Karibu Kenya #10: Water probs, Sokos and Sheldrick’s.

After a week long hiatus from blogging I’m back at the computer again. This is our second week without water which has brought about some very interesting smells and situations. Fortunately there is electricity so we’ve been able to heat the water from our excess water tanks to take even more enjoyable bucket baths. Today I am thankful for the electric tea kettle! At the beginning of the shortage grandpa started to give us the survivor missionary lecture on how to successfully bathe using a liter of water. Luckily we were able to escape this conversation before it got too detailed.  I may not use Grandpa’s suggested liter method but he should be impressed that I have managed to take one bath every third day. If that is too much information than I probably shouldn’t mention that my leg hair is more likely to be mistaken for the Ituri Rainforest.  In addition to the challenges of bathing there is also the small issue of using the restroom. The phrase “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down” most definitely applies. Don’t forget to drag in your 5 gallon bucket of water if you want a successful flush. You’ll definitely think twice about how many times you decide to answer nature’s call once you’ve toted a few of those buckets across the compound.

We are reaching the end of extra water in our tanks and I think everyone is ready for it to come back on. Aside from the inconvenience, the Lord continues to provide. Yesterday one of the boys noticed a broken pipe spewing water near the end of our road. This has given us the water needed to do laundry and for all 13 boys to take their baths. It was quite comical to watch the youngest ones scrub their laundry in the wheelbarrow. Not sure whose idea it was to wash clothes in a wheelbarrow but no one seemed to find it out of the ordinary.

I had my own experience hand washing my mountainous pile of clothes this past week too. Let’s just say laundry isn’t all smiles and suds when it’s woman versus stains- it is serious work! This wasn’t my first rodeo but if you’ve been off the horse a while it’s a little more challenging. The following day, my hamstrings were killing me after only spending a few hours with my head in a bucket. Of course, Aimee had to run and tell Mama Sheila and Dinah about my washerwoman woes. This gave them enough fuel to make fun of me the entire day. This week I got smarter and found stairs to sit on while I washed my clothes. Aside from my hands being rubbed raw from wringing out my jeans and sweaters, it wasn’t so bad. After two hours of scrubbing and rinsing, the least fun part of this whole process is hanging the laundry to line dry. Of course the sun is deceptive. It’s all sunny while you’re washing and then disappears just as your getting ready to hang everything up. I started laundering at 10am and by 7pm my clothes were still wet. So here’s hoping they will finish drying today.

Apparently the torture of doing laundry didn’t quite sink in because Aimee and I decided to go to the soko (market) where we bought even more clothes-genius right?  I’ve always loved going to the soko. Mom and I used to go and spend the whole day bartering with people. My favorite part was seeing the vendors talk smack (thinking mom had no idea what they were saying). She would play stupid until the 11^th hour and then bust out her Swahili demanding the price she thought appropriate and not the mzungu price. During instances like these we usually walked out with the item at the discounted price in addition to a freebie gift for giving her such a hard time.  My Swahili isn’t so advanced so I let Aimee do all the talking. Now if you’ve never been to an outdoor market, you should know that they have everything from shoes to fish. It’s a great place! The smell is quite remarkable too....mixtures of roasted corn, charcoal, mud, fried fish and pineapple to name a few. After dodging puddles and pikis (motorcycles) we filed into an opening that took us to the belly of the market. We carefully walked the narrow and muddy path as each vendor we passed tried to get us to buy from their stall. Two guys sitting in front of a plethora of jeans shouted “Hello Madam, we have jeans!”. I couldn’t resist shouting back, “I have jeans too!”. They laughed after muttering something in Swahili. We continued walking through the maze of vendors until we made it to Elizabeth’s stall where Aimee usually buys her tank tops. We spent about 20 minutes sifting through the tanks until we found a few that we liked. Turns out that the favorite of the three I bought was actually a maternity shirt. Classy!  Anyway, we shopped and bartered at a couple more stalls before deciding to leave. I couldn’t help but pick up a small bag of cut sugar cane before getting in the car. For just 10 bob I was covered in sticky sugar in a matter of seconds. It’s the simple things that seem to bring some of the deepest satisfaction.

As I sat down in Grandma’s office today trying to finish my blog, Mim came in and asked me to go with her to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. With lots of traffic it took us an hour to get to Karen, an area which I barely recognized from all the development. We used to live near Karen which makes me want to pretend I’m Meryl Streep’s character in Out of Africa when she says “I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills…”. Now our family never had a farm, but I like to think the guest house we lived in could have been one. Anyway, wee finally made it to Sheldrick’s which was surrounded by buses of local school children. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this organization, it is dedicated to the rescue of baby elephants and rhinos whose mothers and families have been killed by poachers. They allow one hour each day for people to come and see the baby elephants during their feeding time. I had seen them once before when I was little but haven’t visited since. They are the most precious and beloved little big creatures. The smallest of the babies came running in to the roped pen first, wearing Masai patterned blankets to protect them from the cold. Minutes later, another herd of slightly older babies came running in behind them. The care takers were armed and ready with a wheelbarrow full of milk bottles as they came charging towards. Each elephant was given two large bottles. As they wrapped their trunk tightly around the bottle, I was surprised by how they could guzzle the contents within less than 30 seconds.  After finishing lunch they took turns playing with loose branches lying on the ground. One elephant kicked around a soccer ball before finally deciding to step on it with both feet. Another baby drug his trunk through a pile of dirt as he flung dust onto his back after rubbing it around his eye. I couldn't stop looking at their expressive eyes with their long sweeping eyelashes- probably my most favorite feature about them. It’s was heartbreaking to hear how poachers threaten the lives of these docile yet playful babies. Fortunately, organizations like this one are fighting to protect the species and educate people around them about the gravity of the situation. I’m really looking forward to adopting one of these babies and being an active part of the movement to stop elephant poaching. If you have time, you should visit their website and be a part of it as well.

It is now almost 10 pm and I am still trying to finish this blog. Writing my 10^th post has been quite difficult, but I am trying to push through my writer’s block so I don’t forget the details of my adventures. As for the latter half of the afternoon, I took a lovely nap followed by a long walk with Aimee and Mama Sheila. Around 7pm Mim picked us up for another Habesha food run. We then spent the night cheering for Ghana over our vegetable platter and njera. To our dismay Ghana is officially Gone-a (punny) after losing to Portugal 2:0. Meanwhile, the three of us are still hopeful that Nigeria can hold it together and represent Africa well.  We shall see. Here’s to Africa bringing home the cup.