Okay, now I'll try to pick up where I left off this
morning.
Yes! Hot water was flowing freely.
Well, it was more warm than hot but beggars can't be choosy. They
use these European heaters here. They attach to the water supply and heat
the water as it flows through. You only get to choose 2 temperatures, but
it works. This morning, I may not have let it warm up enough before I got
in. I'll give it more time tomorrow.
I ate a quick breakfast on the veranda that consisted of a fried
egg, a sausage, and two pieces of bread. Despite my love of eggs, I can
guarantee that I'll be tired of eggs in a few days. I'll probably switch
on and off between that and the some breakfast bars I brought with me.
The same will go for dinner. I'm still not hungry (lunch at 2 was a
bit much), so I'll probably have a PB&J before in a few hours. I
don't anticipate sleeping much tonight. Karen's heading back to school so
I know I'll try to call/Facetime her when she arrives in a few hours.
Kevin's at home with Andrea, so I plan on being up for at least the first
half of the Patriots game. We got back early today (around 3) and I was
grateful because it gave me a chance to nap. Apparently, I don't
"nap" like most people. 3 hours was just enough. Yes, I
am wide awake now... it's only 8:45pm, so by the time I'm done writing it will
probably be close to midnight. It takes awhile for pictures to upload so
that slows down the process significantly. The fact that the signal is
intermittent doesn't help.
I can't get a signal in my room, so I'm sitting
outside at a table. There's a cool breeze which is very comfortable... it
also keeps the skeeters away. The main road is behind me over a hedgerow
so I here the cars and lorries passing by. I'm thankful that there's not
much traffic. Because this is the only main road, it's often lined with
tankers and trucks. We're situated at the middle of a steep incline so
the diesel exhaust can be quite overpowering. Tonight it's barely
noticeable. I am probably 40 yards from the hotel, and the veranda is
loaded with other guests and locals shouting in Luo and Kiswahili. Banging
fists and uproars of laughter must be echoing across the valley. Local
music is playing softly behind them. Uhungala can best be described as a
style... it's like a mix between reggae and 80's music. Yes, everything
sounds the same. The only difference is that some of it is fast and some
of it is slow. Just another reason not to need a jukebox. Here's a
picture of the hotel from where I'm sitting. Before anyone gets nervous,
the entire compound is fenced. The only way in is an 8' high gate that is
manned by a guard 24 hours a day. He opens it when vehicles come in with
guests. Next to the gate is a small foot path for foot traffic. He sits
right next to that opening. Hakuna matata. As a side note, trying
to type in Kiswahili in conjunction with spellcheck is incredibly difficult.
Job and I set off walking this morning after
breakfast. The temperature was comfortable but it didn't last. 30
minutes later it was quite warm. We're probably 1 mile south of the equator
here so we're barely in the southern hemisphere. We'll cross the equator
as we get closer to the school. I'm trying to convince myself that the
walk is more stressful because it's all uphill; as if all things "due
North" were. Normally, Kevin would be interjecting comments about
the Coriolis effect about now. It makes me laugh just thinking about it.
We first stopped to see Wendy. I do believe
that she is one of the cutest little girls I have ever seen (barring my own of
course). She came running out with a wide smile as we passed by the
shrubs that marked her home. We sat with her and her mom a bit.
This girl is constantly smiling. Constantly. She has wide
brown eyes that are loaded with innocence and curiosity. She sat next to
me as we gave her some gifts from her friend Amie back in the US, as well as a
supply of rice, beans, sugar, flour and cooking oil. 
We continued on toward Mbaka Oromo (still uphill by
my standards). We stopped in to see Esther and her grandchildren, Susan,
Emmah and Danton. Like Wendy, they came running as we approached.
Emmah is the outgoing one in the bunch and her personality continues to
be right there for you to see. She's much like a smaller, Kenyan version
of Karen - curious, funny, a bit mischievous, and very protective of the ones
she loves. Susan is a bit more reserved and quiet. Her smile speaks
volumes, and she lets it do most of her talking for her. Danton is the
youngest and is coming into his own. He hasn't grown much since June, but
he was much more outgoing. We brought gifts from Andrea and Karen, but
decided it would be best for them to come see us at the hotel to pick them.
Susan (especially) has been getting harassed at school because of our
relationship so we're very cognizant to avoid behavior that will encourage
that. By coming to the Peacock, nobody sees what we're carrying and
nobody sees us going to their home and leaving with empty packs. We
anticipated seeing them at 4. That way we could try to FaceTime with Ann and
Karen - it will be 8am back home. We were invited in but didn't stay for
tea. I'm getting very good at graciously declining. I'll get away
with it once each trip, and I know we'll need to concede the next time we see
them. We said our goodbye's and moved on to Mbaka Oromo Secondary School.
The new semester officially starts tomorrow and
that's the main reason we were heading there today. We avoid the
formalities of tea and greetings and speeches that can take up a significant
amount of the day. They are customary, however, and therefore necessary;
just not today. We first cam upon the secondary school. The grass
was high and need of some cutting. Job assured me that it would be done
before we arrive tomorrow. There was no Kenyan flag waving from the make
shift pole (made from the trunk of a blue gum tree) and the entire compound
looked like a ghost town, sans tumble weeds. It looked smaller without
the hustle and bustle of students and teachers. We snapped some pictures
and moved toward the primary school. There's a stream that separates the
two schools, but don't let the term "stream" fool you. It's
probably a 30' drop to get to the stream. At one point it was level, but
water erosion is just as powerful here as anywhere else. There quite a
ways from their own Grand Canyon, but it's still quite impressive. That
was actually the reason Jim first came to the school. That erosion left
classrooms sitting on the edge of that 30' drop. Literally.
