The Orange Hat

“ I lived in Ecuador for a year, I had a boyfriend there, I came to Kenya thinking I could take up the culture, and not live the ‘foreigners life,’ but I couldn’t- there is something different about Africa which prevents me from fully integrating myself in the culture, I say I’m a single white female and a wall just come up with me and half the men I work with”

“you know if we had this conversation with anyone who had just arrived, or who hadn’t lived here, they wouldn’t understand- and probably call us racist- so much for the perfect little dream of universal cultural acceptance – I think that’s called growing up – yeah, but it kinda sucks”

-Reflection on life in Kenya, A book that doesn’t exist, the worlds of a Dutch woman who I met one night in Nakuru

“We can call them the Diaspora- like the Jewish people who don’t live in Israel- but for Africans who have been out of Africa, maybe make it an adjective, they can be ‘diasporic’”

“It’s almost like they’ve bitten the apple, and been enlightened, I know it sounds very righteous, but there definitely is a difference. All the Kenyans in the club have lived or experienced life outside of Africa, and are drastically different because of it. The people I call my friends who are native Kenyans have left the continent- and come back with a totally different perspective, it’s really hard to relate otherwise.”

-Conversations on the differences between the Western world and Africa

“But growing up doesn’t have anything to do with Drinking alcohol and partying- or even driving a car, it has to do with taking care of yourself, and being responsible, and I don’t think that happens, or at least starts to happen until you move out of your parents house, pay your own bills, and realize you are responsible for other people. Yeah your 21, so what"

“Don’t be complacent, if you’re complacent and “non-controversial” nothing gets done but what is already being done, look at this country, look at our country, it’s fucked up, and if you don’t make some people unhappy, then nothing going to change because they made if that way, and I think that’s a bit ‘controversial’”

“Fuck you, don’t give up- then I really will be angry at you, why would I be mad at you for failing, I fail all the time I’m not mad at me”

“Do what you can”

“He was drunk, he could barely walk, yet he drove a Japanese embassy Landrover into a cactus patch at 4am and couldn’t get it out”

-This long, long month, of which I’ve decided that I’m only growing younger
(I did not say all of this - and the speakers are left anonymous on purpose)

While Exploring Del.icio.us I found some interesting material

When she asked how they felt about returning to their homeland, the sentiment was unanimously negative. At first, Lewis assumed that their reluctance had to do with the Chinese occupation, but they quickly informed her otherwise. They said they were extremely grateful “not to have to marry 4 or 5 men, be pregnant almost all the time,” or deal with sexually transmitted diseases contacted from a straying husband. The younger women “were delighted to be getting an education, wanted absolutely nothing to do with any religion, and wondered why Americans were so naïve [about Tibet].”

Friendly Feudalism: The Tibet Myth

A well balanced article that looks at Tibet's past and current state
I have nothing against the Dali Lama or his teachings, and am not necessarily pro Chinese - or anti-CIA and the counter communism operations of the 50's, but look at the whole picture

-Cheers
From Kenya

Labels: Tibet reading media

when here for so long
then suddenly away
I reach- and gone
we'll meet some other day

Went scuba diving last sunday! - it was in a pool but still pretty sweet :), and I got commissioned to design a climbing wall (over 60 feet tall!) just have to have some proposal in by the end of this month- life's weird like that, makes me think of the wheel of Wyrd, or maybe it's just me being interested in everything

Lately my breakfasts have consisted of Tea- Lunch is Tea and scones (or Mendazi) and Dinner is ... well it involves Tea- in this order: Green, White [ Black with 2/3 milk], Green. It's very enjoyable (and keeps me hydrated)

For those who keep asking these are the only thing I can think I need right now:
things I could use:

-Duct tape
-A Headlight- LED-AAA
-A leartherman multi tool
-pictures of people- so that they can be traveling with me
-Some kind of wallet- the older the better
-Requests for things you would like me to bring back (east Africa- or Europe)
-Medium sized short sleeved colored cotton shirts with some kind of flannel (tartan?) pattern - like what I wear in my facebook photo.... :)

send to:

Sean Kolk
c/o Michael Omondi
p.o. box 75315-00200
Nairobi, Kenya

Cheers

Every once in a while I realize my life goals don't involve attending meetings, drinking at bars, or working long hours on tasks that I could have finished at another time.

