The Lay of the Land

Competing Solutions

I guess it just goes with the territory when different cultures
try to work together. But I can't help but be amused by some of
what goes on at the orphanage. For example, the stick-it-to-the-
man through self-sufficiency thing works pretty well. Set up a
solar panel and you've got free lights for the grown ups and 24-7
radio for the teenagers and you've got a lot of happy Africans.
Organic gardening, on the other hand, gets mixed reviews. It's
always fun to have some new plants but putting poopie on the food
gets a mixed reception.

As for fleeing corporate America, this doesn't go over at all.
For most Kenyans America is a big fantasy come true. America is
to be strived for, longed for and travelled to. They were even
part of the oft-ridiculed 'coalition of the willing' in Iraq.
Fleeing evil agri-business, forget it. Businesses that employ
lots of people with good working conditions. Bring it on.

Life as a white person in Kenya has been interesting. The people
I see every day are fine with it since white people turn up at the
orphanage with some frequency. Among strangers though it can
cause a bit of a scene. I was doing work near the fence next to the
nursery school next door. Within five minutes I had about 20 pre-
schoolers looking up in wonder at the Misunga doing some work.
Many of the locals are shocked that Misunga will actually do some
work and get his clothes dirty. There's a lot of foot and bicycle
traffic on the dirt road that goes by so there's quite a bit of
chatter back and forth. Seeing other white people is kind of weird.
It takes away your monopoly and I find myself wanting to avoid them.
But then again I'm not the most forward about introducing myself so
maybe that's not such a big change. Oh well. It is what it is.