We then continued on to Mbaka Oromo. The walk was once again led by the youngsters. DJ, Holly, Ryan, Katie, Karen and Richie spent most of the time ahead of the pack. Ryan continued to say "Habari" to everyone we saw. Women working in the fields, men walking their cattle... it didn't matter. He would say it so frequently, that everyone would eventually join in. You couldn't help but enjoy watching him speak Kiswahili with such exuberance. He was smiling more than the Kenyans were. I actually think that Ryan even said, "Hello" to the monkeys we passed. I think this is the only picture of a primate that I had...
We picked up more stragglers today... children that would join us on our walk as they themselves were walking to school. David found one girl in particular who was rather brave and enjoyed spending some time with him. Others simply ran to the road and stopped for a picture. Nancy stopped several times to give a stranger a t-shirt... it was usually a woman plowing a field by hand. The smiles on both their faces during their brief encounters told the entire story.
We arrived at the school and dropped off our packs again. Some headed for the constructions site, while others stayed with the children who were entering and exiting classrooms based on the bell that was rung. It had grown more relaxed today, both with the visitors and the students. Amie divided her time between teaching in classrooms and playing with children. And Flat Stanley made many appearances! (Thank you Andrea for reminding me)
Ryan, Holly, Richie, Andrea, Katie, Karen, and DJ returned to the hill for more digging. Meanwhile, John and Dave took a rest in the shade of the clinic and talked history. As I returned to the hill, I think I heard one of them say "Mesopotamia." That certainly would have been my cue to vacate... I was way out of my league.
We once again sat and talked with the committee who was later in great need of a group picture. That was a common theme, because the primary school teachers wanted one, too.
We had a quick soda and snack with the clinic committee members before we began to say our goodbyes. John and Dave began referring to themselves as "the old chickens" in the group... a moniker that I believe will stick.
We then headed for Agulu Primary School. It's about 3 miles away, and it was so hot that we couldn't tell if the sun was at it's highest... or we were walking on it. Yeah, that's hot. Our packs were still full because the majority of supplies we brought today was for Agulu. Samuel and Job came with us to ensure we made no wrong turns.
The walk took us down into a refine by a stream, then up the other side. We climbed the opposite bank, and then we continued to climb... it wasn't a mountain, just a steep hill. It just felt like a mountain.
We ran into William again just before we reached the school. He was happy to see us again after saying goodbye to us the day before on the path. We then turned the corner and arrived at Agulu. Job had told us that another organization was helping them build, and sure enough, construction was going on. They had torn down the animal pens that the children were learning in and were building a brand new 2 classroom block. There were some makeshift rooms (more like large lean-tos) that some of the younger children were using as rooms while these were being built. Interestingly enough, these lean-tos were better than the old rooms. The headmistress came to greet us, as did many of the children. This provided a chance for us to sit and relax for a moment. We were still 5 miles from the guest house (although I don't think anyone realized it at the time). They brought out chairs so we could sit in the shade of a large tree in the center of their courtyard. They also brought us sodas to wet our throats.
We were invited into the mud and dung classrooms where we spoke briefly with the students.
So much dung had been place on the floor that the walls were barely 5' high. Still, everyone was full of smiles. We brought them books, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, pencil sharpeners and a much needed Kenyan flag.
After a tour of the construction and the grounds, we started the last leg of our journey back to the Guest House. Job stopped halfway, but Samuel continued with us right to the Maseno University Gate. He kept us moving briskly despite an occasional rest.
We dropped our packs off and headed back across the street to the Green Park Hotel (restaurant). They've got great chicken, and the foods always good. Little did I know that the service had slowed greatly since Kevin and I were here last. The clientele changed a bit, too. We all ordered something cold to drink while we waited for our meals. It was a long wait that was interrupted by a fight at the next table - intoxicated college students who were eventually asked to leave, and a visit from Nancy Erot. We hadn't seen her on previous travels past her beauty shop (that Jim half-owned). I think she expected me to jump into her arms and say hello, but instead, I walked her away from the balcony where we were sitting and moved her away from the group and into the interior room. We talked about nothing, keeping the conversation pretty superficial. Before long I was back with the group. Andrea and Nancy were pleased that I got her away from the table.
Just before we gave up hope on getting served our meals (it was close to 8:30pm), out they came. We all made quick work of them and proceeded out of the restaurant and back across the street. It was time to pack our bags for the next day. An 8am flight to Nairobi, followed by a 40 minute flight to Keekorok (Masai Mara). I informed Job that we needed to leave by 6:45, so everyone knew the plan. The best laid plans of mice and men, were never made in Kenya.
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