Hello again!
So its been a very busy few days since I last wrote. Alicia and I no longer have unlimited internet access... it's rather pricey... Now we just have to buy credit every so often, so I will probably not be uploading very many pictures for a while since that uses up a lot of megabytes. Anyway, last Thursday after my morning class at Amani for the local kids, Alicia and I were planning to go to Port Victoria, a small town on the coast of Lake Victoria to visit her friend Janet, and Rose, Janet's sister would be going with us. This is a different Rose from the one I stayed with last week, by the way.
We thought we'd have to take the public bikes and vans the whole way, which is always so so so hot and dusty and crowded and nausea inducing and would take three hours. But very luckily, Marcy, Alicia’s good friend who has a car, called us up and said at the last minute, I'm coming to get you! She really enjoys driving and was pleased to take us there quickly and comfortably in just over an hour and a half. Woohoo! We were very excited. So we arrived around 2:30, just in time to settle in and rest a bit before lunch which is normally around 3. They had a delicious meal prepared for us, then we walked down to the lake to see the "beach" and take some pictures at the shoreline. Oh it was beautiful, a clear, expansive lake, big green rolling hills on either side of the bay and some very jungley looking islands dotting the horizon.
I really wanted to jump into the cool water and swim to those little pieces of paradise, but having been severely warned against the illness-inducing hazards of still water in Kenya, I decided to just gaze at them longingly and take a few pictures. We went for a drink that evening against our wishes, being "hijacked," as we put it, to go out and have a good time and enjoy the Kenyan beer. The people here are very serious about having a good time; it's IMPOSSIBLE to tell them you are too tired or too busy or too underdressed or unaware to go out when they are personally inviting you out of the kindness of their hearts. Luckily, we were firm enough about not consuming more alcohol than we deemed appropriately adequate when attempting to avoid ultimate rudeness in refusing to imbibe. It's very difficult, though, when the waiter brings you two drinks every time you order one.
The next day Alicia and I helped Rose do some laundry down at the lake,
accompanied by some very curious local children who were
so fascinated by our ability to wash clothes just like
everybody else that they just had to had to stand about
eight inches away from us the whole time to make sure we were actually washing
them properly. A few were brave enough to reach out and touch my white
skin, one actually felt my hair! Being in a museum couldn't hardly make
me feel I were under more scrutinization that when in front of a crowd of
Kenyan children. They are very cute though and they mean no harm, they're just curious After a few minutes we got them to talk a little, then they wanted their pictures taken and even decided they would all try on Alicia's sunglasses and pose for pictures. So cute!
After the laundry Alicia and I walked around the small town, went to the market to check out the second hand clothing piles, and eventually found a place to sit and enjoy a cold drink and talk the afternoon away. There was no service or internet there, which is always a little refreshing to me, so we just talked and shared stories and ate chips (fries) for our late afternoon meal. Finally I wanted to see the rest of the "beaches" (not for sunbathing, just for selling fish), and maybe take some sunset pictures so we hopped on a motorbike and cruised on over, gathering a small crowd of children running behind us as we went.
At the shoreline I took a few photos but by this time was so surrounded by kids I just laughed and tried to talk to them and just ended up decided to walk to the next beach in hopes it would be quieter. So we set off walking quickly, the little parade of children numbering around 30 laughing and hopping and skipping behind us. It's quite cute at first, but really makes me a little sad and also can be very tiring to be this popular. I don't envy the famous.
After maybe 10 minutes walking we reached a point that must have been forbidden or frightening and the remaining kids came to a dead stop at an invisible line and hollered their goodbyes. We were lost but didn't want to turn back just yet as the sudden quiet was refreshing and somehow intimidating. But we didn't want to miss the sunset so we turned back and found a young lady who was very happy to accompany us the other direction down a different path to the nearby beach. It was perfect! A small boat ha just come in and the storm clouds were rolling steadily over the mountain into the bay, the sun gently settling above the water. We sat and just watched the serene scenery, somehow being observed by yet another cluster of kids and the lady who brought us there.
After a few minutes we knew we'd be rained on shortly so we got up and the whole crew began to walk us back to town. After the downpour began we tried to find a motorbike back to the house, and successfully hopping on, getting absolutely drenched with a combination of the open air speed the monsoon pouring down. Oh it was so dramatically gorgeous though, the view of the lake with misty cloudy fog floating above, combining with steam from the hot water being pummeled by the cold rain, thunder rumbling and lightening flashing... suddenly a rainbow broke out behind us over the hills, and as we reached the lakeshore and safety of the shelter the sun was just setting between the islands. The whole experience took my breath away momentarily and as we absorbed it all, dripping wet, gasping from the exhilaration, we suddenly looked at each and grinned and whooped and high fived and exclaimed how lucky we were to be here right now in the gorgeous moment. The nearby people were a bit confused but then seemed to recognize our excitement and just smiled and waved.
The rest of our time there was very nice as well, Janet and Rose are just the sweetest ladies, who have both had very hard lives. It was good to listen to their stories though and share in some of their memories, acknowledge their struggles and give our condolences. They are happy though, and very hardworking and enjoyable women to be with. Our ride back to Mumias the next day was a jumble of cars, vans and "buses", being sold from one to the next, paying extra for our "skin condition" and being stuffed into tiny spaces, sometimes without a seat or even room to see the road ahead. We made it though! Three hours.
Sunday I went to Kakamega Forest, just for the day, to experience the Kenyan jungle! It was beautiful. So amazingly filled with gorgeous singing birds, lots of monkeys and huge towering ancient trees. I loved it. I had an excellent guide, very knowledgeable and unafraid of just barging off the trail into the thicket in search of bird whose call he'd just heard. He worked hard to ensure I got the most of my four hours! It was well worth it.
Monday and yesterday I spend at an orphanage to work with some kids who have HIV or whose parents died from AIDS. Since the holidays had just finished last week there were not too many children there yet. Many of them still stay with caretakers as they orphanage is still being built. But they come every weekday for classes and the teachers are often staying there. The goal is to have the orphanage completed and open by June for about 30 ids to live there full time. Maurice, the founder, is a very ambitious man, a local Kenyan, who started this project a few years ago. He has bought the land, built the houses and planted the fields all with money from fundraising and donations from people in the community. It is excellently well run and I was happy to be their first official white visitor! They have many plans for the future, one is to buy a dairy cow to earn additional income. They also help the local women who have HIV/AIDS and I was able to meet many of them, speak with them and hear their stories. I also invited Amani members to come yesterday in order for them to meet and collaborate for future events and meetings. It was perfect to be able to connect these two Community Based Organizations, located just 20 minutes from each other. I know they will be mutually beneficial to each other, and I can't wait to hear how the two groups continue to grow! The women from the Maurice's project were very pleased to hear that the Amani members have resources and encouraging information for people living with HIV. We spent the whole day yesterday talking, sharing ideas, and I played with the kids, doing yoga, inspiring their creativity and encouraging them to be helpful to each other and respect their differences. It was a wonderful day!
Alright, I have another class this afternoon, a homestay tonight, and two classes tomorrow. Busy, busy! Just the way I like it :)
Stay in touch, please, thank you to those of you that are emailing me, I appreciate it!!
Love, love, love
Maia
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