Day 5 Training
Friday, July 21, 2006
We arrived at Tuungane and went to the cyber café to check our e-mail while we waited for Victor to arrive. Alexis received an e-mail from Bryan stating that he had purchased a ticket to Kisumu and would be arriving on the 29th. He suggested that it might be nice to make it a surprise for Sara. Alexis responded with a list of needed equipment and a suggestion that to keep it a surprise would be a bad idea.
We were impressed when Victor arrived on time. We had discussed the difference between Kisumu time and New York time the day before, asking if we should add 45 minutes to whatever time we were given to meet. Victor told us that he was now working on New York time.
We asked who we were going to be meeting with and he told us that none of the Tuungane groups were expecting us and so we had the morning off. This was a welcome relief. We decided to take the opportunity to go into the town center and look for a Euro AV adapter and other assorted electronics equipment that could markedly improve our situation.
We walked from Tuungane to the center of town through the jua kali (strong sun) sector, which refers to any informal business area, in this particular area the mechanics work on cars and matatus without shade of any kind. Victor mentioned that the boda boda drivers calling out to us were mad at him because they felt that his agreement to walk with us was taking away their business.
We reached the center of town and went to one of the electronics stores. They had the male version of the plug but we needed the female version. Victor pointed out to us that VCRs are more expensive than DVD players, which was discouraging because we were still struggling to understand if our PAL TV and PAL cameras would work with our NTSC VCR. We were referred to another electronics store and then another. The whole time that we were zigzagging across that one block of Oginga Odinga Road from electronics store to electronics store Alexis was thinking about the ridiculousness of the situation since Bryan would be able to bring the things that we needed when he came from the states. Finally, with the help of a drawing by Alexis, we were able to find and purchase the Euro AV adapter at one of the stores.
We headed back to Abila for lunch. Steve met us there. Alexis heated up some of the rice and beans that she had made for dinner the night before. The rice and beans had both remained rather crunchy even though we had cooked them for a very long time. Alexis was apologetic about the food. Steve, who had studied food technology, tried to choke down the food all the while making fun of Alexis’ cooking ability. Sara and Victor quietly ate their lunches as Steve went on to tell Alexis that beans should be bought at the outdoor market since the beans that we had bought had probably been on the counter of the Nakumatt for a very long time and that there were probably weevils in the beans. Finally, Steve announced that although he had been through hard times and always made a point to eat the food available to him, he was not going to be able to finish the food in front of him. After thinking briefly about the possibility of weevils in the beans, Alexis was unable to finish her food either.
We cleaned up and headed to Okok with Victor. This time we took a shorter route, but we still had to travel part of the way by boda boda. This time was less traumatic than the first time, but Sara’s boda boda had a piece of metal on the bottom that would scrape against any uneven ground, making her very nervous. Because we had allowed so much time to get to Okok, we decided that when the boda boda drivers had us get off to walk up a small incline that we would walk the rest of the way to the school.
The Okok students seemed surprised at how early we were. We gave them a brief overview of how the video cameras work, the job of the cameraperson, and the job of the soundperson. We invited students to take over the filming of the training. We went over interviewing skills with them and then had them break up into groups using the audiorecorders and video cameras to conduct interviews of each other around issues affecting their communities. They also used the digital cameras to take photographs representing these issues.
At the end, we came back together and the students presented their photos. One group had taken two versions of a picture of a guy sitting on the grass holding his head to represent unemployment. One photo was taken at the level of the subject, the other was taken from above him. Alexis asked the students which photo was more effective at illustrating the issue. The group of students unanimously agreed that the one taken from above made the subject look more pathetic. Alexis felt that this was a breakthrough since it was the first time that a group seemed to understand how choices in photography can affect the emotion portrayed by the picture.
As we were packing up to leave, Sara got a call from Bryan asking if she wanted to meet him for coffee on July 29th. He had received Alexis’ e-mail and had called to tell Sara that he would be coming to Kisumu. The conversation was cut short because we had to finish packing and leave the school in order to make it back to the center on foot by dark.
While Sara was on the phone, Alexis had been caught up in a conversation with the Deputy Headmaster in which he expounded on his undying love for George Bush “the greatest man to run your country,” asked how we were able to successfully prevent all teenage pregnancy in the US, which somehow this turned into a talk about the right to abortion, and eventually had him stating that he would go to Iraq in a second to fight for George Bush and the US. Alexis kept arguing with him. He told her that he liked the way she argued and was sure that she could change his mind.
On the walk home, we conducted an impromptu walking interview video shoot with the Deputy Headmaster. We attracted a lot of attention, gained a following of children, and almost got knocked by multiple boda bodas. After a very near miss and the appearance of the flashing battery light, we decided to cut the interview short.
Two of the Okok students, Paul and Wycliff (Wiki), walked with us most of the way to the center carrying our backpacks. Wycliff asked about recording his music onto the video camera without a picture. Alexis told him that she had a program on her computer that he could record audio through. He told us that he raps and would like to record his songs.
Victor walked us to the center to show us the hiding place for the keys. We charged the cameras, fed the watchman Joseph a margarine sandwich, and went to bed.
