Margaret (grad 06)

God is faithful

About this time on Wednesday I had been making plans to spend summer in Iowa with my sponsors. I had always had an open invitation to visit with them and I thought that this summer would be nice, though it had always been my prayer to travel home to Kenya and visit my family.

Well come Thursday afternoon, a previous lady who loves the Lord placed an envelope containing a handsome check  saying that it was to buy an air ticket to travel home. I do thank the Lord for those angels who walk amongst us.

God is faithful as much as I had prayed about the visit home. I had given up on that request and was content with visiting my sponsors in Iowa. I will still make that trip but right now am walking around campus in a daze.

Hey Guys

This quarter has gone by very fast and I cannot believe that the last time I communicated with you all was just after the boards. Well, that shows you how fast the Sherman program is. We have only 2 weeks before the final exams and 3 to the end of the quarter.

Spring quarter was exciting time we had this cool /warm weather and then there was Lyceum. Lyceum is an invaluable event where students can interact with the doctors in the field and gain some insight into the field. It is also a time where students can brush up on their techniques from the seminars as well as learn some excellent and be informed of the research that is being carried out in the field of chiropractic.

Some of the seminars I attended were upper cervical technique, full spine adjusting and animal adjusting and I gained invaluable information about chiropractic and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Tears of Joy

There was a wave of excitement in the school today.  Not because of the world renowned guest speaker, Dr Arnold Burnier, that we were due to listen to at 10am break during the leadership series.  But because our National Board results were due today!

The computer lab was full of students- every computer was occupied and the website was jammed! And every now and then you could hear shouts of joy.

I made it!  I bashed it! Hurrah!

Guys, I passed my National Boards!

Halleluiah! Have you ever heard the expression “tears of joy?”

I shed some this morning!

Boards Quarter

Hey guys, This is my board’s quarter and I can hardly believe that time is here! Sherman goes by fast! I will be taking my National Boards Part I exams in March. In order for one to do well on the boards, one needs to be very focused and organized. Learning the new material well, and integrating it into your past material and retaining it. Attending any class reviews that the tutors are offering is quite handy. Of course, there are other reviews which may put candidates up to speed especially if one has limited time. My advice to prospective candidates is: a) To remember that the material on these exams is not new- we have heard it before. b) Among those detractors there is the correct answer, you just have to make the right choice! c) And study!

Skiing in North Carolina

Coming from East Africa where snow can only be found at an altitude of 5896 meters, on mountaintops, we don’t have winter sports! So, when my sons informed me that they wanted to go skiing when they visited the United States, I was flabbergasted!  However I started researching about skiing from my American friends. Black Americans discouraged me saying that it was a “white man’s sport!” and that we should do something that is safer-  like ice skating!  My white American friends encouraged me, right from Anje pulling up information on the website about locations, costs, and directions to Alison, who gave the boys a live demonstration on how to carry their skis (she just happened to have a pair in her office!) and how to turn and avoid trees to Barry, who suggested New England for real skiing!! At this point I was beginning to buy that ice skating idea!!

Eventually we settled for Ski Beech in North Carolina and set off one cold Thursday morning. It was a nice, windy ride up the mountains, and though we were warmly clad, the boys were quite surprised on how cold it can really get!  We arrived there in time for their lesson at the ski school and after an hour, their instructor was happy to let them go to the lifts! The boys had a blast! Just skiing down that mountain, they were ecstatic.  I was just happy that no one broke a leg!! (Literally)

New kids on the block?

Nicholas Dalizu and Nigel Majani, my two sons, were on campus 1st day of school. With their student demeanor, they really blended in with the student body.  Dalizu, a sophomore at United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, is persuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in information technology. While Nigel Majani who goes to a Turkish school in Kenya and speaks Turkish and has his mind set on computer engineering, both fields are highly needed fields in developing countries.
The boys had a tour of the college, were able to meet some of my professors, meet my colleges, attended some of my classes and even got to attend the Anatomy lab! (Thanks to Miss Navis our amicable Anatomy Instructor).
They were quite impressed with the college but a little surprised at how small it is.

The greatest Christmas present ever!

The Christmas Holidays are a time of giving and receiving. Some of my earliest memories of x-mas were the vision of a Christmas tree- a real pine tree chopped off from the fence that surrounded my parent’s home. My mom would hang up the stockings above the fireplace and, while we in Africa don’t have winter, my mom would make us roll up pieces of cotton wool and place it on the tree to emulate snow! X-mas in my family was always a family time. All the family members gathered together at one home.  My parents home was also a favorite  venue as it was big and on a farm (bought from a previous white settler), so all the uncles , aunts and cousins would gather there and stay a day or two over the x-mas season. They would be lots of cooking and games, my father would select one of his choice animals to be slaughtered for that occasion.