I just got invited to Uganda in two weeks.. and I can't really think of a reason not to go- I'm just going to make sure that I finish my work on time.


House is getting crazy- have six people there who all come from very different backgrounds, and now with Thomas and his Guitar and Cami with her energy, the house is... well going in a very interesting direction. :)

[Edit]
As I looked at my goals list (the one one the right)
I found this site- which they recommended me- it was a very nice read, and felt truly relative to my life :)

16 things I wish they had taught me in school

Labels: work and play

As a child I was known as a “picky eater.” I didn’t eat foods that were green, squishy, new, different, foreign, exciting, zesty… you get my point. My favorite food then, and now for that matter, was pasta with cheese- no tomato sauce, meat, or any other complex variation of vegetables. So I didn’t die of malnutrition, my mother put carrots on the side.

If forced to eat mushrooms, beats, squash, broccoli, tomatoes, and most items you would put in a salad, I would swallow it whole, and make dinner awkward for everyone. My parents said I would grow to enjoy the foods I distained at the time, my father using the example of cheese; which he used to hate then later learned to love for all the various flavors and complexities.

Well they were right

First off I think some it was out of necessity, going away to college, where other people at many different items, which I was invited to try, the other was travel, where I was forced to eat new and exciting items of taste.

I find here that many foods are foreign to people, in the theoretic sense. The idea for raw fish is abhorred for many, but I very much enjoy sushi, it might even lie on the same line of taboo homosexuality with some that I’ve talked to (they would rather homosexuals kill themselves out of depression than except who they are in a society who doesn’t permit such behavior)

In some ways I find it funny, in others very sad

Which brings me to my “sad” eating habits here, at least for breakfast- right now I’m eating chips and mayonnaise (I’ve grown to like it) and Green tea- sometimes I’ll have toast and jelly (out of bread right now)

At home … In Ah-mer-ic-ha, I eat cereal and milk, with some juice- but it’s too expensive here, it would be about $7 a box+ milk, which is hard to transport.

So .. what do you eat, that I might have better luck with, I’m not into eggs, and I’ve thought about oatmeal, but I need a enjoyable way to ingest it- whatever that means

Reading:
Arabat-Clive Baker
(Think alliance in wonderland meets Neil Gaimen)

By the way: what do you do when your personal life is more interesting than the books you're reading !?

Movies I want to watch:
Across the universe
Iron Man
Prince Caspian
(I should probably watch blood diamond shouldn’t I :\)

Request:
Is anybody going to be in Europe this fall?
-making plans ☺

I just want to write about my life, so this isn’t a directed post at a specific topic, though I’ll have one of those later this weekend (probably on management, IS and exchange of ideas)

Three very important things happen today. First off I looked at my budget, and realized there was a major flaw which contributed to a 100,000 ksh + surplus last year for no real reason other than an Excel blip. This gave me bargain room to deal with my trainees food budget, and negotiate for a laptop for our session.

This lead me to have a meeting with the LCP Danny, who is a great guy and I wish I had this meeting about two months ago, because it would have saved me much time and effort. We talked about how the project is going, how to sort out a few issues I’m having with my teams, then started to talk about our structure for communication.

If there’s one thing the University of Nairobi does well it’s projects, and the US can learn so much about it from them. If there’s one thing the Nairobi area (Kenyan LC’s) do badly it’s Information systems. They are bogged down by people who check their emails once a week, a international system which doesn’t support their needs, and no database to speak of – everything is in paper format- contacts are not to be found other than by someone’s email lists, and inter LC communication is only though the MC – another level of bureaucracy (even if I love them)

Because of this lack of communication, I along with a few other TN’s have begun to create TN local community, which is mostly based in the IS stage right now. I talked to Arcadiy Kantor the king of information systems in the US (previous liger) and a good friend of mine who is currently in Kiev- so we are on similar time schedules, and based my IS system over my old LC’s system, and what he told me. So far it’s working great, and to be honest it’s evolving into a reception tool, a guide to Nairobi, a communication network, and a comical venue for relief (quotes). ] aieseckenyatn.pbwiki.com ]. I created it to be just for TN’s at first, but realized that was an unneeded exclusion, and very selfish, so I opened it to who ever wanted to come, then realized it could be used as a tool for incoming TN’s and anybody who was interested in a traineeship in Kenya- so I’m beginning to work with other LCP’s and getting them to use it, and making life easier for everyone… and I enjoy doing it.

