Last night Kristoffer and I attended our first of six childbirth (aka lamaze) classes. We should have predicted that the class - supposedly from 6-8 pm at the hospital - would have started on African time (approximately 30 minutes late) but we were so anxious because we planned to dash out a few minutes early to get to a television in time to watch Obama's inauguration live. We definitely started off a little irritated that it took so long for the class to begin.
Once it started, we were with about 10 other couples, all of us in our first pregnancies. The facilitators of the class were two mid-wives at the hospital. It is fair to say that Kristoffer and I were both underwhelmed, because most of the class discussed things that we have already gone through and experienced in addition to the fact that the lead mid-wife was very slow and everything she talked about could have been condensed to about 30 minutes total. People were very shy to talk and there wasn't a lot done to encourage trust and sharing. As a teacher by training, I don't do that well sitting in a class that I think is being taught poorly because I just think of all the things I would be doing to engage my students instead of the topic at hand.
We are definitely farther along in our pregnancy than anyone else in the class; most people are around 28 weeks and I am in my 34th week. The facilitators were like, "You should be taking a weekend crash course! You might not make it through all 6 of these classes!" That is very true, but I had previously been told that there were no upcoming weekend classes. Last night they said that this coming weekend there is a class, but we have friends coming from Denmark and Kristoffer would not be able to attend the class with me if I chose to do it (which defeats part of the purpose: for partners to learn how to support mothers during labor and delivery!).
So class started 30 minutes late, after 45 minutes there was a 20 minute tea/snack break (it is nice that the hospital provided snacks and beverages) and then it was almost 7:45pm which is when we planned to make our exit. We hung on a few minutes longer as the mid-wife talked about some possible solutions to aches and pains we might be feeling (note: I pretty much had every pregnancy symptom she described so she got the impression that I was really suffering in my pregnancy, but that is not true. I have probably had very mild versions of every symptom and because I am farther along than everyone else in the class I have already experienced more third trimester symptoms than the rest of them). I suppose because we have done a lot of reading throughout the pregnancy we didn't feel there was much new information at all. We finally snuck out at about 7:55pm and we aren't sure what the last minutes of class entailed or how long class actually went!
But we did arrive at our friend Stephanie's in time to hear President Obama's inaugural speech live in its entirety. We had missed his taking of the oath by just two minutes...which is too bad because in the replay it seems that he was pretty giddy as Justice Roberts messed up his lines! While we were not as overcome with emotion as we had been on election night and when he gave his victory speech, we thought his speech was pretty amazing, we were totally jealous of everyone in Washington, DC (because we used to live SOOOO close to the Capitol!), and we were so happy for the change in American leadership. It was an incredible night (save for Ted Kennedy's seizure, that is). We did not stay up for coverage of the parade or any of the inaugural balls, but I am getting caught up on all of that on CNN this morning. We did stay up much later than we usually do and I even slept in one hour later this morning as a result (until 8:00 am - wow!).
Right now, we have high hopes for the future of America and the world, and we have mediocre hopes that our next childbirth classes will be a little bit more engaging and informative than last night's class.
LMW
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday, November 10, 2008
November 10, 2008 - Kenya's Contradiction
The front page of today's newspaper tells us a lot about Kenya I think. At the top of the paper is a big headline which reads: Free Obama Calendar Only in the Nation. And sure enough, when you flip to the middle of the paper, there is a large one-page calendar from November 4th, 2008 to November 4th, 2009 and an enormous picture of Barack Obama. There are still quite a few articles and op-eds about Obama's big win and what it means for the US, the world, and Kenya specifically (as my father asked, "Has the boat arrived to bring all of the Kenyans to America yet?").
And then, on the same front page of today's paper, the bottom article is titled: Villagers lynch 11 robbery suspects. The article proceeds to describe, in detail, how a village near the coast was being tormented by gangsters and didn't feel the police were doing enough about it so a group of villagers captured the gangsters themselves and publicly lynched them to death...and then had a party to celebrate.
