Leshushu (one of the workers in the clinic) came and held the mother goat for me so I could get the baby to suck on the nipple. After the baby had some milk, it was gained some strength to stand on its own very briefly. But it was still very weak, so we had to keep feeding it periodically. Last time I saw it today, it could stand for a long time, and walk a short distance. I was really happy to see it getting better. Apparently it was a premature birth. I was told that last night when the mother gave birth, she didn't like the baby, but now she seems to like him. I hope it will grow up to be a big goat so it can feed many people... jk.

When I first came to Kiluani, it was right when PuiMeng was leading Bible study with some of the students from the secondary school. So when she came out, she introduced me to the boys (it's a boys only school). I said this before, but since it was finals week, we arranged to have math and physics lessons Tuesday and Wednesday. But nobody came both days. We had also arranged to have a guitar lesson today at 10am, but since nobody came the other two days, I thought they wouldn't come. So I was going to go to the fellowship with the pastor and PuiMeng. But they came. Their excuse for not coming the other days was that they were busy... oh well, whatever. So I decided to give them a little lesson. We were going to use the sancutuary, but it was being cleaned by some students, so I decided to use the guest house that I'm staying. We had a lesson till 12:30pm, and they left for lunch. They said they wanted to come back at 4pm, so I agreed to give more lesson. They came around 4pm, and since the sanctuary was being used by the choir, we used the guest house again. As I was giving the lesson, PuiMeng came in and seemed a bit surprised. She seemed somehow uneasy about something. Anyhow she said I should use the chapel because it's brighter there. I realized it was getting dark, but we could still see fine, so I said we were ok. Then she said I should let the students go because it's most dinner time (it was 6:05pm). So I told her that the students said they can still till 6:15. For some reason she sounded a bit upset, but she just left saying that they should go very soon. Anyhow, I finished giving the lesson, dismissed the students, and I went over to PuiMeng's place to give back her guitar. Then she told me that students aren't allowed in the guest house. She was a bit upset. I felt bad, so I told her I was sorry, and that I didn't know that they weren't allowed to be there. Then she said I should have asked for permission, and that I shouldn't take things like that for granted, and since I'm a guest I should be especially sensitive. The relationship with the school and the mission hasn't been very good since the government took over the school and a new principle came, so she said I should be careful with anything that has to do with school. She also told me I need to get permission to go anywhere around the premises. I could only tell her I'm sorry, I didn't know. I would have said I'll be careful next time, but I'm leaving soon and there most likely won't be a next time. I felt bad, but I thought it was a bit unfair. Yes, I'm a guest, and I need to be careful how I behave. I also wouldn't take stuff for granted, and I don't think I was taking stuff for granted. I didn't see any problem with letting the boys in the house. Apparently the last time the boys were in the mission house, things went missing. So they don't want students in there any more. But how was I supposed to know? I think it was more of her responsibility to tell me rules like that. Also, none of the students said anything to me when I let them in. Was I being insensitive or taking things for granted? I hope not. Oh well, I should just forget about it... well, now that I wrote all about it, it's probably bit harder to forget, but I think I feel better letting it out somehow. I guess that's just her personality. PuiMeng seems to get easily annoyed with small things, and she's quite confrontational. If there's anything small that she doesn't like, she'll say it. So I'll just take it as her personality, and I'll suppose there's nothing wrong with that. I don't like it, but it helps me become more mature and patient. I like learning to live with people I can't get along with very easily. It opens my mind and widens my heart, I think. That's how I think of my experience in my fraternity. We were all really different, but we were in the same fraternity because of Christ. I learned to live with people I would never be friends with or hangout with otherwise, and I've learned love them as they are. God brings people together for a reason. We can get annoyed at each other, but we can always learn something from our differences. Nonetheless, I really respect PuiMeng for being out here and helping the people the way she does. I can't even imagine being single at her age (probably somewhere in the 30's) living in a place like this. She's been here for 5 years already. Jackson (the driver) told me yesterday that she actually prefers being single.

Since I treated everyone last night with the chicken, PuiMeng, Pastor Stephen, and Isaiah chipped in to get two chickens for us and the workers to eat. So we had a big feast with us four, Lemomo, Leshushu, Nyingei, and Henry. I got to see Isaiah slaughtering the chicken and draining their blood. I recorded a video of the process, so you'll get to see it later. I learned that real Masai people don't eat chicken. I also learned that if you are a moran (Masai warrior) and if a woman sees your food, you can't eat it. Strange but interesting traditions...

Tomorrow after church, I'm taking a goat (about Ksh1200 to Ksh2000) up the mountain with some of the guys. Nyingei will slaughter and prepare the goat. We'll roast the goat whole and eat it there and come down after dark. It will be an interesting experience.

