Coming home soon!

Hi Everyone! Sorry for not blogging. It’s a terrible pain to deal with this website and I’ve been really busy. I apologize for any let downs. Speaking of which, I’m going down to the Kakamega Rainforest Reserve tomorrow! It’s a slice leftover from the massive Guinea-Congolease Rainforest of a bazillion years ago according to Lonely Planet. I’m getting back to Ugunja on Monday and leaving early Tuesday morning to Nairobi to get to the airport for my flight back home!

This week has been really great. I’ve been conducting a lot of interviews for research on my thesis; talking a lot about organic farming; especially talking about global warming and the benefits of agroforestry! I guess the bottomline here is that, unless global warming stops and the rains return to a more regular and reliable pattern, any method of farming won’t work. So I guess its up to all of us to do our best to stop global warming. Plant more trees! Actually, I know Kelly K will be down- let’s just take over all the golf courses in our areas and plant forests! I still want a shirt that says “Food not Lawns!”

Anyhow, I have had a great time in Kenya. Although what I am really looking forward to is a real cup of coffee! I really hope that Heathrow offers some alternatives to Starbucks- but we’ll see how desperate I am.

See you all soon!

Flight details:

Leave Nairobi 11:45 Tuesday July 7^th

Arrive Heathrow 6:45am Wed July 8^th and leave 10:00 am

Arrive JFK at 1:05pm Wed July 8^th and leave 5:00pm

Arrive SFO at 8:59pm on Wed July 8th

 

Pictures!

Greetings from Kisumu!

Right now I am in the closest big city to Ugunja called Kisumu which is right on Lake Victoria.  I just wanted to let everyone know that I put some pictures up on my flickr account:

www.flickr.com/wyryan

Enjoy!

P.S. I’ll be home in 2.5 weeks! and Happy Father’s Day!

 

Barack Obama’s Daddy’s Mama!

Hi Everyone,

Well, I’ve heard some bad news regarding the Needle Exchange. Depending on what the budget cuts are for the state of California, we could be facing a huge cut in our own funding starting this July. I think with the bad news about our state budget and just some general feelings of loneliness, I really wish I could be home right now.

Today was such a frustrating day. After the whole weekend, the only thing I wanted to do was to check my email today. I waited for an hour at the internet café for their network to go back up. It didn’t. So then I had to go to the other UCRC office to borrow someone’s laptop to use their internet. All in all, I spent two hours on my ‘lunch break’ trying to just check my email for 10 minutes. And I even forgot to check my bank balance.

This last week, I’ve been sharing my hut with a Canadian named Mateen who is the leader of this college group called Global Youth Network (or GYNo for short). Mateen’s team consisted of 10 girls plus him; so I was quick to accept his proposition for a comfortable spot on the floor in my hut for him to sleep and respite from the estrogen overload. They have been volunteering with the UCRC for the past 10 days doing general community building work. We had a wonderful farewell party for them last night at the Center’s new office compound further in town. But they left this morning, and I’ll be missing Mateen’s company.

But, on the positive side, I got to see Barack Obama’s Daddy’s Mama (grandma Sarah Obama) yesterday! She lives in a village about 45 min from Ugunja. I went with GYNo and it was… well… like visiting your grandma I guess. We got to spend only about 10 minutes with her. We were allowed to ask her questions through a translator, but it was weird because he would translate for about 1/3 of the time she spent talking- so maybe we had the abridged version. She seemed tired and talked a lot about the inauguration- basically, it was too cold in DC for her in January. Nonetheless, we all got pictures with Sarah to share with friends and family back home! I felt sort of bad for her because as Scott was saying (one of the American’s working here), Sarah is tired out by all the visitors and the constant security. It seems life changes drastically even for the grandmother of the president living thousands of miles away in a remote village in Western Kenya… yikes!

Speaking of pictures, this marks the 2 week anniversary of my battle to post pictures of Kenya online. I might not get anything up until next time I can go to Kisumu where the internet is faster. One of the craziest things is that the computer center here at the UCRC doesn’t even have a computer capable of accessing the internet. They have no way of searching for grants, downloading the latest security updates, Microsoft updates- they can’t even check email! Of all departments to skimp on internet costs, how in the world does it make sense to take internet away from the IT department!? This is only one example of the many contradictions working in a community development NGO in Kenya.

Well, I hope to get back to everyone soon and/or hear from you too! Thank you to those who have sent me emails. I’m glad you’ve thoroughly enjoyed my single blog posting! Spread the word I’m communicating on the house’s blog for those that are interested.

-Ryan

 

Greetings from Ugunja!!!

Hi Everybody!  I just wanted to update you on how my last week here in Ugunja has been.  First of all, I apologize to anyone who hasn’t heard from me but it has been very difficult trying to find decent internet on top of the transition to life in rural Africa in general.  I am being hosted by the director of the NGO I’m working with and his family who have been absolutely fantastic.  I’ve been making good friends with the teenagers and the other 20somethings from the compounds near my mud hut.  Actually, I feel much more comfortable this early on than I thought I would have.  But of course that is with the knowledge I am coming back home to California in 4 weeks, and I don’t have to live here persay.

