Monday, July 27, 2009

Well, as I was trying to fight off my first African cold, Katie and I spent a nice weekend in Kisumu. Every once and a while its nice to get to a city and sleep in a hotel. We went out on the Lake so Katie could see the Hippos (which is just as exciting the second time as it was the first). It was really pleasant and cool and our guides spoke excellent English. We said hi to local fisherman and even saw some people trying to secretly brew some illegal changaa (illegal booze).
Saturday Tom joined us. We did some Nakumatt shopping and has Chinese food. We tried to go to the Kisumu museum, but Katie and Tom didn't have proof of residency so it was a little too pricey for them. We did find an awesome little craft market with some stall that help HIV positive women and teenagers in and around Kisumu. I got some presents, but I'm not telling. They're going to be a surprise.
After a Saturday afternoon of sunning ourselves at the Kisumu hotel pool, Katie and I went to see a movie (Hannah Montana, don't make fun). All in all, a lovely weekend away. I have a trip to the clinic in Eldoret this week and the four of us are trying to plan our vacation in September. August is a month full of celebrations- so I'm sure I'll have lots to write about.

Monday, July 20, 2009

I'm really sorry for not posting for a few weeks. The truth is, there hasn't been that much to report. But here are a few stories

A few Fridays ago, after some rushed grocery shopping in Kakamega, I met Katie for lunch, only to find she was already sitting with another American when I arrived. Annette runs a non profit offering alternative education options for Kenyan girls out of Chico California. She was in Kenya for 6 weeks to check on operations here. We had a really nice lunch with her, talking about her work, our work, and how nice it is to use American english. Earlier that morning I drove Neto and David to an Awareness Workshop for St. Julie's. Every few weeks, Neto, David, Angela and Grace (or some combination) go out to churches in the community to tell people what we're doing at St. Julie's and hoping to find more children with disabilities who aren't being treated. Since the workshops are all in Swahili or Luhya, my role that day was purely as a chauffeur. Or so I thought. This Friday they happened to be addressing an entire primary school. I was planning on just sitting in the car, reading my book and listening to my i pod until they were done, but the head teacher wanted for me to address the kids. So I got up in front of an entire primary school and in broken Luhya and Swahili said good morning and that my name was Sue and I was from the US. For a moment all the kids looked at me, and then all burst into laugher. Nothing like being laughed at by a room full of children. After that I let David and Neto do the talking and fidgeted until they were done. It's actually a really neat thing to be a part of b/c these awareness workshops help us to reach far corners of our district that otherwise probably would never have heard of us.
I spent most of last week under the covers rather than going to work. Not really that sick, mostly just exhausted. At first I thought it might have been malaria again, but all of us seem to have gotten it. Katie first, then me and Michael and now Tom. It seems to have passes, and I'm feeling much better.
This past weekend Katie and I went to Kisumu just for the day. She was itching to get out of the house for a little while and I didn't have enough energy for the hiking/ nature options nearby. It ended up being really fun. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, my first in almost 7 months. Then we did a little Nakumatt shopping and came home. I think we're going to head down again this weekend, but for a few days. Katie wants to see the hippos in the Lake and we might hit a few of the other tourist options Kisumu has.

I wanted to say another BIG Thanks to First Church. The second package of toys arrived last week. They've been divided between our toy lending library, the toys used at the center and the toys that are going to be used at our new outpost station. We're all so excited for new toys so thank you very much.

Thats about all in my life for now. Hopefully I'll have some fun stories and pictures when I get back from Kisumu.

Monday, July 6, 2009

In the hopes of bringing a little of the Americana summer time fun to Kenya, Tom and Michael had a cookout on Saturday to celebrate the 4th of July. Lots of our friends came when we explained that while December 12th is Independence Day here, Americans celebrate independence on the 4th of July. The food and company was great and the whole afternoon was very low key. They made hot dogs and
hamburgers and potatoe salad. I brought ice cream and watermelons. We
sat around with all our Kenyan friends, had some beers and listened to
some Michael Jackson and Tom Petty. It was a very nice afternoon. Tom
has some pictures up on his blog, so if your interested in seeing
proof that I'm still alive, go to www.aviewfromthecave.com.

Otherwise, there's not too much to report on. I bought some new
bootlegs last week so now in a addition to like 100 movies, I also
have the first three seasons of One Tree Hill, 3 seasons of How I Met
Your Mother, 3 seasons of Lost and 2 seasons of Ugly Betty.

Last Friday I went to the orphanage in Kakamega where my roommate
Katie is working. It is a special home for abandoned and abused
children. We spent the morning in the baby room, waking them up,
playing with them, giving them baths and their bottles. When they went
down for a nap mid morning, we played with some of the older toddlers
who are still too young to be in nursery school. There was a little
girl (I can't remember her name) who had just come to the orphanage
last week. She was removed from her home b/c of abuse and you could
still see the scars on her face, legs and arms. She was soo beautiful
though. I sat down on the ground and after a few shy seconds, she
crawled right in my lap and laid her (somewhat snot covered) face
against my chest. I think she really just needs someone to hug her
alot. Although in many ways, I wouldn't trade anything to have Katie's
job, she really does get to have a profound affect on the lives of
these children. I mean she has them when they come out of terrible
homes or as little babies. She gets to show them that someone loves
them. And that can make all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I love
St. Julie's, but Katie has a chance to make a real difference