Kenya: Summer of '22

We are back at it.

After taking a break from traveling because of COVID-19, I was finally able to travel again. During the Summer of 2022, I went on a Healthcare system exploratory trip to Kenya with my Global Health teacher and other students at Northeastern. We visited 4 locations for around 5 weeks. After the other students left, I met up with my mom and aunt. We did a safari for a few days and then headed back to the States. Below are my journal entries from the first 5 weeks of the trip.

May.11.2022 - Arrive in Kenya

After flying from Boston to Istanbul and Istanbul to Nairobi, I finally arrived in Kenya. Customs at the airport was very easy, and everyone I met at the airport was very nice. I arrived at the Hotel Comfort at 2:30am and checked into my room. The room was as nice as I expected it to be and reminded me a lot of the places I stayed in while on a school trip to India. I had to use bottled water to brush my teeth because my stomach is not used to the bacteria in the water here. After falling asleep at 5am, I woke up around 12 and moved to the room I will be staying in for the remainder of the time in Nairobi. I relaxed, took a few short naps, wrote my personal essay, and finished a video I had been working on before meeting everyone else who had arrived for dinner. For dinner, I had rice, potatoes, some type of meat, lentils, and a fried banana. All of it was so good. I also started taking the Malaria pills today. I have to take one pill everyday at the same time while I’m here and then 7 days after I get back.

May.12.2022 - First day in Kenya

Today we all got up and ate breakfast together. I had coffee, potatoes, and beans. After breakfast we had orientation at the hotel and then took the van to the convention center where we went to the 27th floor. It had a birds-eye view of the whole city. From this view, it was obvious that Nairobi, like many other countries, had a sprawling problem. We saw the main hospital and many other important buildings. After this, we went to the Department of Public & Global Health at the University of Nairobi. We ate lunch at the University and I got a samosa which is one of my favorite foods. After lunch, Professor Olenja and Professor Wang’ombe talked to us. Professor Wang’ombe was the second person today to tell us that we will cry and break down and want to find a way to go home early. I’m not sure if that is funny or concerning. Prof. Wang’ombe was also Dr. Wamai’s advisor for his PHD which I found interesting. We then went to the mall, exchanged currency, and went grocery shopping. I was really tired by the end, but we went to the BBQ restaurant down the street and got a goat leg. Tomorrow will be an early day, so I am writing this then going to read my book and then go to bed.

May.13.2022 - Swahili, Politics, & Culture

We had an early start to the day today. I woke up at 6:40 a.m. and made breakfast in the hotel room which consisted of peanut butter toast and instant coffee which was actually really good. We then walked over to the school, and it was a nice walk. Our first lecturer was Mtumishi Hieru Kathangu, Michael Arunga, and Isaac Oneka Munanadiri. It was a very interesting talk that was essentially a history lesson about Kenya’s independence. Because I did research on Kenya’s history for the personal essay, a lot of the topics I already knew. Mtumishi Hieru Kathangu was a part of parliament, and you could definitely tell he had a lot of charisma and was a very good politician. He also called himself a “jailbird” because during the struggles that followed Kenya’s independence, he was imprisoned many times which I found very impressive. It is crazy to think that the people who protested and lived through Kenya’s struggle for independence are still alive today. Moreover, they still have so much love and hope for Kenya and its future. One thing I did learn was that Kenya was a “protectorate” before it was a British colony. It is interesting that Britain could send over a small group of people to look over the local people to begin gaining control and it worked. It is also interesting that in 1961 KANU won, but declined to form a government because political prisoners had not been released yet. I understand their reasoning, but at the same time, if I were them I would be so excited to start Kenya on the new track. The first speaker ended by stating that we are all a contributor to our personal growth, family, community, and society.

The second speaker was Jacob Akech. He talked alot about the election and how coalitions work which was very helpful. He was very open about the current issues with the elections, and I greatly appreciated the transparency and centeredness of his approach because when Americans talk about the government and political issues, especially now, we tend to very obviously sway one way or the other. The last speaker was Jane Amiri. She talked about women in politics and it was nice to hear a point of view from a local Kenyan woman about gender equality and how traditions, culture, and customs can hinder gender equality. Her stories were very inspiring. I am a practicing Catholic although I do not agree with many things the religion stands for, but I had never thought about the correlation between respect for women and Mary in the bible until Amiri told her story about it.

After our classes we went to the Nairobi National Museum. Although we were only there for around an hour, it was cool to see all the animals, artifacts, and skeletons. We also saw a ton of different snakes, but at that point I was very tired. When we got back, some people went to a Lebanese restaurant, but I thought about how they said we would have no “me time,” so I thought tonight would be a good time to do that. I went to the restaurant in the hotel, got a samosa, some masala chips, and read my book. My plan is facetime with my friend then go to bed. I’m excited to see the elephants and giraffes.

May 14.2022 - Elephants, Giraffes, Dancers, & Carnivores

Today was a long day, but so much fun. I started out by having my usual breakfast then we left to go feed giraffes. There were baby giraffes and adult giraffes, and they were so cute. We gave them food and took a lot of cute pictures. Charles the driver brought his son Calvin who is so cute and looks just like him. After that, we headed over to the Elephant Orphanage. They had a lot of elephants ranging from 1-3 years old. Although the elephants were so cute, the stories behind why they were in the orphanage were hard to hear. Most were there because of humans. Many were found stuck in traps for poaching and others had wounds from near by villages trying to get them away from their land. Some were there due to natural reasons like their mother dying from starvation, drought, or flooding. Before I left for the dialogue, my friend asked me to bring her back a baby elephant, so I think I’m going to adopt one for her. I also got an elephant figurine for me and then watercolor prints of elephants for my grandma and mom. We then got a really good lunch at a mall. We sat outside, and I got a chicken quesadilla which was so good.

After lunch, we went to the cultural center which was not at all what I expected. I was expecting a museum, but instead we got to watch a bunch of different dances from different tribes from all over Kenya. We even got to see a warrior dance from Professor Wamai’s tribe which is the Kikuyu tribe. They pulled people from the crowd onto the dance floor. Laith went and he was actually really good at it. Me, Rachel, and Lily were terrified they were going to choose us. The dances were incredible though. I also loved seeing all the different outfits for each dance. There were some similarities with the dance movements between the different tribal dances which makes sense since they are all from Kenya/ eastern Africa. After the dances, they did an acrobat show which made my heart stop. The moves/ tricks they did were insane. One guy held up everyone else. They also ate fire and did many jumps and a balancing act. I had a lot of fun watching it. After the shows we went to see replica huts/ villages of different tribes. The guide said that a member from each tribe came to the center to build the village, so it would be authentic. We saw Dr. Wamai’s tribe’s huts and Barack Obama’s family’s tribe’s huts.

For dinner, Dr. Wamai treated us to dinner at the Carnivore restaurant. It was a lot like a Brazilian steakhouse. They would bring around meat on skewers and if your flag was up they would come to you. I tried all the different meats except for chicken liver. My favorite was the ostrich meatballs. I also like the alligator, short ribs, and chicken. They also had a bunch of different sauces which was amazing because I love sauce. For dessert, Sophia and I split the creme brulee and ice cream which were also amazing. After dinner, the majority of us hit the dance floor. It was so fun to see everyone dance, especially Dr. Wamai and Charles. Everyone had such a fun time, and it was interesting to see the difference between clubs/bars in Kenya compared to those in the U.S. and Europe. They were also playing 90’s music which made it even funnier and better.

May.15.2022 - Hills, Hills, & Hills

Today was so much fun although I am not sure if everyone will be able to move tomorrow. I knew we were going on a hike today, and I love hiking. I thought it would be more of a walk because after considering our group, I do not believe we are the most athletic/ outdoorsy group. We got to the trail, and it was beautiful. Everything was so green, and we saw so many different animals and had amazing views the entire time. With that being said, I think this hike gave me trust issues with Dr. Wamai (just joking). He said it would be 6 hills, but I think we have different definitions of hills. Some people turned back, and I know that they said they have health issues, but everything we do on this trip is essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I just think they should have pushed themselves to go outside of their comfort zone because ~ when in Kenya. I know that I’m slightly impartial because I like hiking, but the hike was so much fun, I just think they missed out. Dr. Wamai’s brother and his family came which was also fun, and his brother’s kids were super nice and cool. I loved the hike though and seeing all the different animals. We saw sheep, goats, donkeys, and cattle. I felt bad when I saw the goats because I ate goat last night, and they are so small and cute. When we were walking in the begging, a few kids came up to us with candy and read from a card. They said they were starving and homeless and were trying to get us to buy the candy, but I knew that it was just a guilt tactic because we talked about it before the dialogue started, but it was still sad. My phone says I walked 9.3 miles today which is probably why my feet hurt. When we got back to the hotel, Isabella and I ordered burgers, and I packed and showered. Tomorrow we leave to go to Mt. Kenya which I am very excited about.

