Browsing articles from "May, 2009"

Home stretch

May 5, 2009   //   by Laura Lee   //   The Project  //  2 Comments

Well, I just watched my last episode of WWE Monday Night Raw with my family in Kenya (and perhaps the last in my life – and I know it’s Tuesday night,  but I guess there’s a delay, so don’t tell me what happens!).  We had ugali (the staple food here – a maize meal porridge, like thick grits clumped together) and a goat stew with cabbage for dinner.  I’m going up to The General’s tomorrow morning at 7am to have my last breakfast with him and Jojo Jessica (The General bought corn flakes last week in order to get me used to American food again – we eat it with boiling milk, fresh from their cow, but it still feels more familiar than sweet potatoes).  We head to Nairobi in the afternoon, and then flight is on Thursday!  Just a hop, skip, and a really long freakin’ flight, and I’ll be home!

 

I can’t believe that my time here is up.  I will miss this place, these people, and my life here.  I’m extremely happy with the material that I’ve collected, and I look forward to sharing what The General has taught me.  I know that I haven’t written much about the “nitty-gritty” (quoting a recent email) of my time here, but I’ve been so busy, working hard – meeting with The General or related figures nearly every day, all-day, preparing questions, and reviewing our sessions – that I haven’t posted many specific updates regarding the progress. 

 

I think that I can use my experience here as a model on which to base future stories and historical preservation throughout the developing world.  I’m excited to get back to the States and make a business plan for The General History Project, Inc. (now an official 501(c)(3) organization!) and organize the material I’ve collected – perhaps in book-form.  At a minimum, I plan to begin the tedious task of transcribing the sessions with The General, so I might disappear for a bit to get the work done.  As always, I welcome any ideas for how to best move this project forward and present the material that I’ve collected along the way. 

 

So, I will catch everyone up and continue to post information about the project and The General and my Kenyan life after I get back.  But in the meantime, Laura Lee’s coming home…

 

Kwaheri – LL/Nkirote :-)

 

“Nkirote, too much of anything is poisonous.” – The General

Pics from today

May 1, 2009   //   by Laura Lee   //   Pictures  //  1 Comment
The General shows The Captain (me) around the tea farm this morning. It was plucking awesome. :-)

The General shows The Captain (me) around the tea farm this morning. It was plucking awesome. :-)

Me on a motorcycle with Mutwiri, the driver for the farmers' cooperative. Behind me is a chicken shoved in a box that I was careful not to lean on while Mutwiri asked me at 4-minute intervals, "Is the hen still alive?" We both survived (at least for today). :-)

Me on a motorcycle with Mutwiri, the driver for the farmers' cooperative. Behind me is a chicken shoved in a box that I was careful not to lean on while Mutwiri asked me at 4-minute intervals, "Is the hen still alive?" We both survived (at least for today). :-)

This cock was not so lucky in making it through the afternoon. We ate it for lunch - nearly 4kgs! The family asked me, "This bird we call a chicken - you have it in your country?"

This cock was not so lucky in making it through the afternoon. We ate it for lunch - nearly 4kgs! The family asked me, "This bird we call a chicken - you have it in your country?"