Forth of July!

I wish I even knew where to begin…it has been another one of those times where I have wondered if this is really my life. As I write this, I am in the back of a Land Rover on the top of a mountain in the rain. The terrain here is amazing- it reminds me of the place the old guy goes in “Up”- all sorts of weird plants, crazy animals, beautiful views…it’s surreal. We have been working on identifying points for household questionnaires and some are miles away from any sort of road able to be passed by a vehicle. As some of you know from my facebook page, I fell a couple of weeks ago (in front of a large group of women who saw me sort of flip over, skin my knee, show off my underwear and sprain my ankle). It’s been healing well but I twisted it again yesterday, so I’ve decided not to push it on the longer (10km) hikes into the woods. We have a GPS and a map, a dude from the village and two Kenyan field assistants (who can’t walk faster than a slug in town but put them on a mountain and they run) who lead the way. As of now, we won’t be going on the interview because there might be more bias than there already is. Kinda sad, but we can do data entry and work on our reports while the interviews are being conducted. I’m also glad they won’t be offering me any mursik- milk put into a gourd and left to ferment for 5 to 6 days. It’s chunky and blue and grosses me out, although it tastes ok. I just know where it comes from and what it is.

Eddie, Desomond and Brian are Kalenjins that have just graduated from Egerton University and are some of the smartest kids I know. They have (embarrassingly) been teaching us about US history and all sorts of other random things I should know about, but don’t. They have given us all Kalenjin names- I am Cherop (born in the cooler months). Amanda W is Chelang’at (born in the afternoon) and Anna is Chepkemoi (born in the evening). Shreyas is Kimalel (the brown kid, since he’s the token Indian). Amanda W and I have been on the same team for household identification and when we introduce ourselves as Amanda and Amanda, people ask if we are sisters, which would be incredibly confusing if our mother named us both the same name, but I suppose it could happen.

I just finished reading The White Masaai and the field assistants have been trying to convince me I need to write The White Kalenjin. Eddie has offered to let me marry him (only as the second wife, though) so that we can share in the book’s profits. I’ve been told I’d make a bad Kenyan wife, since I have what they call “a difficult head”…maybe I am a little stubborn. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been accused of such.

I’ve started reading Monique and the Mango Rains, about a Peace Corps Volunteer and her best friend, Monique. It makes me miss my best friend, Mama Edina so much- I’ve talked to Mama Love, the nurse in Kifumbe and told her I would be coming. She says Mama Edina is well and they can’t wait to see me. I miss them so much it hurts. I hope to see Mariam, too. She was 7 months pregnant when I left, so I can’t wait to meet her little girl! It’s funny how much I think of Kifumbe as my home.

It’s 4^th of July- a huge holiday in my family. I hate not being there, but it turns out no one was going to Black Mountain this year, anyway. My Grandma Sue fell and broke her hip this week, so my aunts are there, helping out, but my cousins and extended family aren’t coming. We almost always go to the Montreat parade, dress in embarrassing, matching outfits and eat until we are stuffed. Boys are usually in charge of the grill in the back yard with a cooler of beer and girls are in the kitchen, reading cookbooks and craft magazines. Kids are relegated to the living room or front yard and dogs roam freely between the masses.

We have decided to have a cookout here in Kericho- we are going the arboretum (apparently there is one) and have ice cream, watermelon, goat and ugali. We can’t exactly make it perfectly American, but it’s close enough. We have been discussing buying an entire goat- the boys want to slaughter and eat it all- I say we just buy a few kilos of already cooked meat. And, as we have learned, “ugali is a must”. Hopefully the rain will stay away for a little bit longer today and we can enjoy our first day off in two weeks.

One of our new favorite things to talk about is “bean pullers”. Last week, we were supposed to have a meeting with the men in the village and no one showed up. We asked the village chief where everyone was and he responded “they are pulling beans”, meaning they were working in the fields, harvesting beans. We waited another hour or two and then left. On our way out of town, about 30 men were sitting by the side of the road, watching the donkeys go by. And that is how we named them “bean pullers”. Now anyone who is doing nothing is called a bean puller, which you can use as a noun or you can use “pulling beans”, depending on your need. Desmond also calls them “pull beaners” on special occasions. There is a bean puller dance and if you are listening to the radio while drinking, you are the king bean puller. It’s been a fascinating anthropological study.

Florence, the housekeeper at the Tea Hotel where we are based, is so sweet. She wants us to stay until December. She is kind of like our den mother…we have a little house with 10 rooms on the grounds of the hotel and 8 of them are occupied by us…I feel badly for the other 2 rooms, since we sort of operate a dorm now. But Florence takes care of us and I just love her.

Overall, I am really good. I’m bruised from the hikes (and numerous falls, mostly into holes and out of cars) and tired, but I really love our team. Turry is our other Field Assistant, although not from the tribe around here. She has been working for ILRI for some time and is really so much fun. The eight of us get along really well and when it is time to work, we work really hard, but when it is time to play, we play. We’ve been too tired to play soccer lately, but maybe some will happen at our 4^th of July party. I’ve never seen a sadder group of people than when Ghana lost to Uruguay. It was so pitiful.

And now, we get back to work. Our household interviews start Monday and we have lots to accomplish before then. It’s going to be fun! I miss you all and can’t wait to hear from you!!!

Love, Amanda Jean