Wow! What a day! It started early with a trip to the Kisumu airport to pick everyone up. Katie and I drove down with Jim and Noel. Here’s a news flash – driving is easier in the daylight. It was a much faster trip, and we arrived at the airport in about 30 minutes. Jim’s quite adept at negotiating the potholes, and because it’s his car, he’s a little less concerned if we nail a few on the way. Katie and I stayed and waited for the arriving nurses while the other two went into Kisumu to sign some papers for the remainder of the trip. They would then meet us back at the guest house.
Katie and I wandered into the café next to the terminal and sat down for breakfast that consisted of a western omelet, a sausage, some sliced ham and beans. We were both pretty hungry by the time we got there, so we didn’t waste time in cleaning our plates. The nurses had to split up their flights, but it wasn’t problematic in the least. 4 of them would come over first, and the remainder would follow on the next flight about 25 minutes later.
The first plane arrived, but it was unmarked so I wasn’t sure of the airline… it was, however, most likely Jetlink. We flew that airline yesterday, and that plane didn’t have a logo on the tail either. I stepped up to the fence with my camera to snap some photos of them stepping off the plane, but I didn’t see any wzungos (white people). The fence was about 40 yards from our table, in an area shaded by a couple of tall trees with good size canopies. As you got closer to them you could hear the birds chirping incessantly. It didn’t take long to notice that they were full of weavers bouncing from branch to branch, flapping their wings and calling to one another. I wandered back to my seat with Katie. “No luck?” she said. “Nope, I guess they’ll be on the next plane.”
My seat was in a position that had my back to the area where passengers come around after collecting their bags. Katie’s view was better, and she said, “This looks promising.” I turned around, and saw a couple of Kenyan women walking towards us. They were dressed very well, in colorful wraps and head-dresses. “Yeah,” I said, “… that’s just some Kenyan women probably waiting for a flight.” Katie didn’t say another word. What I failed to notice was the group of 4 white women just beyond the Kenyans, because a couple minutes after I initially turned around, a women came up next to the table and said, “Adam?” Suffice to say that I’ve never been accused of having great powers of observation. Who couldn’t see a group of white women standing together in the middle of Kenya? Me.
I’ve also never been accused of being able to remember names, but I should be able to make it up later in the blog. It doesn’t help that it’s actually 3am. I was exhausted last night, and fell asleep around 11. I knew everyone back home was busy, so just relied on the fact that I would Skype them at 3:30am Kenya time, which is 8:30pm US time. Although I was excited to see that the family was online, there was no answer. Bummer. I tried a couple more time over the last 30 minutes, but no luck. I checked back 30 minutes later to try again, but this time, they were signed off. No I’m just sitting hoping they sign back on, and I’m killing time by posting today’s, rather, yesterday’s blog. Ok, back to the blog.
Katie and I had finished, so we moved into the area under the weavers. It’s a nice setting for newcomers. They started looking up in the trees and taking pictures. It was a pair of sisters (one nurse, one teacher) and their mother (an RN), and another nurse. We chatted about the weather, what we were doing in Kenya, how their travels to Nairobi were, as well as their thoughts on the YMCA where they stayed the night before. They all seemed pretty easy going, and that’s the way their stories flowed. Sure enough, 25 minutes later, the remainder of the crew showed up. This time, I got some pictures of their arrival! This was a group of 12, so I guess they were easier for me to spot. A rattled off some photos, and we wandered around to the baggage area to greet them.
It was especially nice to see the Dollingers. Rick was my attorney before he became a Supreme Court Judge in Rochester. It was that relationship that brought this entire situation about. Shortly before he left the firm, I had mention Building Futures, and the work we do in Kenya. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?” I told him, “I don’t need a litigator in Kenya.” Well, as luck would have it, his wife Marilyn is the associate Dean of Students at the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher. She and her team were looking for someone in Kenya who could help them bring a team of nursing students over. Since then, the word “serendipity” has been used quite often. I believe that things happen for a reason. This trip was destined to happen. Every obstacle, even ones that seemed quite insurmountable, had been passed. Not without the efforts of the faculty and Jim and I, but they all got passed. During our trip in February while we were setting things up, Jim met Jessica Thompsen and her husband. I told you the story about Jessica in yesterday’s blog. What are the odds of finding a passionate nurse in Kenya, who has experience bringing nurses over from the states? Serendipity.
I guess that brings us back to the baggage claim area outside the Kisumu airport. As the last of the bags were gathered together, I saw the bus arrive, so we moved everything over and started loading. They had a lot of bags. No. Seriously, they had A LOT OF BAGS. The bus held 22, and thankfully had a large luggage rack on the roof. We filled the last two seats with luggage, then started adding things to the roof. Ben (our driver) scampered up the ladder on the side of the bus and began organizing the various bags as we passed them up to him. Tim (Rick & Marilyn’s son) and Brent (a Skidmore grad student) thankfully helped in accomplishing that task. We then tossed Ben some rope so he could tie everything down. Next, we loaded the bus and we were on our way. Ashley (who just finished her jr year at Fisher) was the only one upset. On top of suffering from motion sickness, she had left her camera on the bus from the YMCA to the Nairobi airport. Although we tried to locate it, it was lost. I usually carry two cameras, so I offered my small one to her. It was a present from her boyfriend, so although it took a little bit of the sting away, she was still melancholy.