We arrived at Tuungane and went to the cyber café to check our e-mail while we waited for Victor to arrive. Alexis received an e-mail from Bryan stating that he had purchased a ticket to Kisumu and would be arriving on the 29th. He suggested that it might be nice to make it a surprise for Sara. Alexis responded with a list of needed equipment and a suggestion that to keep it a surprise would be a bad idea.
We were impressed when Victor arrived on time. We had discussed the difference between Kisumu time and New York time the day before, asking if we should add 45 minutes to whatever time we were given to meet. Victor told us that he was now working on New York time.
We asked who we were going to be meeting with and he told us that none of the Tuungane groups were expecting us and so we had the morning off. This was a welcome relief. We decided to take the opportunity to go into the town center and look for a Euro AV adapter and other assorted electronics equipment that could markedly improve our situation.
We walked from Tuungane to the center of town through the jua kali (strong sun) sector, which refers to any informal business area, in this particular area the mechanics work on cars and matatus without shade of any kind. Victor mentioned that the boda boda drivers calling out to us were mad at him because they felt that his agreement to walk with us was taking away their business.
We reached the center of town and went to one of the electronics stores. They had the male version of the plug but we needed the female version. Victor pointed out to us that VCRs are more expensive than DVD players, which was discouraging because we were still struggling to understand if our PAL TV and PAL cameras would work with our NTSC VCR. We were referred to another electronics store and then another. The whole time that we were zigzagging across that one block of Oginga Odinga Road from electronics store to electronics store Alexis was thinking about the ridiculousness of the situation since Bryan would be able to bring the things that we needed when he came from the states. Finally, with the help of a drawing by Alexis, we were able to find and purchase the Euro AV adapter at one of the stores.
We headed back to Abila for lunch. Steve met us there. Alexis heated up some of the rice and beans that she had made for dinner the night before. The rice and beans had both remained rather crunchy even though we had cooked them for a very long time. Alexis was apologetic about the food. Steve, who had studied food technology, tried to choke down the food all the while making fun of Alexis’ cooking ability. Sara and Victor quietly ate their lunches as Steve went on to tell Alexis that beans should be bought at the outdoor market since the beans that we had bought had probably been on the counter of the Nakumatt for a very long time and that there were probably weevils in the beans. Finally, Steve announced that although he had been through hard times and always made a point to eat the food available to him, he was not going to be able to finish the food in front of him. After thinking briefly about the possibility of weevils in the beans, Alexis was unable to finish her food either.
We cleaned up and headed to Okok with Victor. This time we took a shorter route, but we still had to travel part of the way by boda boda. This time was less traumatic than the first time, but Sara’s boda boda had a piece of metal on the bottom that would scrape against any uneven ground, making her very nervous. Because we had allowed so much time to get to Okok, we decided that when the boda boda drivers had us get off to walk up a small incline that we would walk the rest of the way to the school.
The Okok students seemed surprised at how early we were. We gave them a brief overview of how the video cameras work, the job of the cameraperson, and the job of the soundperson. We invited students to take over the filming of the training. We went over interviewing skills with them and then had them break up into groups using the audiorecorders and video cameras to conduct interviews of each other around issues affecting their communities. They also used the digital cameras to take photographs representing these issues. At the end, we came back together and the students presented their photos. One group had taken two versions of a picture of a guy sitting on the grass holding his head to represent unemployment. One photo was taken at the level of the subject, the other was taken from above him. Alexis asked the students which photo was more effective at illustrating the issue. The group of students unanimously agreed that the one taken from above made the subject look more pathetic. Alexis felt that this was a breakthrough since it was the first time that a group seemed to understand how choices in photography can affect the emotion portrayed by the picture.
As we were packing up to leave, Sara got a call from Bryan asking if she wanted to meet him for coffee on July 29th. He had received Alexis’ e-mail and had called to tell Sara that he would be coming to Kisumu. The conversation was cut short because we had to finish packing and leave the school in order to make it back to the center on foot by dark.
While Sara was on the phone, Alexis had been caught up in a conversation with the Deputy Headmaster in which he expounded on his undying love for George Bush “the greatest man to run your country,” asked how we were able to successfully prevent all teenage pregnancy in the US, which somehow this turned into a talk about the right to abortion, and eventually had him stating that he would go to Iraq in a second to fight for George Bush and the US. Alexis kept arguing with him. He told her that he liked the way she argued and was sure that she could change his mind.
On the walk home, we conducted an impromptu walking interview video shoot with the Deputy Headmaster. We attracted a lot of attention, gained a following of children, and almost got knocked by multiple boda bodas. After a very near miss and the appearance of the flashing battery light, we decided to cut the interview short.
Two of the Okok students, Paul and Wycliff (Wiki), walked with us most of the way to the center carrying our backpacks. Wycliff asked about recording his music onto the video camera without a picture. Alexis told him that she had a program on her computer that he could record audio through. He told us that he raps and would like to record his songs.
Victor walked us to the center to show us the hiding place for the keys. We charged the cameras, fed the watchman Joseph a margarine sandwich, and went to bed.
posted by Sara Feldman at 11:51 AM
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