Week gone by

I have not been able to find that much interesting opportunities to share and add to my blog. In fact it has been really quiet. I caught a bit of a bug the past few days and slept quite a bit. Now, I have two weeks to reflect on my time here before my plans change.

After that, I'm on a plane home!

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Now playing: Silversun Pickups - Three Seed

But I guess I could tell you today, I walked around town trying to find enriched porridge and vitamins for our friends out in the Maasai village. Mbutway's wife had her baby and so Eric used funds his church raised to offer vitamins and this uji (porridge). Eric went back this week to the US so he entrusted me to finish this project.

We walked around and around for hours. Each duka la dawa (medicine shop) seemed to raise their rates the more we kept going. Obviously they saw me and thought "white person!, I'll charge them 2x or 3x more!!" So finally I went back to the hospital and purchased all the goods, even though they are comparatively more expensive than actually getting real street prices! Go figure. Saves me bargaining with people who clearly didn't respect our mission since we could communicate that much.

So again, Eric left for the USofA and I do have one new housemate. She is an economist from the University of Maryland. Her project is looking at health care consumption from what seems to be household focused perspective. I am not exactly sure as I have not been told the entire story. However, any project looking at these types of consumption patterns must be incredibly interesting given the scope of development with medicine, internet, and cellular phones here. I mean seriously, all you have to do is say, "what is the impact of cell phone use on variable X out here and you'll find yourself in pandora's box with ideas and theories.

I am absolutely amazed everyday at the consumption of services from cellular technology. Even the Maasai, the historically pastoral society, call each other for updates where the rains fell to get their cattle there.

Think of the adaptation and influence on consumption variables driving Eastern African markets such as developing Tanzania! I told Eric the other day, "this place needs doctors yes, but what could they do with teams of infrastructure specialists such as civil engineers".

For example, Eric and I threw out the idea of cobblestone development.

Teach the local brickmakers the process, lay the cobblestone, watch the market impact of higher traffic in and around the road. Invest in education of importance by the road through local - community seminars and GUARD the bricks for the time being! A more than a few people laughed at the idea, but more out of a "they'll get stolen" perspective. We all mean well I guess.

Boy, the times they are a changin. - Bobby D.

Sometimes I don't know where the line between, "you'd have to be here to imagine it" and "I can totally understand what you are saying" is. Western thought has its limitations, like any way to approach a problem, ensuring progress can rebuke the core elements of understanding intervention in and around the social dimensions of the location. I suppose this is leading to one of sociology's core questions in modern construction: Can human reason make sense of the social world and shape it for the better?

Anyways, so lets introduce you to my house:





My new room!

My old room!
My living/dining room
The kitchen in its glory.

And of course the beauty that is present not 15 feet away.