That would soon change.
We finally arrived at the guest house following a bus ride that sounded like we were watching fireworks. With every pothole we entered the was an “OOOOOOOH,” and as we emerged there was an “AHHHHH.” If that wasn’t funny enough, Dolly Parton was playing over the loudspeakers. We think it started as a “best of” compilation, but half way to Maseno, it turned into Dolly Parton’s Christmas Album. Don’t ask me which one, but it was somewhat surreal to drive through Kenya, with a bus full of white people, listening to the Kenyan bus driver’s Dolly Parton Mix Tape. Yes, people were singing along.
We unloaded everything, and everyone went to their assigned rooms. The guest house, for some reason, rented out one of the rooms, so Jim and Brent went to stay a mile away at the Maseno Club. It’s a spot pretty centrally located within the area that makes up Maseno University, and they continue to build new guest house rooms that they began constructing in January. Jim drove their bags over while the nursing contingent got settled. Jessica was coming back for them later, to bring them up to the hospital grounds for a reception/lunch. Rick asked about the equator, so I took a small group there. Rick, Tim, Brent, Katie, Mark (Nancy Wilke’s husband), one of the Masco sisters (I’m still working on the names) and I were there in no time. It probably wasn’t much more than a half a mile away, and it was on the way to the Maseon Club. We took some great pictures of everyone, and included a picture of Katie and I with this trip’s mascot – a fluffy green frog. This was Karen’s choice for this trip. Quite honestly, I never even remembered seeing the frog in her room, but that’s who she wanted me to bring this trip. After the pics, we headed to the Maseno Club. We sat outside under one of their thatched roof gazebos and had a cold beverage. Most people had a Tusker. Katie had coke. It was a nice setting with a gentle breeze blowing by. A bunch of capuchin’s (the predominant monkey in the area) were carrying on about 30’ away. They would go from sitting at a resin table and chairs to playfully wrestling and jumping into and out of some low hanging branches. Yes, more pictures were taken. We sat and told stories and laughed. I’m happy to say that Katie continued to participate in conversations like she’d known these people for years. She impressed many of us with facts about Ireland and European ancestry… rugby stories, and unfortunately, a quiet comment about my inability to follow directions and read signs. Although this would be lost on most people, this crowd wasn’t most people. I was forced to tell the story of a drive back from Cape Cod while our children were quite young. Apparently, there are 7 signs for the Mass Pike after we get on the road, and I missed every one of them. The remainder of the car slept while I continued by not-so-focused driving. When Andrea woke up, we were in Vermont. No, it wasn’t pretty. At this point, Rick spoke up. I’m happy to report that there is a 10 year statute of limitations on events garnering family ridicule; therefore, I will never speak of that incident again. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the family. Jim came out of the Maseno club, showed Brent the rooms, and came out out to join us for a bit. He then drove back into Kisumu to pick up 3 more participants, while we went back to walking toward the Maseno Mission Hospital where the reception was going to be held. I’d like to point out that I directed everyone there without incident. If anyone tells you that I had to make a phone call to make sure we were headed in the right directions, don’t believe them. I was just calling Jim to say, “Hi.”
We got there before the nurses, so we sat on a low wall in the shade and waited. It was beginning to grow overcast, but nothing serious. As the clouds passed in front of the sun, there was a noticeable temperature change that everyone commented on. Welcome to the equator! The nurses soon arrived, and we moved into a large room where tables and chairs were set up. While everyone chatted in small groups, some students from the school arrived dressed in their navy/gray uniforms. We dispersed ourselves among the chairs, and the Kenyan students filled in the gaps. Soon, they were all telling stories to each other, talking about likes and dislikes, family members, what each does in their spare time. It was pretty neat to watch and listen to them all. Jim then arrived. He was important, because he had the food, and it was enough to feed an army. Ugali, skumawiki, kuku, beans, rice, denu, and on and on and on. Jim only stayed long enough to drop off the food. He had to return to Kisumu because Dan and his group hadn’t arrived yet. We wouldn’t see Jim until 6pm that night. Everyone ate until they were full, and there was still a lot of food left. Everyone then introduced themselves and said a few words on why they were here. Then came the customary “thank yous” from the Meseno University faculty, and some short words for the SJF faculty and me. We then went on a tour of the campus. We were wandering through open air hospital buildings, passing by patients suffering from ailments not often seen in the states. One man had chiggers… a nasty little but that enters the body through your feet. Don’t worry, I won’t post that picture, although it looked like what I imagine leprosy to look like. The students showed us their dormitory rooms, all the while chatting away with their counterparts from the US. At one point, I heard Katie say, “OK, I’m all set. I’ll friend you, then we can get everyone together.” One of the Kenyan nurses mentioned they had a Facebook page, and Katie jumped all over it. “I made more friends… and in Kenya!” She was just beaming with joy, and the Kenyan students were pretty excited about the prospect, too. We then wandered through the labor and delivery ward where we saw some newborns and expectant mothers. Katie was in the thick of it all. Again, it was really cool to see.
