Adventures documented yesterday...
It's 9am and I'm back in my pajamas in bed since classes are distance learning this week and in the heat it seems silly to 'work' in clothes and we don't have desks, still. And even if I wanted to dress up a bit, I couldn't because every last piece of clothing is saturated in orange Kisumu dust and in dire need of a soak. In the case of my favorite khaki safari pants (my roommate Chiara considers my entire wardrobe safari since I packed comfort-chic over cute-chic), I'll need to get creative. They ripped in my epic School Bus knee-bust so I'm down to two pairs of pants, safari green and safari brown, respectively. Anyway, the last sock is hanging and I'm back to my powerpoint slides on economic determinants of health, but not without a little reflection (and procrastination) first.
After weeks of consuming typical Kenyan fare in which the number one ingredient is corn oil combined with carbohydrates it's tough to reconcile why I haven't gained a pound, maybe even lost a few. At home we have access to organic foods and gym memberships. But here, 'working out' explicitly is a taboo activity (I'll address/link this later when I discuss our daily run and the attention it's garnered around town). After two months of living here, I submit that [the appearance of] being healthy is not some complex balance of squeezed-in gym routines and expensive dietary adjustments but just... living.
Take laundry. I actually substituted my running routine this morning to wash my clothes and I'm almost certain the calories burned were comparable. My routine includes filling a bucket with soap + water with as many articles as will fit and carrying said bucket downstairs to the backyard sink. I scrub each thing individually against itself, wring it out, and add it to bucket #2. Once everything has been scrubbed from the soapy bucket (and the water at this point is orange with dirt) I start the rinse cycle--rinsing and wringing everything again. Then it's on to the hanging, which entails bending over, grabbing and unwinding each article from the bucket and reaching up to hang it. If I start by 6:30am, I can be hanging by 7:30am when the equatorial sun is just becoming h-o-t. I've engaged my arms, legs, back, and I'm usually breaking a sweat after 15 minutes. Not bad!
Now take the day to day lives of people around town--in lieu of businesses with suits and fancy working lunches (they do exist, but it's rare), most people have to physically work really hard. To them, purposefully wasting energy to run around in gym clothes seems absolutely ridiculous. It's hard enough just getting through the heat of the day.
In another upcoming post, I'm planning to share the stories of four entrepreneurs I met over the weekend at World Bicycle Relief* who test-ride new bicycles used to sell, peddle, pick up, and push an eclectic variety of goods. Their stories are fabulous and their dedication to the entrepreneurial spirit and good old fashioned hard work is inspiring. Stay tuned for pictures and stories. In the meantime I have to go rescue my laundry (it dries here in an hour or less, no electricity needed!) and prepare for tomorrow's adventure to the post office. I'll skip running, again.
*I found WBR on accident while looking around the Google map of Kisumu for interesting things to do and got more than I bargained for that day. One of the advantages of being here, Kisumu in particular, is that every interesting NGO is on our street or at the very least, easily accessible. The team at WBR is amazing and this past weekend I spent two days hanging out, watching them assemble new prototype bikes, and interviewing the 'test riders' who use the bikes around town.
Grandma Pontious would be proud of your laundry skills. I should send you a bottle of Mrs. Wright's Blueing and your whites would sparkle in the African sun!
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