May.16.2022 - Bus Rides, Family, Food, & a Hospital

I woke up at 6:45 a.m. today because we were leaving for Nyeri. We packed up the bus and then stopped at a grocery store to grab snacks for the road. I got a coffee, and Isabelle and I shared an assortment of bakery breads. All of them were good except for the pink slice, but I am not sure what flavor it was. On the bus, I put all the pictures I have taken so far on the trip on camera and moved them to my phone, so I could edit them. I then read Between Hope and Despair which is the book I am reading for the book report. I really like it so far, but it is hard to keep track of all the names. It is nice though that we heard the three different talks about politics while in Nairobi because a lot of the timeline so far in the book seems familiar. After reading, I worked on my questions for my individual report and the group report. I am not sure when I will have time to write two reports let alone interview at least 30 people, but people have done it before, so I am sure I will get it done. During the bus ride, I was also able to look out the window, and the climate/ plants in Nyeri reminded me a lot of the climate and plants in the mountains of Panama. I really enjoyed the bus ride because it was nice to just sit, get work done, and look at the views. Dr. Wamai said that at one point you could see Mt. Kenya, but I missed it.

When we arrived at Westwood Hotel in Nyeri we went straight to Dr. Wamai’s house. His family was so nice, and all the little kids were so cute. I talked to Christian who is Dr. Wamai’s 8-year-old nephew and Wamai who Dr.Wamai is his great uncle. Wamai was so cute. He would run up to us then run away when we would say hi and then come back. We also met his sister Ann and one of his brothers took us on a walk through the farm. They had so many different plants. I saw banana trees, kale, macadamia nut trees, and coffee plants. I also loved the animals especially the cows. His family was very hospitable and they even sacrificed a goat for us which I believe means a lot in their culture. We also visited his family’s cemetery which was very emotional for everyone. Hearing the stories about his father, mother, brother, and the other family members he has lost was very sad, but at the same time it meant a lot to see how much love there still is in his family. I believe tragedy can either make people grow apart or become closer, and it meant a lot to see that it was the later for his family. His family is also extremely impressive. The stories of his dad being a clinician in the war and then coming back to build the house they still live in was incredibile. I was also amazed to hear that his sister was the first gynecologist in Kenya. The food we ate for lunch was amazing too. I had the fried dough, some sort of potato and corn mixture, and sweet potatoes.

After lunch and the tour of the farm, we did a partial transect walk to the Ngorano Health Center in Nyeri. After I figured out what a transect walk was, I began to take notes on things that I noticed. The first was all the different types of houses, specifically one house that was beautiful. Dr. Wamai said that a Kenyan man built it after he moved back to Kenya from the U.S. The road was rocky, so you could drive on it in the rainy season. I also saw many power lines and what looked to be a large cell tower. There was also a school and a shopping center that we passed. One thing that I saw that I was unsure about was what looked to be train tracks. My best guess is that it was built by the British, and not in use anymore because I saw cattle being herded on the tracks. We also saw a cattle dip which looks like a regular watering basin for cattle, but Dr. Wamai said that it is medicinal and removes any parasites in the cattle. The houses also used many different types of fences. The most common I saw were bamboo fences which tended to be used on what looked like nicer houses and stick fences with barbed wire. There were also beautiful mountain ranges in the distance. A lot of the bushes also smelled like mint. Lastly we were able to the Mau Mau cave systems and a waterfall. Dr. Wamai said that 100% of Kikuyu were in concentration camps during the Mau Mau revolution. The bus ended up picking us up halfway through the walk because we were late, but I was ok with it.

When we arrived at the Ngorano Health Center, we began with a Q&A with the workers. Nancy is the deputy nurse ther, Jerusha is the lab tech, Wendy is in charge of the HIV department, Antony is in charge of the nursing department, and Tenensia is the clinical officer. In total, they have 8 nurses, 1 clinical officer, 1 lab tech, 1 HIV officer, and 4 support staff. This health center is a level 3 health center. The services they provide tended to focus on maternal and child health, but they also have outpatient care. The most interesting part of the was the discussion about the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) pilot program and how that affected the health center’s number of patients. The UHN was a government pilot program that lasted a year and was implemented in 4 counties, Nyeri being one of them. With this program the health center was able to provide care free of charge. After the program ended, the health center began charging KSH 50 which dramatically dropped the number of patients. Nancy said that they used to see 70 patients a day and now they only see 20 per day. We were also able to take a tour of the health center. It was very interesting to see a health center that can deliver babies, but has extremely limited capabilities and drugs. It was very obvious from the Q&A and the tour that the health center lacked many necessary resources. With that being said, I noticed a lot of rooms and equipment said they were donated by USAID.

After the tour was over we went back to Dr. Wamai’s house for dinner and a bonfire. It was fun playing with the kids and talking to his family. I especially like talking to Mary, who is Dr. Wamai’s niece, the daughter of Ann. Her son, Christian, came with us on the health center tour. The food was very good of course, and the bonfire was really fun. We told stories, danced, and sang. His family is very good at dancing, even the young kids. Overall the day was very fun, but probably the most exhausting one yet, and we are beginning to work on our reports which is only adding to the stress and tiredness.

May.17.2022 - School, Walks, & Coffee Tasting

I woke up today extremely tired from going to bed at 2 a.m. last night. The spirits were still high although especially when I saw that they had instant coffee. After a quick breakfast, we went to a room in the hotel for a Swahili lesson. I learned many new words although spelling the words was hard for me, but I am bad at spelling english words too, so that would make sense. We learned many new words like Tafsiri, Rudia, Shikamoo, and more. I really want to learn a lot of Swahili while I am here because it would be nice to converse a little bit with people who do not speak english. It would also be fun to speak in Boston.

After the Swahili lesson, we went to the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology. In the morning session the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Ester Mcgimi, said a few words about the school. The head of the international office and three instructors were also there. After the short speech, we walked through the university’s warrior garden where I learned even more about the university and the Mau Mau Rebellion. The school is named after Dedham Kimathi who was the leader of the Mau Mau and was executed by the British although his remains were never returned. The logo of the school is two hands that are crossed to represent how Dedham Kimathi was taken by the British before he was executed. Dr. Wamai told us that his mother was in the maximum security prison with Dedham Kimathi’s wife when the British put all Kikuyu into “maximum security prisons” which were essentially concentration camps. The school emphasizes the importance of freedom and self-actualization in honor of the man it was named after. The warrior garden specifically was created to recognize freedom fighters.

Once the tour of the warrior garden was over we went to the university’s conservatory which was completely different than what I thought it was. I thought is was going to be a greenhouse with pretty flowers and plants, but instead it is protected land that makes up 126 acres. We had tea and a snack and then walked around three miles through the protected land to see animals and different plant species. I saw lamas, one was pregnant, and a leopard tortoise. We also got to hold guinea pigs, and they were so cute. I saw many different types of plants and trees such as the African holly tree and a tree that had poisonous bark, so people used to make poisonous arrow heads out of it. The guide also pointed out the plant that smells like mint that I smelt on the walk yesterday. He said you can use it as bug repellent, so I rubbed it on my skin and hopefully it made me smell good too. One tree that was especially important was the Muaurwe tree. On the Ngong Hills walk, Dr. Wamai told me and Raiden his culture’s creation story, and he retold it to everyone while we were sitting next to the tree. Essentially, God called the man to the top of Mount Kenya and told him that as far as he can look is his land. He was all the way to Ngong Hills therefore the Kikuyu believe all that land is theirs. After that, God called him to that specific type of tree. This is where I begin to get lost, but I believe at the tree is where God gave him Mobi, meaning the one who creates or the man’s wife. Dr. Wamai also explained that clans are very strong in Somalia and they make decisions in Kenya today regarding aspects like the doweries when someone gets married. I enjoyed the hike although my sunburn was hurting from the other day. It was very nice to smell the fresh air and not spend the whole day in a classroom. After we returned the where we started from, we had lunch. I ate what I have been eating for the past few days, but it was amazing today. I am not sure if that was because I was so hungry or because the food was actually amazing.

