Turkeys don’t like Motorcycles and other Lessons of Life in Kenya by Emma Nierman

Editor’s note: These are excerpts from an email written by Emma shortly before Thanksgiving. The sentiments she expresses about the difference between understanding what ties us all together and really UNDERSTANDING it are what keep us motivated to work with all the great IE3 interns. As regional directors, we are grateful for the glimpses into a more hopeful future that come from reading the many updates from our interns abroad.

In a P.S., for those of you concerned about the welfare of Gladys, Emma notes in an update: “The Turkey didn’t work out. We had chicken.”

_________

Another volunteer and I are planning a big dinner here and have been spending the last week tracking down a turkey… really long story short I am now the proud owner of a very large- very alive Turkey named Gladys who is wreaking havoc on my host- mother’s farm. How I got the live bird from Mombasa to the village is another story for another time, but suffice to say Turkey’s DO NOT like motorcycles.

My malaria is officially history and I finally feel back to normal. Being sick put me really behind at work and I have been putting in tons of over time to catch myself back up. Even when I go away for the weekend I have had to bring work with me, which has been less than exciting… but I only have 3 weeks left here and I want to make sure all my projects are finished before I go.

On January 1^st the Women’s Sewing Co-operative, to which I have devoted much of my time, will officially become an independent group and I have been really stressed about getting their finances, constitution, post office box, etc. ready for the transition. I can’t wait to get home and show you all some of their awesome products! Check out the catalog on the East African Center’s website if you are interested in supporting a great cause while buying some really original and amazing Holiday gifts! [http://www.eastafricancenter.org/]

Kenya’s presidential primaries take place today and the country is totally buzzing. The last week there have been political rallies in the village almost every night… one of which took place at my house. My host brother works in Nairobi for a candidate named Uhuru (who is Jomo Kenyatta’s son) and my host mother is the leader of the village’s Political Women’s Association. As you could guess, being in such a political family during election season has been really intense and I have learned a lot about Kenyan politics as a result. The political apathy often attributed to those living in the “developing world” is totally absent here and the fervor surrounding this election has been 10 times what we see in America. It really shakes the image sent to us via the media that Africa is a hopeless place whose people aren’t capable of helping themselves and improving their own lives.

As my time wraps up here it is hard to fully measure all that I have gained in the last six months. But I know for sure I will never look at a picture of an orphanage in Malawi, a bombed out village in Darfur, a slum in South Africa, or an over served Aids ward in Nairobi the same light again. If I learned one thing during my short time here it is that people are people… no matter where they live, what language they speak, or how educated they may or may not be. When a child dies here it hurts as much as if a blonde American girl with braces dies at home. And when a parent can’t send their kids to a good school it frustrates them as much as it would any of us. There are no people on this planet that deserve to or can live with dignity amongst substandard sanitation and filth. And there are no people who don’t aspire to improve the lives of their families. Of course before coming here I understood this, but I am not sure I really UNDERSTOOD it. As Americans, we are so used to seeing Africa and Africans in pain and suffering- I think a part of us starts to believe it is somehow natural for them to live in a way that we would never consider acceptable for ourselves.

New Site in Scotland: Scottish Seabird Centre

Okay, this new site is in the running with the Cheetah Conservation Fund for “cutest animal photo opps” AND it is an amazing professional development opportunity for some lucky interns who get to go spend the spring or summer on the Eastern coast of Scotland.

Check out the Scottish Seabird Centre (http://www.seabird.org/home.asp) website to learn more about the organization itself – and see the amazing footage on their seal diary webcasts.  Interns, depending on their major, skills and interests, can work with SSC staff in a number of different areas in Education, Events and Exhibitions, Discovery Centre, and others.  Read the position description on the IE3 website to learn more about what you could do!

Update from Peru by Monya Lemery

PERU

Next stop, Lima, Peru.   In Lima, spring had yet to arrive.  It was much colder than Santiago and Rosario.  People were wearing coats and boots.  They said the weather hadn’t changed yet. Lima is a large, polluted, humid, and chaotic city of about 8 million people. It lies right on the Pacific coast and is well known for its museums and gastronomy.  It is also the gateway to all of the interesting cultural sites that people want to visit in Peru. In the upscale neighborhood of Miraflores, you can find a modern mall right on the oceanfront with shops, cinema, restaurants, etc.  There is also a beautiful waterfront park.

