PEOPLE
Rebecca Riseman
has her hair
braided by Masai
mama.
African Adventure
A Peace Corps volunteer from Lapeer is bringing education
to a remote part of. Kenya. In the process ;
she is finding herself.
SUSAN WEINGARDEN
Special to The Jewish News
s Rebecca Rise-
man teaches
English to her
high school stu-
dents, goats and
chickens casually stroll into
the crowded classroom and
lizards drop- from the ceiling.
Her small, cement-block
house on the Mwaghogho
School compound has no run-
ning water and no electricity.
She faces constant danger
from wild elephants, malaria,
scorpions and poisonous
snakes. .
Though she's adjusted well
to her position as a Peace
Corps volunteer in Kenya,
East Africa, there is one
thing the 23-year-old Lapeer,
Michigan, resident can bare-
ly do without. "I'd give
anything for a fresh salt bagel
with a slice of lox and
tomato," she said.
Ms. Riseman traded luxury
and convenience for a simple,
sparse, solitary existence, and
A
the satisfaction of knowing
she is strong enough to enter
a foreign culture and endure
the many obstacles she faces.
The 1989 University of
Michigan graduate remem-
bers being confused about her
future.
"I joined the Peace Corps
for several reasons," she ex-
plained. "I longed for travel
and adventure, and I wanted
to challenge myself with
something that was beneficial
to others. I shared some of the
idealism of the 1960s and I
wanted to save the world and
find myself."
After an intensive applica-
tion and training process and
security clearance, Ms.
Riseman arrived in Kenya in
October of 1989. After 21/2
months of training in local
language, Kenyan customs
and teaching English, she
was assigned to the tiny
village of Ndome (In-dome-ay)
near the Thaw National Park.
"My house is nestled at the
base of a large mountain
range in the Taita Hills," she
says. "It's surrounded by
beautiful flowers and exotic
trees. The location seems
ideal for me and I like it very
much."
On a typical day, Ms.
Riseman wakes with the sun
at 7 a.m. She splashes herself
with water she fetches in a
bucket from the community
pipe, grabs a banana and is off
to school, which starts at 8
a.m.
"I teach English and math.
Tea is served at 9:45 a.m.,
lunch is from 12:30-2 p.m. and
school ends at 4 p.m. Most
days I walk three miles after
school to collect the mail for
the school and myself. I
return at 5:30 p.m. and grab
some dinner from the school
cook. Sometimes students
come over after dinner and we
talk and listen to music.
"When it gets dark at 7
p.m., I light my lantern and
spend the evening reading,
writing letters, writing in my
journal, or strumming my
guitar. I get under my mos-
quito netting about 10 p.m.
but usually wake up at least
once a night when I hear the
Ms. Riseman carries her
groceries.
bats swooping past my head
and rats chewing on the
wooden beams of my house."
In addition to her teaching
duties, Ms. Riseman is
responsible for the girls'
dorm, the library and the
school newspaper. In her free
time, she exercises, does laun-
dry, plays guitar, meditates,
and does a lot of daydreaming.
When she wants a taste of
Western civilization, she
travels 41/2 hours to Nairobi or
visits the beaches in Main-
basa.. Voi, the closest city, is
15 miles away. When she's on
vacation she travels all over
Kenya. The closest American
is a PCV (Peace Corps
volunteer) friend who lives
eight miles away. "lb visit
him, I walk 2 1/2 hours down a
hot, dusty elephant-infested
road."
Though she has adjusted to
the hot climate, Ms. Riseman
had difficulty getting used to
the modest clothing women
must wear. "The worst part
about being here are the
cultural frustrations I en-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
39