 

Kenya is such a beautiful country!  The intensity of agriculture production in the region I am living is amazing.  Everywhere you turn you see cassava, legumes, maize or bananas being grown for individual consumption or to be sold in the marketplace.  The town I am living in is very small and so far seems to be like the typical rural African town.  All the shops are lined up along the main highway that runs from Kisumu to Busia and then off to Uganda.  Kisumu is the nearest big-city to Ugunja and I’ve already been a few times.  I even bought an African cell phone for about $15 USD!  However, my one international call to Zoe cost nearly half of the price of the phone itself. So needlesstosay, I will not be making many phone calls to the US, but if you’re the caller it will be free for me.  I believe you can dial 011+254+0731256967 to reach me.  I’m not sure if you dial the 0 before the 7 in the last section of numbers, but give it a try if you like!

 

Two days ago I went with my Canadian friends and fellow volunteers Katy and Wren to visit a town called Baisauri which is a sublocation of the UN Millennium Villages Project.  Aggrey (the UCRC Director) arranged our visit with a generous woman who is from the village.  We were given a tour of the town and one of the Millennium schools- I’ll put some pictures up for now, but I can’t wait to write more about what I learned.  And in case you are wondering, I still despise Jeffery Sachs as much (maybe even a little more) now than I did before I saw the project.

 

Other than that, I’ve been working in the UCRC computer labs helping to fix up the computers.  However, my skills are entirely inadequate because here in Ugunja, they actually open up parts of computers, re-wire stuff, solder circuits, and actually fix things rather than just throwing away the computer mouse and buying a new one. Thus, everything I have learned in the US about computers is almost useless.  But they still say they are thankful for my help (I guess), but I’ll be starting to work more on the Sustainable Agriculture program.  I’m meeting with the coordinator later to today to discuss my tour of the organic gardens next week!

 

Time sometimes goes by fast but on the weekends the days are so much longer!  Send me an email and tell me how you’re doing!  I’ll try to keep everyone updated as much as I can!

 

Best, Ryan

p.s. Well I tried uploading pictures but they’re taking FOREVER!  I will try my best to figure out a solution.  I promise to get something working by this weekend.

 

I Need Answers!

HEY JON.
WHO WON THE SAMMICH COMPETITION?!
THANKS

Also:
Chop my balls off (like a boss)
Black out in the sewer (like a boss)
Meet a giant fish (like a boss)
Fuck its brains out (like a boss)

 

our new housemate

i wish.

srsly.

nice living with you all!

dont cry:  enjoy some cute overload instead. (pigs)

 

NEW PROJECT

Brothers & sisters,

My friend Alex sent me a link to SQUEEZABLE BACON on facebook. At first, I was incredibly excited, but that joy faded as soon as I clicked the link to the website that sells the “bacon.”

That shit is FAKE! I’m pretty sure it’s frosting. There are no emoticons to describe my grief! Jon, Yang, I know this is especially hard for the two of you. But there is a solution to this tragic void in bacon products: we’re going to make (and sell) SQUEEZABLE BACON. Perfect solution! Consumption of bacon will be much more convenient AND we’ll make money!

Obviously, we can’t start this project until Yang and I complete our cigarette rolling workshop, so I propose she and I spend Saturday rolling smokes, and Sunday we can start concocting our miracle paste.

Check out the bottom right corner... Squeez Bacon on Bacon!

 

The Swine Flew

The Swine Flew, originally uploaded by KelleyMari.

more piggies

 

Come one, come all… ladies.

As you may or may not know, last month Kenny and I came upon a coupon for $10 off any purchase at buca di beppo over $20. I’ve been doing a lot of talking about having a “Buca” night, but I have yet to make good on this offer. The time has finally come.

Tonight after work (I get off at 5:30pm) I plan on calling in an order to buca di beppo, picking it up, and bringing it home to share with all those who are so inclined.

You might be saying to yourself, “Why should I participate?” or “What’s so great about buca di beppo – I can make that shit at home!” Well, I’ve got some great reasons for you.

1. Fuck you. Who the fuck doesn’t want delicious Italian food? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
2. You don’t have to participate in any contest that is clearly stacked against you. (The top five in the correct order? For one sandwich? Come on!)
3. You get to spend some serious bonding time with your fellow 588-ers.
4. You can wear sweatpants while you eat (without judgment).
5. It should be fairly cheap and vastly delicious.

If you still aren’t convinced, then I don’t wanna share my food with you anyways. But if you are convinced, then I look forward to sharing the Italian-sweatpants goodness with you.

If interested, please comment on what you’d like me to order from the menu.

————–Update—————-

As of 10:30am I  have three requests from three individuals: penne basilica,  penne arrabbiatta, and margherita pizza. keep em’ coming.

 

To the members of 588 with whom I rode Bart on Thursday night:

1. Fuck you.

Heroes.

2. Liz Lemon’s ex-boyfriend is NOT the only person who has saved someone who had fallen onto the New York subway tracks. This guy did it too. And I saw him on the Today Show or some shit like that being interviewed by some Meridith Viera type lady. If you still don’t believe me, see #1.