Our next activity was going to the coffee farm on the university’s campus. Peter Mouewege gave us a tour of the farm, and I learned a lot. They have many different plants there including coffee, cabbage, green onions, and tree tomatoes. He said they have over 2,000 trees, and the type of coffee they produce the most is Batian coffee. One cool thing about the farm is that they are a production - consumption type of coffee farm meaning that it is all inhouse. They also hand pick the coffee beans and dry them in a field unlike other coffee farmers where machines pick the beans and dry them. Although they have a small scale packing operation there, the majority is sent to a private mill where they package and market the beans to be sold in Nairobi. The farm made 5,046 kg of coffee last year, and was created in 1919 by white settlers. There are two nurseries each having a capacity of 70,000 plants. They also let us plant three coffee plants and are going to put a sign up next to them that says they were plants by Northeastern University. After that we headed quickly over to the coffee lab where Chu Aga told us a lot about coffee. I learned how the grade system works which I never knew about, and we were also able to taste test a high quality, medium quality, and low quality coffee. He told us we should let the coffee steep for three minutes after pouring the hot water into it. To properly taste test a coffee, you are also supposed to slurp it, so it can get all over the taste buds on your tongue.

After the taste test, we went back to the school and Dr. Florence Mbuthia, head of the nursing department, talked to us about the university’s nursing program. She said the core values of the school are innovation, scholarship, diversity, integrity, and teamwork. She also emphasized the importance of self-actualization. The nursing program is a four year program where students must do one research project and do a one year internship after graduation and finally take a the standardized test (the NCK). The learning at “DeKUT'' takes place in the classroom, laboratory, clinical, and virtual setting. Two interesting points she made was that there is a shift to more male nurses and girls perform worse on the tests than the boys. These were interesting points to be made because in the U.S. I rarely see a male nurse. I was also a little shocked to hear about the girls performing worse on tests, but she explained that it is still sometimes difficult for girls to get proper education and support from families because of traditions.

After this talk we went back to the hotel where we talked to Dr. Wamai and Professor Rotich about our group projects. Our topic is how media influences Kenyans 20222 presidential election voting. I like the topic because it is something different than what I tend to write about for all my other classes. I also got help on my individual project which I feel better about because things were not exactly clear to me before. Now my individual topic is how NTDs affect the socioeconomic status of Kenyans and I am going to be looking at the different NTDs in each region we are visiting instead of the top five priority NTDs like in my term paper last semester. For dinner, I just ate some snacks I brought because nothing at the hotel’s restaurant sounded good, and I wanted some alone time to do work. I am planning on showering then working on the two reports, reading the book for the book report, maybe facetiming my boyfriend then going to bed before midnight which will be so nice.

May.18.2022 - School, School, & Grocery Shopping

Today I woke up tired, once again and went downstairs to get breakfast. I had coffee, beans, watermelon, and peanut butter toast. I put two packs of the instant coffee in one cup to not be tired. I think it kind of worked. Our first class this morning was Swahili. I am not sure why, but before this trip I though Swahili was the easiest language to learn. I was quite wrong although I really like the language so far and Professor Rotich is cool. We learned a lot of greetings and some grammar today. I will definitely need to practice tonight. After the swahili class, Dr. Wamai did a lecture on the health system in Kenya and some of the University’s students sat in on it. I thought the lecture was very interesting, and I got a bunch of websites from the powerpoint for my group report and individual report. He talked a lot about the comparison between Kenya’s health budget which was $3.4 billion in 2014 verses the United States which is $4 trillion. It made me think a lot about what I learned in my “Healthcare operations and supply chain” class that I took this past semester. Before that class, I had many misconceptions about the how the healthcare system works especially with hospital operations and budgeting, and it seemed as though the majority of the class currently holds those misconceptions. I think everyone, especially people who work or plan to work in the healthcare industry should take that class. I thought of how most hospitals are nonprofit and many are operating in the red especially after COVID. So where is the money going? The money is going to the expensive salaries of the workers, expensive equipment, and errors within care and errors in the supply chain. During the break between classes, I interviewed one of the university’s student for my group report, and she was so nice. Our next class was a guest lecture named Patrick Mbuga. He works at the Department of Health Services for the county government of Nyeri. His talk was very Nyeri specific, but it was nice to learn more about the county and how the different levels of hospitals work. I will definitely be using the notes I took in my individual report. After his talk finished, Dr. Martha Muthami, from the Ministry of Health, spoke. I was excited to hear her talk because in my term paper for Introduction to Global Health, I primarily used the Ministry of Health document on their plan for NTDs. She talked a lot about the ministry itself and how the data collection works. After her talk, we had lunch and I had the usual chicken, cabbage, rice, and beans.

Once lunch was over, we did a site visit at the Department of Health Services where we met the CEO named Abraham Allan and our first speaker, Patrick Mbuga, was there too. We talked to many other employees about the different departments. The most interesting part to me was about the data collection system. When we visited the level 3 hospital, I saw a handwritten record book. One speaker said that now, hospitals are implementing electronic medical records which the US implemented after the Healthcare Recovery and Reinvestment Act. I was curious to know whether the Kenyan government had financial incentives to try to promote EMR implementation like the U.S. and the speaker said that they provided a lot of aid along with the county government, and mostly their international partners like the CDC. After this, everyone was dead and at their breaking point. Laith also went to the hospital for food poisoning and dehydration. This trip is super fun, and I’m having a great time, but it kind of feels like survival of the fittest. Mostly because we go to bed at 2am, wake up at 6:30 am, are given 2 500mL water bottles a day and eat the same thing everyday. It is hard to avoid dehydration when you don’t have water. My spirits are still high, but it seems like the breaking point is near. Luckily, we went to the supermarket and got a bunch of goodies. It was nice getting back to the hotel early today. I showered and am eating dinner while doing work, so hopefully I can go to bed early tonight.

May.19.2022 - Hospitals, Schools, & Dinner

This morning I woke up early to read my book. I went to the outside patio area and drank coffee and read and it was really nice. I love doing work in the mornings and hate doing it at night which has been adjustment this trip. After a breakfast of another coffee, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and watermelon, we had Swahili class. Today we learned the numbers and sang a song to remember them. I really like Swahili class even though I am not very good at it. After Swahili class, we talked about the individual project and interviewing. I think my topic is the impact of NTDs on an individual’s socioeconomic status. I think my topic is going to be extremely difficult because laypersons do not know what NTDs are, so it is going to be extremely difficult to ask them if they have a had a disease that they have never heard of. I think my best approach option is to research what NTDs are in the area which I have done and see how to someone becomes infected with one and the symptoms of them. That way I can just ask have you known someone that has gone blind due to a bacteria infection. I am thinking about changing my topic though to technology in healthcare with data and record keeping. This topic aligns well with my co-op this summer that is Health and Tech research. I am not sure if I’ll be allowed to switch it, but I hope I can.

At the Nyeri County Referral Hospital which is a Level 5 hospital, we had three people speaker to us and then one speaker, named Irene Mwangi who is a nurse, took us on a tour of the hospital. It was very interesting to be able to take the tour, but it was also emotional seeing people at their worst. For example, we saw a woman who lost her leg to cancer and a child who was barely able to breath. At the end of the tour, I wanted to interview someone at the public health hospital, but they were closed, so I interviewed Irene and she was extremely helpful and answered all my questions for the interview. I interviewed her on both of the topics just in case I am allowed to switch. She was super helpful. At one p.m., I heard Muslims praying which I did not think they had such a large community in Nyeri before that. I was starving because we missed lunch, so while we were waiting for everyone, Charles brought us to a restaurant to eat. I got a samosa and chips. After our lunch break, we went to Marua school. The kids there sang us songs, and we tried to sing too, but we were definitely not as good. We also have them books and a soccer ball which they were very excited about. After that, a few of the young girls took my hand and gave me the tour which was so fun. We also played a bunch of different games in the field with them and took pictures. We then said goodbye and went to dinner at The Bantu Man restaurant which the governor of Nyeri built and he was there too. After we got back some of us played Uno, and then I went to bed.

May.20.2022 - School, Slums, & Graduation

This morning I woke up and got breakfast which consisted of jelly toast, beans, watermelon and coffee. It was an interesting combination, but it was pretty good. We headed to the university, and our first class was Swahili. I am starting to feel more confident in speaking Swahili which is good and I think the class is fun because we are all so bad at it. We then had three guest lecturers, two were online. Ernest Mutua was the first speaker, and he talked about community health. The main topic of his lecture was explaining community health volunteers (CHV). After he explained what they do, I honestly believe those people are saints. It is amazing that they give up everything to make no money and live in the slums in order to help the people there. I also thought his points on community health information systems were interesting in that the policy is there and well written, but the implementation and operation of these systems are not there. I will definitely used what I learned in my independent research report. Our next speaker was Ann Nduta who also talked about the CHVs. The biggest takeaway from this lecture was the five life cycle cohorts. Although this is a super simple framework, I had never seen the age groups explicitly written out and explained before, or at least that I can remember. She also talked a lot about the policy objectives. Our last speaker before lunch talked about urban slum health and the social determinants of health. His talk was super interesting, especially because we were visiting the Majengo slums after lunch. He made the point that improving slum health will accomplish MDG 7 and SDG 11. He also said that 1 out of 8 people in the world live in slums which blew my mind.

