July 5 and 6 outline

Following are basic updates. Students will be blogging as soon as they can catch their breath. Kenya is a busy place when Ken is leading your trip :)

Sunday, July 5

This was our most mellow day.

We had a “late” breakfast at 7:30. Then we had a post-breakfast meeting from 8:15-9 to discuss how we will tell our stories from Kenya when we return home.

From 9-9:15, we had a briefing from Ken about how and what to pack, and where we’ll be observing at Red Rose to prepare for our visit there.

Students were put in charge of packing, in the style of school leadership we saw at Starehe, and they did a great job -- now each time we visit a school we bring a duffel bag full of gifts.

We then had a shopping excursion and lunch and then an optional scenic drive through the Ngong Hills (that was where the last picture posted on the blog came from)

In the evening, we hung out from 5-7; had dinner and did some brief reflections and journal writing.

Monday, July 06

We had breakfast at 7 and left Rosa Mystica at 7:45. Arrived at Red Rose School (RR) a little after 8:15… We each wil be working in teams of two in the various classrooms where we will be working this week (nursery, pre-K, Kindergarten, and grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). We will generally be observing this week and then assuming teaching responsibilities for the morning classes when we return from our Safari time (though a few of us actually did some teaching on day one).

While we were at RR, some professors and students from St. Lawrence University (Ken’s Alma mater) came to visit as well, and the group of visitors was so large that we overflowed out of the courtyard into the alleyway outside the entrance of the school. That alleyway serves as an auditorium for large gatherings. We have pictures of that event, and will try to upload a few.

The welcome included a dance and even the hokey-pokey. Students then paraded back into Red Rose for the rest of the morning classes.

We left Red Rose around noon and had lunch consisting of authentic African fare at the Ngong Hills Hotel, not far from Kibera.

Ken pointed out that we were passing near the house of the retired president Moi, who lives near ambassadors from other countries (France, Saudi Arabia) in an area near to Kibera but one that has reliable electricity and water.

Then we walked up through a rougher section of Kibera to St. Aloysius Gonzaga High School. We passed through narrow paths outside people’s houses and had to dodge their clothes lines as we made progress toward the school. We walked about five minutes on what felt a bit like a hike, with switch-backs and even a few bridges to cross. When we got to the school we were met by the deputy principal of the school who gave us an overview of the school. It is designed for students who are AIDS-effected, meaning that they have a parent infected with the disease or they have lost a parent (in some cases, both parents) to AIDS.

She then divided us into four groups of five to sit in on classes with the students in the various forms (form one is equivalent to 9^th grade in the US, form two is 10^th grade, etc). In case you are keeping track of numbers and are wondering how we got up to 20 people, we’ve been joined by Karima, a recent graduate of Georgetown University who is volunteering at Kibra Academy (which we visited on Saturday) for the next six weeks to help set up the computer lab there.

Once they are written, we will insert student impressions of RR and of Gonzaga.

Back to Rosa Mystica at 3:30… time to rest and process…(or go to the mall with a chaperone).

After dinner, we reflected on the day and had an optional discussion with a lawyer friend of Ken's (they went to Starehe together) and he explained the ins and outs of the Kenyan legal system.

Student impressions will follow soon...