This dichotomy on the front page of the paper in which you have an extreme symbol of freedom and justice alongside images of extreme cruelty and lawlessness is the ultimate problem in Kenya. Kenya is a country that so desperately wants to uphold democratic values and ideals and wants to be a shining example for other developing nations, in Africa especially. And yet, throughout the country, Kenyans are still overwhelmed by acts of corruption, violence, and tribalism. The Kenyans celebrating Obama and wanting to claim rights to all that he has become are the same Kenyans celebrating the practice of lynching which goes against the very core of everything Obama is and represents today.
It makes me happy that Kenya is so happy these days about Obama's win and the possibilities of hope they have for the future because of him, but it makes me sad that Kenyans can't see that they are not on the same path as him and that they have a long way to go to get there.
LMW
And then, on the same front page of today's paper, the bottom article is titled: Villagers lynch 11 robbery suspects. The article proceeds to describe, in detail, how a village near the coast was being tormented by gangsters and didn't feel the police were doing enough about it so a group of villagers captured the gangsters themselves and publicly lynched them to death...and then had a party to celebrate.
This dichotomy on the front page of the paper in which you have an extreme symbol of freedom and justice alongside images of extreme cruelty and lawlessness is the ultimate problem in Kenya. Kenya is a country that so desperately wants to uphold democratic values and ideals and wants to be a shining example for other developing nations, in Africa especially. And yet, throughout the country, Kenyans are still overwhelmed by acts of corruption, violence, and tribalism. The Kenyans celebrating Obama and wanting to claim rights to all that he has become are the same Kenyans celebrating the practice of lynching which goes against the very core of everything Obama is and represents today.
It makes me happy that Kenya is so happy these days about Obama's win and the possibilities of hope they have for the future because of him, but it makes me sad that Kenyans can't see that they are not on the same path as him and that they have a long way to go to get there.
LMW
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
November 5, 2008 - One of those Key Moments in Life
"Oh God, this is one of those key moments in life, when it's possible you can be genuinely cool -- and I'm just going to fail a hundred percent.” (from the movie Notting Hill)
I would really like to write something brilliant and momentous about Barack Obama's big win last night, but I also fear that whatever I write will be inadequate.
I could write about how all of Kenya is celebrating today, and will officially celebrate again tomorrow as November 6th has been declared a national holiday in honor of Obama. Kenya's President said in today's news, "This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success."
I could write about how Kristoffer and I stayed up most of the night (we snuck in about 4 ½ hours of sleep) and watched the election results as well as Obama's acceptance speech with our American neighbors across the street, who threw a "Kwaheri Bush!" party (Kwaheri = Goodbye, in Swahili).
I could write about the tears Kristoffer and I both shed when it was announced that Barack Obama won the election and when he addressed the country.
I could write about my memories of learning about the Civil War and watching "the Blue and the Gray" (an epic mini-series on the Civil War) in Mr. Heidenrich's 8th grade history class, thinking to my naive self that there would probably never be a non-white President in America.
Fast forward eleven years and I could write about being an American History teacher in NYC, teaching my diverse population of students about the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, reading Huck Finn with them, trying desperately to convince them to stop using the "n word", and hearing their frustrations at feeling like political doors would never honestly be open to them.
I could write about how much I wish I was in my NYC classroom today.
I could write about the fact that regardless of for whom you voted, with what political party you are aligned, or what you think of Barack Obama as a person or politician, you must be made of stone if you are not incredibly moved by the fact that America elected a person of color to the highest office in the country for the first time.
Finally, I could write about being an expectant American mother, knowing that my American-Danish child will be born in the country of his/her President's father and will never quite understand that color was once an extreme barrier in achieving both the greatest and smallest successes imaginable.
But again…all of that seems so small compared to the magnitude of this moment in America and around the world. I am neither a die-hard liberal nor an extreme conservative, and I am not naive about the promises of political campaigns. Of all the things that I could write today, this is what I will write:
Barack Obama is not a perfect man or a perfect politician, and he will not be a perfect President. But…he has inspired and motivated more Americans to engage in our political process than ever before; he has redefined the vision and hope that many Americans have for our future; and he almost instantly regained the respect and support that nations around the world have for America. So regardless of how perfect he isn’t, he is our new President and it is only in the best interests of our country and the entire world to unite behind him.
I am very proud to be an American and I am hopeful that Obama will actually help bring the change for which my country voted yesterday.