 

While in Lima, I visited the U.S. Embassy, as they have an internship program with several museums in the country.  The internship is set up for graduate students in museum studies to spend a couple of months in July and August working on art restorations projects.  I hope to have this listed on the IE₃ website very soon.

 

I wouldn’t say that Lima was the most interesting place I have ever been, but I did get a chance to visit the best restaurant in Lima – Astrid & Gaston; and I did splurge and buy a pair of nice, leather boots J

  

 

Ayacucho, Peru

After a day in Lima, I took the 5am flight on a tiny 18-passenger plane to a community in the highlands called Ayacucho.  Ayacucho is home to the Finca Peru Huamanga-Ayacucho office and Finca Peru Exports. The first day, I felt light-headed from the altitude.  The locals serve “tea de coca” which helps with altitude sickness and I have to say that it seems to be effective.

 

Ayacucho is a growing town of about 120,000 inhabitants, but it feels much smaller than a U.S. city that size. It is set up in a traditional colonial style and was clearly founded by the Spaniards in the 16^th century. It is known for its many churches and the fine work of its artisans.  There is not any industry per say in the region, other than agriculture, so it is a rather impoverished area.  However, there is a main street with many shops, including internet cafes, cell phone vendors, shoes and clothes, tourist agencies and banks.  There is an ATM in the main plaza and just around the corner, is the Western Union. The food that I ate in Ayacucho was delicious!!  I had some great chicken and I even tried Cuy (guinea pig)!  Fresh fruit and fruit juices are wonderful here. It is probably not a great location for a vegetarian or vegan – you would probably end up eating potatoes and fruit.  The people are so warm, friendly and affectionate.  I was blown away by how “special” everyone made me feel and how the people at Finca Peru seemed to treat everyone like they are “special.”  Finca is such a positive environment to be in.

 

I arrived at the very beginning of the rainy season which runs from late October through March or so.  The rainy season means that for an hour or two a day is rains hard and the streets flood, then it dries up and the sun comes out.  Everything was dry in the region. Very little vegetation.  The locals grow potatoes, corn and a variety of vegetables. They speak Kichwa as a first language and Spanish as a second language.  It is fun to listen to the Ayacucheños speak with each other in a mixture of Spanish and Kichwa.

 

Finca Peru has a microfinance program and they work with about 5000 women in the Ayacucho region giving them small loans in order to assist them it setting up micro-businesses in order to improve their lives and the lives of their families.  Finca’s motto is “credit with education” so they focus on self-improvement and education for the women who are receiving the loans.  Because of this, they have noticed the women benefiting beyond simply economic improvements in their lives.  They are learning to have self confidence and to be able to be self reliant.  Finca believes this situation has helped many women stand up for themselves when they are in situations where domestic violence occurs.

 

Something really interesting that was going on while I was in Ayacucho is that many groups of women were having discussions about the de-valuation of the dollar.  They receive their loans in dollars and everyone was worried about what was happening with the exchange rates and whether or not they should switch to Soles (the Peruvian currency). 

 

I met Dr. Aquiles Lanao, the president and founder of Finca Peru.  He is now 86 years old and less involved with the day-to-day functioning of the organization.  He is a super charismatic person who clearly has a lot of passion for the work that he does and has done.  He was the director of Peace Corps in Peru in the late 60’s and early 70’s and thus has a great understanding of how to work with young people from the US.  He lived through the Shining Path era which was predominantly in the area around Ayacucho. Thus, simply sitting and talking to him for a few hours is an education in and of itself!

 

One of the former IE₃ interns set up what is now called Finca Peru Exports.  This is a part of Finca Peru that is focused on organizing the artisans together as a cooperative and working with them to export their products abroad.  Finca Peru Exports is primarily run by 2 full-time international volunteers who come for 6-12 months at a time.

