Hello everyone!
Since the last time I've written a lot has happened. First I spent a day on matatus (vans that carry passengers, like daladalas in Tanzania) to get to Makutano, a town in the Rift Valley where APT Facilitators were staying while working in Pokot, a nearby village. Unfortunately I missed all of the actual theatre there, but I heard some of the talk-back, got to know some people who work with APT, and got to visit around town. Then I also got to sit in on a training for APT facilitators about how to observe the upcoming election.
It's really exciting to listen to the debate about this election, because no matter what happens it will be a time of transition for Kenya. The proposed Constitution that's being put forward for referendum vote has many similarities to the American constitution. In the words of my friend Samuel, "According to your Constitution you elected one of our sons your President, so now we want that Constitution for ourselves!" But actually the most controversial aspects are about land reform, which involves a lot of ethnic tensions that go very far back into Kenyan history. It's really exciting seeing the news here and listening to different opinions about the vote.
After I left Makutano I spent the next two nights in Eldoret, where the aforementioned Samuel grew up, so he acted as a tour guide to Pia (my Austrian friend) and me. We had a lot of fun there - we toured a sort of museum and went shopping at the market during the day, and went out at night. The first night was a very Westernized nightclub, and the second night was all traditional African music, so it was a nice contrast.
We returned to Nairobi on Sunday, and since Monday we have been training in drama-therapy techniques with a couple from Charlottesville, Virginia. Some of it is review for me, but a lot of it is new, and in any case it's really fun to play with the APT group, who I feel I've mostly gotten to know now. Tomorrow we go to APT's project at a home for kids who are charged with crimes or sometimes just orphaned, and we'll use some of this drama-therapy.
The American couple also have a relationship with a theatre company called the Atuwa Troupe in Budondo, Uganda. The founder, Mukisa, and two of his children are staying and working with us now, and this weekend Pia and I will go back to Uganda with them and spend next week there! They do a lot of work incorporating music and dance into their theatre work, so I'm excited to see more.
I miss you all in the US! Congratulations to my cousin Meghan who was married last weekend in Massachusetts. I'm sorry I couldn't be there but right now I feel like this is where I need to be.
Baadaye! (Later!)
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