LMW
I would really like to write something brilliant and momentous about Barack Obama's big win last night, but I also fear that whatever I write will be inadequate.
I could write about how all of Kenya is celebrating today, and will officially celebrate again tomorrow as November 6th has been declared a national holiday in honor of Obama. Kenya's President said in today's news, "This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success."
I could write about how Kristoffer and I stayed up most of the night (we snuck in about 4 ½ hours of sleep) and watched the election results as well as Obama's acceptance speech with our American neighbors across the street, who threw a "Kwaheri Bush!" party (Kwaheri = Goodbye, in Swahili).
I could write about the tears Kristoffer and I both shed when it was announced that Barack Obama won the election and when he addressed the country.
I could write about my memories of learning about the Civil War and watching "the Blue and the Gray" (an epic mini-series on the Civil War) in Mr. Heidenrich's 8th grade history class, thinking to my naive self that there would probably never be a non-white President in America.
Fast forward eleven years and I could write about being an American History teacher in NYC, teaching my diverse population of students about the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, reading Huck Finn with them, trying desperately to convince them to stop using the "n word", and hearing their frustrations at feeling like political doors would never honestly be open to them.
I could write about how much I wish I was in my NYC classroom today.
I could write about the fact that regardless of for whom you voted, with what political party you are aligned, or what you think of Barack Obama as a person or politician, you must be made of stone if you are not incredibly moved by the fact that America elected a person of color to the highest office in the country for the first time.
Finally, I could write about being an expectant American mother, knowing that my American-Danish child will be born in the country of his/her President's father and will never quite understand that color was once an extreme barrier in achieving both the greatest and smallest successes imaginable.
But again…all of that seems so small compared to the magnitude of this moment in America and around the world. I am neither a die-hard liberal nor an extreme conservative, and I am not naive about the promises of political campaigns. Of all the things that I could write today, this is what I will write:
Barack Obama is not a perfect man or a perfect politician, and he will not be a perfect President. But…he has inspired and motivated more Americans to engage in our political process than ever before; he has redefined the vision and hope that many Americans have for our future; and he almost instantly regained the respect and support that nations around the world have for America. So regardless of how perfect he isn’t, he is our new President and it is only in the best interests of our country and the entire world to unite behind him.
I am very proud to be an American and I am hopeful that Obama will actually help bring the change for which my country voted yesterday.
LMW
Monday, November 3, 2008
November 3, 2008 - Kenya's OBAMAmania
The election is not until tomorrow and Barack Obama has not yet won the presidency, but Kenyans don't seem to care! The whole country is getting ready for the election, in a way that makes it seem like Kenyans can actually vote in it. For example, since last week there have been so many "Barack Obama" ads in the newspaper...including a full-page spread of his picture! We read in the newspaper yesterday that the village that Obama's father comes from has already chosen which bull they will slaughter if Obama wins, and the village is planning to be shut down for a full day's celebration on Wednesday. The biggest paper in Kenya, "the Daily Nation", has a policy of not endorsing any political candidate as they reminded readers in yesterday's Sunday paper, and yet the editor wrote an entire column on why he really, really, really think Obama should and is going to win. He is definitely Kenya's favorite half-son.
The icing on the cake, so to speak, is that a small, young theater company here in Nairobi has written and began performing "Obama the Musical", a theatrical production showcasing the life and times of Barack Obama through song and dance. I am not kidding you! It was first performed at the national theater yesterday and will be showing all week. Obama the Musical! And in case you think I am making this stuff up, here is a link to a BBC story about it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7702840.stm
So yes, the whole country is on edge! The cartoon in the paper yesterday even joked that there would be more post-election violence in the country if Obama loses. Let's seriously hope not!
In other news, I am in my 23rd week of pregnancy and still amazed at how often and quickly my body is changing. My acid reflux has been better for the last few days and possibly my acne (although the last time I wrote that my acne was better it came back with a vengeance). I have become so used to waking up in the night with painful cramps in my calves (each time it is like the worst "charlie horse" ever!), that I don't even remember them happening anymore. Unfortunately, Kristoffer does! On Friday and Saturday nights I woke up screaming with a cramp, he woke up terrified that something awful was happening with the baby, proceeded to massage my cramp until I fell back to sleep, and then lay there totally awake with his heart beating out of his chest. Both mornings I had no memory of these incidents happening! Sorry Kristoffer!