 

I can’t say enough positive things about Finca Peru and Ayacucho.  Both made a huge impression on me and I would love to spend more time there.  For anyone who is interested in International Development work and has very good Spanish, this would be a great place to learn and contribute.  Life isn’t easy in Ayacucho.  There are not a lot of the comforts of the Western world, so flexibility and patience are keys to success here.  I think to sum up the kind of internship experience a student will have at Finca would be to say that it is like a short-term Peace Corps experience.  Interns are part of a very dynamic organization that supports mostly women.  However, there is very little direct supervision.  Thus it is an opportunity to learn to rely on your own resources and strengths and weaknesses and to learn to be responsible for your own ideas and work products (much like the “real world”).

Monya Lemery Reports in from Chile

CHILE

After 48 hours in Argentina, I took a 3-hour flight to Santiago de Chile, the capital of the country of Chile. I arrived late at night and first thing the next morning, I had a meeting at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago with the Biological Sciences Department and then went out to the coast to visit their marine science station that is called ECIM or Estacion Costera de Investigaciones Marinas in Las Cruces (web link: http://ecim.cl/student_employment.htm).
ECIM is a marine laboratory with a marine protected area on the central coast of Chile. ECIM offers research and internship opportunities for doctoral students and undergraduates, both from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and from other universities in Chile and internationally. The research community is composed of some 20-30 resident researchers with offices at ECIM, including faculty members, post-doctoral researchers, research assistants, lab technicians, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as exchange scientists from other universities in Chile and abroad. Dr. Sergio Navarrete, Director of ECIM, received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University and maintains strong contacts with renowned scientists Dr. Bruce Menge and Dr. Jane Lubchenko (web link: http://lucile.science.oregonstate.edu/people/lubchenco.php ).

IE₃ Global Internships sent a student from Oregon State University to intern there during summer 2007. You can view Chrissy and the Chilean Crabs blog at: http://chrissythesislog.wordpress.com/ She had a great experience and was able to do a research project for her international degree/honor’s college thesis at OSU!

 

We are hoping to get a formal internship listed on the IE₃ Global Internships website soon. In the meantime, students can contact me if they are interested.There is dorm-like housing on-site with facilities for cooking, doing laundry, etc.

Las Cruces, Chile is in zone V of Chile and is about 1.5 to 2 hours driving time from Santiago. It is a small, coastal town with only a couple of small stores and one restaurant that has great fresh fish and empanadas. The nearest ATM and supermarket is about 20 minutes driving or 30 minutes by bus. It is very easy and cheap to take the public transportation and one can usually get a ride with someone who is going “into town” to get food or supplies. The setting is beautiful and the social life consists of get-togethers with the people who work at the lab. The day I was there, it was overcast which led me to believe that it looks much like the Oregon coast. However, I was assured by my host and one of the researchers, Dr. Evie Wieters, that only the day before it was sunny!

Chrissy was there in the winter and claimed that although it was cold, there was much more sun than in Oregon in the winter. She loved being so close to the ocean and felt that she had a great research experience!

I visited in the spring and the weather was mild. They say that in summer, there are many more tourists around. Just up the coast you can visit the house of the famous poet Pablo Neruda at Isla Negra. It is easy for interns to travel on the weekends to many places in Chile.

Santiago, Chile

Santiago is a big, urban, modern city of about 6.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area. There is a notable lack of indigenous influence that you find in countries like Ecuador and Mexico. Santiago is beautiful and clean, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and only 1.5 to 2 hours from the coast. It is very easy to get around the city using the metro or the bus, but you will find that you do a lot of walking, too. There are many attractions to visit on the weekends – the coast, the mountains, vineyards, etc. Students have often found cheap weekend flights to neighboring countries such as Buenos Aires, Argentina on Chile’s major airlines LAN. Most interns find nice accommodations in the upper middle class neighbors of the city – La Providencia, el Centro, and Las Condes. There are many opportunities for shopping, nightlife, cultural events, museums, eating out (although this is not exactly an inexpensive adventure), live music, etc. Chile boasts great trekking and mountaineering and skiing in its many mountains. It is easy to find a gym or swimming pool in the city if you prefer that kind of exercise.

