DARREN 101

ST. Mary's is crazy because everything is so different. Like if you don't make eye contact or smile at everyone they going to think you are rude. You can walk in the street like it's the sidewalk but cars won't stop for you. Everywhere has mud.

I have surprised myself because I finally found out that I can swallow a pill instead of biting it. I really never knew that i was going to like someone else cooking. I've tried new foods and surprisingly i like them... like Chapati.

The boy i feel most connected to is Juma because we are both good basketball players and we know how to dance very well. Juma is 17 years old in 7th grade. P.S so that means he was on the street for a long.

5 things that are different from American and Kenyan cultures are
1. The showers
2. Animals can run around
3. Food is different (more beans not a lot of meat)
4. The dancing (It's slow and repeats itself)
5. Eye contact (Must have it and smile)

The most difficult part for me so far has been walking outside at night without street lights. You can't see anything without the flashlight and since you only hear crickets you don't know what's out there. The kids are dark skinned so it's hard to tell who it is at night.

Yesterday we visited a place called the slums that's where some of the boys came from. the environment is beautiful which is what Africa is really know for. The only thing is they have no garbage bag or can so it goes on the floor then they burn it. They bathroom is just wood with a long piece of cloth on it. Inside the houses look crazy small; no rooms or nothing just one small spot that only fits two small beds and like a little spot for like a pan and wood for fire.

Yo Day 3.... !

Today Kahlil and I made our own breakfast because Ms. Kehn over slept for hours and didn't wake up until 9:50- breakfast was at 7:20. So I made Scrambled eggs and two toasted breads with butter on them. Kahlil had to fried eggs and two toasted breads with butter on them.

Later we taught the kids for about an hour. They really need some help because i kept asking them the same question over and over-- they still couldn't get what's 6-4= . Their classroom was small and dirty-- they had pencils the size of a pinkey or smaller. The cover of their books were made out of newspaper ads. They reused the same books from two years ago. I had asked some kids where are their books , and they showed me three different books. ms. Kehn came back and said those aren't your books because i remember then from two years ago.

For now on we pull out 6 kids and I'll work with two of them; their names are Benson and Arafat. when ms Kehn met Arafat two years ago, he didn't even know how to write his own name. now I taught him today how to carry when adding and Benson and Arafat both Know to do double adding. Today I taught them how to sound out words and then say them ;they breezed past that like it was nothing. Arafat and Benson are only six and seven. We really need to get them books.

That Day 1

When we got to St.mary secondary school and rescue center we met the boys they gave us a tour we felt like we were famous. They all wanted to shake our hands and know our names. Then we played Basketball with the new Basketball we gave them. They were good. Then they invited me to a game of soccer or as they call it football but was crazy was they played with no shoes or with sandals on and their field had rocks in it. After we had dinner- we had Hamburgers and French Fries or as they called it Chips. Then came movie night where we watched The Karate Kid. We left in the middle. That's when Kahlil and I ran home because it was raining. our foot prints were engraved in the reddish orange dirt on our floor. thats when Kahlil fell and cut his hand but he's ok. They also have roosters that are everywhere-- i just hope one don't wake me up. They also hung their clothes everywhere because Saturdays are wash days. I feel good.