Today was my first (and probably only) day without a fellow volunteer. This was interesting and somewhat difficult. First, it was a Monday. Mondays seem to be the hardest days at our school. Perhaps it is because the kids have had a weekend without school or that they are more tired on Mondays, but I feel like we get at least four criers each and every Monday. Today my favorite munchkin cried a few times – but some of it was about things she didn’t need to cry about, such as her book not coming soon enough and the boy next to her touching her haha. Oh well, she got over both of them very quickly.
I forgot to talk about two parts of my weekend that were really great! One was that we went to a football (soccer, for you US friends) game on Friday. It was at Moshi Secondary School and it was between two teams that agreed to play a game. This agreement was really cool because they played for a man named Jumane who hasn’t been able to see a game in a long time. Jumane was a shut-in who had been in his house for a long time due to his illnesses and his fear of being stigmatized. He had become ostracized once he had become diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and he also developed other problems due to his lack of nourishment and his lifestyle. When he was first visited he could only sit up by himself. When we attended the game with him he could walk a little bit! He is a wonderful man, and it was great to give him joy and letting him watch his favorite sport. The game went well, and a couple of our friends – Leo and Amani – played in it as well!! We also attended the nearby Catholic Church on Sunday. It was really beautiful and very big! There were many pews and the windows were beautiful pastel colors! The kneelers were wooden, so kneeling during the service was painful, but still worth it. The singing was led by a choir of children that sat at the front of the church. There was a little voice that rose above the rest and it was so adorable! We sat near the back and only Becca and TaChyla went up for offering. I hope that next time I can participate in offering, if not communion as well. There were a lot of people at the church, and before we went in we waited outside for the other service to end and a lot of cute kids sat and stared at us. I feel like if I ever get stared at again it will feel normal after being a mzungu for 3 months. It was also wonderful so see everyone dressed up for church! With the bright colors it was really amazing J.
After placement today mwalimu Jane and Octavio came back to CCS with me. On our way we picked up TaChyla from Majengo Clinic and I got to hear about her day working in the lab! Once I got back we hung out for a while and then lunchtime came!! We had a yummy lunch and because the teachers from each placement were with us we got to have soda! (haha even though I do not drink soda at home…since carbonated things are safe I drink it here. They are also crazy about Coke here, so it’s an easy and inexpensive choice on a hot day). We sometimes have Fanta as well, but it makes me sick because it’s so sweet. I think I will document my journey to and from placement tomorrow so that I can create a clearer picture of my morning drive for everyone.
Today as Sam and I drove to placement he helped me practice some Swahili, which was a lot of fun. I really hope to be very proficient by the time I come home in August. I also have no doubt in my mind that I will be coming back here for a while – if not to build a new place for kids than to work here again and see all of my friends.
We also decided to go the Women’s Education and Economic Center for Empowerment (WEECE) today. We had Paul drive us and once we passed the Secondary School and KCMC Hospital we decided to get out and just walk down the path that WEECE is off of. Amanda (my lovely Canadian) had been there before, so we figured we would just follow her. Unfortunately, she had only been there twice and all of the streets look the same. This led to us walking up and down the main road for thirty or so minutes and looking down every hedge or bush lined path. Finally we stopped once we got close to the end of the road and to KCMC and called Paul again. He had called Athmani and had found out the location of WEECE and had called us back to make sure we were okay. Once we called back and told him we were officially lost, he picked us up and drove us there. This was quite a funny experience because as we were sitting waiting for him a lot of taxi cars stopped and asked us if we wanted rides. We thought this was strange until we found out that we were standing at a unidentified bus stop. We also were laughing while looking around because the side of the road had a ditch and a tiny place to walk on the side closest to the shops and hedges. This little path was ridiculously rocky and uneven and TaChyla and I kept joking about how one of us would break an ankle. Luckily, we didn’t break an ankle and I found a cute fabric and I am getting a one-shoulder dress made! Amanda felt really bad about our wandering around adventure, but I had a lot of fun and it didn’t bother me at all.
We then had a nice 30-minute walk back to the Home Base and it was quite beautiful. After we got back we ate dinner, I watched the rest of limitless and now I’m preparing for school tomorrow. I can’t wait to see my kids and have our new volunteers come and meet them! Woohoo! I hope tonight I sleep well and don’t need my earplugs because basically I Kira had to wake me up this morning because I slept through my alarm! Everyday I love Africa more and more…and I didn’t even think was possible. J I want to move here! Ninakupenda Africa. Tutaonana rafikis.
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