4 weeks today

The time has flown, sometimes I think I will be here forever, other times I think I won't have enough time to get everything done. The target date to start the classes for my project is the weekend of March 5th, but here in Kenya where time is just a suggestion I'm not holding my breath!
Last Friday Sarah and I and Mum Ann's sister Grace went to downtown Nairobi. I had to "present myself" to the ministry of education, technology and science and pick up my official research permit. We took the city bus after meeting Grace in Karin, the traffic in was as horrible as I remembered, and we walked over to where all the big government buildings are. I had to turn in my ID's at the security desk, always an unsettling feeling, then the letter said to go to the 10th floor. We took the incredibly small and slow elevator up to the 10th floor. I showed my letter to the secretary and my receipt for the $300 I had already paid. She said "do you have a green card? I said no,had never heard of one, she said go to the 9th floor office. So we trek down there. I met the assistant minister of the ministry who says"do you have a green card? I say no, he looks at the letter that accompanied the receipt and says "that's the wrong letter" and proceeds to write me a whole new letter in longhand. Then, he goes to this big metal safe in the room, slides open the door, rummages around and pulls out a file with my name on it!!! I was so happy to see it, we went over everything in it, it was my application. 2 passport pictures etc . Then he says we need to get this ready you need to come back in 3 hours. He took us all back up to the 10th floor and gave the file and his letter to the secretary and they told me to come back. I asked specifically if I should come back to the 1oth floor and they all said yes.
Sarah Grace and I left, did some shopping, had lunch at the original Java House downtown.I was surprised at how much I remembered, how many things I could find, the Java House, our favorite internet cafe, where I got my camera fixed. It really made me feel good. We did a little shopping, stopped in the Hilton to use the bathroom.Grace told us how I could just walk in, go through the security and was free to wander around the hotel, she never would have been allowed in alone like that. Then we headed back to the Jogoo House, the ministry building. This time Sarah and Grace waited outside. The line for the elevator was very long so i walked all the way up to the 10th floor where they told me they didn't have my stuff, I should try the 9th floor. Back down to the 9th floor where after some time they finally found it. How could they lose it in 3 hours? Anyway I got my official green card research permit ! and a copy of the handwritten letter that turned out to be an exact copy of the letter he said was wrong. When we got back to Nyumbani the kenyans cheered me., I had been to the bureaucratic wars and I had won!!
Before we came home we went to the main post office to mail a package, that too was quite an adventure. It took about 45 minutes and we were the only ones in line!!!
On Sunday all the volunteers went to the market and lunch at Java house, my 3rd trip to java house in one week, a new record!I picked out a few things but will have grace buy them so i don't have to pay mizungo prices.
We have been taking 2 night rotations staying with ken (real name kennady). He's still pretty sick, not eating lots of high fevers. I really don't know if he will make it, even if he pulls through this time. He is so malnourished and he vomits everything we feed him, blows IVs, one of us usually sleeps with him so he feels comforted.I decided that even if he dies after everything he has been through he is in a place where he is loved and cared for, and has endless mizungos to sleep with! Keep him in your thoughts.
yesterday I spent the day at a slum clinic, my first time to the slums this trip. They are still undescribable, very sad. Lea Toto, the Nyumbani slum outreach program, has greatly improved though. They rec'd a large USAID grant for arv's, there are doctors in the clinic once a week, there are more antibiotics to offer. The kids look a little better, but their lives are still horrific. One of the things that lea toto does better than a lot of other agencies is all the social support, that's because we have been going for long before ARV's were available. Newer agencies are only handing out the meds, because they are so complicated and there are so many social issues it's not going as well for them. Fro example, the meds need to be taken at exact times, most of the people do not have clocks. So,Lea toto can supply some of them with little alarm clocks. The sad thing is many of the children are already failing on first line drugs and 2nd line drugs are even more complicated. If you really think about it it truly is overwhelming. I don't really see a way out of it all. so it's good I'm not in charge!
An example of what a small world it is: some new young volunteers arrived this week. They were talking about south side Chicago, they went to Marquette where I have a niece and nephew, and the girl, Jamie went to my high School!! We are McAuley girls!!! We're going to take our picture and send it to the alumni organization.
Hope you all are well, miss you all. xoxoxox little boy, timmy stay safe.