Oh boy. I have been living in Kenya for six months!
Stephanie and Kathie returned to the States earlier last week. I went with
Sister Michale Marie to drop them off and they were in shock (as was everyone)
with how quickly the time passed. I was lucky enough to spend most of their
last month with them. We went to Kerio Valley for a little over 3 weeks. We
stayed in a couple of places on the way there – Eldoret, Kimumu, Endo, and
Chesongoch.
In Eldoret and Kimumu, we were asked to help at the school.
Two of the newly-hired teachers did not come to the first day of class, leaving
a lot of work for the other teachers. Desperate for some help, we were able to
help prepare all the school books and some lessons for the students in order to
defray some work from the other teachers. Everyone was so grateful and we were
so glad to be needed. One of the teachers even invited us over to her house for
supper. I was a little hesitant since I only knew her for a couple of days but
we had a ball! They went all out serving an African feast and sitting around
couches talking and enjoying each others company. After a week there, we took
Sister Margaret Mary, who is in charge of the school, out to get pizza and
milkshakes. I decided to splurge and ordered a Ferrero Rocher milkshake. That
was not the best decision for my wallet but was a great life decision. After
being in Kenya for a while, you begin craving ANY food that reminds you of
home. It was our last day in Eldoret and we wanted to spend it well – so we
did.
The next day, we took a matatu into the valley. Anyone
remember the older infomercial that featured a belt you put around your
stomach? It is supposed to shake your stomach so that you can sit down but still get abs. I think the better alternative
would be to take a matatu down to Kerio Valley. The roads were mostly unpaved
rocks and matatus do not slow when they drive down. It was rocky and Stephanie
and Kathie both got sick that night from the trip. I was healthy but found a gigantic, speedy,
and hairy spider in the corner of my room in Endo. I can deal with most
critters that are in my room but I was not happy with this one because it would
not move until you got close, when it would proceed to run halfway across the
room in a split second. I ended up leaving it alone, which was a regrettable
decision. That night I was awaken by something crawling on me and – you guessed
it – the spider was sitting on my stomach. Not moving. My adrenaline kicked in
and I immediately wacked it with my hand and it flew across the room. I
presumed it to have fled the room if it were not dead. Nope. Aragog (yes - I
aptly named him after the spider in Harry Potter) was in the corner of my room
the next morning. We were able to capture him in a bucket and, while we were
putting the lid on the bucket, it scrambled out. I, subsequently, threw the
bucket at the door and never saw Aragog again. I am not heartbroken over it but
that spider deserved some kind of award for something like “Most Clever
Eight-Legged Creature over 6” in diameter.” Other than that escapade, Endo was
nice. It was very warm – picture Florida in the summer without a/c. The fruits
in Endo is enough to make me take a yearly trip to Kenya. The freshest and by
far largest mangoes I have ever seen grow rampant in Endo. And they were FREE.
You can pick them off the tree and eat it right then and there. The same goes
with papayas and custard apples. I was never fond of papayas – in fact, after a
bad one in Nairobi, I would have gladly said that I will not eat a papaya…until
I had one in Endo. They are literally the size of my head and so fresh and
sweet. And custard apples. It tastes like a sweet dessert that you would pay
$5.50 for at a nice restaurant. If you do not know what one looks like, look it
up and try to find them somewhere. They are ahhmazing. Now I am sure I have
your attention and your stomach is likely cursing me in jealousy. After Endo, we went to Chesongoch, where we
each had different jobs. I cleaned and prepared the beds for all of their
patients each morning at the dispensary. In the afternoon, I organized the
pharmacy and helped sort and dispense some medicine. During my break, we would
go to the kindergarten recess and play with some of the kids. We taught them
some childish games like “Duck, Duck, Goose” and “Red Light, Green Light.” I
also tried to teach them how to play tag but I am confident they interpreted
the game as “Chase the Mzungu,” as they all would either chase after me or run
from me. It was loads of fun and I know the kids enjoyed it. We spent a week in
Chesongoch before returning to Karen.
Since we were unable to celebrate Stephanie’s birthday
properly, a few of us went to a really fancy restaurant called Talisman. Both
the food and the atmosphere were great. However, it was dimly lit and I failed
to see that the steak I ordered was not fully cooked. I knew I was going to be
sick and, sure enough, 23 hours later, on Superbowl Sunday, I was vomiting my
organs out. Luckily, one of the sisters, Sister Veronica, brought me medicine
to help and a couple days later, I was eating spaghetti out of a large frying
pan in Mombasa. Speaking of Mombasa, I went there. Yeah – it was great. We
stayed in a treehouse that looked out right over the Indian Ocean. It was very
relaxing. We spent one day traveling into Old Town, which contains rustic
Arabic, almost Israel-like buildings and old sea ports. The first road that was
built in Kenya was in Old Town. We found our way to a large spice market. Good
thing all of us have fake names we use under certain circumstances (mine is
Harley Phalanges) because people there were very inquisitive. One man tried to
sell me some spices and attempted to barter with me for one of the girls. He
was willing to give me a whole camel for one of them! I proceeded to snicker
and told him that they were not for sale. I told the girls later that day and they
laughed, telling me that it would be cool to have a camel… Anyways, the other
days were spent at the beach either soaking up the sun or snorkeling! We saw
lionfish, beautiful tropical fish, brightly-colored sea stars, and even some
eels. It was my first time snorkeling and I would do it again without
hesitation though my scorched back begs to differ.
A week after we got back from Mombasa was my birthday! The
big 2-3 was well celebrated. We went to the Mamba Village where we got to hold
baby crocodiles, see some ostriches up close, and ride a camel. Yep – I got to
ride a camel named Mr. Ari on my birthday. How many people can say that? A
couple of days later, the girls were on a plane to the States and I was in the
monastery in Tigoni discussing with Prior Laurence about my last 2 months in
Kenya. Not all of this may happen, but he plans on taking me to Uganda for a
week or so before taking me to Nanyuki (at the base of Mt. Kenya) and hopefully
Ileret (near the Ethiopia border) where I can help at a rural dispensary that
is desperate for help. I know it will only feel like a week before April 18th
comes around and I am on a plane, returning home. Time is an amazing thing.
Anyways, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts as my trip
nears conclusion.
