external monologue

Dear Friends & Families,

So I guess it's my turn to write everyone with an update...

Today is Tuesday, and the beginning of week two here in Kisumu. After
this weekend, I think we're both beginning to feel more at home. On
saturday we just wandered around downtown Kisumu with the help of a
map that took a while to get a hold of. I finally feel like I have my
barings, which always helps when you're in a new place. I caught
about 10 minutes of a soccer game at the downtown stadium (free
admission), and there was a local arts festival that we passed by with
'traditional African dancing,' but we didn't spend too much time
there. We also made our way down near the lake, but it wasn't obvious
where you were supposed to access the shore so we headed back to town.
We also had time to meet up with some of Ari's friends - other Emory
students doing work in Kisumu this summer (some with the CDC and some
not). We grabbed a pizza and a beer at an Italian place in the town
square. The pizza was very different than anything I've had before,
but still good - and the beer, known as 'Tusker Beer' was great, a
nice pale summer blond. Most of the beers over here are paler but
still full of flavor. We're tried the 'Uganda Breweries' and the
'Kenya Breweries' under various labels. I always check to see where
they are brewed, and so far everything we've drunk has been true
African label.

About the coffee over here... it is unfortunately downplayed a bit,
which we suppose is due to the British tea-drinking influence on
Kenya. Those British imperialist! Always forcing their tea-drinking
ways on the rest of the world. Restaurants and shopping markets seem
to have more tea choices, and to be honest, the Kenyan coffee we've
had here hasn't been super impressive. Though Gel might get a kick
out of this... Anyways, don't worry though, Ari and I will keep doing
our homework and hopefully bring home the best of our findings.

So I think Ari has filled everyone in on what she's been doing, but
said nothing about my activities... Well, life for me has been quite
challenging here in Kisumu. Each day I wake up early, about 9:30 or
10:00, make a big breakfast for myself (Ari has usually already gone
to work), and sit down by the pool behind our cottage for a long day
of book-reading and sipping pineapple juice. Ari usually walks home
for lunch, and if it isn't raining we'll enjoy lunch by the pool in
the sun. Okay, okay... maybe it's not as tough as I'm making it
sound. That was last week's schedule - this week I'll probably go
looking for some work. I'm beginning to feel a little guilty. I have
a few different options to pursue. An organization called CARE is
doing a water purification study that will analyze how effective the
current water system is at distributing the purified water to those
who need it most. I've been e-mailing the guy in charge of it and
will hopefully meet with him this afternoon. Hopefully there will be
some work for me to do. Also, Ari's boss at the CDC (Tim Thomas) and
his wife are working on building an orphanage in Kisumu, and I will
meet with them on Wednesday to see if I can be of some assistance in
the design/construction work.

Other than that, I've been pretty content to not be studying - I
figure it's okay to enjoy myself a little over here because as soon as
I get back, it's going to be time to start the working life... At
first I was certain that I'd be bored without having any work to do,
but once I cracked open 'Wonder Boys' by Michael Chabon last week I
couldn't set the thing down. If anyone is looking for a good read, I
would highly recommend it - Chabon is an excellent writer (with an
even more excellent vocabulary). I finished it in two days, and have
since renewed my nearly forgotten desire for reading again - it's been
a while since I've had this much time to just read, and it's a
delight. I think I'm going to try one of David Sedaris's books next -
'Me Talk Pretty One Day.' If anyone else has any recommendations of
stuff they've read recently, let me know. I'm not sure what I can get
over here, but I can always try.

Ari and I have been blessed with good health so far, though I did eat
something in Uganda that gave my some 'plumbing problems' for a few
days... but nothing a little Imodium couldn't handle. No malaria or
dengue fever or water-borne diseases. We are really thankful for
this. We've also not had anyone try to rob us or give us any trouble
at all, and have only been out at night once, by accident, when we
were coming home from the market. We just didn't time it right, and
when we saw that it was dark when we came out, we were a little
nervous... but we just did what we usually do - called for a Boda
Boda, jumped on the back, and rode home as inconspicuously as
possible. We were fine, but the roads at night were even more
chaotic, which is a bit worrisome when you're hanging on to the back
of some boy's bicycle as he darts in and out of the spaces between
cars and buses.

Ari and I have really enjoyed getting the news from home - it's nice
to hear about familiar things when you're around so much that is
unfamiliar, I suppose. Please keep the e-mails coming! And please
keep us in your prayers, as you all are surely in ours. Oh, and feel
free to forward this on to whomever...