Back in the Field

What’s this? I am working!

Girl, what dates you talking about? July 24-25^th, 2012

Initially, I was worried whether or not I would be able to make the number of required work hours needed to fulfill my practicum. Yeah… that concern no longer exists. With 12 hours days, I’ll be just fine. I was told that I would have an intense schedule for the rest of my time but damn! I am tired. A good tired, but tired nonetheless. However, I am quite ecstatic to actually be working.
 
Tuesday
 
Tuesday was a particularly long day because a lot of it was spent on the road. We made four stops at several different health centers to make various supply deliveries all over Kisii and Gucha South District before we actually proceeded to our true destination of interest.

T'was a rather bumpy ride through the hills.

 We finally settled at the Etago Sub-District Hospital to participate and observe the TB/HIV psychosocial support group. My org supports the formation of these support groups throughout the areas of Nyanza they serve. Without going into too much boring detail, their purpose is to encourage people to a) talk openly about their health status in a stigma free environment b) take their medications regularly and on time and c) provide them with hope and self worth. We went there to facilitate a wrap up session, and privately talk to members of the group that were identified to not be taking their medication on schedule to encourage them to come up with a strategy to improve their adherence to their treatment regime. 

Member of psychosocial support group talking about his experience disclosing this HIV status to his church members.

Wednesday

Yesterday, we went to the city of Kisumu (about a 2 hour drive from Kisii).

The mountains you see along the way between Kisii and Kisumu are breathtaking. Sadly, I have yet to be able to take a photo that appropriately captures that beauty.

Currently, two 5-day trainings are taking place for health professionals that represent dozens of health facilities from the Kisii area. Most of the health professionals are nurses, but some are nutritionists and public health officers. The first training was about how to properly consult patients regarding nutrition and their positive HIV status. The other training is about ways to integrate TB and HIV care effectively. 

The Nutrition and HIV group

My job was two write up evaluations regarding how well the trainings were going, what could be improved, and log comments from participants on behalf of the Monitoring & Evaluation officer. It was a good experience… though my accent throws people off and my Kiswahili is still a work in progress. Therefore, there were a few communication hiccups, but nothing insurmountable.

I’m not sure what the rest of the week entails but I need to be getting better sleep for these long days. Thank goodness is not culturally unacceptable to take a nap when there is a downtime on the job.

P.S.
On the ride throughout Gucha South, one of my colleagues made the mistake about complaining about how Kenyan women supposedly just “lay there” during coitus. Needless to say, dude was ragged on for two hours. Everyone in the van (about 6 of us) promptly turned to him and informed him that his issue was not with Kenyan women but his clear lack of knowledge regarding the art of seduction. He tried to recover by trying to act all cool and nonchalantly proposition me for “lessons”. I promptly turned him down with a “You’re too old, you’re too broke, and I only work with students at the top of their class. Clearly, you’re in need of remedial courses.” It made a long car ride rather short. J

Long Time No Blog

Girl, what dates you talking about? The past week, July 15^th-23^rd 

So if you were not working, what the heck were you doing? 

Well, at first, I worked on the stuff I needed to write up to conduct my research. However, considering that I had finished all the preliminary stuff needed to get my research going weeks ago, sans translation into Kiswahili and/or Gusii, I literally had nothing else to do. Hell, I even finished creating the focus group facilitator training manual just for kicks. The only thing left to do was complete my literature review but I was hesitant to continue until I actually knew whether or not I would still proceed with my research protocol. 

To busy myself, I just decided to continue to explore Nairobi. I decided to do a mini restaurant tour because Nairobi has a ton of great restaurants with extremely talented chefs. My last Nairobi residence made this easy because it was near a bustling shopping mall (called The Junction) that had several really nice restaurants plus this location was right on a busy bus/matatu line, so it was quite easy to move about. Unfortunately, because I am flaky about carrying my camera about, I haven’t any pictures of the amazing presentation on some of the plates I have eaten.  I will hopefully be going back to Nairobi this weekend to enjoy my last weekend in Kenya, so I will try to remember to take a few pics.

My favorite place to eat thus far in Nairobi. Awesome sushi bar!

 When I wasn’t busy stuffing my face, I did the nightlife thing as well as hung out with some of the people that have become family during my time in Kenya (most notably, members of the Mwangi clan). Now that I am back in Kisii, it’s back to waking up early and doing a normal work day in the office or the field. 

So, since the research no longer feasible due to time constraints, what’s the plan for the rest of the time there?

The team and I both agree that the remainder of my time is best spent in the field to provide assistance whenever possible, with the potential report being written here and there.  Hell, just riding along is pretty educational but hopefully I get some substantial tasks. We’ll see how that all plays out from here on out! THANK GOODNESS my thesis/faculty advisor told me to not put all my eggs in one basket when it came to choosing a thesis. I'd likely be scrambling right now.

P.S.

