Dogs do go to Heaven

Last weekend was my little brother's official visiting day. Everyone from Nairobi came home and we drove to the school together. For two days we cooked and cooked preparing Mathew's favorite foods. We made beef pilau (indian dish with rice, and beef), fish, chicken, mukimo (mashed bananas and potatoes), chocolate cake, chapatis (indian flat bread) hamburgers, and much more. We arrived at 11:00 and stayed until 5:00. Mathews is now in class 7 (7th grade) and for about half the year they learn new things and the rest of the year they review for their KCPS, class 8 exams. These exams are a very big deal. they determine what high school you get into and then that determines if you get entry to university. So he is starting to feel the pressure. This is another reason that he was sent away to boarding school at this time in his life, so that he can really focus and learn as much as he can. I can't imagine what a difference it would make if all the schools were equal. Of course in the US there are better schools then others, but in general all schools provide a pretty decent education. What a different country this would be.

Once you start educating everyone they inevitably want to escape the village and farm life. Which again i think has happened in the US. Farming in the US has become big business, you cannot survive farming 5 acres of land. But here all the land gets passed down generation to generation, so all they have is 5 acres or less of land, but they supply the country. Of course there is some food imported, i don't know the statistics, but in expensive grocery stores you can buy peaches from South Africa and oranges from the middle east.  Who will grow the food? Farming is considered poor people work. When i tell people proudly that i come from farming on both sides of my family, they give me funny looks. It is so expected that kids will have something to do with farming that animal husbandry and agriculture is part of the curriculum. In some ways is it almost counter productive to give everyone equal education? 

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These past couple of weeks i have not been teaching so much but I have been working at the community center a lot. Everyday has been shopping, and not fun shopping. Buying 10 kilos of rice, 50 bananas, 5 loaves of bread, on and on. it is exhausting. But at least i am helping out in some way. 

Last night my dog got hit my a car. I have had this dog, Ben, since he was a puppy and was very close to him. He would come in and take naps in the house with me, and walk me back and forth to the center late at night. I am very sad to see him go. He was so loyal and loving, but also really protective. We have about 20 guinea pigs on our farm and he always wanted to get his little paws on  couple of them. also the baby chicks, they drove him wild. I know that he is in heaven chasing guinea pigs, baby chicks and fetching all the stones he can manage. 

i hate when people say that animals don't go to heaven. How do they know? Just because you have read the Bible doesn't mean you know all of God's plan. The Bible wasn't written for animals, God's not stupid he knows they can't read. animals are just pure creatures, they do what they must to survive. They don't have all these annoying conflicts with greed, fear, selfishness, they are who they are, which is what makes them so lovely. So in answer to you question, yes, they do go to heaven. 

One of the Best

Last night one of the best dogs i have ever had, got hit by a car. Ben was so loyal, and gentle, but also very protective of us. I miss him so much but know that he is happy wherever he is. Chasing baby chickens, guinea pigs, and fetching stones. I love you so much Ben and miss you! thanks for giving us two years of happy times! miss you!

North Korea

I finally got to visit my little brother in boarding school. we drove for two and a half hours, both ways, to spend 25 minutes with him. If you have been reading my blog you, you already know that i don't like the Kenyan education system. Schools are ridiculously strict for no other reason then to just be annoying. Of course i believe that you need to teach young people discipline, but i believe that you need to give them enough freedom to make their own choices, and to be self-disciplined, not just fallow the rules like a zombie. When Ruth and i arrived at the school, first we had to go ask permission to see him. Then he had to ask permission to see us. When we were finally allowed to see each other we were only given 15 minutes. I was angry then, and still am, about this. What the hell? The parent of the child who is paying tuition is there to see their child. It is their child, not the school's. And it was a Saturday. We can't see him for as long as we want? We also were not allowed to take him off campus. I seriously almost blew up. I know that it is not my child, but all of my former education, both as a student myself, and from the little psychology that i studied, was outraged at their stupidity. 15 minutes? we haven't see him in one month. Do they know nothing of how important a child's bond with their family is? Or maybe all of the studies that talk about how important play is for the brain. No. They are just stupid. They also cannot have any kind of food from home, sweets, chips, anything? is this somehow going to effect their learning? Oh yes, and they are only allowed to send letters two times during their term, and all mail, going and coming, is opened and read. No phone calls home, no leaving the compound, no Internet, the list goes on and on. It is seriously Little North Korea. there is no other description for it. It is making me angry just typing about it.

Ok now that my ranting is over, i will get onto more serious things. It is now my third week of teaching English and it is going pretty well. My new name is Mwalimu (teacher), even outside of school. The gap between what they should know and what they do know is pretty big, and i am not quite sure how to tackle that. They are not the best writers, and this is what i have decided to work on first. I have bought them small composition books and am making them write every day, whether it is a diary or short stories, i just want them to write. They are taught how to write, but they don't actually write that often, so i am hoping that with occasional corrections they will begin to make that connection. They all come from pretty poor families, and some have a hard time raising tuition, which is about 50 US dollars, a term (3 months). It is very humbling to see how much they want to learn. They are excited to be in school, they want to become better students. They know what is in store for them if they drop out or don't do well on exams, and they want better for themselves and their families.

Speaking of better ones self, i visited the School for the Mentally Challenged last week. I was a little nervous, not knowing how in control of themselves or respectful of me they may, or may not be, but it turned out to be a great experience. Most of the students that attend this school have pretty severe mental challenges, including downs syndrome and other birth defects. Earlier in this post i was very harsh towards boarding schools, but in this instance it is a wonderful opportunity for these children. Unfortunately most of these kids would be locked up and forgotten about at their homes so they really enjoy school. the first class that i entered was the advanced class. They were learning how to pronounce things correctly and going through the alphabet and coming up with words that matched the letters. The next class that i sat in on repeatedly went over the days of the week and what they did on every day. These children were so precious. they were just so happy and filled with joy. When it was time for me to go they were taking a tea brake, so i walked with them to the cafeteria. They all gathered around me and wanted to hold my hand or touch my skin. A lot of little children are very curious about the color of my skin, but are usually too shy to touch it. These kids didn't have that same inhibition, and a few were rubbing it trying to see if i was black underneath. It was really funny! i am going to be doing art with them once a week, i am really excited!

The next day in my English class there happened to be a story in the lesson book about a girl who was physically disabled. After reading it with my class we discussed the perception of disabled people in the Kenyan culture. At the end i told them about myself. If i would have gone to school here i would have been a class 8 drop out. But i have graduated college, and maybe someday will get another degree. They were shocked, they had never heard of other styles of learning, and weren't really sure that people who couldn't pass exams could also be smart. It was a very interesting lesson.

Last but not least, yesterday was my niece's Birthday. I love her so much and wish i could have been there to celebrate with her. She is so near and dear to my heart for many reasons, but mostly because she is a kind and loving little soul. I love you and miss you more then you know. - auntie

love to you all!!