July 29, 2007

I arrived in Kenya two months ago, today. Whoa. Now it’s our last Sunday before leaving for home on Wednesday. We’re throwing a little party at the orphanage today and had to run into Rongai to get four cakes and some cookies for the kids. I’ll write more about the success of the party later though…

Last Sunday we went to the Bomas of Kenya. It’s this small festival type thing that goes on every day for a couple hours. There are traditional Kenyan dances shown with their music, and we also saw an acrobatic show that was pretty cool. Unfortunately, my computer has gotten some sort of virus from using my portable USB port at internet cafes around town, so I don’t have any photos of the Bomas to show. After the dancing and acrobatics we could go and visit the traditional Kenyan villages that they had constructed, and we were able to see what the Kikuyu tribe’s (Manasseh and Esther’s culture) traditional village look like. It was fun to hang out with them outside our home because we got to see how they behave just as cool Kenyans. We also had them try a Smirnoff Ice and it turns out they’ve got a soft-spot for some sweet-tasting alcohol. Since then Manasseh and Esther have asked us to bring home more bottles for an after dinner treat. They like them very much and it’s really funny.

So Monday came, then Tuesday, and Wednesday and then it seemed like we got stuck on Wednesday for the next three days. Hamburgers were served for dinner one night though and that was awesome. And Will got a haircut at the “salon” next to the Boma and the guy tried to buzz off his widow’s peak. It was our last week of work and it just seemed to go by very slowly. I don’t think we did any laundry, but we just did a lot of cooking with Hannah, playing with the babies and then our afternoon play time. Eventually Friday would come and Will and I decided to go into Nairobi to pick up a good cake for Manasseh’s birthday party that night. We’d gotten one in Rongai before and it was alright, but we always see this bakery in the city so we thought we’d take the morning off and go grab a yummy cake. We got home in the afternoon and headed to work so we could spend a couple hours with the kids before heading home. Esther had asked us to pick up some more Smirnoff Black Ice for her and her hubby, so we made sure to do that at the Nakumatt (think messy Supermarket) where they’re only $1 a piece. Great deal. We also stopped at a VCD (their version of DVD) vendor on the sidewalk and picked up Manasseh some Wrestling videos so he could watch them whenever he wanted. Did I mention already that he loves wrestling? He’d watch it all day, I think, if he could. So we came home from work, had a yummy dinner and then brought out the cake, Smirnoff and VCDs for the birthday boy. We all had a very good time and it was a nice party to have. Esther told us the next morning that he was so surprised and couldn’t believe that we did that for him. He didn’t want to say anything to us, but he really enjoyed his night and it was really nice to hear her say that he appreciated it so much. I don’t think they celebrate birthdays in the same way that we do at home. And I took a whole bunch of pictures and was so excited to get them on my computer, but as soon as I plugged it in, they all ‘disappeared’ and the virus took hold of my moments. I think they’re still on my memory disk because space is filled up, but I’m going to have to find someone who can get them out for me.

Saturday morning (after washing my hair for the first time in 9 days) we headed to work. It was Amy and Darve’s last morning, so they just came in to say bye to Margaret and the kids. A very big group of people came by the orphanage bearing gifts and songs for the kids, and Will and I got a little stuck and had a tough time getting out of there. I was very hungry and hot and just needed to get home to some lunch, but it was tough getting past the guitar and the appreciative speeches they were giving. Everyone tells us that we’re doing such a wonderful thing by being here and giving our time. I felt bad after they said that because I was hoping to go home soon, but when they say things like that you have to stay for a while and hang out. They have a much more relaxed life-style and sometimes I have to remember that there are no schedules and that people kind of just go with the flow. We eventually got home and Teresa made us some lunch which was very nice, but then we just hung out because it was such a hot day. Finally! But the heat made us a little tired and lazy and we were supposed to go into Rongai to buy party stuff, but we just got too tired. Manasseh let us know that only Nairobi closes on Sunday, not Rongai. We just laid around for a while and then made a trip to the Boma where we could spend some time with Sammy and Simon (found out that Sammy is Simon’s uncle, even though he’s only 28 and Simon is 22). As soon as we left the house, we could see the clouds getting dark and stormy looking, and we knew that it was actually going to rain that night. It hasn’t really stormed here in probably 5 weeks. I also found out a while ago that we don’t rely on rain for our water. They have a well with an unlimited water supply. But we got to the Boma around 4:15 and it started getting dark about an hour after that. Usually we have to be home by dark, but Simon assured us that he’d be able to give us a ride home. So we hung out til about 7 and then his dad, the owner of the Boma, gave us a ride home in his SUV. And his car does much better on the road than Manasseh’s. I wish I could buy them a suburban because I don’t think they’d be able to feel any bumps. And because he could fit anything he needed in it, including an unlimited supply of milk and eggs. We got home and because it was dark, Esther was a little concerned (she calls us her oldest children now) but we made sure to tell her that we got a safe ride home and that there was no one on the street who was going to rob us of our shoes. And then we gave her more Smirnoff so she was happy to see that.

Sunday morning we got up, had some breakfast, I did some laundry, and then we headed into Rongai to buy party stuff. We got four cakes (about 16 pieces each), some party streamers, a new jump-rope, and some cookies for the kids. We also grabbed lunch at this chicken place called “Kenchic Inn” and a very drunk, elderly Kenyan man came in and started talking to us, so the guys who worked at the restaurant asked him to leave. I couldn’t understand him completely, but he was complaining about only having 5 bob (like bucks) and that his family was very upset with him. I was wondering how he was able to pay for any booze when he only carried 5 bob on him at a time. Interesting run in.

We got home around 1:15 and I went and let the puppies out so they could potty and just romp around for a little while. I decided to name the girl Gabby because Will said something about her gabbing all the time because she just whines and makes puppy noises. I won’t have enough time to get them to learn their names, but I figure it’s nice to be able to have some sort of establishment with them. And they really love me. And I like the little boy the best because he’s much more calm and likes to lick my legs.

We headed to the orphanage around 2 and started the party. We had cake and soda, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many kids there. Everyone was able to have a piece, but we definitely could have used more soda (7 liters wasn’t enough). We had a big dance party, played musical chairs, and just enjoyed sugar for a few hours. The kids told us that they really appreciated us coming and that they hoped we’d be returning in the future. I’d really love to come back in a couple years just to see how things are going, but I don’t know if they understand that plane tickets aren’t cheap. It was a very good afternoon and we all had a lot of fun. Everyone was able to enjoy themselves and I don’t think there was room for anyone to be left out. Good last Sunday.