 

Many interns complain about the difficulty of understanding the Chilean Spanish. I felt that I got along quite well and did not have too many troubles. But, I would strongly recommend any intern planning to come to Santiago to study for a few weeks at the Tandem Language School. It is very cheap ($125/week for 20 hours of Spanish language instruction) and the interns have been very happy with it.

 

While I was in Santiago, it was quite hot – reaching 30 degrees Celsius (and it was Spring!).

The cuisine is rather European, not spicy, lots of variety – fish, meat, chicken, pasta, potatoes, etc. Chile is well known for its wines.

 

Like Argentina, Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere, meaning that the seasons are opposite of ours. In Argentina, everyone takes summer vacation in January. In Chile, summer vacation is February, so this is a particularly slow month for many activities and a busy time at the coast.

 

IE₃ Global Internships offers internships at the following organizations in Santiago: SEDEJ (Servicios para el Desarrollo de los Jóvenes), EPES (Fundacion Educacion Popular en Salud), Tronwell Language Institute, and the American Chamber of Commerce.

SEDEJ: SEDEJ (Servicios para el Desarrollo de los Jóvenes) is a non-profit organization providing support services to high risk youth and low-income clients across the greater Santiago metropolitan area and environs. The main current projects include: youth counseling and service centers; micro-finance and small business development support; and women agricultural worker safety and education. Many other projects of innovative social, political and development content have been undertaken over the years. IE₃ Global Internships has had interns get involved in counseling projects, working with low-income kids, working with homeless adults, and working on fundraising and organizational development. The main office is located in a renovated, old building and there are about 20-30 staff members who are mostly young women. The director is a very warm and inspirational, older man named Rene whose eyes sparkle and who is very concerned about the personal development of the interns who they accept to work with them. No one in the office speaks English, so it is very important that interns have a proficient Spanish in order to be successful in this environment.

 

I was able to meet with current intern, Kaydee Clark, who is working on fundraising projects in the main office. As well, I met with the director, a psychologist and other staff member. Everyone is so warm and friendly!

EPES: EPES was founded in 1982 as a health training project. Inspired by a vision of quality and fairness in health care for the poor, it offered training, guidance, and support for community health groups. Over the past twenty-five years, EPES has grown from a small, emergency-response team to a leader of systematic community campaigns to improve health services and awareness. EPES is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of shantytown inhabitants through the training and organized participation of the residents themselves. A staff of twenty health professionals and administrative personnel works in two centers, Santiago and Concepción. The EPES Center in Santiago is the headquarters for the organization. It is located in a working class neighborhood on the south side of the city.

I visited with the Director, Sonia Corrubias, and the current IE₃ intern, Laura Syron. EPES works primarily with women and focuses on a multitude of health issues such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. Sonia and many of the staff of EPES have been involved with the organization since its inception, thus they have tons of organizational history and knowledge.

Laura is at EPES for a 6 month internship. She feels that this has been the perfect internship for her to learn about public health and human rights. She hopes to pursue graduate school in public health and human rights law, so this experience has been great training ground for her professional goals. Prior to interning, Laura had completed 4 years of university level Spanish, including a study abroad program at PUCE in Quito, Ecuador. She took 3 weeks of intensive Spanish upon her arrival in Santiago and felt that was really necessary for her to be successful on the job. Thus, very strong Spanish is a must in this environment! As Laura lives in a middle class neighborhood in the north part of the city, she commutes about one hour each way to work. There are lots of opportunities for interns to get involved in current events and learn about Chilean history and culture.

 

Tronwell Language Institute: is located in the posh neighborhood of Las Condes. It is a very high-tech, modern, language school and testing center that would be a fabulous opportunity for anyone interested in a career in teaching, especially teaching language (such as English). It is not necessary for interns to have Spanish to come here. I was honestly quite taken aback at the facilities. They offer their own entire curriculum and they have many important contracts – such as teaching English to the pilots of LAN airlines or teaching English/French to peace keepers being sent abroad. Students sing-in using their fingerprint. They offer training and resources to their teachers. Teachers start working with conversational groups at the center and as they get more comfortable can move on to do in-office courses for corporations. You feel like you are in modern Europe working in these facilities and in this part of the city. This is also a paid internship!

