day388

as i promised yesterday, today i did nothing.
i read Harry Potter7 [for the 2nd time], played the piano, and drew cartoons all day.
i had french fries and a Sprite.
now i'm here, checking my e-mail and typing this blog.
yea, that's it.
yep.....
just another boring day.

tomorrow is Saturday.
i almost wished that the teachers would give us some work or something to do.
almost.
i then came back to my senses.
this week has been a relaxing week.
for once.
no tests.
no homework.
no projects.
....
kinda remincds me of home.

in States, compared to here, school was a breeze.
i even liked school.
i liked it a lot.
i don't know what happened.
i guess school just got less fun as i got older

i can't get that b-ball game out of my head.
i haven't played a decent game in so long.
basketball is the sport i'm completely confident in.
[American football comes 2nd]
once i'm on the court there's nothing that can stop me.
i take the sport seriously.
when i play, i play to win it.
and the game on Wednesday won't be any different.

I'm trying to come up with a really good ending for my novel.
i've only gotten to the climax and i have a slightly good idea for the end but i really want to WOW the readers.
i plan to publish the novel next year or the year after.
no later than that i hope.

when i have to study, the TV in my room works perfectly .
when i don't have to study, it works perfectly....only that it doesn't have any sound.
i don't know what happened to it but i'm very suspicious of the electrician who came to my house two days ago.
last night i missed Everybody Hates Chris.
i like that show.
i hope he came today while i was at school [not Chris, the electrician] but i doubt it.
for now, i'm just gonna have to get good at lip-reading.

as i was going to school today i noticed something that amused me.
the glass part of a side mirror attatched to a car had been broken.
the side mirror was there.
there was just no glass.
rather than going to a car shop or something the owner of the car decided he was more creative than that.
to replace the missing glass, the person had broken off the handle of a pink hand mirror and jammed it in the frame of the sidemirror.
cheapness?
creativity?
laziness?
for the love of pink?
call it what you want to but you have to admit...
you wouldn't have thought of that.

well, i'm going now to practice for the game.
the next time i write apost it will be on wednesday.
wish me luck.

laterrrr.

day387

the first thing i did on the net today was change my birthday on Facebook.
i wanted to avoid the certain point in the year when people throw eggs at you and chuck you into a pool.
with your clothes on.
on your birthday.
this happens at my school and i have no idea how i avoided it last year.
but i don't think i can get lucky twice in a row.
i'm taking every precaution this time.

besides getting drenched in icy cold water and smelling like eggs at the end of the day there is one other consequence.
some form of punishment from the Coordinator of grd10.
none other than the Feared Ms. Adoo.
grd10 students try to avoid any chance meeting with this teacher.
that includes myself.
there's just something "you better not be doing what i think your doing and even if you're not doing it you're thinking about doing it behind my back" about her.
yikes.

someone asked me what kenyan foods i like.
well, i like Ugali na Sukuma and Chapati na Rice na Kuku.

i can't really describe them specifically but next time you're in kenya or you happen to pass by a culture festival just check 'em out.
you won't be disappointed.

I was supposed to be going on a trip to a place in kenya called Maasai Mara but the money came late.
now i have 200 and something dollars for something else, i guess.
but it's all good.
i wasn't really psyched about going anyway.
besides there's a trip to Spain coming up in April 2009.


this school term closes on December Eleventh.

two thirds of grd10 is gone so we had free lessons.

i guess not going to Mara had its benefits after all.

yesterday i did nothing.
today i did nothing.
tomorrow--yep you guessed it--nothing.
for once i'm not doing school work.
i just spend a whole day in a school.
[yes, there's a HUGE difference]


the teachers are tallying marks now [in kenya "points" are called marks].
they add up all the test, classwork, and homework scores together.
whatever the average is, is your grade for the term.
i think i did okay.
we'll see.
we'll see.


you might have noticed that there's been a big gap between this and my last post.
that's because of the projects and assignments from school.
and tests.
there are always tests.
but hey...
school is school.
what would it be without work?
it wouldn't be school...
nah...
it would be cool.

next Wednesday we have a basketball game against another school called Braeburn.
we'll win.
our team is good.
and even if we lose[ which we won't] i'll just be glad that we played against other people.
i've been playing with the same students for months.

i recieved my artwork today.
i got a 90%.
speaking of art...
remember that week that i missed school?
that long, boring, week?
yeah, well that was the week the auditions took place.
oh well.
it is what it is.

i can't wait until that b-ball game though.
and you know what else i can't wait for?
the day i leave this country.
i'm not homesick, just kenyasick.]

laterrrr.

day372

hello America.
i'm running out of things to write.
so....
if you have any questions i'm here to answer them.
after all, i made this blog for you.

i'm afraid i have to take the novel off the net.
it's illogical to keep it there where someone can copy and paste and say it's their's.
i want to sell it.
and that 's sorta impossible if someone else does it first.

this kenya place is really boring.
especailly when you stay home for almost a whole week like i have.
you see.
it's like this.
when you send money late, it get's somewhere late.
and in my case the money's a whole week late.
and it;s for school.
i think that someone in my shoes would be rejoicing.
probably screaming,
"NO SCHOOL, NO SCHOOL!"
but actually i'm screaming,
"I'M MISSING TESTS, I'M FALLING BEHIND!"
everything bad happens to me in kenya.

i keep several pictures in my bedroom of my American friends and family.
so one day my housegirl is ironing and sees a picture of my bro.
"This is who?" she said.
"That's my brother," i replied.
she was quiet for a few moments, just looking at the picture.
then she said, "He is very smart, but he has a big head."
and she keeps on ironing.
it was hilarious.