We had a very relaxing weekend other than the cramps. A particular highlight was intervewing a woman (the third we have interviewed) to be our live-in housekeeper/cook/ayah (ayah means nanny or babysitter in Swahili). Ida came highly recommended from an American friend of a friend who used to live here and employed her for several years before leaving the country. She was friendly, professional, provided proper documentation of all her skills and training, and we thought she was very easy to talk to and get along with. She was a better fit for us than the others we interviewed. We plan to offer her the job this week and hope that she will accept; if so, when we return from our vacation in January she will move in to our "staff quarters" (we have 2 rooms and bathroom facilities in our house for staff) and begin making us the laziest people on earth. She used to work for vegetarians so Kristoffer is very excited about that, she is first-aid trained so I am very excited about that, and she seems to understand that because I will not be working full-time when the baby comes (if at all) her duties will be more housekeeper/cook centered than nanny. But, it will be really nice for us to have regular help that we trust for when we do want to go out without the baby or if I am working at home. We have also arranged to hire a driver starting in the new year so that Kristoffer can be driven to work and I can still have a way to get around (since I still refuse to drive here). I would say that by April, we will be so spoiled and used to the expat way of life that it will be hard for us to ever return to the real lives of people in America or Denmark! AH!
Anyway, off to start another Monday. I mailed in my vote for president over a month ago so I don't get to go to a voting booth tomorrow...but like the rest of Kenya I do remain on the edge of my seat!
LMW
The icing on the cake, so to speak, is that a small, young theater company here in Nairobi has written and began performing "Obama the Musical", a theatrical production showcasing the life and times of Barack Obama through song and dance. I am not kidding you! It was first performed at the national theater yesterday and will be showing all week. Obama the Musical! And in case you think I am making this stuff up, here is a link to a BBC story about it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7702840.stm
So yes, the whole country is on edge! The cartoon in the paper yesterday even joked that there would be more post-election violence in the country if Obama loses. Let's seriously hope not!
In other news, I am in my 23rd week of pregnancy and still amazed at how often and quickly my body is changing. My acid reflux has been better for the last few days and possibly my acne (although the last time I wrote that my acne was better it came back with a vengeance). I have become so used to waking up in the night with painful cramps in my calves (each time it is like the worst "charlie horse" ever!), that I don't even remember them happening anymore. Unfortunately, Kristoffer does! On Friday and Saturday nights I woke up screaming with a cramp, he woke up terrified that something awful was happening with the baby, proceeded to massage my cramp until I fell back to sleep, and then lay there totally awake with his heart beating out of his chest. Both mornings I had no memory of these incidents happening! Sorry Kristoffer!
We had a very relaxing weekend other than the cramps. A particular highlight was intervewing a woman (the third we have interviewed) to be our live-in housekeeper/cook/ayah (ayah means nanny or babysitter in Swahili). Ida came highly recommended from an American friend of a friend who used to live here and employed her for several years before leaving the country. She was friendly, professional, provided proper documentation of all her skills and training, and we thought she was very easy to talk to and get along with. She was a better fit for us than the others we interviewed. We plan to offer her the job this week and hope that she will accept; if so, when we return from our vacation in January she will move in to our "staff quarters" (we have 2 rooms and bathroom facilities in our house for staff) and begin making us the laziest people on earth. She used to work for vegetarians so Kristoffer is very excited about that, she is first-aid trained so I am very excited about that, and she seems to understand that because I will not be working full-time when the baby comes (if at all) her duties will be more housekeeper/cook centered than nanny. But, it will be really nice for us to have regular help that we trust for when we do want to go out without the baby or if I am working at home. We have also arranged to hire a driver starting in the new year so that Kristoffer can be driven to work and I can still have a way to get around (since I still refuse to drive here). I would say that by April, we will be so spoiled and used to the expat way of life that it will be hard for us to ever return to the real lives of people in America or Denmark! AH!