This allow me to interact with LC’s on a whole new level, and is a reason to be in contact with the LC’s .. it’s a way to help all of the TN’s who are coming in, and a way for the LC’s to communicate more, and write about their city. I have no clue what it will be come next, but it’s amazing so far, and I’ve received mostly positive responses. There are a few … hurdles which I know about, but because I’ve gotten together with the new IS VP here at the University of Nairobi and begun to work on their system. I made mine out of Necessity to build a TN community, now we’re upgrading theirs out of need for efficiency.

Danny (the LCP of University of Nairobi) we very thrilled about everything I was working on, he then even asked me about how out GPM’s worked, and I brought up the idea for the Leadership team (more than just the EB), to help plan their GPM (MSS), and the idea of MSS, and how it’s not a constructive way to create ideas. I then wrote an outline of everything @GT does at the GPM and LTM, which he told me to send to him.

I look forward to perusing this, and changing UoN, I only wish I hadn’t wated three months to do it.


I also realized I had an Eye infection today, which I am treating, and I believe it comes from me having problems with my contacts, unclean water, and lots of finger food (Florent- one of my roommates and fellow workers eat Ethiopian at least twice a week at a restaurant called Habesha, it’s wonderful ☺ ) But my eyes were blood shit and I’ll up load a picture if you really want to see it, but I’ll warn you it’s creepy as all get out. This lead me to look at thinking about taking care of myself a little more carefully – physically and psychology- ( btw I met the worst drunk I’ve ever seen [ his name is Sean… and he’s Irish- for real] a few days ago, it was scary and I was worried for his life). While physically is actually easier, because psychologically is more of focused on what I do in life. I though about what I’d been doing daily here, and what I wanted to do, and they are not always the same. I don’t care if I drink all that much (which I’m really not over doing, but I have found I like red wine and Guinness... interesting combination I known [not together])

So, somethings aren’t worth chasing, because they aren’t ever going to chase back, and life’s to short ( can’t believe I’ve been here three months) to worry about people who don’t worry about you. I have to many friends at home who care about me, people here who are interested in what I say and do, and I don’t need to spend time with people who don’t. I would love to build a relationship with many people, but a relationship is a two-way item, not just my efforts. And that’s all I have to say about that.

The third thing I realized today, which adds into my plans of future life, which my parents don’t know about, but probably guessed, and I’ll have to figure out this money thing…too. I checked AIESEC GT’s blog and realized three of my friends are going to be abroad this summer, three I didn’t know (I knew about many others). I think started planning my Travels after my time in Kenya. It looks like I’m going to be knocking on Maddie in Cairo’s door, Mr Chambers in Valencia abode, and Miss Pechars’s in Paris. I also plan on seeing a few other people ion the way. But I would love to go to – Cairo, Jerusalem, Athens, Across the Med to Valencia (by boat? I don’t know ☺ ) then Paris, and end in London- to fly back to NY- then down to ATL by thanksgiving.

Those are my idealist plans. And I hope I’ll keep them. That’s what dreams are for. ☺

Tonight I needed to rest, so I came back to the house, made pasta with olive oil, some roasted garlic, finely powdered Parmesan cheese which I made myself, cut carrots, and a splash of balsamic vinaigrette with a Chilean Cabernet. – Very happy that I did.

Heres to Joanna, Micheal, and Anna to taking the step and going to a far off place as a non-tourist. Live the dream (whatever you might dream of), best of luck to you.

Enjoying the path
-Sean

I can't feel my right index finger :(