Karibu Kenya #13: From Karibu to Kwaheri

My last week in Kenya prompted a wide range of emotions when I realized my two month stay was coming to a close. I decided to make the most of it by paying more attention to the things I would miss like Dinah’s chai, teaching the boys Spanish at the dining room table, Ethiopian food with Mim and Aimee, runs in Karura Forest, playing scrabble on Sundays with Sammy and Kennedy and going on walks in the evening around our neighborhood. Life is so much simpler in places like Kenya and I knew that was one of the reasons I would miss it most.

The Friday before I left, my friend Andrew called and we decided to grab dinner at Habesha. I hadn’t seen him in fourteen years and enjoyed the time we had to catch up on life. He is now a safari guide in Masai Mara, which is probably every adventurous boy’s dream. We spent a good amount of time talking about our professions which I found very similar—he works with wildlife and so do I.  That of course is strictly a comment made in jest and I think almost any teacher would agree that sometimes that’s just the way you feel. Needless to say, it is interesting to see where the Lord takes you and how He uses circumstances to shape you into the person he wants you to be. I never thought I’d leave Africa and never thought I’d be a teacher but the Lord has a sense of humor. As the night went on, we both laughed when sharing about our return experiences to the states. It is difficult adapting to a culture we were already expected to identify with, especially when you are used to eating with your hands, speaking in Swahili and saying things you think are normal such as “pass the rubber (eraser)” or “I just bought a pair of thongs (flip flops)”. People will never really get you and if you’re me, you will be constantly referenced and compared to the movie Mean Girls.  Just to clarify- third culture kids hate being compared to movies.  
 

I fought back tears on Saturday but was thankful for Grandma’s distraction when she asked me to play Boggle with her on the patio. I’m almost positive she let me win as some sort of attempt to make me feel better about having to leave in 4 days. My grandma never loses and I had never beaten her until that day. She claimed to have no ulterior motive, but deep down inside I knew the truth. Later on that evening Aimee, Sammy, Austen, Clapaton, Robbie and I went to get ice cream next to Nakumat. I soon realized that the combination of Boggle and ice cream couldn’t keep me from smiling.

Sunday brought with it my 26^th year of life.  I can’t believe I’m four years away from 30! I still feel like I’m 12. We spent the morning at church before swinging by the store to pick up some boxed cake mixes. I know what you’re thinking—I’m a real Betty Crocker. After spending the early part of the afternoon baking, the boys came to the house for some celebratory popcorn while we watched the Amazing Spiderman 2 on bootleg in the living room. I have to say, I especially enjoyed the Japanese subtitles. By the time the movie was over, the cake was ready to ice. Aside from me accidentally turning off the oven which caused the cake to fall, it actually didn’t turn out half bad. I made sure to cover it heavily with sprinkles and we enjoyed it with ice cream out on the patio. It was a nice end to the day, not to mention I loved the 5 or 6 forced birthday hugs I got from the boys. My Aunt Chris’ birthday is 3 days after mine, so on Tuesday night we went to Anghiti’s Indian Restaurant over in Muthaiga to celebrate. I should probably mention that I am officially addicted to the Bhindi Masala. When we got back to the house, we opened our gifts. I was surprised to see that my grandma had bought the orange, leather, Masai purse I had been eyeballing from Spinner’s Web the last few weeks. She had mentioned earlier in the summer that she really liked my purse from the States so I decided we would make an even trade.  

Wednesday was my last official day as my flight departed at two in the morning on Thursday. After returning home from spending the afternoon with my friend Lydia,  I decided it would be a good idea to take a shower before my flight. It seemed as if I spent the entire day being reminded that this would be the last time doing everything: my last trip to Village Market with Aimee, my last coffee with grandma in her office, my last time bartering at the soko or my last morning waking up to the crow of that obnoxious rooster. By the time I made it to the shower, I couldn’t take it. After turning the knob, I wasn’t sure if more water was coming from my eyes or the shower head. In that moment I felt like the same the girl who left 14 years ago. Africa was still my home. I thought after all that time that my feelings would have changed but they hadn’t. I had buried my heart in Kenya and yet I was leaving it again.