Anyway, off to start another Monday. I mailed in my vote for president over a month ago so I don't get to go to a voting booth tomorrow...but like the rest of Kenya I do remain on the edge of my seat!
LMW
Friday, August 29, 2008
August 29, 2008 - Politics
I have to say that this morning, as I watched Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination this morning (well...CNN showed long highlights but I was asleep for the live event), I couldn't help but ache for my classroom in NYC. I envy my colleagues who get to teach this historic moment in American history and I spent at least 15 minutes drafting lesson plan ideas in my head while I was eating breakfast.
Regardless of who individuals are voting for or if Barack Obama wins the election, I cannot imagine that every American watching that speech was not completely moved by the fact that an African American man is a candidate for President. I had goosebumps and I shed a few tears for sure...it was "awesome" in every sense of the word.
But actually, these days in Kenya I have been dealing with a different kind of politics. This week at work, a UNICEF colleague of mine and I had an extremely disappointing experience with another colleague from a different UN agency. It would be highly unprofessional of me to describe the situation in detail here, but I will say that I learned something very interesting.
You see, I expected that the UN system would be rife with political agendas and motivations, as any institution is. But for some reason, I naively thought that the politics at the UN would be different from other politics I have experienced...somehow more mature or worldy. This, as I learned this week, turns out to be completely untrue. The politics at the UN are the same as the politics of a high school in NYC or Washington, DC, the same as the politics at a major private university, and the same as the politics of an American small-town's musical theater company. Some people with a relative degree of power here defend it with their lives, at all costs, and at whatever expense it is to their colleagues. At this point, I am now in the middle of an unexpected and undesired battle, which will hopefully be resolved with mediation from high level administration on Monday. Sheesh! And I am just a consultant - I thought there would be no stress!
That's most of the news from Nairobi this week. Kristoffer has been a little less busy at work this week than last week, or at least he is going in to the office a little bit later than he was last week! We bought some furniture for our house from some friends who are moving back to Denmark today so we are only one room away from being fully furnished at this point. Sadly, it looks as though our efforts with a second internet company are failing and we will need to start our search again, or resign ourselves to not having internet at home. This seems unacceptable to me so I think we won't give up the fight just yet...perhaps we just need to change tactics.
Kenya is certainly proud today of its favorite "half-son" today (Barack Obama, that is) and, again regardless of political affiliation, I think all Americans should be too!
LMW
Regardless of who individuals are voting for or if Barack Obama wins the election, I cannot imagine that every American watching that speech was not completely moved by the fact that an African American man is a candidate for President. I had goosebumps and I shed a few tears for sure...it was "awesome" in every sense of the word.
But actually, these days in Kenya I have been dealing with a different kind of politics. This week at work, a UNICEF colleague of mine and I had an extremely disappointing experience with another colleague from a different UN agency. It would be highly unprofessional of me to describe the situation in detail here, but I will say that I learned something very interesting.
You see, I expected that the UN system would be rife with political agendas and motivations, as any institution is. But for some reason, I naively thought that the politics at the UN would be different from other politics I have experienced...somehow more mature or worldy. This, as I learned this week, turns out to be completely untrue. The politics at the UN are the same as the politics of a high school in NYC or Washington, DC, the same as the politics at a major private university, and the same as the politics of an American small-town's musical theater company. Some people with a relative degree of power here defend it with their lives, at all costs, and at whatever expense it is to their colleagues. At this point, I am now in the middle of an unexpected and undesired battle, which will hopefully be resolved with mediation from high level administration on Monday. Sheesh! And I am just a consultant - I thought there would be no stress!
That's most of the news from Nairobi this week. Kristoffer has been a little less busy at work this week than last week, or at least he is going in to the office a little bit later than he was last week! We bought some furniture for our house from some friends who are moving back to Denmark today so we are only one room away from being fully furnished at this point. Sadly, it looks as though our efforts with a second internet company are failing and we will need to start our search again, or resign ourselves to not having internet at home. This seems unacceptable to me so I think we won't give up the fight just yet...perhaps we just need to change tactics.
Kenya is certainly proud today of its favorite "half-son" today (Barack Obama, that is) and, again regardless of political affiliation, I think all Americans should be too!
LMW
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