After our lectures, we had lunch at the school cafeteria. I ate with a worker at the school named Richard, and he was very nice. I was also able to talk to Sadie about my new topic and the questions for my individual report which made me feel a lot better about switching topics. We were also able to go to the coffee store on the campus where I bought coffee beans for my friend Ansley. We then headed over to Majengo slums and the dispensary there to talk to the CHVs. After a brief introduction, we were divided into groups and stopped at three different houses to talk to the people who lived there. I was worried about going to the slums not because I thought it would not be safe or because it would make me uncomfortable, but because I did not want to make the people we would be interacting with uncomfortable or have some of us “romanticize” being there. I think for the most part, our group did a good job at not doing that. One story that really hit me hard was a 40 year-old woman with two kids who was infected with HIV. She said her husband died in 2007, so she started “hustling,” and that is when she became infected. She also said that she does not use contraception. You could see how sad she was in her eyes. One thing that gave me a little hope was that her son did so well on the national exams that a bank built them a new house and will be paying for his education for as long as he will be in school which is amazing. It is crazy that there are billionaires out there and then people living in that extreme of poverty. Even Northeastern and President Aiun have so much money and bring us to these spots then do not do anything to help them; it seems extremely hypocritical, but maybe I am being hypocritical by saying that. I was able to interview the CHV who took us around, and she was very helpful. When we got back to the dispensary, I joined the livestream of my boyfriend’s graduation from BU and was able to see him get his diploma which was awesome. It was a weird though because I realized I am living in two very different worlds at that moment. After that, we went to the grocery store, and everyone went out to dinner and to a club, but I stayed back because I wanted some alone time just to facetime my friends, do some work, and just watch Netflix for the first time since I got to Kenya.

May.21.2022 - Kenya Culture

This morning we got to sleep in a little and wake up at 8 which was so nice. At breakfast, I talked with Dr.Wamai about changing my topic, but I ended up staying with the NTD one. We then talked about projects and headed over the cultural center in Nyeri. We did a lot of dancing which was fun, but everyone got very sweaty. A few people talked about Kikuyu culture, specifically how family works. He also talked about how, like Mt. Kenya, when the ministries would come, they could not pronounce the original Kikuyu name and that is where Kikuyu came from. We then had a discussion about sexual violence, gender based violence, sexual activity, and abortions. It was very interesting to see the contrast and similarities between the two different cultures’ views. Multiple people talked and explained there view, so it was interesting to hear from a personal level. I also liked hearing from both genders in each culture because they had very different opinions on everything from abortion to condom use. After that we ate lunch which consisted of Kenyan traditional food. There was boiled banana, arrowroot, beans, and more. We also had to grind flour on rock in order to get food, and they said I was very good at it. After lunch we did even more dancing all together which was so fun. We also got to see Dr.Wamai’s kids, and they were so cute. The oldest one is named Sunshine and she danced a little with us. When we got back to the hotel, I showered, did a lot of research on my individual report, ate dinner, and did work downstairs with Lilyana and Rachel.

May.22.2022 - What’s the tea?

Today I woke up feeling so good minus the fact that my stomach hurt a lot. Rach, Lily, Laith, and I all ate breakfast together outside and talked about our families which was really nice. I had watermelon, a boiled egg, toast, and coffee for breakfast. On the bus, I talked with Dr. Wamai about my research topic, and I feel a lot better about it now. We took about an hour and half bus ride to the tea factory. I honestly love the long bus rides because I can just sit and listen to music and look out the window or do work. I have been excited about the tea factory since before we left for Kenya. The factory halted production for us which was so nice of them. I also loved my group’s tour guide; he was so nice and funny. The Chinga Tea Factory was built by the British as a pilot project. The factory is owned by 9,500 farmers similar to a co-op. The factory produces two different types of black tea. The way the tea is created is it is first brought in by the farmers then is weighed then it goes to the withering process which takes six to twelve hours. Then is the cutting process which leads to the oxidation process and finally to a controlled humidity and temperature setting which leads to tea as we know it. There are 68 factories within the KTDA. One fun fact is that Kenya consumes less than 5% of the tea that is produced. The factory also produces 46 tons - 126 tons per day depending on the season or weather patterns. Tea also has different grades like coffee except the different grades do not affect the quality, it is up to the consumer to choose which one they like. Some of us were able to taste test the tea which you do by using you glands and tongue and then you spit it out and rinse your mouth with water. I bought tea for my dad and my friend which I am excited about.

After the tea we took a long drive to Nanyuki, but stoped at the equator a long the way. It may sound superficial, but tanning on the equator, even for a second, has always been on my bucket list, and now I can finally check that off. A nice man did a demonstration for us. He showed us that north of the equator, water swirls clockwise and south of the equator, the water swirls counterclockwise. On the equator, the water does not swirl. I had not idea that was a thing, but it was very cool to see. After taking some funny pictures, we got back on the bus and went to Nanyuki. We got linner at this place called Java that seemed very western, but we were all about it because they had burgers. I got a burger with grilled onions, mushroom sauce and chips. It was amazing and rejuvenated me. After that we got back on the bus, and had a nice bus ride back to the hotel. When I got back, I did interviews right away because I knew that I would not want to wait. Everyone I talked to was super nice. I was talking to one girl from a university in Nairobi, and she was asking about how the U.S. is doing and saying that she wants it to go back to the “America is number one days.” I agree with her, but at the same time, I love the United States. However, I do believe that we have always had the problems that are being brought to light today, but only in recent years has it been “socially acceptable” for these to be talked about. It was interesting to hear her thoughts, but it did make me a little sad. Me and the girl, Barbra, decided that the United States is in her “focusing on herself era” in order to resolve these issues and come out even better. I really liked Barbra; she was really nice and cool.

May.23.2022 - Safari’s & Interviews

Today we woke up very early so we could get to the Aberdare National Park early enough to see some animals. I ate my usual breakfast except the chef made pancakes today which was amazing. I interviewed him last night, and he said he would make them, but I was not sure if he would keep his promise. I am so so glad he did! After breakfast we headed over to the park where we waited for our IDs to be processed before entering the park. It took a little bit of time, but we got to climb on top of the van which was fun. We also played hacky sack which is one of my favorites even though it is really hard, especially if you do not play soccer. Once we got to the park, we had our own tour guide who was very nice and helpful. He said that one of the widest waterfalls in Africa is located in the park. Another cool fact is that a hotel in the park called Treetops Hotel, was where Queen Elizabeth found out she was queen. It was cool to think that she drove the same roads looking for animals that we were driving. I also learned that 90% of Kenya’s water supply comes from the park. We only saw a few animals including different types of birds and a buffalo. The buffalos were beautiful, but also kind of scary. We saw a lot of them at the Ark Hotel which was amazing. I would love to come back and stay there. The last fact I learned from our tour guide was that poaching in the 1900’s dropped the Rhino population by 80%. That was very sad to hear, but during that time, poaching was legal in Kenya which was most likely a large contributor to that. After the game drive, everyone was extremely hungry. We stopped at a restaurant close by which took a long time, but the food was very good. I had chicken stir-fry and chips. After lunch, we all split up and chose different places to interview. I went with Eden, Rachel, and a few others to the shops down the street which turned out to be a great place to interview people. I got a very bad headache after, so I decided to just go back to the hotel and do work then pack because we leave for Baringo tomorrow. I am so excited to go Baringo because that is where Dr.Wamai’s research center for VL is and there is a high number of NTDs there. However, I am nervous about it being remote because I think there will be a larger language barrier, making interviewing more difficult, but I guess we will find out.

May.24.2022 - Bus Ride to Baringo

Today we had to say goodbye to Hotel Westwood. Moses the chef made us pancakes today again which was amazing. I scarfed them down though, so I could make sure no one took my seat on the bus. I also had my three-in-one instant coffee which has become a new favorite of mine. I was looking forward to this bus ride because it has felt like we have been going and going, so I was excited to just chill, get work done, and see new parts of Kenya. For the first part of the bus ride, I read and looked out the window. We then stopped at a waterfall which was one of my favorite things we have done so far. The waterfall was massive, and there was a group of school boys that I took pictures for, and they were so funny. I also took pictures of almost every girl in our dialogue for their Instagram, and they were all so cute! We were able to get really close to the waterfall which was amazing. After that, we went back on the bus and traveled to Nakuru to the mall there for lunch and groceries. We went to Java again, and I got the chicken BBQ club and a croissant. The croissant was really good, but I think the burger that I got there on Sunday was better than that sandwich. I also got lots of water at the grocery store. When I got back to the bus, we all played hacky sac which was so fun. I love playing hacky sack even though I am not good at it. We then got back on the bus, and made it Baringo around 7pm. The bus ride got more fun as the day went on. That was most likely because everyone got more and more delirious, but it was a lot of fun. I also love the hotel we are staying at in Baringo. I am rooming with Rachel, Izabella, and Mya in an apartment, and I get my own room which is nice. I am so excited to see what it looks like in the day, and hopefully we will have a clear night because I bet the stars here are amazing. I also really want to go in the pool here.