Doxa in Kenya: Flies in the Ear, Bike Ride, and Chicken Feast

Thursday, July 27.

Thursdays are antenatal clinic days. So there were many pregnant women coming in for a monthly check-up. For the first timers, PuiMeng gives tetanus vaccines, because Masai people prefer (or just tend) to give birth in their homes on their own. This leads to a high risk of infection during birth. She also checks their blood for syphilis. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, and can cause blindness to children if they are infected during birth. I learned how to locate a fetus' heart. First, you feel for the head, then find the back, and the heart is along the back. I learned that you can estimate the length of gestation (how many months it's been since conception) by feeling for how big the uterus is. You'll have to guess because most Masai people don't have the concept of "months." They only know seven-day weeks. Walking too much during pregnancy can cause the legs to swell up. Pregnant women need to eat well for the fetus and for themselves. If they don't, they may not have enough breast milk. Also, low iron in the diet can lead to anemia, which sometimes causes miscarriage. Pretty interesting stuff. If I become a doctor in a developing country, these kinds of information will be helpful. Also if I get married and my wife gets pregnant, it would be useful as well.

There were a couple interesting cases today. A lady brought in her daughter, who is about 6 or 7, because the girl has some stuff stuck in her right ear. They came a few days ago, but the girl would cry and resist when PuiMeng tried to clean her ear. Even when PuiMeng tries to look into the ear with the hand-microscope (or whatever you call those magnifying glass with light and funnel), the girl starts crying really loudly, and would not stay still. So they came in again today, but again she would resist so hard that PuiMeng could not clean her ear. She was also too big to hold down. The girl's parents tried to convince her to get the ear cleaned, but she wouldn't listen, so they went back home again. Seeing a girl so afraid of something so small makes me wonder if she is being physically abused at home. She was so scared of a little q-tip! She seemed to be afraid of anything foreign to her. Actually, many of the kids were like her. They would start crying uncontrollably even when the assistant tries to put the thermometer under their armpit. Some of them stops crying immediately after they hear the "quack" of a rubber-ducky. It's interesting how some kids are so afraid of things they don't even know if it will harm them. I think they really need to be loved more.

So there was a boy, age of about 4 or 5, who also had a problem with his right ear. PuiMeng showed me the inside of his ear, and I saw two insect legs sticking out of his earwax deep down the ear. Apparently, it's quite common for flies to get stuck in children's ears, because they have so many flies around them, and they're used to having flies landing and walking all over their faces. The boy was small enough that we could hold him down while we cleaned his ear. We wrapped him in a sheet of cloth (almost like a straightjacket), and held him down as PuiMeng injected clean water into his ear to rinse out the wax. Two flies came out of his ear, and after that his ear was all nice and clean. The boy was crying so hard as PuiMeng washed his ear, but he was much better behaved than the girl.

After lunch, the pastor and I rode bicycles around the village and visited some church members. When I say "village" I don't mean a small area with a few rows of houses. Houses (or boma) are spread so far apart, so we had to travel a long distance to get to some houses. It was a really good exercise . At one place, I saw two girls dressed in black. These were the girls who were recently circumcised. Yes, they circumcise girls here. Such a terrible thing, but it's their culture, and so apparently the girls willingly (or are persuaded to) do it.It's socially unacceptable if they are not circumcised, so there's also the social pressure. Even the Kenyan government discourage female circumcision. I'm not sure why they do it in the first place, but according to Pastor (who is not from Masai), it's because they believe the females would not be able to satisfy the men's desires if they are not circumcised. My heart breaks for them when I hear things like this.

For dinner, we had chicken. Here in Kenya, chicken is actually more expensive than beef (per kilogram). It's because it's harder to keep the chicken alive in their environment, especially during rainy season when it gets cold. So I payed for the chicken, and Isaiah cooked for us. Pastor, PuiMeng, Isaiah, and I had a little feast tonight. Since I payed for the chicken (which is about Ksh300 or $4.20), I took some chicken first, but I realized the first thing I took was its head. I almost lost my appetite right then. I put back the head for the natives to eat, and ate the other parts. The meat was really tender. Nothing like a freshly killed chicken... also very naturally raised, unlike in LA.

Tomorrow, I'm going back to Nairobi for a few hours, but apparently I won't have time to go back to BCEA. PuiMeng says she's too busying doing stuff in town, and BCEA is too far off. I have so many things I need to bring (and I want to drop off my laptop because I could only use it for a few hours during the whole three weeks)... Oh well. I need to buy a little note book to keep my journal. I guess I'll have to type out everything once I get back to civilization.

It's been almost two weeks since I shaved. It's definitely the longest I've gone without shaving already, but still the hair is uneven. It's also not dense enough. I can feel my mustache every time I drink chai (which is at least 3 times a day).