After collecting my thoughts, I finished getting ready and was met by Dinah at my grandparent’s house. She had been waiting for me so that she could to say goodbye. Dinah has worked for our family for over 15 years and I can clearly remember the last time I had to say goodbye to her. We were at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport. I was crying about not wanting to go to America and she assured me that everything would be okay. She helped me fix my necklace that had come undone and I gave her a big hug. Although the airport setting had been traded for a living room couch, the situation hadn’t really changed. This time, however, she began to cry as well. After saying our goodbyes, we thought it would be a good idea to take a picture together with our now puffy faces—reminder  to apply a heavy filter.

Not long afterward, Grandpa and I had a similar moment.  Being the bawl bags that we are, we spent several minutes just hugging and crying. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me he loved me and I did the same. I know the majority of my blog has involved waterworks but I can’t help but describe these moments and how special they were. It’s hard leaving people you love. Saying bye to Grandma, the emotionally sound person in the family, is a bit easier. She simply smiled and gave me hug, which gave me the strength to get myself together.

At 10 o’clock Mim and Aimee packed my suitcases into the Voxy and we piled in the car for our last road trip of the summer. All I kept thinking was that the drive to the airport wasn’t long enough. I tried to enjoy the cold air on my face as we passed familiar places. I tried to be joyful in my circumstance. I tried to not think about what I was leaving behind but sometimes you have to put all logic aside and just feel your feelings.

Twenty-one hours of flying gave me plenty of time to think back on the summer. I am so thankful to have spent those two months in Kenya with my family and am hopeful that there will be another opportunity for me to go back soon. It has now been a week and I have yet to fully adjust to my life in Tennessee. My hair simply doesn’t know what to do with itself after being blow-dried for the first time in two months, I’ve had a strange desire to wash my clothes by hand and hang them on the line, I found myself bartering before paying for my pictures at Walgreens, I keep saying “ama” and “mmm” in almost every conversation and I keep wearing sweaters while drinking several cups of hot tea. Pretty sure these are all normal symptoms of re-adjusting. If only I wanted to adjust. I close this blog with a favorite poem I read while in Kenya. I hope you have enjoyed keeping up with me on my adventure. It has truly been a safari I’ll never forget.  Kwaheri.

Leaving Africa

I saw a shore strange

And yet familiar in its shape

An end to my confinement

A leap across a dark ocean.

 

I felt the ache again

To jump from the plane

Wanting to go home

And touch the earth of Africa.

 

I have to leave a shady ground

Relax my cramped legs

Try to fill the emptiness

Gained in farewell to birthplace.

 

My heart thumps with fear

Because I expect to reach

Another haven

A first time, another time.

 

Karibu Kenya #12: Routines, Giraffe kisses and Tundani.

I’ve quite enjoyed the ebb and flow of life these past few weeks. I wake up around 8:30 “ish”, grab a quick cup of coffee and meet grandma at her office/bedroom. She is always working on finances at her computer with remnants of her breakfast sitting on the desk: an empty bowl of beans and a half finished piece of toast. She has four desks pushed together which she considers just “one” desk and I always sit at the one to her left. It so happens to face the big window looking out towards the yard. There is a beautiful rosebush that has been in constant bloom since my arrival filling up the left side of the window. It seems to be a continual reminder of God’s attention to beauty and detail. I can’t forget to mention the picture that sits on the edge of the window sill of me in the 2^nd grade with my jean shirt and gap toothed smile. This has been my most recent blogging site, however, Grandpa is currently taking his afternoon nap on the bed right next to my desk. I am doing the very best I can to block out his train-like snoring by listening to music with my headphones on. It isn’t working…

Grandpa’s naps are just one of his daily rituals. I’ve come to find that Howard Crowl reminds me a great deal of Mr. Rogers. I just noticed this about him the last couple of days. After returning home from teaching Bible classes around 10am, he always heads to his closet. He then proceeds to take off his tie, his hat and his jacket, exchanging them for a more casual ensemble. It doesn’t stop there. He even takes off his socks and shoes and replaces them with others as well. I love my grandpa and find his rituals endearing.

In other news, we’ve been on the hunt for a new house for my grandparents and the Ahadi Boys. It has been difficult finding something affordable with all the requirements that they need in our current area. We have made several trips to Tigoni and Limuru, hoping to find a property that gives us more for our money. Property development is booming in Kenya and with that comes an inflated housing market and less and less acreage. It’s depressing to see all the beautiful vegetation cut down and replaced with 15 story condos that no one is able to afford. My grandparents current house, which I daresay, I’ve fallen in love with, is scheduled for development as well.  