It was a fun time, yet it cannot compare to what happened this x-mas!

This Christmas I received the greatest x-mas present ever, my sons came over for x-mas.  Nicholas Dalizu, a sampore at University, and Nigel Majani (14) in High School. It was they first time ever to the United States and we all had a great time. We went sking in the mountains, which was fun for them and a trip of faith for me.  I will tell you more about that next time.

Swahili

Swahili is the national and official language of Kenya and it is spoken in East And Central Africa. With a population of 30 million people all from 54 different ethic groups, Kenya needed a national language! Swahili is a mixture of Arabic, Portuguese and Bantu words. However, English is widely spoken and written as a second language (sometimes spoken better and written than its authors)---no offense guys!

Most Kenyans should be able to fluently speak and write in three different languages, and depending on one’s educational background, an additional European language (either French or German). Latin at one time was mandatory in some school curriculums! Latin, as you already know, makes up a good foundation of most sciences, particularity medicine.

In our Sherman package you will be introduced to a course called “medical terminology” which will help in all your other sciences at Sherman. So guys find yourself a Latin /English dictionary! Goooood luck!

Harambee

Hey guys! I did promise that in my column I would give you an insight into the history and current issues about my country Kenya. I do love history though most students don’t, however I will try not to bore you.

In order to understand the peoples of any country, I think it’s important to know a little bit about their history and that’s why I appreciate America because of its history and the diverse richness of its culture. Historically Kenya is known as the cradle of mankind .The first pre-historic man was discovered in 1999 at Kanopi in Kenya by paleontologists Drs. Meave and Louise Leakey dated back four million years ago. In fact, we have our own pre-historic man named Kenyanthropus platyops.

Kenya is now 42 years old, having gained its independence from Britain on the 12th December 1963. Kenya was previously a colony, meaning that its people and their economy belonged to another nation. It was only after the guerilla war coded “mau mau” that Kenya was granted its independence.

Independence in this context is used to describe a country formerly dependent as a colony on another country but now having formed its own government and choosing its own relationship with the outside world.

Independence to the majority of Kenyans was expected to be a turning point. The Africans, the majority, expected a reversal of all things in their favor. For the European settlers (the minority) who had enjoyed everything in the pre-independence days, there was fear and uncertainty over their future; they visualized a vengeful African-dominated government probably bent on measures of retribution. The Asian group also feared as they had enjoyed some privileges and controlled the nation’s commercial life.

However, under the wise leadership of Jomo Kenyatta, graduate of London School of Economics in Britain and the first president of Kenya, the transaction of governance was smoothly done. The slogan “Harambee” was given to Kenyan workers for the purpose of nation building (national development).

Harambee is a rally call for workers/groups/organizations to pull together to successfully accomplish a given task. Nowadays it is used to prompt people to actively participate in many developmental projects. I have on occasion seen the word “harambee” used in some South Carolina publications with the same meaning, one can’t help wonder to it’s origin. It is a purely Swahili word.

So guys, lets “harambee” it this quarter!

Back to School

It’s back to school guys! Didn’t I tell you that the summer quarter was short? But what was even shorter was the break! We had a week off and all I did was load and offload trucks!  Helping other students move houses, helping my pastor move and finally myself!

First to move was Shemika, who was moving to her “Secret Hideout.” We are still waiting for the housewarming party, which wouldn’t come ----right guys? Second to move was Mary. Nice, quiet Mary who had asked the whole faculty of Basic Sciences and 4th and 5th quarter students to move her; however this was Friday just after the last final exam! You know how that goes, as soon as one is done with the exams, everyone wants to get as far away as possible, the sooner the better! So poor Mary had to do with the help that she could get. Dr Clayton showed up with his truck, Dr. Vidrine couldn’t make it due to other engagements, Craig was there as strong and enthusiastic as ever, Kengen didn’t miss out on the fun and Zinnette helped too.

Then our junior pastor was also moving houses and I must thank Paul and Karen from Bethel Church for so graciously helping me move “up the hill.” I must say I had enjoyed staying on Upper Valley Falls Road – you can see the college though the woods – and I had an excellent, charming landlord. My former place has been a haven for many a foreign Sherman student, a place to stay while you find your own feet. I will miss my summer night walks with my roommate to the college, to breathe the “innate air,” while everyone else is off campus and rides the bicycles parked outside the lab! So when I moved up the hill, my roommates dubbed it “moving on up”!

Back to class guys, another quarter down ---- Hurrah!!