July 5, 2007

So yesterday was Independence Day and Will and I didn’t get to see any fireworks, but we did have a good day at the orphanage with the kids and Esther made hamburgers for dinner, my favorite meal of hers. Lots of little things happen every day that I keep in mind, but don’t always remember to write down, so I’m going to try to list some of those things.

1. Before Ryan left, Karo, Margaret’s 23-year old daughter who works at the orphanage, told him that she had a proposition for him. Her birthday was coming up that weekend, so I figured it had something to do with that. We were heading out for the day and she pulled him aside to talk to him, and all that Wendy, Will and I could hear from the conversation was Ryan saying, “Oh, you should’ve told me two weeks ago!” He was leaving the next day so again, I assumed that he was going to miss a birthday party for her or something. We left the orphanage and headed to the Boma (which means ‘house’ in Kiswahili) and there Ryan told us about the conversation that had taken place. Karo asked Ryan when he saw himself getting married and let him know that she likes him very much and ‘could see herself spending the rest of her life with someone like him.’ To this Ryan responded that she should have told him two weeks ago, because he was leaving now and had plans to live in Indonesia for the next two years. He didn’t mention that he had a girlfriend flying in in two days, but just that he wouldn’t be spending any more time in Kenya. So he was the first to get a proposal in our group and made sure to remind us. Poor Dave was in Uganda during the event, so he missed it. But we decided that if Karo ever has a ‘proposition’ for Will, that he should suddenly come up with something important to do. Note: Karo and Ryan never held conversations more broad than that of orphanage-laundry talk and whatdoes___mean in Kiswahili. It was quite a shock for us all to hear that she wanted to marry Ryan.

2. We have three kittens left. Two of them died and I thought that the other two had been eaten by the same beast that killed the first two, but Esther let us know that they had been given to nearby farms in order to chase rats away. So Calico is safe and all is good. We still have nightly cat-fights that sound like WWF matches and I swear, Mama cat came in through our window last night because she definitely jumped on my head at one point. I had to wake up Will so he would save me, which consisted of him grabbing the flashlight and hissing at the cat until she left our room, via jumping on the big laundry bags to the top of our wall-boards. I think the cat adventures will last the rest of the time we’re here. I count on hearing those 15 second fights every night.

3. We’ve got Guava trees here in Kenya and they produce some very tasty treats. Will and some of the kids went Guava picking yesterday and brought back some fruit for all of us and they were so red and ripe and delicious. I remember drinking Guava juice while in Brazil, but now I could finally eat the fruit straight from the tree.

4. The weather here isn’t as warm as we’d planned. And I think it’s only getting colder. Mornings and evenings are very chilly, and that’s not something we planned on while being here. We’re not tan at all, and our bodies are only getting whiter as the days go on. We’ve got dirt to keep us looking tan, but I think we’re both going home with funny tan lines.

5. Will killed two chickens on Sunday. He had asked Esther earlier in the week when it would be his turn to kill a chicken, and she let him do it on Sunday, twice. It was very exciting. Saturday and Sunday we’re great days for weather, so mid-afternoon Will was chosen as the executioner of two chickens whose time had come. I just watched and videoed him, but it was intense. Esther was coaching him through his first one, but he did very well by himself the second time. Once the head is removed, the chickens wings continue to flap wildly as though it’s still alive and trying to fly away. Unfortunately, its head has been removed and is just sitting on the ground next to where the execution took place. The entire time, Baby Naomi was sitting next to me, just taking it in. I’m not sure how often she sees chickens die in her front yard, but she seemed a little quieter after it all happened.

6. Wendy left on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, after Teresa had gotten her bed back from Wendy, we had wonderful bacon for breakfast. It’s the first time we’ve had bacon that good and I think it was because she was in such a good mood from a great nights sleep.