We did some house hunting in tea country early Saturday morning but only found one possibility. We have yet to hear from the landlord and don’t know if it’s the right fit for both the Ahadi boys and my grandparents. The area however is absolutely idyllic. I just might move to Tigoni myself. After our house hunt, Aimee, Mim and I headed back to the house to take Robbie out for his birthday lunch. He decided to bring Njeru along and we all piled in the Voxy and headed to Thika Road Mall. Hopeful that the sun might peek out, we decided to sit on the patio at Java House. The boys each ordered a plate of chicken with a side salad. I about choked on my sandwich when I saw Njeru pouring ketchup all over his salad. I asked him what he was doing and he responded in his usual serious tone, “eating”.  He obviously didn’t find it that unusual.  

The last couple of weeks, I’ve been training with Mim and Aimee. We’ve been running in Karura Forest which is a protected area of land near our house. It has several bike and walking trails that wind in and out of the trees. It’s also home to some smaller animal species such as the bush buck, the Colobus monkey and a variety of birds. After our lunch with the boys on Saturday, we decided to run one of the 6k routes.  I am proud to announce that I was actually able to finish without stopping! Granted, I ran like a turtle but I did NOT stop. I’m hoping this continues when I get back to the States but we shall see. I finished the run in less than an hour, which is almost laughable for some of you cross-country stars but was probably one of my best times. The trails were also very muddy after the rain we had a couple of days before. Once I reached the end of my run and stopped breathing like a chain smoker, I found a stick lying nearby and scraped off the inches of mud from my shoes. Yesterday Mim whipped us into shape with kick boxing and today I’m doing a 5k tempo run at Windsor golf club. Here’s hoping I finish it. This just in, I did not.

On Sunday night we couldn’t help but head to Village with some of our boys to watch the World Cup Finale. The match didn’t start until 10pm which was super late for us grandmas. The food court was packed with people wearing Argentina and Germany garb. I have to say the majority of the crowd was cheering for Germany. Of course, I had to go for Argentina. I can’t leave my Spanish speaking gente hanging. We ordered coffees to help keep us awake and watched the intense game before us. I completely thought Argentina would win until that last minute of overtime when “Super Mario” came out and scored. Sad day South America but you put forth a good fight! And congrats to Germany for a game well played. We didn’t make it home til 1am, so you can imagine what it was like getting up in the morning.

Monday was packed with fun and adventure as me and my two amigas headed out to Karen again to see the baby elephants at Sheldrick’s. We watched them roll around in the mud after they finished their bottles. You would never think so, but elephants are some of the most hyper and cheeky animals I’ve ever seen. Kithaka, one of the older babies, rolled in the muddy watering hole and then ran directly toward the rope fence and rubbed his body against a bunch of people,knocking most of them over. One of the moms in the crowd was holding her baby who got covered in mud after Kithaka came gallivanting over. Another baby elephant was throwing dust on people. Can you believe the elephants wrestled each other too? You can’t keep from laughing when you watch them.

There were several people from different countries in the crowd and my ear was quick to pick up the Spanish speakers. I heard a Spanish speaking family talking about how they couldn’t see to take a picture. Thank goodness that when I turned around to talk to them that Spanish came out instead of Swahili. They looked a bit surprised when I told them they could come up to where I was standing. Later on while in line at the bathroom, I met a woman from Valencia who was visiting her children who lived and worked in Kenya. It felt refreshing being able to speak Spanish again and I couldn’t wait to tell my students about this experience. It is so hard getting kids to see how useful another language can be no matter where you are in the world. My mission is to prove them wrong. I spoke Spanish in Japan last summer and can now add speaking Spanish in Kenya to my list. All the more reason to learn a language because you can use it EVERYWHERE!

After seeing the elephants, we headed to grab a bite to eat at the Galleria mall. I had my usual paneer masala with naan and we got some coffee from Art Caffé on our way out. Our next stop was at the Giraffe Center. My family used to run a guest house about ½ a kilometer up from the center and boarded our horses in the same field with the giraffes. I remember hearing how one of the guests took a picture of our horse touching noses with one of the giraffes.  As we walked up the stairs to the house on stilts, a sense of nostalgia overcame me. I always had such good memories of coming to visit these strange, long-necked creatures. Once we reached the top, one of the workers gave us two handfuls of pellets to feed to the giraffes. Their slimy, purple tongues were rough and scratchy as they wrapped around what seemed to be your entire arm when they grabbed pellet. I remember seeing other people put the pellet between their lips and the giraffe would grab it from their mouth. I was always so scared to do this when I was little because the giraffe would practically knock me over with its huge head. This time I couldn’t resist—it was probably one of the grossest and most fun things I’ve ever done.  Now I can officially say I’ve been kissed in Kenya.

