Tala

Kenya, Miscellaneous

I was walking around in Tala’s market today with a buddy when some old mlevi (“drunkard”) with a guitar came up to me and started strumming and saying some crazy things. Then, all of the sudden, he mentioned something about La Bamba. The funny thing was, I recognized the beat, and it was right on. I waited a few seconds and then started singing, “Para bailar la bamba… para bailar la bamba… se necessita una poca de gracia.” To my amazement this guy instantly started singing along with me. He may have even known more of the lyrics than me!

The guy was even wearing a Sea World hat that said “Whale Trainer,” hhahahaah! That, and the fact that Despised Icon released some studio clips from the production of their new album, made my day today.

Kenya, Miscellaneous, Teaching

I’m just kidding, because there is nothing special about going back to school (haha?). We should have started classes over three weeks ago but the information never seems to get to all the right people at the right time. Our students always take a bit of extra time anyways. So we’re starting this week. I almost started today. Here’s the breakdown of classes I’ll be teaching:

  • Web development I (HTML)
  • Network essentials
  • Operating systems II (Unix/Linux)

So at least the course count is down from last semester, where I had five classes for awhile there. I’ve taught the networking class three times already (or is it four?), so there’s no problem there, but teaching anything new is always a bit stressful. The course content isn’t anything difficult (not like teaching Object-oriented programming with C++ last semester), but making my own notes every night gets a bit tedious. I could get notes from the other teachers but I never really like the notes. My colleagues use more of a dictation style of teaching, where as I like to write short points on the board and then talk about them.

In other news, it’s been two years since the first post on this website. Back then it was still called Sara in Kenya. In other, other news, sarainkenya.org expires (goes “bye bye”) on May 14th, so go check it out if you have never seen it. You can browse the May, 2007 archives by clicking here: https://alaninkenya.org/2007/05

Update, May 15, 2009: I have saved a copy of the old sarainkenya.org here: http://thefro.org/sarainkenya.org

Kenya, Miscellaneous, Pictures

I took a few pictures on my phone last month as I was around Tala and Nairobi. I don’t have any pictures of Tala because I’m a bit embarrassed to walk around with a camera. I’m sure it would draw a lot of attention if I were to take some pictures of my favorite cafes, the streets, where I buy my vegetables, the bus station, etc. Everyone knows me and is used to me by now, but I’d still feel uncomfortable. I guess that’s why it’s nice to have a camera on the phone that I can just whip out and take a picture real quick. At least it’s a common thing, because even the local guys do that stuff.

Jaffeth, a tailor in Tala marketThis guy is Jaffeth. He is a tailor who works in Tala market. His little booth sits outside of the barber shop where I get my beard trimmed. I always sit and chat with him about stuff, he’s a lively character and he never asks me for tea or to sponsor anyone, but I make sure if I need any tailoring I bring it to him. I’ve been visiting the kinyozi for a year now ever since I came back to Kenya in March, 2008 without my own beard trimmer. Mine broke while I was in California. I think it’s better this way because I get to sit around and chat to the dudes, talk about the weather, gossip about people walking by, etc. It costs 20 Kenyan shillings to get a beard trim (less than half a US dollar).
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