Happy (belated) One Month Anniversary!

December 4th marked our one month mark in country! To celebrate, a large group of the trainees along with two of the current volunteers, who are here in town helping with training, went on a hike! The hike was absolutely beautiful and I am going to try to upload picture from the hike when I am done with the blog.

Saturday was our first official LPI test… An LPI is a Language Proficiency Interview. It is the test that all Peace Corps trainees around the world have to take in order to be sworn in at the end of training. For trainees in Kenya, we learn Kiswahili, the countries national language (English is also a national language…) and we have to pass our LPI with a minimum score of Intermediate Low in order to be sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers. In case you are wondering what intermediate-low means, I’ll tell you! Our trainee handbook has the definition as: “Able to handle a limited number of interactive, task-oriented and social situations. Can ask and answer questions, create new phrases, initiate and respond to simple statements with complete sentences and maintain face-to-face conversations, although in a restricted manner and with linguistic inaccuracy. Within these limitations, can manage simple situations such as asking directions, making purchases, giving personal information. Vocabulary is adequate to express the most elementary needs. Strong interference from native language may occur. Misunderstandings frequently arise but with repetition the Intermediate-Low speaker can generally be understood by sympathetic listeners.” (The trick with Int-Low, which isn’t talked about here, though, is that you have to know a certain number of verb tenses, and have a sufficient vocabulary as well). Also, during the LPI there are usually a few role play scenarios, where you have to role play ordering in a restaurant, bargaining in the market, explain how to cook a Kenyan dish, or reserve a room in a hotel.

When we take the LPIs that can count it is with outside testers, not the language trainers whom have been teaching us for the last 5 weeks. If we passed yesterday we can request to switch to the local tribal language of the region in which we will be serving. If we do not pass there is a final LPI at the end of week 8. For practice, the trainers have put on two “mini” LPI’s, one at the end of week 2, and one at the end of 4 weeks. On the first LPI, I scored novice mid, which is two levels away from Int-Low. And then last week, I scored novice-high, which is only one level away from Int-Low!!! I was very exciting to be improving and am truly amazed at the amount of language that you can learn when you are immersed in it, and when you are in language class for about 4 hours a day! I just found out that I passed at intermediate-low! YAYYYYYYY! It is really nice to pass now because now I can start learning Kiluo. I will be serving my two years in Nyanza Province, which is where the Luo tribe is concentrated. It would be a huge advantage to my integration if I was able to learn Kiluo before going there! I have heard that Kiswahili is not spoken much in my area, and if you do not speak Kiluo, they would prefer to speak with you in English, not Kiswahili... So, there is extra motivation.

About my future site! I will be teaching in an all girls secondary school in the subjects of biology and chemistry. The school has also requested that I implement and teach the life skills course, which is a kind of general class which covers topics such as HIV/AIDS, non violent conflict resolution, relationships and hygiene. I am very excited! Like I said, I will be in Nyanza Province, my site in close to Lake Victoria and also fairly close to the Tanzanian border. If you are looking on a map, my village is not far from Migorii. Apparently there was a Peace Corps volunteer placed at my site a few years ago, but she had only been there a month before the evacuation and suspension of the Peace Corps / Kenya program. My mom was able to track down her blog for me, so I have read a little bit about my future site and the school. From her blog and from what our program director has told me, my site is gorgeous! The principal of my school is an amazing woman who has really grown the size of my school. My house is on the school compound, it has 4 rooms (so an extra bedroom for guests!), no electricity or running water, but my school has electricity and has a water tank from which I can get water. I am really excited, and I am looking forward to my site! It will be very bitter sweet to leave training though, I have become very close with my host family, especially my host mama, and I know it will be hard to leave. Also, during the day all of us trainees spend so much time together, that it will be a huge change to not see the other trainees every day. But, since most of us are concentrated in Nyanza province, we should be able to get together every once in awhile. I am also pretty lucky, in that I am not far from two other trainees. So, if I need a quick trip away I can visit one of them.

I have been hearing that it is freezing cold back home, and while most people are complaining, I have to say that I miss cold weather! It has been warm the whole time we have been here, at least to me… The locals are all telling me how cold it is and they are wearing jackets and sweaters while I am sweating in my short sleeve shirt…. I guess I have yet to adjust to the heat… But, Nyanza province is even warmer than here, so I better get on that. I also hope everyone is enjoying all the Christmas music (I miss it!) if you tried here it would not be hard to be completely oblivious to the fact that it is the holiday season. Not only does the weather not fit with my holiday season paradigm, but I have yet to see a Christmas themed commercial or hear any Christmas music, let alone any decorations! The rare time that I remember it is almost Christmas, I am caught totally off guard, and it just doesn’t seem to fit. I am going to try to listen to some of the Christmas music that I brought, and maybe see if I can watch Love Actually on one of the other trainees computers, I think that will get me in the holiday spirit!

Well, that’s all from me… I am going to try to upload some more photos for your enjoyment! Look for the captions in the comments section of the post! And, since Charlie (one of the other trainees) was nice enough to let me have some of the pictures off of his camera last time, and I know his mom has seen my blog, I am going to include a picture of him and his host stay Mama! Enjoy!