May.25.2022 - Guest Lecturers and a Pool day

Today we got to sleep in a little. I woke up and had the best breakfast I have had here. I made a breakfast sandwich with a roll, hard boiled egg, and sausage. It was so good. We started the day with Swahili class. Today we learned how to tell time. It sounds simple, but it was not because in Swahili 7:00 is actually one because that is when the day starts. It will definitely take some getting used to, but I think I will be able to get it. After Swahili, we had a guest speaker names Chirchir who is a native to Baringo. He talked about the different communities which are the Pokot, Tugen, and Kchombs. He also talked about Kalazar which was awesome because that is a large part of my project. He said that when he was little, his mom thought he had Kalazar, so she made little cuts on his stomach to heal him, and he still has the scars today. He also answered all my questions about treating Kalazar with traditional medicine. Our second speaker was on the department of health. His name was Thomas Chepchieng. He talked after lunch, so everyone was dragging, but he was a great lecturer. We took some detours, but I learned a lot. I will definitely be contacting him for more information. After his talk, a few of us went swimming. It felt so amazing. We played volleyball and played music. It was really nice to unwind. After swimming, I showered, did work, then got dinner. We all decided to have a meeting just to check in with everyone, and I think it went really well. We shared a high, low, something we are looking forward to, and some people shared their two cents on the trip and any helpful tips they had. It was nice to meet all together as a group. I think it helped a lot for the freshman to hear older advice from the seniors.

May.26.2022 - NTDs & NTDs

I slept very well last night which was so nice. For breakfast I made another breakfast sandwich, but this time they had fried eggs, so it was even better. We then had our usual Swahili lesson where we mostly practiced what we learned in the past few days. After class, we headed to the TERMES Center which Northeastern helps fund for research on NTDs, specifically, Trachoma, Kala-azar, and Snakebites. Today was awesome because I got to learn more about NTDs, and it was nice to be able to ask all my questions, especially to people who care about NTDs a lot. Our first speaker was Cecilia who works for a snakebite program and is a research scientist who is based in Nairobi. She pointed out that snakebites were only recently recognized as an NTD by WHO. She also said that the anti-venom that is used in Kenya was made in India for Indian snakes, so it is not as strong as it needs to be for Kenyan snakes. She said that the two most popular snakebites in Baringo are from the Puff Adar and the Red Spitting Cobra. Our second speaker was Jane Sarkh. She is a health services coordinator. She said that only 7.3% of people in the region have access to a toilet, the region being Tiaty. The third speaker we had was Elijan Plilan who is the NTD coordinator in the Tiaty west; he is also chairman of Kaperur CBO. Kaperur CBO main priority is educating individuals on hygiene in order to prevent NTDs. I also learned that there are four types of leishmaniasis including Visceral Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous, and Post-Kala-azar-Dermal-Leishmaniasis. I was able to talk with Dr. Wamai a little bit more about this which was really helpful. He pointed out that 1.7 billion people are at risk for VL and the same for CL. I also learned that the center is called Termes because that is the Pokot word for VL however they also made an acronym for it. We then were able to hear from traditional healers about how they used to treat Trachoma, Kala-azar, and Snakebites before the program began. It was really interesting to hear, but they both said that now they refer people to the hospital when they come in with one of the NTDs. This made me think because before their talk, I heard one of the speakers say that traditional healers get paid for the service, so if they just refer some one to the hospital, they will not get paid. That means the odds of them not doing anything to the patient before referring them is low. We then heard from the Boda Boda riders who have been trained to pick up victims of snakebites and bring them to the hospital. It was interesting to learn about the limitations of what they do and why they do it. They also said that they receive no compensation, only payment for fuel. After that we went to the hospital where I was able to talk to many different health workers and ask questions about Kala-azar. We saw the new ward for it, and saw VL patients and a PKDL. I absolutely loved today. I feel like I learned so much, and it was nice being able to talk to people who knew a lot about my research topic because I feel like that has been an issue in places like Nairobi and kind of Nyeri too. It was awesome however I did feel weird being so interested and excited to see a Kala-azar patient because the patient that we saw could not have been more than 12 years old, and you could tell he was in so much discomfort. When we got back from the hospital we had lunch at the research center then headed back to the hotel. I then changed, had dinner and read, and am now doing homework. I also hope to interview some of the staff and Helen’s daughter tonight for my group project. Today was a good reminder of why I want to work in global health, and I feel like tomorrow will be an even better one.

May.27.2022 - Community Health in Tawot

Today was amazing. We started early at 7:30. For breakfast, I made a sandwich again, but today's breakfast sandwich was not anything special. I was able to FaceTime friends from home while getting ready this morning which was really nice. We then headed over to the TERMES center to meet up with the CHV's and other helpers involved. We played soccer with Charles and Antony and a few other people while waiting for everyone to get to the center. I was on Team 3 a.k.a. the best team. We went to Tawot to help with the mobile clinic with the Pokot tribe. Our mobil clinic was located in a river bed. Our CHV estimated that over 1,000 people came. Only a few were tested for VL and Malaria, but they were all negative which is good. We also had no cases of Trachoma unlike other groups. Today was amazing because it was a great reminder of why I want to work in global health. Even though there was a language barrier, we were still able to connect with them, especially the kids. We drew in the sand with them, taught them the Macarena and Hokey Pokey, and they taught us how to shoot a bow and arrow. We were also able to help deworm the kids. So many people came. I saw a lot of people drinking from plastic bottles of water that were filled with extremely brown water. Many were also barefoot, and the majority of people were young kids or teenagers. When I first thought of studying global health, I pictured what we did today, so needless to say, today was a very special day that I will never forget. We ended the day around 6, and headed back to the center to have dinner. Our location was pretty remote, so it took a while, but was well worth it.

May.28.2022 - Pokot Village Ceremony & Pool Party

Today we got to sleep in which was so nice. For breakfast they had omelets, potatoes, and bread butter pudding which was so good. Our activity today was going to another Pokot village called Mukur to participate in a ceremony they were doing because of the drought. We got to ride in the back of the truck which was fun even though it was rocky because we were driving through the desert. Once we got out of the car we had to walk a little ways to where the tribe was. It was a super cool walk through the desert, but I was sweating so much because of the heat. The people were dressed in what looked like skin and the women had on beautiful beaded necklaces and earrings. We did a lot of dancing, and they even killed a goat for us. The way they killed it was very different than the way Dr. Wamai’s family killed it. We also helped the women get water and build a hut for one of their husbands which was so cool. Everyone there was so welcoming even though we did not speak the same language. Some people were even proposed to by the Pokot men which was funny. After more dancing, we headed back to the Termes Center for lunch. I think this might have been the first day we were on time; it was crazy. After lunch we headed back to the hotel, and a bunch of us went to the pool. We played music and volleyball, and it was fun. I think we were playing volleyball for at least 2 hours. I then showered and just put in my dinner order for two samosas and masala fries. It has been raining almost every night here, and I love it. It makes it cozy and cools everything off which is so nice.

May.29.2022 - Hippos, Honey, & Pools

These past few days have been amazing and today was no different. We woke up very early and left to go on the boat ride on Lake Baringo at 6:30. It was amazing. The sun was just above the water line and everything was the same color blue just different shades. Last night, Rachel, Isabella, Maya, and I looked up Hippo killing horror stories, so I was a little nervous to see the hippos today. I am also terrified of sharks, and apparently Hippos kill more people than sharks do. They were really cute when we saw them though. Our guide told us that 2,000 people live on the islands in the lake and there’s even schools and hospitals. We saw alligators, birds, and an eagle. They trained the eagle to know that when they whistle, they will throw a fish in the water and the eagle comes to get it. I got some amazing pictures. We also went on the largest island in the lake, and saw a geothermal pool. The island people said it was really good for your hair and skin. The guide also said that the majority of people that live on the island are mostly Masai. The lake ride was beautiful, and so much fun.

