Feminists Beware

Kenya might be the most progressive country in East Africa, but it still has some sexist policies. After university, a man can leave home without any questions asked. But if a woman leaves home before marriage, it's as if something is wrong or weird. And if a man leaves home but comes back to visit, he sometimes has to sleep outside because there must be a clear patriarch. And word of any abortion gets you life in jail...
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You'd expect things to come to a halt for the President, but who would imagine things slowing down for good ol' Joe. Think again. When Vice President Joe Biden visited Kenya two years ago, the phone lines were shut down. One can only imagine what this country will be like when President Obama comes in September...
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Those conversations about sports or movies on the bus or at the coffee shop, I miss them! Every once and a while, living in Kenya can be a lonelier experience than Bill Murray's in Lost in Translation. Why? Because it goes without saying that conversation will be limited in a country where people speak a different language. It can be a tease here where you feel like you should be connecting but can't because of people's poor English skills. So yes, I am excited to engage in small talk again!

Smartness=Kindness?

The smartest girl in the class, Sharon, is also the kindest. She waits for her pencil to be sharpened, makes sure each kid gets a plate for lunch, is nice to everybody else, etc. I wonder if that's a frequent pattern with young ones: does intelligence manifest itself through kindness? Or, maybe at such a young age, does kindness manifest itself through intelligence? Or maybe it's a random correlation?
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Whenever I make a sound or hand gesture, one particular kid, Paul, is usually the first one to imitate it. Then everybody imitates his imitation. Paul also happens to be very friendly and outgoing. Is it possible to discern leadership at such a young age? I feel like a parent who over analyzes their child, clinging to the smallest data point as evidence of future behavior. Except my emotions aren't involved, so maybe I see things more clearly, or less clearly? My gut tells me Paul will lead something---a sports team, a cause, a group, etc. But who knows, right?
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Attention, attention, attention. Making the preschoolers happy can always, in one way or another, be reduced to giving them attention. I don't have to touch them or talk to them, as long as my eyes are glued to them, they'll smile. Doing cartwheels is a case in point. Once they see me watching them, their eyes light up; they do them so much more passionately.