Outside, the temperature was dropping and the breezes were picking up. Dark thunder clouds were rolling in pretty quickly. Rick sat out of ALL of the hospital room visits. There was obviously a reason why he became a lawyer rather than a doctor. He wasn’t ever alone, though, as a couple other people stayed outside the buildings that we entered. The group stayed in the Labor & Delivery unit for quite some time before emerging. As it turned out, 6 people stayed behind to take part in a c-section and a natural delivery, while I took the rest of them back to the guest house. I’m happy to say that we made it back before the rain. While some people took naps, other wandered through the campus in the rain, just doing a little exploring. On this side of the street, the campus is gated and guarded. The ground contains some housing and administrative buildings, and with the students on break, it was all, for the most part, empty. We reminded them to stay on the grounds, and they returned 40 minutes later. Jim arrived, still without Dan, but he did have Harriett. It was 6:30pm now, and people were getting hungry. We woke up the nappers, gathered everyone together, and walked across the street to the Green Park restaurant. The restaurant’s on the second floor of this building, and has outdoor seating with a nice view of Maseno. Shortly after we sat down, we had a good view (although it was pretty dark) of a fight that broke out further down the street. The employees and patrons, almost in unison, all said, “It’s alcohol.” The two men throwing punches were separated, and everyone went back to their routines. Conversation at the table was lively, and again, everyone participated. Everyone had a beer. When it came time for Katie to order something to drink, she was looking at me expressionless. After a short silence that hung in the air, I looked around at the other 11 people at the table who were all glaring at me. They knew what the unspoken question was. As I returned my gaze to Katie, and huge smile was beginning to develop, and everyone at the table, without saying a word, was screaming, “Come on dad, let her have a beer!” I told her she could have some of mine, and the entire table erupted into applause and laughter. They all have really taken a liking to Katie, and for good reason. Shortly before she fell asleep, she said, “I know I just met these people this morning, but I feel like I’ve known them for a really long time.” Small conversations that had broken out at the table were interrupted by a lunar moth that joined the party. It probably had a 6” wing span, and was a beautiful shade of yellow. That didn’t impress Marilyn and Katie who both proceeded to duck and cover as the moth was probably trying to do the same. Mark and I tried to catch it to move it away from the table, but no luck. It finally rested on a window grate as if to say, “OK, look at me. I’m just a moth.” I then flew inside the restaurant never to be seen again. Katie later told me that the Kenyan patrons got a good laugh out of the way we were carrying on. Shortly before our food came, Jim finally showed up with Dan, his sister, and his girlfriend. Once again, we went around introducing ourselves and why we were here. Dan and his sister own GoodEye Video in Brooklyn. They’ve done some videos for us, and they’re in Kenya to do some more. They make informational shorts for non-profit organizations. It’s another rather serendipitous relationship that led Jim to cross paths with Dan, and they’ve been friends ever since. 2 years ago, he even came up to run our 5k for Kenya. Dan’s sister is a sophomore at Skidmore College, and came along for the trip.
Eyelids were getting heavy by 9:30, so we returned to the guest house. The nurses who stayed behind had still not returned, so a couple of us waited for them. Ashley had to, because her roommates had the key to her room, so she sat and texted her boyfriend who thankfully told her not to worry about the camera. Brent was waiting for Jim to come get him to bring him to the Maseno Club, and when I called him, he was bringing back the nurses. 5 minutes after the nurses arrived, Jim left with Brent, I sat up and talked with some of the nurses who helped deliver a baby girl via c-section. The other baby wasn’t ready, so the mother didn’t deliver. We talked a little about some of the differences between similar procedures in the states, and one of them said, “Well, for one thing, the doctor was wearing sandles.” This made me laugh, and reminded me of a story that I related to the girls. My general practitioner had taken a couple of vials of blood from me, and dropped one of the tubes. One slipped from her hands and fell to the floor, so she kicked off her sandal and picked it up with her toes. The girl’s mouths didn’t close until I told them that she was no longer my doctor. A couple more laughs, and everyone was off to bed.
Tomorrow morning after breakfast, the nurses will go see an orphan feeding program, and the rest of us will make the 6 mile trek to Mbaka Oromo and do some building. We’re going to let them sleep in a bit, so we’ll shove off around 9.
Now it’s 5:15am, and I may as well stay awake. It’s too late to call home, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
OK, now it's almost 7... it's taken waaaay too long to upload images, but it needed to be done.
Here's pic of a hornbill that I've never seen here before... ugly little thing, but interesting. Not so little, really... probably had a 5' wing span.
Tomorrow (today) will be great. We'll see a lot of children on the way to school, and that's got Katie excited! Tutaonana
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