Mama Obama and Bread

Recently I travelled to a fellow volunteer’s site to spend the weekend with him and two other volunteers.  He lives just outside of Siaya town, and it still amazes me how quickly the environment can change when traversing this country.  Siaya town is much warmer than Kericho, and the availability of fruits and vegetables is very different from my selection here, even though we are approximately a 3 hour drive on a nice road apart.  This might not seem so crazy, but when you realize that he lives about 1.5 hours from Kisumu, a big city, one would think to capitalize on selling currently unavailable items imported from the bright city.  The trip was really good, and it’s nice to socialize with a group of people who are going through similar emotional and physical roller-coasters.  We cooked some good food, and talked about the books we had been reading, and also about how all of us were still struggling to feel completely at home yet.

We knew that Obama’s grandmother was from the area, and decided to pay her a visit.  The pcv (Peace Corps volunteer) that I was visiting said that everyone in town, despite his attempts at explaining otherwise, still thinks he is a tourist there just to visit Mama Obama.  Apparently she still gets a lot of visitors, as indicated by the hefty guest book we signed upon arrival.  Well her house was a little bit further than we thought, and it took us 2 hours or so of walking under the bright sun to reach her town.  When we got close, our Kenyan escort showed us the power lines that were installed in town JUST to accommodate the media hype that occurred in the area when Obama was running and elected.  The lines go as far as Mama Sarah’s (Obama) house, and no further.  We finally reached the gate of her house, and I almost couldn’t get in because my Kenyan ID is falling apart, and the picture is just loose in between two pieces of plastic.  The guards informed me that it was an offense to carry around an ID that was a potential forgery, but let me in anyway.  The Kenyan Government gave me the darn thing, it’s not my fault it was made to last two months…

Either way we made our way up the yard to a circle of chairs that was set up for Mama Sarah to receive visitors.  After a few minutes of waiting, Mama Sarah and an interpreter came over and sat down with us.  It was a brief encounter of us explaining why we are in Kenya, and then asking her a few questions.  We weren’t really prepared with any questions, and I almost asked her what her favorite food was just to kill the awkward silence.  I didn’t and it started raining, so she invited us into her house.  So we sat in her living room, and as our escort started talking with her in Luo (the local dialect) we got the impression that he tagged along with a different agenda.  Apparently he was soliciting her to help take care of an orphan he knew, since she had set up a few orphanages.  Things got a little awkward, but we were stuck due to the rain, so she flipped on her tv and put on CNN.  Before I knew it President Obama came on the screen and it was very surreal, as I glanced around the room the various pictures of Mr. Obama as a young man helping his grandma carry a large sack from the market, and other family memorabilia.  Very surreal, I can’t fully explain it.  Finally the rain subsided and we took a cab back.  The whole thing reminded me of the scene in the Matrix when Neo goes to see the Oracle, only there weren’t any cookies, we didn’t break anything, and I’m not sure why so many people visit her to ask questions.  I think she gets most visitors out of curiosity rather than advice, but it still had a feeling of being in the presence of someone very important.

I have been cooking up a storm in my kitchen lately.  I have perfected a generic bread recipe, and even a banana bread recipe.  Next I will try bagels, and beer bread.  I also can make a mean pasta Diablo that makes you sweat, and a green gram (moong beans maybe?) curry.  I have more time to cook now that I don’t have a computer (dell says I need to replace the motherboard), so if you come across any good recipes feel free to send them.

I went to the Live With Hope center with my British friend yesterday (he works there).  It is a catholic center for helping street kids, and I was really excited to start getting those connections.  I even helped teach a short class on English.  I think through the youth center and the live with hope center, I will have lots of connections to work my public health magic around here.  It also helps to get the ins with the street kids because 1: they stop asking you for money when they know you are not a tourist and 2: it feels good to help the kids who really have nothing as opposed to the kids at the youth center that are better dressed than I am.  I want to help everyone, but it feels more appreciated with the street kids.