Folks in the western world have a tendency to act as though that gays and lesbians in Africa are cowering in fear and hiding in the shadows. Wrong. I’ve met so many in your face, out and proud Kenyan lesbians who are just happily living their lives the best they can. And no, they aren’t all young and “experimenting” either. I met a committed couple of 15 years that were both in their 40s.While it’s generally met with ambivalence (with less tolerance seen with older and hyper religious folk), Nairobi is a heck of a lot less hostile on this front than a good chunk of the American populace. Well, at least with lesbians, anyway. Conventional definitions of masculinity usually provide a landscape for a far more constricting social straight-jacket on the whole sexuality front. But seeing as I haven’t met any out-of-the-closet Kenyan men, I can’t really comment on that front.

Next: Oh shit… I’m working?

It's July... why am I still in Nairobi?

Girl, what dates you talking about? The past 2 weeks. 

So... my "practicum" has yet to actually get started off the ground and I'm still in Nairobi? Yes. 

Apparently, this is not an uncommon narrative with summer practicums. A lot of my colleagues are sitting around waiting for one bureaucratic process or another, be it international IRB approval, Emory IRB, organization-specific tedium, etc etc.


Why am I in Nairobi when I'm supposed to be in western Kenya?

After we had been in Kisii for just under a week, we were instructed to come back to Nairobi to complete some paperwork. Upon arrival in Nairobi, I am told that I actually didn't need to come back to Nairobi because my work could have been done remotely. Hmm...

This conversation happened two weeks ago. Why wasn't I sent back after that was cleared up? We also need identification that reflects our association with the organization, that way if we are stopped and asked "Hey you foreign nationals, what are you doing here?", we have something to present. This ID was only supposed to take 4 weeks to process. I sent in my materials the first or second week of May. Today is July 2nd and there is still no sign of it. I have been put up in a Nairobi hotel for the entire duration of my wait. While I am thankful that this was of no expense to me, it's still a pity that so much time and money is being wasted on nothing.

So What Now?

My flight itinerary currently has me leaving the first week of August. I have two choices: 1) Extend my stay so that I have some hope of executing my research or 2) Rework my stay into a succinct work assignment so that I am able to complete the number of work hours required of the practicum. I am heavily leaning towards option 2. Given how unpredictable things have been in regards to timelines, my shelling out additional money to stay for a few more weeks is no guarantee that I will have enough time to complete my imagined research protocol. While I was excited to take my first stab at independent research, it will not be my last opportunity. So, it's just better for me to make the most of the summer in a way that will not have me pulling my hair out  or draining my wallet. My thesis is NOT dependent on my summer (I always have a plan B), so why give myself grey hair over it?

I am excited about the prospect of heading back to Kisii this week. I'm getting a bit bored and stir crazy in Nairobi. The Nairobi office is simply a support office, so there is no "field" to go observe like there is in Kisii. Moreover, I've been to just about every bar in this town, so there's nothing else to see, haha! Really though, I came to here to work... it would be nice to be finally doing some of that. I could be a bum at home for a heck of a lot less money while having better internet access at my disposal.

Plus, I miss my "pets":

There are about 10 fowl of various types that run around the Kisii Guest House premises.

On the negative, I am not particularly excited about going back to the organization's guest house in Kisii. It just doesn't afford me the sort of privacy that I prefer. There, you live with your coworkers, and thus you see them all day, everyday. Thankfully, I find most of them pleasant, so it should not be torture. One the occasions I need a little "me time", I'm torrentting a storm while I have decent-ish internet in Nairobi. I'll be watching Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, and some anime to pass my time when I feel like being solitary. (If you have TV recommendations, comment or FB inbox me some... thanks!) I will likely make weekend trips back to Nairobi to see folks of interest since Kisii is supposed to be fairly dull on the weekends.

Up Next: Hopefully I'll be back in Kisii soon and actually have an entry dedicated to my time there!

P.S.:

There was one major benefit of being in Nairobi all this time. I got to Family Health Options Kenya headquarters, one of the largest and oldest providers of sexual and reproductive health services in the country and an International Planned Parenthood affiliate. I was in talks with them when I was looking for a backup practicum, but they still invited me in when I told them I was staying with my current org. They stated they would love to receive me in January for a monitoring and evaluation project related to behavior change communication in Kisumu, Kenya. They even introduced me to the Advocacy and Behavior Change Communication teams. If I could get the logistics sorted out, that would be an awesome winter project that is more in line with my interests. Only the months will tell whether or not this will work out but it's something to look forward to in the winter.

Rob Me? Sorry, Hon. I'm From Baltimore!

I’ve been awful about blogging, I know! It’s just that things have been slow with my practicum (will explain in the next blog)… so honestly, there isn’t much to talk about :/.

Girl, what dates you talking about?: June 23rd

I would have posted about this sooner but between needing a day or two to process the event and my internet being weird, some time has passed. 

