Karibu Kenya #5: Rainy season, errands and exercise

The past couple of days have brought with it more adventures.  Last night, Aimee and I had our anticipated battle with Frederick (I decided to name our gecko) before getting settled into the apartment. Once Frederick was kicked to the curb, we sat on Aimee’s bed and read poetry from Maya Angelou before starting a novel called Americana that we will be reading aloud before bed each night. Aimee decided to go to bed after I kept dozing off halfway through chapter one. Of course after getting ready for bed, I no longer felt sleepy so I decided to finish reading The Fault in our Stars. Word to the wise, reading a book about two teenagers who fall in love while diagnosed with final stages of cancer never ends well. By 11:30 Aimee had already fallen asleep and I found myself drenched in tears while trying to finish the final chapters using the flashlight from my iphone. Fortunately, the arrival of heavy rains helped to muffle the sounds of my not so quiet sobs. A couple rolls of thunder later and the electricity went out. Not to worry, I was able to finish the book by the light of my phone as my puffy face continued swelling with the turn of each page.   

Once awoken by our friendly rooster this morning, I got dressed and headed down the pathway to grandma’s house. I try not to think about the 10 to 15 cobra holes that surround the sidewalk as I pass. I would take 20 Fredericks over a cobra any day. Aimee had French toast and coffee going by the time I walked in at 7:45. After finishing breakfast, I sat down in the living room for devotions, lesson planning and then started my second book called Cutting for Stone. I don’t think I’ve read this much since my summers in college. It’s been quite nice. Around 10:30, I headed outside to teach Spanish in the blue, metal container that is designated as a homework space for the Ahadi boys. An hour later lunch was on the table. A favorite dish: peanut sauce with rice and sweet potatoes. If I’m not careful I will end up gaining more weight here than in the States. Yesterday we had sombe which is ground up cassava or manioc leaves with tomato and onion.  I am very much enjoying the long awaited tastes of home.

After lunch, I was invited to tag along with Mim, Aimee, and Grandma as they headed downtown. Although many of the roads have changed for the better, the Nairobi traffic still remains the same-lots of honking or hooting as they call it, crowds of people walking through the streets, black exhaust coming out of matatu buses and everything from bananas to shoestrings sold in between the open road spaces. We inched along as we made the necessary stops: Sarite Centre, Nyayo house, and Village Market. Along the road I experienced again the bright colors and life that make Kenya a place that continues to inspire-woven baskets stacked in rows, fresh flowers, people coming and going, wood carvings, pottery, roadside food stands and the noise of bicycle bells and car horns. The rhythm of the street mixed with the nauseating car exhaust was a combination that overwhelmed me with more feelings of familiarity. We drove by West Gate Mall where the terrorist attacks occurred not too long ago. From the road I could see where the bullet holes had pierced the concrete walls. It’s hard to understand how people are able to commit such acts against humanity.

Our last stop at Village Market allowed for a quick cup of coffee at Dorman’s café. It was quite delicious. I walked grandma out to the car as we waited for Aimee and Mim to meet us. I was sitting with the car door open sipping my coffee when an armored truck and small, white vehicle pulled up to carry in money (It was the equivalent of our Brinks money trucks in the States). Two guards wearing green camo stepped out of the white car with machine guns, which was a little unsettling. I sat and watched as they unloaded the truck and took the bags of money inside. They watched ever so closely to see if anyone would try anything. As I continued to wait, one of the guards came closer to our car. I made eye contact and said “Jambo”. He replied with a hello and asked, “What are you taking?”. My first thought with him holding his machine gun was, “Well, not the money”. Of course, he was looking at my hand and I quickly responded with “Coffee”.

My obsessive coffee and tea drinking did not well prepare me for the run Aimee and I decided to take when we got back from running errands. Her grand idea to run 10 sets of sprints up a hill seemed like a good idea in the moment. After my third sprint up the hill I was seeing white spots and wanted to vomit. It might have had something to do with me not exercising in months. Anyway, the Indian guy jogging past us found it quite comical as I sat on the curb with my head between my legs. I will not give up though. The Indian guy will be in shock when I run past him before these two months are over.

We made it into the house before another torrential downpour hit. I heated up a bowl of beans and rice and joined grandma and grandpa for our nightly devotions. When Nzasu arrived (my aunt Chrissy’s caretaker) a swarm of flying ants invaded our living room. Grandpa jumped into action hunting down the flyswatters so he could enter into combat- quite a comical situation to sit by and idly observe. Tomorrow, we are planning to eat the little pests. In case you are entirely grossed out, I’ll have you know it is quite common to pick the wings off these flying insects and fry them up in a pan-and don’t forget to sprinkle them with salt. Delicious protein!

As for now, I am headed to off to my tin roof sleeping chamber to listen to the sound of the rain. On a side note, my speaking is improving. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll dream in Swahili tonight- that’s when you know the language is taking precedence again.

Cheers for now!