After the lake, we headed back to the hotel for breakfast. They had carrot cake today which was amazing and scrambled eggs. We ate breakfast then had a project review which cleared up a few things, but took a while. After the review, we went back on the bus and took a drive to the honey farm where Simon Kesan, the director of the Kapkuikui honey farm, talked to us about to become a beekeeper. We were able to buy some of the honey which was nice, and it was so much cheaper than honey in the U.S. We then went to Bogoria Resort and Spa. We were able to tan by the pool and drink piña coladas. Some people even got messages. Today was so much and such a nice end to the weekend. Tomorrow, however, starts the beginning of the real work again. We also have a swahili quiz on Tuesday that I am going to have to really study for.

May.30.2022 - Swahili, Kalazar, and More Kalazar

Today I woke up extra early to get some work done, and I am so glad I did. I love the mornings here, and I work so much better in the morning than at night. I was able to contact a few experts, do some research, and read which was nice. For breakfast, I had two muffins, eggs, and a pancake/ crepe. The muffins were amazing and went so well with my coffee. It makes me want to start baking again when I get back to Boston. After breakfast, we had Swahili class where we reviewed for tomorrow's exam. I am pretty nervous about the exam just because sometimes I go blank when I try to think of words in Swahili even if I know the word. I do feel like I am getting the hang of it. After Swahili, we headed over to the Kabernet County Health Department offices. Many people spoke to us including the epidemiologist, public health coordinator, health infrastructure coordinator, and special programs coordinator. The epidemiologist said that NTDs are the first disease to loose funding which apart of the neglect He also said that preventive measures are not funded; funding primarily goes to the drugs that treat Kalazar. I learned a lot about what each position did was especially interested in the infrastructure with implementing EMRs. We did not have a lot of time to talk to the coordinators, but Helen gave us their contacts, so I am looking forward to contacting the epidemiologist and health surveillance coordinator to get more information on Kalazar and all the NTDs that are present in Baringo. I am interested in comparing the data of prevelence of the NTDs that are in Nyeri and Baringo.

We then went to Baringo County Referral Hospital. We spoke to Dr. Abakalwa who is the medical superintendent there. The Hospital became a level 5 hospital in 2020. He said they have a paper based record system, but are moving towards the EMR system which will be fully up and running with in one or two months. I then tried to go to the record department, but the ladies there did not want to help me, so I went to the public health office where I met Andrew and Ciprial who were so nice and helpful. I was able to interview Andrew, and I learned a lot about the types of patients that come in with Kalazar and all NTDs. After that I went to the eye clinic, and interviewed Ablert about trachoma. After the hospital we went to a resort where we had lunch. The drive was beautiful; I love the mountains here. My lunch made my stomach hurt pretty badly, but we power through. After lunch, we went to Kimalel Health Center which was amazing. I would love to spend one or two months there working with the Kalazar research in the future. We met Johnathan and Peter and a few others who talked primarily about the centers impact on Kalazar treatment. The center was the second treatment center for Kalazar. Johnathan said they have 34 bed capacity, and treats 40-60 patients per day. I learned that 95% of all drugs and test kits procured for Kalazar are procured by WHO. After that we stopped at a grocery store, but I did not get anything. Now I am eating dinner, doing work, and trying to study for Swahili. I am starting to get a little stressed about interviews because I do not know how I am going to try to get them all done in one day.

May.31.2022 - Trees, Farms, & Tests

Today I got up extra early again to do work and study for our Swahili mid-term today. Breakfast was alright today; I tried to make a sandwich with the croissants, but it did not turn out that well. I think the mid-term went pretty well, and it made me realize how much of Swahili that I know. With that being said, I would not be surprised if I failed it also. After that, we took about an hours bus ride to KFRI - Kenya Forestry Research Institute. We had multiple people talk to us about what the institute does and how it plays a role within the county government’s environmental department. Robert spoke to us and said that this forestry is the only forestry that deals with seed distribution in Kenya. KFRI is also one of four centers across the country. Simon then talked to us who is the director of the center. He said that the center started in 1988 and deals mostly with dry land forestry. Kenya’s goal is to have 10% of tree coverage, and they currently have around 7%. Dr.Wamai said that the U.S. has around 34% and Japan has 70%.

We had another lecturer who worked in the government’s environmental department. He talked mostly about the different trees and how some trees were brought to Kenya from other countries both on purpose and not on purpose. He also to us about the balance between having grass and trees and having feed for the animals. After that we interviewed a few people then had lunch. We then went to the irrigation farm where Steven told us about the irrigation and farming system there which was very interesting. We were also able to walk through a papaya farm. We then stopped at the grocery store in Maregot the near by town and headed back. I did work and interviews then went to bed after dinner.

June.1.2022 - An interesting day

I can not believe today is June first. Today started a little weird. We had breakfast then had Swahili class where we reviewed our exam and I did a lot better than I thought I did. After that we talked about an incident that occurred which snowballed into our safety especially with men trying to get our numbers and being harrassed. The responses were honestly disappointing; I just expected more from those that should be educated on the subject, but that is all I will say about that. The mood was off, but still we persisted. We took a short drive to Lake Baringo Secondary School which is the equivalent of a highschool. After introductions, we split off into groups and the majority of my group were 17 years old which was funny because I was with Tiffany and Grace who are 18. The kids did not seem like they wanted to talk, so I brought out the hacky sack and we played which then turned into soccer and everyone playing. They then gave us a tour of their dorms which had bunk beds very close together and buckets to shower with outside. I think seeing that made people extra appreciative of Sandai Resort. They also showed us where the rising lake flooded their old school building. The president of the school said that around 50% of the students had to go home because the school fees were too expensive. One thing that was interesting was that none of the students knew of Kalazar or Trachoma, but one teacher knew of Trachoma. Today is also Kenya's Independence Day which is called Madaraka. We did some dancing then headed back to the hotel for lunch around 3. My plan today was to get a lot of interviews, but I needed a mind break after all the discussions today, so we went to the pool and read. We also played volleyball with Dr.Roticht which was so fun. I then showered, did work, and now I am waiting on my dinner which will be samosas, and I am so excited.

June.2.2022 - Another Interesting Day

Today began amazingly. Me, Rachel, Shrey, Laith, and Lily went back to Lake Baringo at 6:00am to see the sunrise. Antony drove us and Kevin took us out on the boat. It was a beautiful morning. We saw even more hippos. There were two of them, and one rose up from the water then darted down. We started freaking out, and Kevin was just laughing of course. We took pictures than came back to shore and got pictures with Kevin. He was so sweet and funny. We drove back to the hotel, had breakfast, then headed to World Vision. World Vision was not exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I am really glad we went. Leah, Simon, Tasha and a few of their collegues talked to us about the different programs, but the one that caught all of our attentions was the program for ending female genital mutilation. It was extremely hard to listen to what girls ages 8-12 go through. Leah and Tasha explained that right after the girls are cut, they are married off. When they are married, The men want to have sex with them and sometimes the young girl's hole is not big enough. The men then bring the young girl back to the women where they put a horn in the young girl's hole to enlarge it. Before coming to World Vision, I already knew about everything they said expect for the horn part. When I heard that, my stomach sank so hard I thought I was going to throw up. It is astonishing that after hearing that, people still call it Female Genital "Cutting." I understand that it is apart of the culture, but just because it is apart of the culture does not mean it is human and should continue to be practiced. From my western perspective, it seems distigusting that some doctors and global health professionals try to prove that it is ok and that there are "health benefits." I think it was especially hard to hear after yesterday's conversation as well. Luckily, Leah and Tasha explained that their programs to combat FGM are effective. Their programs consist of educating the community and the young girls and providing an alternative to FGM like planting a tree. World Vision has other programs that deal with things like the environment and child protection. I have Leah's contact, so I am going to contact her to see if there is a way I can help the cause from Boston other than donating because I hate the idea of feeling so strongly about the cause and hearing about what these young girls have to go through and then I just go back to Boston and essentially forget about them. When we were leaving they even showed us the tools used on the girls and the horn.

After that, we took a bus ride to the Termes center which was a silent bus ride. When we got to the center, we planted our trees, and then I helped paint the buildings. I also learned how to make Chapati and Mandazi. We were able to interview people, and I even went into the near by town, and was able to interview a Pokot woman. We then hung around the center until we left around 6. When we got back, I showered, packed, ate, and am now doing work. I am so sad to leave Sandai resort. I love the pool and my room and all the employees, but mostly Vincent and Steven. They both learned my name, and I showed Vincent the pictures of the African Eagle that I took on the Lake Baringo boat ride, and I think that made him love me. I really hope I can come back and visit them because they are the best people I have ever met.

