outlier |ˈoutˌlīər|noun = a person or thing situated away or detached from the main body or system: • a person or thing excluded from a group; an outsider.
This is me. I'm an outlier. Coming to a foreign country with an entirely different set of cultural norms and a language I have yet to master, I can't help but be one. I'm OK with this descriptive noun for the time being, and thankful it is not used as a proper noun. Instead, I'm called Mzungu...which if you've ever travelled to Latin America is the African equivalent of la gringa. Anyways, turns out the interns before me did a good job of messing up relations with the community I'm suppose to be working with i.e. only coming for a few hours a week and then lecturing them on everything they were doing wrong. That sort of thing. So it seems a large portion of my time these first couple weeks, and possibly months, will be spent trying to patch these relations with the community. After my first week I think I'm doing pretty well...
Day 1:
I decided it would be a nice gesture to bring chai to my first Community Committee Meeting. So Alyssa (intern coordinator) and I went into town and bought a giant thermos. The next morning, we fill the giant thermos with chai, load it into my backpack, and trek up to the conservation site. 'This is such a great idea', I thought, 'how could they not love us after we bring them chai?'. Upon arrival, we excitedly inform the group that we've brought chai for everyone and proceed to unpack the thermos. As Alyssa unscrews the bottom of the thermos to use as an extra mug, CRASH the inner casing falls out and shatters sending chai and hundreds of tiny pieces of glass flying everywhere...awesome...what's worse is one of the men then felt the need to send his son all the way home to make replacement chai...stupid mzungus
Day 2:
The next morning I walk into town (30 min) and wait for a daladala (1 hour) then ride it up to Mweka (30 min) and hike the rest of the way up to the community-conservation site (another 10 min). The whole process takes roughly 2 hours and is frustrating because the place is only like 5 miles away. I should be use to it from riding the green line in Boston, but I'm not. When I get up to the site Sekievu says, "Good! I've been waiting for you. We have to go into town to visit the Forestry Office." Sigh...I turn around and proceed back DOWN the mountain into town from whence I just came.
Day 3:
Today, I've decided I'm going to help the mamas work. Two of the huts at the conservation site collapsed due to the heavy rains we've been having, so the community is busy trying to rebuild them. The men do the construction while the mamas carry over buckets of sand on their heads. That's right! Today, I too will carry a bucket on my head! I'm ready. I've even practiced how to say "Do you have a bucket? I want to help you" in swahili. When I get up to the site I whip out my bandana, tie it around my head, and deliver my line "Una ndoo? Ninataka kusaidia". Everyone laughs and one of the mamas says "tunamaliza"..."we are finished"... You've GOT to be kidding me! It's only 10:00! Don't worry I don't say this out loud I just scream it in my head. Oh well T.I.A (That Is Africa). At this point I am laughing too at all my "strikes" this week, but despite all my failed attempts...I think I'm growing on them :)
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