Day 1 at Daraja Academy -
Today was our first day at Daraja. I woke up, along with a few others, at 6:00 AM for an early breakfast at 7:30. We ate some bread rolls and sipped on tea before going off with different students. Each of us was guided through a typical school day by one or two students from Daraja. I shadowed with a girl named Florence who is in Form 2 (keep in mind Form 1-4 is the same as Grades 9-12, meaning she is in her sophomore year). Every day has 10 classes, each class being 45 minutes. (Some classes are double periods, 90 minutes.) I began to notice how hardworking every Daraja girl is through this full day of academic rigor. I attended Swahili, Kenyan History, English, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, Business (Economics), Agriculture, Geography and a Study Hall session. I had lots of fun learning (and failing to pronounce) some Swahili phrases, being involved in some class debates, and constantly showing the girls photos of my twin brother (which happened a lot). Lunch was about halfway through the classes, and we all enjoyed a Kenyan dish called “ugali” (made of maize flour, and cooked in boiling liquid to a stiff or firm dough-like consistency). At 4:15, after finishing all of the classes for the day, we went to our bandas. The students continued their day with sports that start right after school ends, and finish at 6:00 PM. Dinner starts at around 6:30, and tonight, those of us who were awake enough to leave our bandas, feasted on some delicious white rice and cabbage. We sat with all 120 Daraja students and watched as they laughed and conversed about their day, constantly asking us how our experience at Daraja has been so far. It is so incredible to see such hardworking and motivated students! They have welcomed us to call Daraja “home” for the next week. I am very excited to see what is in store for me during my time here at Daraja. - Jake Dear friends - (We are having some trouble posting due to internet service, so please be patient. Photos take especially long to load and thus we will post when we can,) Yesterday we arrived at Daraja after a long drive from Nairobi. We enjoyed seeing the agriculture and open-air markets along the roadside on our journey. We also stopped for a photo opportunity at the equator! There is a sign marking the spot of the equator. Upon our arrival at Daraja Academy we were greeted by students with a warm welcome. We each received a personal tour of campus and went to dinner, sitting with our student ambassadors and their families. Students at Daraja are in family groups of mixed-grade levels. They stay with this family for their entire time at Daraja! After a wonderful dinner of rice and cabbage we had a quick group meeting, and went to bed. All were tired! We are excited for our first full day tomorrow on campus! Dear Friends - We are safely in Kenya after two long flights. We had no troubles with travel and had a wonderful night's sleep at a hotel. We head to Daraja Academy today and are very excited for our first full day in Kenya. We are ready to meet new friends and learn with the students at Daraja!
This week students are finishing their classwork at Priory. We celebrate graduation this weekend! Students have been reading the Daraja Academy blog to learn about the latest happenings and we have been collecting supplies at Priory to bring and share. We are excited for the adventure ahead!
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