After hiking the nature trail at the giraffe center we headed back to Sheldrick’s around 4:30 to adopt one of the elephants. When we first got there they took us to see the two black rhinos. One’s name was Maxwell, who was abandoned by his mother because he was genetically blind—he will never be able to return to the wild. The other female rhino, Solio, was being cared for until she was ready to be released back into the wild. After meeting the rhinos, we went and stood by the path and waited for the baby elephants to run in for their afternoon feeding. It was comical to see them run in a straight line as fast as they could. They each headed for their own stall where they were met by their caretaker who had two bottles of milk for them to drink. Each caretaker has a bed built into the stall so they can stay with the elephants overnight.  I walked around in ankle deep mud looking into each stall trying to decide which baby to adopt. I finally landed at Tundani’s stall. He was twirling a branch around and munching on the leaves. He stood out because he was quieter than all the other babies. He also didn’t come up at and let you pet him, like some of the other elephants were doing. I think that’s why I chose him. Each of the adoptees got a packet of information on their elephant telling you where they were from. The elephants are named after the places they were found and rescued. Tundani was found walking alone alongside a river. They didn’t know the exact reason for his abandonment or where his mother was but fortunately he was rescued before any harm came to him. It was a great afternoon watching the babies. I decided to make Tundani my classroom elephant and am looking forward to telling my students Tundani’s story and the stories of the other baby ellies.

The hour drive back to the house was enjoyable as I snacked on mapruni (tree tomatoes) and sim sims (sesame seed bars) that we picked up along the way. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

 

  

 

                                                                    Scraping the mud off my tenis.

 

                                                                    Me, Aimee and Mim at Sheldrick's.

 

                                                               One of the babies rolling around in the dirt.

 

                                                                             Touching their leathery skin.

 
                                                           Playing in the water bucket.
 

 
                                                              Giraffe center.

 
                                                          Mama and baby giraffe in front of the giraffe manor.

 
                                                   Trying not to get hit by her big head.

 
                                                                Giraffe kisses.

 

                                                                           Maxwell eating hay.

 

                                                                      Nelion eating his dinner.

 

                                                                              My Baby...TUNDANI!

 

 

Karibu Kenya #11: Ranger walks, the world cup and running water.

So, in my previous post when I said cold weather had arrived, I was actually mistaken-it has now officially arrived. Without central heat and air, the house seems a lot colder when it’s in the 40s and 50s.  Being cold natured to begin with, my daily attire consists of a scarf, boots and jacket. Wet hair has only added to the freezation seeing how Aimee broke the only blow dryer in the house before I got here. To remedy the situation, Grandma has broken out the hot water bottles and Aimee and I added a second blanket to our beds. This must sound like we’re living in Antarctica but in reality we’re just a really dramatic /cold natured family. 

On Friday, Aimee and I went to the Masai Market that is set up outside of the Village Market Shopping Center. Several vendors bring their arts and handicrafts to sell every week.  It’s a bit overwhelming when you see the quantity of items they are selling, not to mention the fact that you will have to barter if you want a fair price on anything. Aimee and I decided that we prefer to barter with women as the men can be quite obnoxious. So that’s what we did. My Swahili bartering skills are slowly kicking in, and thanks to Aimee, I left with a handful of beaded necklaces and kitenge clothing items.

