Day 45

It is about 6 o’clock pm Kenyan time and has been a very enjoyable Saturday in South Kinangop. I woke up around 7 this morning to the sound of children laughing and singing on their morning off from school. With not a cloud in the sky, it was one of the most beautiful mornings I have seen thus far. After making myself some eggs for breakfast, first thing on my agenda was to trek the three miles to Cyber John’s computer store (the only computer store) in town. About three hours later, roughly 50 “habaris”, and hundreds of stares, I made it back to the site with a new Internet stick! As a way to celebrate such an occasion I decided to splurge about three dollars on cookies or “biscuits” for the kids. There is this very simple yet perfect shop next door that sells only the most important items, eggs, biscuits, and Fanta sodas. With the exception of a couple bites from the nasty ants that nip at your ankles, our field trip was a success!

After snacks we took advantage of the beautiful morning by playing soccer in the yard and eating our lunch (rice and tomatoes) outdoors. After tidying the house a bit, the matrons and I made popcorn for the kids as an afternoon snack. Next time I plan to make double the amount considering the eager children devoured it in mere minutes.

I have just finished my super (rice and lentils) and look forward to maybe watching Ghost Busters 2 with the kids, that is of course, if, according to the matrons, they behaved well enough this week to deserve it.

A week ago another volunteer and I spent four days in a town right outside of Mombasa called Diani Beach. To say that this was the most beautiful place I have ever seen is an understatement. Nothing compare to such white sand against such clear aqua water. With camels walking by in the morning and birds soaring through the sky, I felt as though I was dreaming. For the first three days we were completely content with just taking in the beauty from the beach cottages where we stayed. The monkeys who lived in the tree next door to us was all the entertainment we needed. On my first spotting of a monkey I was eager to have him stick around for a little to admire its beauty. My bag of peanuts turned into his bag of peanuts as I fed him them one by one out of the palm of my hand. This monkey, however, was not alone. In fact, about 10 of his friends showed up within minutes. By the time my bag of peanuts was empty we had monkeys up in the ceiling of our porch and all around us. I now understand why in our cottage there was a sign that said "Do NOT feed the monkeys".

By the fourth day, our primate friends became less and less of a source of entertainment and more along the lines of pests (they were now stealing our food rather than patiently waiting for us to give it to them) and it was time for something new. We had heard about renting motorcycles for about 13 dollars a day. This was in no way an opportunity I was going to miss. By the time I return to the States I predict I will be a self-proclaimed pro at driving standard vehicles. It all started with the ancient Range Rover, now a motorcycle, who knows what’s next. After having a 15-minute lesson on how to drive, we took off. On our own, one of our first comments was how illegal it must be that we are driving without licenses. Our next comment was on how dangerous it is that we are driving down the roads that we were driving down. With Matatus passing, bikers carrying crates of produce on the side of the road, and other motorcycles, it was definitely an experience. As we got to the outskirts of town, the roads turn to dirt and the scenery turns to nothing but nature in its purest form.  Just by chance we decided to turn down a grass path to see where it lead. Much to our surprise it was a direct path to paradise. “Paradise” was a completely deserted cove. In fact, the sand itself was footprint less.

One would think that leaving such a vacation would not be something to look forward to, however, having missed the children so much, I was anxious to return to the cold, muddy hills of South Kinangop. I have found myself falling more and more in love with these kids everyday. I find that whenever I am having a day where I miss home and my family/friends more than ever before, I look at any one of the children’s faces and all my sadness seems to subside.

I was asked a question the other day and have yet to get the answer out of my mind. I was asked, “What do you miss most from home?” My answer was “my family”.

It is amazing what one can live without. Our home has been without running water for about 5 days now. This means, no shower, no laundry, and rainwater (if we have it) is used for flushing our toilet and cleaning our dishes. With electricity for only 3 hours a day and a handful of other differences from my life back home, the thing I miss most, by far, is my family and friends.

Needless to say my family and friends are always on my mind and I miss them every minute of every day. However, my experience here and my life in Kenya are indescribable. The level of peace these hills hold within them is beyond my imagination. Add the love from 20 children, and missing family is simply the price to pay for doing what I am doing.

Hope all is well! Love and Kisses - "Auntie Stephanie" 

Day 26

           “There’s no dollar sign on a peace of mind” are lyrics from a song that my brother showed me about 3 months ago. Since then, I have come to learn that these are words to live by.

