I climbed a mountain.

A big one.  Tallest one in Africa.  Welcome to my 2012.  (It's probably all downhill after this.)

It was the first time I've ever done anything like this and I definitely learned a few things during my time on Mount Kilimanjaro.  For one, I am probably not going to make mountain climbing a regular hobby.  Sure, I loved the experience and I would definitely be up for climbing something again - the experience at the summit makes every moment worth its effort - but I think I'm more of a casual hiker and/or rock climber.  I'll enjoy some pretty scenery and I'll love hauling myself up a rock face, but when it comes to walking up a mountain, really, it’s not something I need to do every weekend. 

Porters carrying camp up the Barranco Wall.

The one caveat to this is if I found a mountain that required the sort of half hiking, half climbing endeavor that took us over the Barranco Wall.  Something not shear enough to require ropes, but too steep and rocky to just walk up.  Now that I could do all day and be very very happy. 

I suppose it's kind of a shame that I'm not so much into the mountain climbing, because I also discovered that apparently I am pretty good at altitudes.  Most people experience a bit of dizziness, headache and/or nausea at a certain point.  Some have really severe reactions.  There is a decent percentage of people that don't make it to the top.  I had a bit of headache the first time we went up past 4000m and aside from that was pretty much fine.  I actually kind of enjoyed watching how my body reacted to the different altitudes.  We kind of had a stairstep approach on several days where we would hike up a few hundred meters during the day and then come down again to sleep.  While this seemed like a lot of extra work, it also gave my body a chance to adjust.  Going up was really tiring and uncomfortable, but then when I got back down I felt amazing - even if I was at a point that had felt terrible the day before. 

In terms of being at camp, I have determined that, if I ever do something like this again, it is worth it to bring things for evening entertainment.  A long enough book or deck of cards is not an extravagant weight expenditure, but an integral part of the experience, regardless of whether I am carrying it or giving it to a porter.  (Did I mention the porters?  They carry everything for you and somehow manage to do it twice as quickly.  Camp is there when you leave in the morning and then magically it's already waiting for you when you get to the next place at the end of the day.)

Sunrise from the top

Overall, the experience was pretty incredible.  I am still amazed at the beautiful views, the energy required and the logistics of the entire operation.  It took 10 people to get myself and Kurt, my climbing partner for the week, to the summit.  All we had to do was walk.  And walk we did.  I don’t think I have ever done so much physical activity in any given week in my life.  It was definitely worth it, though.  Nothing I have done so far compares to the experience of reaching the summit.  We walked up to the snowy peak with the sun rising above the clouds to the left side of the ridge and the moon still setting on the right. That fleeting moment of surprising beauty coupled with the elation upon reaching the highest point on the ridge are the legacy of a hike on Kilimanjaro.  Already, the moments of headache and fatigue are fading, but the pride (and relief) of knowing that I did it, I persevered through the Shira Plateau, the Barranco Wall, the Karanga Valley, all the ups and downs, to stand and look out from the ice and snow of the Rooftop of Africa will always be with me.  

On Gratitude and Greed

These last couple weeks I've been working with students at a school called Junior Learners.  The school is basic at best - dirt floors in tiny classrooms separated by wooden chalkboards, where the noise of other lessons creates a constant soundtrack.  Resources are scarce.  From what I can tell, there are about 2 recess balls for a school of 170 kids.  And yet, it is one of the best schools I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.  I have left every day with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. 

Junior Learners is such a joyful place to be.  It is clear, even in just a few hours, that both the kids and teachers are happy to be there.  When it's time for P.E. in the nearby field, everyone plays - the teachers and students together.  It's awesome to see. 

The students here are bright, interested, respectful individuals.  I am impressed with the level of scholarship that is achieved given the available resources.  They put me to shame when I attempted to review with them for final exams.  Not only that but they are eager to learn and ready to ask the tough questions.  They have critical thinking skills and want their instructors to help put them to good use.  The students took every opportunity we gave them to soak up whatever knowledge and expertise we could share with them.

It is obvious that the students here have been taught with love and respect.  You can see it in the way they interact.  They have excellent manners.  They understand how to share, listen, have patience and just generally respect each other.  They also have a great capacity for gratitude.  We brought equipment for P.E. on our first day and all of the kids were overjoyed, just to have a tennis ball or a skipping rope to play with for 30 minutes.  An announcement of pencils for the class was met with raucous applause.  You would have thought I'd just announced that they'd won an Oscar.  And yet, their gratitude doesn't spill into greed.  The children are grateful for what they are given and don’t expect anything more. 