7. So we go to the Boma every day after our morning shift at the orphanage, and sometimes Karo and James, a young guy who randomly works in the orphanage, are there also. Today, we got to the Boma after them, and when Will and I went to pay for our two sodas as we were leaving, Karo looks at Will and asks, ‘Are you paying for these as well?’ because they had been ordering beers the entire time we were there (7-9 total). Will answered no, and Karo looked a little taken back because I guess she assumed we’d be paying for all of their drinks. We went back to the orphanage, stayed for a couple hours, and came back to the Boma after work to meet one of our friends there, and as we were getting ready to leave, Karo asked if we’d put one of her Smirnoff’s on our bill. She had been there for a long time playing cards with James and her friends, and just assumed that we’d be willing to pay for her alcohol. We’re not sure if she thinks we have unlimited funds because we’re American, but I saw her new cell phone that she got for her birthday so I’m pretty sure that she can afford to pay for her own drinks at the Boma. She has an accent, so Will and I were able to pretend as though we understand her, so when we asked her to repeat herself she just said nevermind. We’ve been there in the afternoons a number of times and whenever we ask someone to come sit with us, they take advantage and order as many drinks as they want and just expect us to pay for them. Will and I aren’t going to let that fly now. Or be caught in a situation like that.

8. We were able to see Ocean’s 13 in Nairobi one day this past week and it was very good. They had a combo that day which consisted of a soda, popcorn, hotdog, and a ticket for 400 shillings, roughly $7. Or you can just buy a ticket for 270 shillings. We got into the theatre after picking our seats off a sheet of paper, and there was no light and no sound. There was only one older Kenyan man sitting in an aisle seat, in the dark, and it’s kind of an awkward situation because you don’t want to speak so loud, but then again, there’s nothing to disturb. The curtains eventually opened and, without our knowledge, the Kenyan National anthem began to play, and the old Kenyan man motioned for me to stand up because that’s what they do here. Also—and this annoyed Will much more than it bothered me—this young couple came and sat right next to me in the theatre. There were probably 15 people in the entire room, and probabl7 150-200 seats. For some reason they thought it would be cool to come sit right next to me, versus putting a seat in between us, providing more space for both parties. I thought it was strange, but it just drove Will crazy.

9. I haven’t done laundry at the orphanage since last Friday. We were only there for a couple hours on Saturday and had Sunday off, and then when Monday came, I just wasn’t ready for laundry. We’ve done it almost every working day for four weeks, so I thought it was time to give our hands a break. We’ve been helping Anna, the cook, peel her potatoes and carrots, and sift through the rice. And then we just spend a little extra time playing with the kids. There are a few women there who just do laundry, so we figure they have it under control.

10. Will finally found Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2^nd one) at a bookstore. I’ve got him hooked and it’s very exciting. The fifth movie comes out on July 13, so I’m hoping that we can see that before we go home.

11. I’m hooked on this stuff called ‘drinking chocolate.’ All it is is hot cocoa, but for some reason, if it’s not on the table in the morning with breakfast, then I get a little upset. We went almost a week without it once and it was tough. I don’t like having to drink it every morning, but we don’t have orange juice or any sort of substitute, so I’ve gotta have my drinking chocolate. We don’t snack here, so all the sugar that enters our body comes from the drinking chocolate and daily sodas. I might have to start cutting back…

12. Baby Naomi has no sense of balance, and when she wears her big down-winter coat, she can barely move. She just wobbles wherever she goes, and I’m not sure if she’s even cold. I sneezed this morning and she spent a little while imitating the noise I made, all while wearing the down coat. I was concerned that she’d fake sneeze too hard at one point and just fall right off the stool.

13. Will and I got in our first Mutatu accident on the way to Nairobi. It wasn't anything big; this woman was driving a small car and she somehow got on the curb and I guess she freaked out a little bit, overturned and just hit the side of our bus. We had to stop and change Mutatus which was kind of exciting, but I'm pretty sure our van was fine. The woman on the other hand broke her front window. Pole. (Pole-lay)