The past week and a half I've been living in an apartment in Nairobi with 5 other (awesome) girls. It's been SO nice having electricity that doesn't cut out every hour, real showers (with hot water!) and ...wait for it...a WASHING MACHINE! (no more hand washing all my clothing) We talk about how spoiled we are here on a daily basis--having access to all these amenities we haven't had for 4 months. It makes me appreciate the little things at home I take for granted all the time. (It's going to be the craziest thing EVER when I can use a dryer back in the states)
I'm having a blast living with my friends-- they're all hilarious and so much fun to be around. Day 1 in our apartment we decided that we wanted to have family dinners each night, so each of us pick one night a week to cook and the 7th night we go out somewhere fun for dinner. Mom, you'd be so proud of me-- I'm finally learning to cook. All my friends here can't fathom that good ole Nancy is a cook, yet making pasta is struggle for me. For my first dinner I made spaghetti (with some help) and my second cooking night I made pancakes. (So maybe I'm not an expert yet...but I'm trying!) I'm determined to go all out for my final meal and try something a bit more difficult-- suggestions are definitely welcomed.
Our first dinner as an apartment!
My research has been fascinating thus far. Last week, I conducted interviews almost every day with people working with initiatives to distribute sanitary protection to girls in Nairobi. Talking to them allowed me to gain a basic knowledge of the issues that girls in poverty-stricken areas face while on their period and provided some insight into their world. This week I'll be traveling to three different schools to distribute surveys related to menstruation management issues. I will also be leading multiple discussions with groups of 6-10 girls at each school, in hopes of learning about these issues more in depth.
The goal of my research is to determine the most sustainable method of sanitary protection for girls in poor areas of Nairobi. This idea stemmed from a study I discovered that revealed that Kenyan girls miss an average of 4.2 days of school each month due to their period. In an environment that already favors boys and pushes them further in the education system than girls, these days of missed school further impede the girls' success. Many NGOs and CBOs are just now beginning to realize that the taboo topic of menstruation that affects half the world's population is something worth looking into. However, it's critical to address each community differently, as cultural norms and perceptions shape the type of sanitary protection to which girls have access and use.
It's enlightening to live in an apartment where all 6 of us are conducting different types of research. Our dinner conversations are fascinating as we learn what the other five are finding. Sam's researching financial literacy for young girls; Caitlin is working with school feeding programs; Anna is learning about HIV/AIDS through different support groups in Nairobi; Ariana is assessing the level of autism awareness in Kenya and Alex is testing to see what percentage of the sexual education curriculum is actually implemented in public schools.
We are living in this apartment until December 2nd working on our ISPs (Independent Student Projects). After we finish these, we will spend a week on the coast (hopefully, plans might change though depending on the terrorist threat level) with the entire SIT group presenting our ISPs and enjoying our final days in Kenya. It's crazy that I'm going to be home in 4 weeks! This semester has FLOWN by. I'm so excited to see everyone back home but I'm not looking forward to leaving the friends I have made here (and the warm weather...)
I'll have more updates after I interview the girls this week and spend another fabulous week with my crazy apartment. Let me introduce them to you...just so you can imagine all the fun that is happening here.
Sam, me, Alex, Anna, Caitlin and Ariana
The whole motley crew
That's all for now. Until next time!
Megan
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