            My theory is that the Zac Brown Band was in Kenya when they wrote the words to their song “Chicken Fried”. To me, it seems as though a vast majority of the Kenyans I have met in the last month, live their day to day life to those 9 words, or others quite similar.

            Last Sunday, I was out in our yard simply walking around taking in the beauty Kenya has to offer. As I was admiring my surroundings, I heard a “wewe, kuja” (you, come) from one of our neighbors. After asking Brian (the country director) if it was safe to do so, I ventured on over to her house. I was immediately greeted with a “Habari, you are no coward” from the daughter of the grandmother who invited me over. I spent about an hour with 7 children, whom I understand to be brothers, sisters, and cousins. They took me back to their grandfather’s crop fields and showed me how each vegetable grows. They even allowed me to taste. After returning from our walk, the mother asked if I would come back in 30 minutes for lunch. How could I refuse? I gratefully accepted and ran home to tell everyone else and to gather some “sweets” as a thank you.

            As I returned the kids were there waiting by the gate holding a worn out book for me to read to them. After reading The Story of Noah, we sat down inside for lunch. My seat was in the middle of the couch right in front of a table that held a machete, lantern, radio, and a single glass of water (I was the only one who received a drink with lunch). As I looked to my left and right I noticed a couple things. Other than being the only one with water, I was the only one with a glass bowl, (all the rest were made of tin) and my helping was the largest. I immediately flashed back to a culture book on Kenya that I read before arriving. In it, it points out that Kenyans will do the their best to impress their guests and to make them feel at home. This family’s behavior towards me proves this book to be true. I was honored to be a guest in a Kenyan home.

            The grandmother and grandfather own the 2-room house and share it with their grandchildren. Other than tending to many acres of crop fields, raising cows, chickens, and sheep, these grandparents have to care for their grandchildren as well. Their mother works 2 hours away in Nairobi at a school and only returns once a month. On top of the sad fact that these kids only get to see their mother 12 times a year, their grandparents’ house where they live, is smaller than most garages in the US. I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the house and what I saw was not, in my opinion, ideal for accommodating 5 people. The single bedroom had only one bed hiding under mounds of clothing. The bedroom itself is so smothered with clothes that I had trouble finding the ceiling because of how many clothes were hanging from above.

            After hearing this story, I have started to truly believe my theory about the Zac Brown Band may, in fact, be true. From living in a home in such bad shape, to being separated from your mother or children for a month at a time, one would expect these people to be at the very least, unhappy. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. There wasn’t a time during the 4 hours I spent with this family when there wasn’t a smile on each of their faces. Laughter was heard more than conversation, and they each, for sure, had “peace of mind”.

                        These past couple of days have been fairly eventful. We welcomed another boy to our family, Peter who is 7 years old. I am amazed every time I look at him. His eyes are constantly wide open and he is soaking up every second of his new life like a sponge.

            Following in my mother’s footsteps, I went all out for Halloween (well, as far as I could in a country that doesn’t celebrate it), and shared my enthusiasm for the holiday with the kids. In town I found two beautiful winter squash that, in my opinion were the next best thing to pumpkins. As soon as I got home I gathered all the kids and taught them how to carve “jack-o-lanterns” using the squash I had just bought. They seemed to really enjoy the activity, as did I, but they had trouble grasping the concept that they weren’t “for food” and simply decorations.  Regardless, a good time was had, and my mother would be proud.

            As a way to celebrate the holiday, the other volunteers and I ventured on in to Nairobi for a costume party with a live reggae band. Given my lack of resources, I had to resort to the incredibly unoriginal hippie costume. Despite the lack of creativity, it was a great night and wouldn’t have been Halloween without dressing up.

            One of the other volunteers so generously donated money for the kids to take a trip in to Nairobi for a day of bowling on Sunday! The faces on our kids were priceless. Such a foreign activity must have looked crazy through their eyes. However, always eager to learn, and to have fun, the kids didn’t hesitate when picking up a ball and giving it a shot. I had brought some Halloween tattoos from home and was so excited to finally use them yesterday. The kids are now covered in pictures of actual pumpkins (not winter squash), skeletons and bats. It was an awesome Halloween and I have the tattoos all over my arms to prove it.

         Nampenda Nyote! (Love you all!) Love and Kisses – Auntie Stephanie