Saturday was another exciting day as we made the decision to do the Walk with Rangers to raise awareness and support against elephant poaching. Our walk was scheduled for 9am but seeing as how we were on Kenyan time we didn’t get started until about 10:30 or 11.  Once it was time to start we headed over to the lawn area to do warm-up dance exercises. Of course, this was one of my favorite parts! I’m not sure who I get my dance crazed obsession from but I absolutely LOVE it! After dancing, they introduced the original group of people who had walked all the way from Arusha, Tanzania. They had spent the last 13 days walking from Tanzania to Nairobi to raise awareness for the cause. It was a nice surprise to see how many different countries were represented within the group.  A woman from Texas came forward and shared her experience about the walk and went on to say that she was going to do everything she could to put an end to trophy hunting in her state. Minutes later the minister of environment and conservation from Tanzania took the stage and pledged specific commitments in putting an end to poaching within the borders of his own country. It was an encouragement to hear how helicopter surveillance and foreign policies against ivory trade were to be implemented.  Once the speeches and interviews were conducted we began the 10km walk through the streets of Nairobi.  We made our way through the bustling traffic as we came around the Madaraka roundabout.  One of the Tanzania walkers had brought his ukulele and began to play Kenya’s welcome song. We all joined in, clapping and singing, as we marched on.  Not long after, our singing turned into chanting: “Ndovu wetu, Twiga wetu, Simba wetu, Fisi wetu…” (Our elephant, our giraffe, our lion, our hyena).  As cars and buses passed by, we made it a point to try and get them to honk in support of our cause. Each time we got a honk, we would let out a cheer.  As we walked, we invited others to join us and before we knew it our size had almost doubled. I had an opportunity to talk with a Tanzanian native named FIlipo who lives on the crater highlands. He had also made the trek from Arusha.  He told me about how they had camped along the way and how one of the campers got scared when his tent was surrounded by hyenas. Apparently his experience had turned into a huge joke amongst the walkers as one of them would shout out “Where’s the fisi?” followed by cackling and howling from the other walkers. After about 2 hours of clogging up the streets of Nairobi we made it back to the starting point. Heading back to the car, we played with the idea of doing the 2 week walk from Tanzania during next year’s Walk with Rangers.

Sunday was another cold day as we headed to church. The worship service consisted of familiar Swahili hymns while the sermon detailed the discipline of prayer. Later that afternoon, we decided it would be a good idea to take the boys who had privileges to the Mexico vs. Netherlands game at Village Market. The game started at 7pm, so we bought some drinks from Nakumat and ordered a pizza to share. Of course, Mim and I were the only two cheering for Mexico. Guillermo Ochoa was making impressive blocks until the last half of the game when the Netherlands finally broke through Mexico’s defensive line and scored. Needless to say, everyone in our group was grinning ear to ear while Mim and I were emotionally scarred. The second night we were even more disappointed when we watched Nigeria lose to France- in my opinion the French play extremely dirty. So now that Africa is officially out, I am going to continue my cheering for Costa Rica! Pura Vida all the way!

With all the excitement of the World Cup, I’ve decided to get off my own matako (booty) and do some athletic activity. Just this week, I joined Aimee and Mim as they started back with their weekly workouts. On Monday we “ran” the 5k trail out at Windsor Golf Club. I can’t forget to mention our run in with a herd of 50 plus Sykes monkeys. I was a little apprehensive about running through them but we did it anyway. Aimee ended up getting chased by one of the babies while I got the sweeter end of the deal and stepped in a pile of their poo! Yesterday we did an hour of core and weight training which had me panting like hippo. Did I mention my knees are now black and blue from bear crawls? This morning’s routine was a little more “bearable” as I attempted a 3k tempo run in our neighborhood. I decided I run a better pace when I listen to one song on repeat. This week’s song of choice: Coldplay’s A Sky full of stars. Now, Aimee and Mim are trying to convince me to train for a 10k with them while I’m in the States. I’m contemplating the idea but definitely need someone to do it with me. Any takers? J

In other news, I am happy to announce that our water has been turned back on after 3 weeks. Our family friends Tim Doggett and Tammy Harvey had joined us yesterday for an afternoon lunch when we got the call from the water company saying they were going to come out and turn it back on. Aimee and I couldn’t resist jumping up and down and screaming. Even though it took a while for the main tanks to fill up, we were able to take hot showers this morning. I spent the first 15 minutes of my shower in prayer and thanksgiving before getting the machete out to shave my legs. It’s funny how much you appreciate things when you have them taken away.

As I close out this post, I’m realizing that it is already July. Today is the day that Dad and Nery are returning to Japan with Micah after their short stay in the States. Time has definitely flown by and I am sad to say that I will be boarding a plane in just 22 days. I have to keep reminding myself that I am a teacher and that it one month’s time I need to be mentally prepared for 150 kids. Good thing I’ve been integrating myself with the Kenyan wildlife. Until then, let me continue repeating my mantra hakuna matata, hakuna matata, hakuna matata.