I am so thankful for the instrument donations from the Creative Arts Therapies Dept at Riley Hospital for Children!! I've been taking them around with me and have had a great response. The kids at the HIV/AIDS shelter I go to on Wednesdays especially loved them. They saw me coming with a box and immediately all wanted to know what was in the box. I had them sit down in a row (there were 7 or 8 girls that day, I think) and I explained what each instrument was, and demonstrated how to play it. We had tons of shakers, small drums, a colorful baby rainstick, a triangle, and several others. I set them out one by one on the table and the girls just could not even wait to grab them. The looks of curiosity and sheer excitement were so heart-warming. You'd have thought it was Christmas morning--they've never seen such brightly colored, well made instruments before. So after I'd explained how to play each one I said, "Ready, GO!" and let all of them pick one to play. We proceeded to JAM. I mean, full on JAM session. We sang a ton of the songs that I'd taught them, and also plenty of swahili songs that they've taught me, and it was just so much fun. We would all trade instruments every couple of songs so that everyone got to try out each different instrument.
These girls are so resilient. They've been burned by every level of society, and have learned to trust no one. All of them are HIV positive, and most are or were also neglected, abused, and abandoned. They have no possessions, and no family that cares for them. But they have each other, and those are some of the strongest bonds I've ever seen. Sarah Ellen Mamlin has done an incredible job of setting up this shelter. She has a full time teacher, several women who cook and clean and live there with the women and girls, and Social Workers and other help that check in periodically. She somehow manages to bring them joy through clothing donations, cookies that she's made in her own kitchen, or new school notebooks here and there. I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to provide such a fun, inspirational and therapeutic couple of hours to such neat young women. They are so grateful every time I come, somehow I think they're letting me in. So rewarding. Here are a few pictures of the girls and their new musical instruments:
This weekend I ran my first race in Kenya, a 12K. Now, I just have to remind you that Kenyans are literally the fastest runners in the world, in case you've missed the results of every marathon in the last bazillion years. I went with several other wazungu (white people, or foreigners). We were excited because for 200 shillings, about $2, we got a tank top to run in, race number, and even a water break about half way through the race. So we were told that the starting times were staggered: 42K (full marathon) women at 7am, 42K men at 7:15am, 5K at 7:30am, 12K women (ME!) at 7:45am and 12K men at 8am. So in Kenyan time, that really means we would start around 8:30 or 8:45, at least an hour later, and we did. The 4 other wazungu from the Moi University/Indiana University partnership and I were the only white people, and it was just really cool to be surrounded by some of the world's top athletes. Their bodies are incredible, such lean muscle and very little fat. Their thighs are the size of my calves, or smaller. So I've noticed since I've been here that Kenyans stand really close to each other while waiting in line. It was a bit odd at first, to be standing in line somewhere and have someone come up and literally have their shoulders or chest against your back, but I've gotten used to it. Strange though, that this also applies to the starting line of a race. We couldn't believe how close the women were standing to each other! And when the race started, elbows flew, and I saw three women go tumbling. They just got up, shook it off, and sprinted away. Ouch. So, we were left in the dust, quite literally. After running for about 20 minutes or so, I heard and felt this crazy stampede. I turned around and saw an amazing sight: 45 Kenyan men running towards me. They were the men running the 12K that had started 15 minutes behind us. There were so many long, lean legs flying and determined faces, I was truly in awe. I got off the pavement and kept jogging in the dirt as all of these ridiculously fast runners flew past me, it was a moment like none other. Running through the villages was also really incredible. People came out of their mud huts and homes to watch the race, but unlike in the US, they don't cheer and yell, they just stare. It was a bit eery, to be honest. Lots of rubber necking as we went by. I quickly discovered that if I smiled and waved, they responded and cheered me on a bit. I think I spent so much energy waving and saying, "Habari zeno, watoto!!" (How are you, children!!!) They would get super excited and wave and yell, "Mzuri!!" (Good!) Then they'd giggle and mutter things about "mzungu" and "America." One of my favorite things was when one of the older adults gave me a few pity claps (it must have looked like a bit of a struggle at that point) and said, "Try, madam, TRY!" It was meant as encouragement, but I just wanted to say, "I AM trying!!!!"
Part of the way through the race a random man off of the street dressed in everyday clothes came and ran with me. He wasn't registered for the race, and at first I thought, "What the heck, is he seriously going to hit on me? NOW?!" But he was really nice. He'd say, "Sawa? Una choka?" (You okay? Are you tired?) And I'd say, "Hamsini, hamsini, sawa." (I'm so, so, I'm okay.) Then he'd say, "Sawa, TWENDE!" (Okay, let's GO!) And he would increase my pace just a little bit. I realized after several miles that he was really helping me. He'd go with my pace, then push me ever so slightly. He actually finished the race with me, and I learned afterwards that he's not a big runner, but he's a boxing instructor. He made a great motivator and running partner. So anyway, I finished the 12K, 7.3 miles, in 1 hour and 9 minutes. That's probably a PR for me, it's about an 8 min 40 sec mile pace. And two of the other white people finished after me, so I wasn't even last! It was a great morning.
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