June.3.2022 - Traveling back to Nairobi

Today we packed up and left Sandai resort. Baringo went by so fast it was scary. I am so sad that we only have less than two weeks left of the program although I am so excited for the game drive and for Mombasa. It was a very emotional goodbye because we all love the staff so much, especially Vincent, Peter, Wilson, and Carol. I am definitely going to miss them so much, and I really hope I will be able to see them again. We all pooled in money and were able to tip each staff memeber. They also baked us a cake and gave us bracelets. Many people cried including Peter which was so sweet. I am so glad I was able to meet them. After saying our final goodbyes and taking pictures, we got on the bus and headed for Nairobi. I was able to finish my book and begin my book report. We stopped quickly in Nakuru, and I got a coffee and muffin. We then headed to Naivasha for lunch which we ate at Dr. Wamai's property which was beautiful. It was a farm on a hill that over looked the mountains and lake. We played volleyball and soccer, and I made my knuckle swollen somehow, but it will be ok. Dr. Wamai asked us why we would live in Boston when we could live in someplace like that, and it really made me think why do I live in Boston, but I remembered that he also lives in Boston, so that made me feel better about my decision. After lunch, we got back on the bus and travelled to Nairobi. I got some work done, so tonight I could do research on Mombasa like restaurants, shops, and I also want to try to surf one day. When we got back to the hotel, I repacked because we leave for Mombasa tomorrow. I also did some laundry although I do not think it will dry before we leave, but I thought I would try anyways. We tired to order burgers, but the driver brought the wrong order, so we tried to reorder it, and it finally said it was delivered at 11:30, but the driver did not actually deliver it. The whole debacle took four hours, and we were all starving, but had to go to bed because it was too late to order any other food, so that was sad. While we were watching though, we watched Madagascar 1 and 2 and parts of Shrek.

June.4.2022 - Traveling to Voi

Today I woke extra early to make sure no one took my seat on the bus because that has been an issue lately. There was already a line waiting for the bus to open, but luckily no one likes my seat because I have the bar on the window, so I was able to get it. I had coffee and scrambled eggs for breakfast. I can not believe we were already back at Comfort Suites; it felt like no time went by, but at the same time Nyeri feels like months ago. We got on the bus, and I did some work which included working on my book report, studying Swahili, and writing my Swahili assignment. I have a very busy summer with a ton of fun things that I am going to be doing, so I want to try to get the majority of my assignments for the dialogue done before I leave Kenya, but we will see how that goes. We stopped and got lunch, and I was also able to see Mt.Kilimanjaro. When we arrived at Voi, we went straight to the hotel which was so nice. It was right on the park, and overlooked a watering hole where we were able to see a ton of different animals including elephants and a hippo. After we checked in, we went to the park to try to do the game drive that we were very late for which was mostly blamed on the freshman. We were not able to get into the park because we were so late, but we checked in for tomorrow morning which was good because it saved a lot of time. I played a lot of wacky sack today which was fun. After the park, we went back to the hotel, changed, got drinks, and watched the sunset over the watering hole which was so nice. We then got dinner which was buffet style and so good. We hung out around the watering hole for a while and looked at the stars then went to bed because we will be getting up super early tomorrow for the game drive.

June.5.2022 - Game Drive and Driving

Sofia and I woke up at 4:30am today to get seats on the bus for the game drive which started at 6am. I slept so good last night which made it even harder to get up this morning. I made coffee for the bus which helped some. We got to the park when the sun was rising, and saw a family of lions right off the bat. They looked like they were hunting an antelope, but they were taking too long, so we did not get to see them attack it which I wish we could have seen, but that would have been really sad. We saw elephants, giraffes, more lions, zebras, and many other animals. The park and the animals were absolutely beautiful. It felt like we were in planet earth, and I was able to get good pictures. I did fall asleep for two minutes because I was so tired. I think I am going back to the park on the Safari I am doing with my mom and aunt after the dialogue ends. Once the game drive was over, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. I think some of the men at the hotel had been drinking because they approached me multiple times asking questions and for my contact, and I could smell alcohol on them. I really do not understand men. Some people like to say that girls ask for it because of the cloths they are wearing or if they have make up on, but half the clothes I was wearing I wore to bed, I have not washed my hair in at least 3 days, and I did not even makeup. I think I have disproved that myth. Helen yelled at one of them though which was funny; she's the best. I still had a great breakfast of an omelet, pancake, croissant, hard boiled egg, toast, and coffee of course. I did get chilies in my omelet which were super spicy, but I still ate it. Rachel, Shrey, Mya, and I sat looking at the watering hole for breakfast, and a family of elephants came which was amazing. After breakfast, we sadly had to pack up the room and brings our bag to the bus. Once we did that, Sofia and I went to the pool where we swam and took pictures with Sadie, Ro, Tasha, Riley, and Katie. It was so fun and had such an amazing view.

We then got on the bus and headed to Mombasa with our packed lunches. We took a rest stop along the way where we played hacky sack of course, and Charles played this time. He was really really good. We also met the family that owns the house we went to in Naivasha. They were so nice and British which was cool. Shrey, Rachel, and I talked to Emanual for a while, and he was really cool. He said they just moved to Kenya around three months ago, so he's in the same boat as us which was funny. I think Rachel got a crush on him which was funny. After that break, we got back on the bus and headed out. It was a rainy drive to Mombasa, but I love car rides in the rain, so it was nice. Kahama hotel is so nice. It is so close to the beach. We swam in the rain in the pool then went to the beach. It was my first time swimming in the Indian Ocean, and it was so warm, and the water was so blue. We went to dinner at the hotel restaurant, and it was a very bad experience which made me very hungry. I then went back to my hotel room, did work, then went to bed.

June.6.2022 - Swahili Culture, Markets, & More

Today I woke feeling off. I am 99% sure it is just my sinuses acting up from all the dirt and dust from that last week because I knew that was going to happen. We had breakfast at the hotel which was pretty good, and they had African coffee which was so much better than the instant coffee I have grown used to here. We then had a guest speaker named Alawy Abzein. He talked about Swahili culture which was very interesting. Kiswahili is a Bantu language that is 60% Bantu, 30% Arab, and 10% other languages. He said that Swahili culture has a lot of crafts in it such as woodworking and carved wood doors. They also exchange a lot of gifts. He also talked about Makopa which contains milk and sugar and is sweet. Coffee is also a large part of Swahili culture which I love. I also learned that men do not wear gold, only women, and that henna only goes on the feet and hands. He tried to relate a lot of aspects of the culture to global health, and some just did not really relate, but it was funny. For example, he said that women wear kangas as head scarves, so no hair falls Out into the food which is "good for public health." I really enjoyed his lecture, and I think it was one of the most informational lecturers that we have had.

We then went to the market with our tour guide Ghaliv. He was super nice too. We walked around, but first stopped at the spice stall. I got Kenyan curry spice which made me so excited to cook again. The market was so cool, but it was definitely a sensory overload. I am so glad we got to go though because I love seeing the markets in different countries. After we finished walking around in the market, we began our walk to Fort Jesus which was also so interesting. It was raining, but that did not put a damper on anything.

The walk reminded me a lot of India. Our tour guide also pointed out the various Swahili culture observations throughout the walk like the wooden carved doors or the different architecture influences. When we got to Fort Jesus Ghaliv said that it is named that because from an aerial view, the fort is shaped like Jesus on the cross. It was built by the Portuguese which explains the Christianity influence, and it has a long history of colonial disputes and different European powers and the locals. The building was also built on coral which apparently, most buildings were built out of. The fort overlooks the port of Mombasa which was beautiful. We were able to see the waves breaking and fishing boats coming in.

After the tour, we went to lunch at President Uhuru's favorite restaurant in Mombasa, and I can understand why. They sent us down to the "VIP room" which was funny and had a full buffet of all different kinds of meat and sides. We also tried the traditional Swahili dessert which was made out of coconut milk, flour, sugar, and some spices. The food was amazing. After lunch we got back on the bus and headed to Bombo Lulu center where we were given a tour of all the different workshops they had. The guide explained the facility is for people who have physical disabilities, but those who do not can still work there. The jewelry they make was beautiful and so were the shirts. They have many different partners including 10,000 lives which is based in US. I got a few different gifts for my friends and family which was good. We then stopped by the mall, and Sofia and I got Dominos to go and went back to the hotel early. I am so glad I did because it's 9:00pm now I feel like death, but I have to do a Swahili test tomorrow, so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

June.7.2022 - Sick & Politics

Today I woke up feeling more sick than I did yesterday. I decided to take the morning off and try to rest because I think a large part of me getting sick was because I just got run down a little. It was so nice to just do nothing, but it was a weird feeling because I think I have gotten used to doing stuff 24/7. The hotel sent me room service with breakfast which was very nice of them. I decided to come down for lunch and the speakers after because I was feeling a little better. We had two guest speakers, one named Michael who is running for one of the 30 positions in Mombasa’s government and for a county senate position. His talk was very informational. He said that “women prefer men to be leaders in our society” when the question of women in politics was brought up. He also talked a lot about the role of money in politics and that the people who win elections are those who can pay for it. He also talked about the media in politics which was good for my group project. He said that the media is really skewed, and that Kenya has a very big problem with implementation. Our second speaker was Alahmen Kimathi. He explained that he is not related to Dedan Kimathi who we learned about in Nyeri. Dedan Kimathi was the leader of the Mau Mau movement, so it would have been really cool if he was related to him. Kimathi is a human rights defender who gave us a brief history of Kenyan’s politics. The language that he used was very interesting because he said, for example, that Kenyan’s one party system was a dictatorship. The majority of what he talked about I already knew because I finished the Between Hope and Dispair book. After his talk we had a little time, so I went to the beach with a few people. It was so nice and the water felt so good, but the amount of guys that came up to us and would not leave us alone, even after we said “no” was crazy. It was just so annoying. After the beach, I began feeling pretty sick again, so I stayed in while a few people went to Char Choma. I showered then Pooja and I watched the first half of Gone Girl. I was able to go to bed before 10 tonight which was the first time this entire trip.