Case in point, on our final day we took them on a field trip to Haller Park, which basically amounts to a very large, sprawling zoo set in the forest.  At the end we passed out a snack for the kids.  The students were excellent about making sure that everyone got their snack and only their snack, without any hiding or hoarding.  There was an utter absence of greediness.  I have seen groups of kids who have everything, that would milk the situation for everything they could get.  And yet, these kids, who have so little, were not trying to get as much as they could, even though they probably needed it.  There was a very inherent graciousness  and generosity in their behavior. 

I am grateful to the Junior Learners for allowing us into their school.  Just being with them has reminded me of what is really important in life and how lucky I am, a lesson which is particularly pertinent during this season of friends, family and rampant consumerism.  Despite every advertiser’s best efforts to persuade me to the contrary, more isn’t what matters.  Most of my life is a luxury.  And now that that’s out of the way, I can go about the business of appreciating the things I have and, more importantly, the people, the wonderful wonderful people, that surround me.   

Things I'm excited for at home...

- seeing everyone!
- a very clean, properly functioning home
- properly functioning plumbing and electricity
- an utter lack of insects
- apples
- unfrozen bread
- my big computer
- fast, reliable internet
- a dental cleaning (yes, really)
- TV/movies
- driving places
- not having to walk in bad weather
- Christmas!
- snow
- new nephew!
- fixed prices
- the lack of pop music in my life
- privacy
- frozen yogurt
- proper couches
- not feeling like I'm walking around with a dollar sign for a face

The Downfall

It's been a bit since my last post and I kind of feel like I've been lying to y'all by omission. My last post was definitely written at the pinnacle of my time here so far and things have degraded a bit since then.

We've run into some trouble with some of the staff at my school. A new headteacher was hired right about the time that I arrived. He was hired to make changes, with the intention of making the school function more like a school. Unfortunately, some of the changes he tried to make had to do with discipline and they went a bit far.

Corporal punishment is very common here, even though it has technically been outlawed. For the most part it takes after the States of not so long ago - something akin to a rap across the knuckles. At our school, the new headteacher took it to some new heights and it started to verge on abuse. Obviously, that is not a practice that we can support, and GVI was forced to pull out of the school. We are still providing limited financial support until the end of the term in a couple weeks (for the sake of the children having water, etc.), but none of the volunteers have been teaching. So far the kids haven't been given very much information about what is going on, they just know we aren't there.

There have been a lot of meetings between the head GVI staff and the directors of the school. The directors had been taking a step back from the school and were largely unaware of what was happening. Now that they are aware, GVI is sort of waiting to see what action they decide to take. Unless things can be resolved satisfactorily, we'll be forced to pull out for good. Frustratingly for those of us on this end, the school is approaching things the Kenyan way, which means polepole - slowly, slowly.

For the time being, us displaced volunteers have been doing some other things in the community. There is an orphanage that is just getting started very near my school. It is run by an Australian woman who knows one of the staff members here, so some of us have been helping out there. The rest of us have been visiting a different school called Junior Learners. It is a little bit farther from our village and has some random connections to people here.

I have been working at the school, which has actually turned out to be an amazing experience. It's a wonderful place to be. The children are very smart and respectful and the staff are so welcoming and joyful. It has been an absolute pleasure to be in a school where everyone is happy and respectful - to go to P.E. and watch the teachers playing and joking with their students. It is a nice change from Olive's. The atmosphere there has not been so nice lately.

This week is the end of the school year here, so it sounds like we are going to be doing some extracurricular things with the kids at Junior Learners and next week we will be doing the same with our kids at Olive's. I'm looking forward to being with them again. I miss my class a lot. I'm waiting, though, to find out what will happen in the long term. I want to know what I am coming back to in January. Right now, everything is bittersweet.

Lack of Communication

I'm not sure if I've just gotten used to not talking to people or if I'm too busy doing things or if it's because there are so many people around or because it feels comfortable to be here or what, but I don't miss people from home the way I usually do when I am away.  Of course I miss everyone and I can't wait to see them in a month, but I don't really miss having a skype that works consistently.  I have hardly talked to anyone since I've been here and it's not really stressing me out like it usually does.  Like I said, I'm not sure why this is.