Going to the field

Last week in the office they told me that I was going to be accompanying them on a trip to visit the actual ECD centers I have been hearing about for so long. When I was first told in my jet lag haze I was excited, as excited as I could be then but I began to get nervous. Rebecca told me that I need to make a list of all the things I think I will be responsible for on the trip so I knew it wasn't going to be just a fun seeing adorable kids kind of trip. I didn't know where to begin when creating my list but after a few hours and a lot of soul searching namely reading over my job description I was able to come up with a pretty decent list of seven things which I thought I would be able to do.

We all piled in the car on Sunday afternoon and then we hit the open road. It look a good four hours to get to Isiolo where we would be spending our first night and I spent that whole time staring out the window hoping to see a giraffe. I want to see a giraffe so bad it is almost driving me crazy. On a couple of the trips I went on earlier I was told I would see some giraffes but I never did and now that is all I can think about. When we got to the hotel I was nervous not knowing what to expect and as I approached the room I saw tons of bugs everywhere trying to get in but surprisingly there went that many in the actual room. We all dropped off our stuff and headed out to dinner. At the restaurant there was nothing vegetarian so I settled on some fries and a Fanta, a very nutritious dinner if I ever saw one. I didn't eat all of my fries, which kicked off a week of everyone making fun of me and nagging me about eating all the time.

The next morning we decided that Janet and I would go to the Iyap center while Rebecca and Pascal would go to Pastoralists since there were two centers that needed to be visited in Isiolo and there was no need for us to all go to all of them. In the initial meeting with the partners I just sat there silently taking notes only speaking when spoken to. I had things I wanted to say but I would always let the opportunity pass me by and let my nerves get in the way. When we finally went to the field to see the school I was excited. The kids came out to the car shaking our hands and saying hello. I went around and met all the teachers and the two volunteers they had from Germany. After I aimlessly walked around the center for awhile not knowing what to do with myself the meeting with the teachers started. I didnt say anything as usual but I did manage to mangle a couple of questions at the end. It was interesting to hear about all the problems that they were having on the field, like not having any toys, or they havent created a kitchen garden because I know that I am going to be apart of the team to help them try to work something out. After the teachers meeting I went to talk to the German girls and talking with them really made me feel horrible. After two weeks they already seemed so much more comfortable than I am and they were already speaking Kiswahili. David said they came up to him and they had a conversation in it. To top it all off, they served lunch which was this beans and rice mash that tasted so boring and monotonous that I could finish my plate and they practically licked theirs clean. Well after meeting them I have some fire put under me, I know it is possible. If two German girls one who had never been to Africa before and never worked with children can do it I can too!