["smart" in kenya and Britain means handsome]

my housegirl is really nice.
she does everything for me.
cleans
irons
cooks.
and man is she a great cook.
but i miss my mom's classic "rice and chicken"
and the "nyama choma" friday nights at my house.
[nyama choma literally means, "burnt meat" in swahili. i have a firepit in my backyard where my dad wraps meat in aluminum foil and puts it over the fire. with just the right amount of salt it's delicious.]
i have nyama choma here in kenya but not as frequently.

as i said a while ago, i know a little swahili.
here's a basic conversation:
"Sema."[hey, say what's up]
"Poa."[it's good]

well...the beginning of a coversation.

and here's a little vocabulary:
tefadthali-please
karibu-welcome
asanti-thank you
mama-mom
baba-dad
dada-sister
caca-brother
hi na hio-this and that
ona-look
nataka-i want
naenda-i am going
pamoja-together
siku-day
kesho-tomorrow
jana-yesterday
leo-today
sasa-now

well....
i'm going now.
to play hookey some more i guess.
i never thought i'd say this but....
i miss school.

later.

day364 OBAMA DAY

let it be known that history was made this Wednesday, November 5th 2008 7:26am/ East African Time.
Barack Hussein Obama, i mean President Barack Obama became the first African American in the White House.
many thought it could never be done.
but it happened.
and it happened in my life-time which is amazing in itself.

the question that remains is whether or not Obama will really change our country or not.
and the thought on many people's minds is whether he will even survive to keep his campaign promises.
Many do not doubt the possibilty of assassination.
but God forbid that this event should occur.

i wasn't sure who exactly i was supporting politically.
i don't know exactly life will change for the teenage american citizens.
i guess, if his economical promises are true, this means more spending money for parents.
which also means more allowance.
cha-ching!
money in the bank.
sweet.

the not-political part of me did want Barack Oboma to win this election simply because it means so much to other African-Americans to see him step up, take the challenge and succeed.
it's just too bad Martin Luther King Jr didn't live to see his dream come true.
or at least the beginning of his dream.

this country of kenya supports Oboma so much that they even held fake elections and several parties.
there are campaign buttons being sold around in different shops along with t-shirts and hats.
in a sad way he's become more of a celebrity icon than a politician.
but i don't blame people for wanting to make money off of this.
President Moi Kibaki has declared tomorrow a national holiday.
so basically Obama's victory has more benefits than i thought.
only the first few hours and change is already happening.
Promise #1?
check.

i'm not so into politics.
for me this was more of a popularity contest than an election.
it was for most kenyans.

an African American in the White House.
like i said.
Huge.
just Huge.

so congradulations Mr. President Barack and let's hope for more change.

later.

day360

no matter where you go, there you are.

in an organization there will always be one person who knows exactly what is going on.
this person must be fired.

everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens.

negative expectations yield negative results.
positive expectations yield negative results.

the other line moves faster.

somethings people noticed about life.
they're so true.
so true.

i signed up for the basketball team this year again.
and i'm going to audition for the school play called In the Heights.
it's a musical but i'm not gonna be singing.
like last year.
for those of you who don't know, it was a disaster.
and for those of you who do know it would be nice if you didn't mention it to the people who don't.

so i'm rapping.
as a guy named Usnavi.
if i get the part, that is.
[i just noticed...Usnavi is kinda like U.S. Navy]
and i will get the part.
bet on it.

while i wait to audition, i'm being bored at home studying my brains out.
or watchin' TV.

i can't wait til next week.
this year's elections are gonna be huge.
as in HUGE.
if Obama wins the elections....
dude.....
all i can say is
it's gonna be huge.
and on thursday it will be my 365th day in kenya.

also, if you don't know i have written a novel.
actually i'm still writing it.
but it's on another blog at theamerikidandhisnovel.blogspot.com.
it's about a teenage god named Matteo trying to find out about himself and his parents in the process of saving his life which could actually mean saving the lives of others.
the beginning is kinda boring but it's important.
once you get to chapter 5 things start to pick up.
hope you like it.

i have these metal cubes, given to me by a friend.
they have words on them.
one cube has adverbs.
the other has verbs.
i arrange them in such a way that they say:

Dream big.
Imagine out-loud.
Live amazingly.
Try well.
Play smart.
Think a lot.

it's cool 'cause these cubes cover every aspect of life.
and i think that those 6 phrases can be applied to everyone's life.
and i've applied them to mine as much as i could.
and in kenyan schools you definitely have to think a lot and try well.

here's a joke for you before i go.

how any psychologists does it take to put in a lightbulb?
answer?
only one.
but the bulb has to really want to change.

later.