First Personal Encounter with Nairobbery ( or really, robbery of any kind)





So, we were ambushed by a group of 6 or so guys last weekend that came for our purses. We were not harmed in any major way. Collectively we only lost a pair of glasses, a purse, and a phone. Only the glasses were mine. It was a quick snatch and run. It looked like a group of relatively young guys who were looking for convenient targets. We had barely left one bar to head to another that was pretty close by (we could still see the last bar that we were at right behind us when it happened). The road was not completely lit but it was far from deserted, so we figured it would be okay for such a short distance. *insert buzzer sound* Wrong! Thankfully, I made the person that came after me regret that shit. I flipped him to the ground and kept my stuff. The only thing I personally lost was my favorite pair of glasses in the scuffle. At a cost of 15 bucks, it's no big loss but grrr… those frames are sold out everywhere! However, the thing I am most disappointed by is that there were a ton of witnesses but no one intervened. Not a single person. Yet, after the thieves left, people started to stand up as if they were planning to do something. Wackness personified, furreal. Just go ahead and keep sitting on your wack asses, please.

 Lessons learned:

1) Keep an eye on what your company is doing and watch out for a lapse of street smarts. Crimes are only committed because criminals are present and are never the victims’ fault… but there are ways to mitigate risk in the presence of criminals. I learned after the fact that the person I was with was texting at the time. Frankly, I think this was the primary magnet. Hell, this is a bad idea at 1am in the morning in Atlanta, Baltimore, Columbus or the myriad of cities you may be reading my blog from. It’s certainly a terrible idea in Nairobi—where cell phone theft is the most common petty crime that takes place. Seriously, I wonder how many people in the town successfully make it through the course of the year without having to replace their cell phone at least once due to theft.  The most problematic bit about this is that in the eyes of an amateur criminal looking for a quick hit, the message broadcasted is: “1) carrying a purse= money and other goodies; 2) leaving a bar= likely inebriated, therefore easy fight; 3) looking down at phone= completely distracted and yet another prized item for my taking. Add it all up and I have a high probability of success here.” The light from a cell phone at night to criminals is the same as a light bulb to mosquitoes looking for blood to suck.

2) Carrying your purse like a football works!



In the a lot of public transit systems (I've heard this in NYC and Baltimore), passengers are instructed to carry their purse like a football rather than relying on their straps . In addition to wrapping the strap around your arm/shoulder, you turn your purse upside down, grab the clasp/zipper, and hold the bag itself under your arm. This makes it particularly difficult to just run up on someone and snatch it away from them. I have been carrying my purse this way for a long time and it came in handy this particular evening. My purse didn’t even have a zipper, yet none of my purse’s contents fell out during the struggle to keep it. Thanks for this one, Nonye!

3) I’m physically stronger than I thought. I’m not particularly humble about my ability to fight but seeing as I am an adult and do not solve my problems with violence, it has been quite some time since it’s been tested. I am sure the dudes that came after me was like, "Fuck, why did we pick the big bitch?” I definitely lifted this one dude off the ground in the process of flipping him over. Boo Boo, I am not the one! *snaps* Got light scrapes on my knee and elbow in the process, but you didn't get my shit! Neener, neener, neeeeeeeener!

4) My instincts are pretty good. I heard rapid footsteps approaching (largely thanks to not being distracted in any other way) and thought “this don’t sound kosher”. I turned around immediately and had them in my line of vision before they were in purse-snatching distance. Moreover, I was able to appropriately gauge the high likelihood of not having to contend with an assailant’s weapon.

5) Lastly, a taxi is never too expensive. Even for very short distances, I will now more frequently cough up the extra couple of dollars to get to where I need to go.

I know some of y’all are thinking “damn Nneka, it was too dangerous to fight back just let the purse go”. Ordinarily, I would agree and do NOT endorse the course of action I took in this scenario. Most street safety guides say "never fight back". However, my personal risk assessment was as follows: Growing up in an economically-depressed-and-not-so-safe metropolitan area has taught me that thieves like to move quickly in and out of the scene of the crime. If they have a weapon, it’s presented at the beginning of the crime, not the end, as it expedites the process. Moreover, while the witnesses were inactive during the purse snatch (sadly, not an uncommon group reaction to stuff like this), something like a stabbing greatly changes the nature of the crime being committed and thus increases the likelihood of outside intervention. So, during the time I had to make my “fight or flight” decision, I opted for “fight”. I don’t regret making that choice. My only regret was not dragging my assailant’s face through the pavement when I had him on the ground.

This could have easily happened in Baltimore, Columbus, or Atlanta and unfortunately some of you reading have your own tales of such experiences in each of these cities. So do not leave this entry thinking “damn, Africans be crazy”. This shit happens everywhere that criminals exist. At least now I know that I can handle it. However, I’d greatly prefer to not be tested again. I won’t let this stop me from enjoying the nightlife but I will definitely be more diligent on my future excursions.

P.S.:
Holy shit, I was attacked by a group, kept my shit (sans glasses), and left the encounter with self-induced scratches to the knee and elbow. Call me a weirdo but I’m totally proud of myself. Let's call this another entry to “The List of Reasons That It’s Not Advisable to Fuck with Nneka M., Ya Heard?” Haha.

P.P.S.
Stay safe, y’all!

Up Next: Hopefully I will finally finish my entry on my practicum, or lack thereof, thus far.