Faces

Tomorrow I get on a plane and begin my 24-hour journey back to Minnesota. In tribute, here are some of the faces of the people I have had to say my goodbyes to, the people I call family and friends in Kenya.

Host Family

Left to Right: Chepkite, Michael, Joshua, Chenangat, Yatich,

Angelina, and Chesang. Thank you for your extended
hospitality: for the roof over my head, for delicious home-
cooked meals, for your time, and most especially,
your patience.

Sister and Brothers

Nelly. Such a gracious young woman.

Peter, with his youngest daughter who came to visit with Peter's wife after we

returned from Alale. I had only just learned in Alale that he is in fact married and
has 5 children!

Lomaler. He loves listening to this radio. Lomaler doesn't know English, but

while in Alale, I started to teach him English, and he began teaching me Pokot.

This came in handy when both Peter and Michael would leave me in the care of
Lomaler. And the day I got really sick from eating goat, he tried making me feel
better by reciting the English words I taught him.

Nephew?

Longoria. A dear friend. Like Lomaler, he doesn't know

English, but somehow we managed to communicate anyway.

He kept calling me komama, his aunt, and more specifically,

his mother's brother's wife. This is because Longoria's father

is Pokot, and his mother is Karamojen which means that in
Pokot terms, his mother is considered a foreigner. Michael
further explained that he wasn't identifying me as the foreigner
(at this point in the trip, people were saying I am now a Pokot),
but that Luke is the foreigner, along with Longoria's mother.

Friends

Lucy. The woman who makes traditional jewelry.

Amos. A nurse at a medical clinic in Alale. This man is brilliant;

it's as if he's reciting poetry when he speaks.

Keliman. Owns camels and goats in Alale. His English-sounding name is

Alfonso. That name, in combination with how he conducts himself (especially

at his homestead) is so amusingly extravagant. You would think he's the

Prince of Persia or something.

Dan. I don't know why exactly, but Dan feels the most American out of everyone

else in the friend/family group. Or maybe he just reminds me of one of my friends

back in the U.S., although I don't know who that would be.

Cookie Toss

So I have thrown up three times this week. The human body amazes me. If I weren't an anthropologist, or rather, becoming an anthropologist, I'm sure I would become a doctor. I say becoming because a professor once told me that you aren't identified as an anthropologist until you do field work (like what I'm doing in Kenya), but even then, you must publish your findings...and I don't think submitting my thesis to the University counts.

Anyway, back to the sour stomach. What has amazed me this week is how my stomach is so selective. All day Sunday, I was sick from eating that goat. I would slowly eat or drink other things during the day. We had a can of pineapple, a bag of pre-popped popcorn...man did I miss good old fashioned saltines and Sprite. But at midnight that night, my body had digested everything except for the goat.

The second time was on Tuesday, after eating ugali and skooma (not convinced that's how skooma is spelled). That was my first big meal after the goat incident, and I think I simply overdid it. I should have eaten less. Because ugali and skooma is such a staple food, and I've eaten it sooo many times during my stay here, I wasn't thinking about how my stomach, after eating very little in 2 days, would react to the acidic quality of the skooma.

Then the third time was just last night. I don't know what happened. It was one of my favorite Kenya meals: chapati, potatoes, and goat soup. Maybe my stomach just wants me to lay off goat from here on out, because it digested all of the potatoes and most of the chapati. That's too bad, because goat is actually really really good.

What is even more interesting is that during the last 2 times, I didn't feel sick. I ate the meal, went to my room, did some work on my computer, went to sleep, and at around 1:00am woke up suddenly with a sour stomach, then just as quickly felt better, brushed my teeth, and went back to bed.

My grandfather-in-law expressed concern after the first incident this week, suggesting I look into a specific ailment and have a blood panel completed in Nairobi. But I was feeling fine and considered the goat incident on Sunday a case of simple food poisoning. I have been feeling fine, and am starting to get a sense of what my stomach prefers at the preset time. For example, on Thursday, Michael, Peter, some others, and myself went to Kitale for car repairs and so that I could eat an American meal. I ate so much that day, and didn't get sick.

Since I will only be in Nairobi for about 24 hours before I fly out, I think it makes the best sense to get a once-over in the States when I return, which I was recommended to do anyway so they can confirm I didn't get Tuberculosis or Malaria, etc. In the meantime, there is plenty I've successfully been able to eat the past few days, in addition to some protein bars I brought on the trip. I think there was even mention of going back to Kitale today.

By the way, I drove the Toyota pickup from Kitale back to Kapenguria on Thursday. Michael's friends didn't believe I knew how to drive (especially a manual), so he put me behind the wheel. I had done some driving in Alale as well, but this was the first time for me to drive on a main road. That Toyota goes from 0 to 60 in like 10 minutes... And each time Michael takes it on a trip to the rural areas, he has to get something serviced on it. I told Michael I thought it was time he get a new vehicle...maybe a safari-type Land Rover like what all the government officials drive out in the rural areas.

Well, as you can imagine, I'm getting pretty hungry. So that's all for now.