Down to the Wire

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 18^th 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.