June.8.2022 - Swahili, Hospitals, and the Beach

Today I woke up and felt so much better. I was able to get the most sleep I have gotten this entire tirp which was nice. During breakfast, I studied for our Swahili final and the speaking test. Dr. Rotich said I did good on the speaking test which I was really nervous for, but I think I definitely failed the written final. I am sad that our Swahili classes are over. After the tests we had Husain come to talk to us about Lymphatic Filariasis which I was happy about because that is one of the NTDs I am researching. I got his contact information which was good because he did not seem like he had time to talk then because we were going to Port Reitz hospital which is a level four hospital. The woman in charge said that it was originally built by the military as a TV station, but converted to a hospital. She also said that it has most of the services for a level five. I was able to talk to record officers and get data for the months of 2022 so far for Dengue, Bilharzia, and Snake Bites which was good. I was also able to interview someone there. When we got back to the hotel, I am not going to lie I was in a pretty bad mood. It just felt like we waist all this time for various reasons, and I do not feel like I have seen Mombasa at all. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Myself and the other group team leaders had a meeting with Dr. Wamai that went very well then I headed to Yul’s on the beach with Izabella, Rachel, Eden and a few others. I got pina colada and honey fried shrimp which was so good. It did rain while we were there, but the sun came out a little afterwards, so me and Mya and a few others went swimming. I showered when I got back then we had a meeting about the format of the research papers which took forever and also put me in a bad mood because we wanted to go out to dinner tonight, but now it is too late. I also learned that we have a group dinner tomorrow night which only added to my bad mood, not because I don’t like hanging out with the whole group, but the group dinners just take forever, and I really wanted to go to Tamerin tomorrow, but that won’t happen. I ended up just ordering room service for dinner because everything else was closed, and now we are finishing Gone Girl. I think my bad mood today was mostly because I am just sick and I want to fully experience Mombasa because I do not know if or when I will be back, and I feel like I have not seen any of it.

June.9.2022 - Snorkeling, Shopping, and Eating

Today was one of my favorite days of the trip. This morning we went on a boat ride to the protected coral area in the ocean right before the sand bar. It was a beautiful day, and we all jumped off the boats into the ocean and snorkeled. There was so many different kinds of fishes that we saw. The fish also were not afraid of us; they just swam around us instead of darting away. I have never snorkeled around a coral reef like that, and it was amazing. I still can not believe that I snorkeled around a coral reef in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mombasa. It is just crazy. I saw so many different kinds of fishes, and luckily Katie knew the names of almost all of them. I love the ocean, but I am terrified of sharks like if I think about them while I am swimming it feels like I am about to have a panic attack, so I am very proud of myself for remaining calm. I also can not believe how to clear the water was too. Sadly, we had to head back to shore because the waves were getting a little too crazy.

After snorkeling we did a quick turn around and headed into town to do some shopping and eating. I really wanted to get a gold ring, so Eden, Ro, and I went to a few different shops, but then decided to go to a restaurant called Fordohami which was on the water and was beautiful. I got shrimp and naan bread which was really good. After lunch, Sofia, Julia, and I went back to the gold shop because I was determined to get my ring. Luckily, I found one that I loved and that was not too expensive. The guy did charge me an extra 4,000 KSH, but I called him out for it and he tried to pretend it was an accident, but when we were walking out, I heard him and the other person talk about it. I am proud of myself for that too because I am about the least confrontational person you could ever meet, and that is something I have been trying to change, so today was a good step in that direction. The whole experience was worth it though because I love my ring. We then took a toktok back to the hotel which was really fun.

I showered, changed, and met up with Rachel, Izabella, and Maya at Yul's for a pre-group dinner cocktail hour. It was such a beautiful day, and Yul's is right on the beach, so we got to watch all the boats in the water. We then got on the bus and went to have our group dinner at a place called Mikame. The food was really good, and the vibe of the place was cool. We made good friends with the bartender of course, and she was so nice. After dinner, I packed because we leave Mombasa tomorrow which I am so sad about. I wish we had just one more day there, but I have also said that about every place we have gone. My mom left for Kenya today which made it hit me that the trip really is coming to an end soon.

June.10.2022 - The Last Ride

Today I got up at 4:30 am to get my seat on the bus, but of course someone, a.k.a. Shrey already took it. We ate breakfast and said goodbye to the Kahama beach hotel which was sad. They said the ride would take 10 hours, but I am guessing it will take around 15 hours if not more. I can not complain though because I really want to get a lot of work done on it. We had a meeting about the papers the other day and the word count is around 4,500 words for each paper. I do not want to have to spend all my time on it when I go to my grandparents house at the end of June, so I am going to try to get a lot of it done here. I did of course end up choosing to do the longest section for the group paper, but it is definitely for the best because if I feel a little overwhelmed right now, I can not even imagine how the freshman might feel. It was however a very humid bus ride at the beginning. We stopped at the same restaurant as we did on the way to Mombasa. I got a chicken wrap, and it was pretty good. Laith and I played hacky sack at about every reststop we had, and I really think I have improved a lot. It was such a pretty drive, and it went by really fast. I finished my book report and my Swahili written assignment. I am so sad that the trip is ending soon. It really did fly by. When we got back I ordered pizza and then went to bed because I did not sleep at all on the bus, so I was exhausted.

June.11.2022 - An End of an Era

Today was the last day of the program. It was nice to wake up on the last day in the same place where we started. I enjoyed Comfort Suites. Lilyana, Izabella, and I went to breakfast then walked with the rest of the group to the U.S. Embassey Bombing Mamorial. I loved the walk because it gave us the chance to see more of the city. I was looking forward to going to the memorial and museum because I knew of the bombing, but I did not know a lot about it. The memorial is called August 7th Memorial Park because the bombing happended on August 7, 1998. There is a small green space there with parables from various Kenyan tribes and a Yang-Yang fountain as well as a wall with the victims' names engraved in it. A total of 218 people died in the majority, the majority of which were Kenyans. The reason for that was because the embassy's security guard, who ended up surviving, delayed the bombers plan, so the embassy remained standing after it went off, but the seven story building next to it collasped. I learned that that embassy was chosen because the terrorists wanted to kill a female US ambassador because it would get more attention. I also learned that the US embassy in Dar Salem, Tanzania was hit simultaneously. There were far less casualties with that explosion. In the museum, they had a few belongings from some of the victims and one was a purse. It just made me think about how a women probably saw that purse in a store with her friends, asked if they thought it was cute too, bought it, wore walking down the street on a very normal day, then ended up dying from a bomb explosion. You just never know what is going to happen, and it really shows how fragile life is.

After the museum, we walked to the Masai market. Maya and I split up because we both hate being in a large group for those kinds of things. I was happy that she was with me too because I am so bad at negotiating a price. I physically can not do it, but she is so good at it. I bought so much cute stuff. I got a bracelet made from the blue Tanzanian stone that I am forgetting the name of, a pair of earrings, waist beads, and two t-shirts. Originally, my goal was to get gifts for my friends, but I really want to keep the majority of what I bought which I know is selfish. After the market, Maya and I met up with Rachel and Izabella to get food. We were both dead, so we just got food to go then went back to the hotel. I took my first nap the entire trip and it was amazing. I then packed because I will be leaving at 5:00am tomorrow morning to meet up with my mom and my aunt for our safari. We then went to our last group dinner at the Panafrica hotel which was so nice, and the food was so good. Everyone looked so pretty all dressed up. A lot of emotional speeches were made and there were many tears, but I am just so happy to have met all these people. It is definitely an end of an era that I will never forget and am so grateful to have been able to experience and met all the wonderful people I did. I am definitely looking forward to coming back to Kenya.

• COLETTE MCMAHON