 

The American Chamber of Commerce is also located in the upscale neighborhood of Las Condes inside of the 5-star Marriott Hotel. Santiago is a great environment for interns to learn about international trade, but prospective interns need to do their research, read the Amcham website, and their magazine “Business Chile,” and prepare their cover letter and interview accordingly. As they only accept one intern at a time, it can be competitive to get accepted. The months of January and February (Chile’s summer) are slow in terms of events going on, but there is still plenty of work for the intern to do. Much of the staff is on vacation during February. March is a really busy season (much like September in the U.S.) with the beginning of fall. Interns will work in the research department assisting with specific questions that companies have about regulations and import/export procedures and get involved in special projects. About a block away, is an upscale mall with a food court and cinemas, so it is an easy place to relax during your lunch break or to hang out.

ContactChile is a local organization that assists IE₃ Global Internships students with setting up housing arrangements in Santiago, arranging Spanish language courses, and weekend excursions. The offer monthly happy hours for all interns in Santiago to meet each other and see how things are going. They have a wide range of services.

Update from Argentina by Monya Lemery, IE3 Regional Director

Rosario, Argentina

My first stop on a two-week tour of (part of) South America was Rosario, Argentina.  AHA International offers a study abroad program in Rosario and there are a few IE3internship opportunities in this charming, European-style city of 1.2 million inhabitants. Rosario is about 300 km (200 miles) or about 3 hours driving time from the capital city of Buenos Aires and it lies on the edge of the beautiful Paraná River with a wonderful waterfront park.  Argentina is a “night culture” and likewise Rosario is full of cafes, clubs, bars and discotheques.  There are modern, upscale shopping centers, as well as artisan booths at the waterfront park. The espresso, fresh fish and steak are excellent!  Rosario has an international airport, so you can fly directly into Rosario.  The airport is small (perhaps the size of the Eugene airport) but sufficient.  And it sports free-Wi-Fi, something you can’t find at PDX or LAX!

For housing in Rosario, the AHA site director, can find you a great host family where you will have your own room and one or two meals per day.  It is easy to get around by bus or taxi. 

I visited two internships sites: Colegio Español and Hospital del Dia and the AHA Study Center.

  

Colegio Español de Rosario is a private school of about 500 students which focuses on the important cultural heritage from Spain of many of its students.  Interns will assist teaching English in the elementary school (up through grade 7) and will spend approximately one week with each class.  IE3Global Internships has sent several interns to Colegio Español who have had positive experiences. The kids are very curious to learn about life in the U.S.  Remember that Argentina is in the southern hemisphere.  Their school year runs from March through mid-December. Great opportunity for elementary education majors with two years of college-level Spanish (to facilitate daily living). 

 

Hospital del Dia is a day hospital that is part of Hospital Centenaurio, a public hospital in Rosario.  IE3 sent an intern there several years ago who ended up going to medical school at Stanford University in part because they were so impressed with her international medical internship.  I have arranged for another intern to go there during winter and spring term 2008, so I wanted to check it out.  I hope that we can set up an on-going site with them.  Because of a large personal donation to the Hospital del Dia, the facilities are very nice in comparison with the rather run-down atmosphere of the main part of the Hospital. Patients come here for day surgeries and procedures. They have three areas: surgery, clinic, and special needs (people that need to be in isolation either because of contagious diseases or for security reasons). They receive about 280 patients per month and they have 2 main doctors and 5 main medical staff in their unit. Interns may start out at the reception desk working with patients (interns need a high level of Spanish language proficiency) in order to get acquainted with the unit before moving onto other tasks.

The AHA Study Center is in a beautiful, old, renovated building with an office, snack area, terrace, a media room, and several small classrooms.  The fall there are 40 students on the program!  The director of the program is Maria Nelida de Juano, many know her as “Beba.”  She is a wonderful resource for interns, as well, coming to Rosario!

Future plans…  we are hoping to develop a new site in Rosario related to politics. Stay tuned!