As we walked down the embankment, I spotted some
parents sitting behind a classroom. As we walked up the other side, there
were more seated in the shade of the same building. All-n-all, there were
probably 15 sets of parents waiting for the Primary School headmaster, Charles.
We believe that they were being interviewed for high school sponsorship
interviews that Joining Hearts and Hands sponsors. They had just been
here last week. We didn't recognize any of them, so we waved and smiled
as we walked toward Samuel's house. We stopped out front on the other
side of the cornfield but saw no movement. Music was playing from a
radio, but that was the only sign of life. We decided to head toward the
clinic and pass by Samuel's again on the way back.
We passed by Jim's
memorial and sat for a bit. It looks good. One of the students we
sponsor, Manasse, has been caring for the site. As I was sitting there he
came walking up the hill to do some cleaning. He's a secondary school
student who is very bright. He is soft spoken and shy, but he's growing
into quite a young man.
When I heard his voice I stood up and held my
arms outstretched. He didn't see me at first, but when I stood up he
broke into genuine laughter and gave me a hug. I told him he was in need
of a haircut, which made the laughter and the hug continue. This is his
last year of high school and I'm happy to say he has pans for college.
His laughter and smiles continued as we headed for the clinic.
It looked great! Nobody was there but that's
ok, although I would have loved to see a new mother and baby there. The
doctors were out working in the community. I am extremely happy to say
that the flowers that we blindly planted in June bloomed as promised. We
took something of a leap of faith when purchasing them. The were green
and dormant when we bought them, and despite the other flowers, we were told
that these particular ones would bloom orange. I certainly had my doubts,
but this time I was the one with the wide smile. We were probably a week
late for the bloom, but they bloomed orange as promised. I hope that
Marilyn and Terry are smiling right now. They are the parents of Hannah
Congdon who this doctor's residence was named for... I'm still smiling as
I type.
I also wanted to point out that the trees we
planted last year with Amie, Sam and Richie have grown incredibly tall.
That too was hard to believe... they were about 6" high when we
planted them! As evidenced, Job delivered.
We then returned to Samuel's home. to find him
ironing his church clothes. He came outside when he saw Job approaching,
then he spotted me a few steps behind. Sam is big, strong man with a
booming voice. "HALLO!" he yelled as I came close. Much
like a car accident, you need to try and stay relaxed when Sam approaches.
Despite being in his 60's he's as strong as an ox and his hugs have been
known to break a man in two. True to form, the bear hug ensued. If
it weren't for my height I truly believe I would be paralyzed by now.
He's much more gentle with women, but he must think he can go all out on
me. He did. Job was afraid he was going to hurt me. The bear
hug is one thing, but he then bangs his big hand on your back repeatedly.
The hand is so big that it doesn't sting, but it sounds like he's
slapping cow. No pun intended. I should have said,
"horse." He invited us inside and we sat and talked. He
cam in laughing, "You look very healthy!" That means I'm fat. 
The
room we sat in contained his crop from the recent harvesting. Things were
very dry this season and it left many families with very little. Samuel's
home sits at one of the lowest points in the area so it's the last one to dry
out. The effects of the lack of rain was evident, though. Normally,
there would be no place to sit because the corn was piled halfway up the walls.
Compared to surrounding homes it was a great harvest.
The iron sat in front of me with glowing embers
inside of it. He ironed while we talked, occasionally dipping the iron in
a bucket of water to control the temperature. I stared at the iron and
smiled at the history that lay within it. Necessity is the mother of
invention.
We left him to his work, telling him we'd see him
tomorrow and headed back home.
There were spots along the way that looked quite lush and gave no
indication of any drought, but there were other sections that were clearly in
need of some water. The road was cleared
so that vehicles can go to the clinic.
Job said that some people call it, “Adam’s Road.” That’s just a sign of their understanding
that if it weren’t for the clinic there would be no road. I asked Job to encourage them to call it,
“Hilda’s Road,” because with out Hilda Ayieko (the local public health
officer), there would be no clinic.
The walk home was much easier… obviously because it was all
downhill. I spotted a young boy carrying
an object that was almost about his size.
Job told me that it’s a local fruit that has no name. It’s very sweet, though, despite it’s appearance.
When we got back to the Peacock, I was hoping that my sink was
fixed. The down spout was poorly
connected, so every time you ran the water, it simply flowed right onto the
floor. Well, no such luck. They wouldn’t let a fundi in the room because
of my belongings so they asked me to change rooms. It was a surprisingly difficult endeavor
probably because everything was unpacked and put away. We had some time before the girls were
arriving, and Job helped transfer items.
We got it done in time for a 30
second nap (clearly not long enough) before Susan, Emmah and Danton strolled by
my window. I gathered their things and
went outside to greet them.
They were seated around a round wooden table identical to the one I’m
sitting at now. Which reminds me that the slats in these matching cares cause
you to switch positions about every 15 minutes.
Job had not yet returned so I handed them their gifts. I went youngest to oldest. Their things were in white plastic bags, but
when I handed Danton his he didn’t need to open it. It contained a blue and green soccer
ball. I bet he still has the same smile
on his face. He clutched it like it was
a puppy and never let go of it. Emmah
was next then Susan. They asked if it
was ok if they waited until they got home to open them. Susan was a bit more talkative this time and
Emmah was Emmah. We chatted a bit with
their mom and they added comments sparingly.
I asked them how they were doing in school and then what they wanted to
be when they grew up. Susan quietly
said, “a doctor,” and smiled. Emmah
blurted out, “teacher.” No shock there…
another similarity to Karen. I wish I
could better convey their accent when I’m writing because it really adds to
everything. For instance, when they call
my name it sounds like “Ah-dahm” with the emphasis on the dam. They often tag an S onto to the end, but I’ve
never figured out why. When Susan and
Emmah answered, it sounded like, “dahk-tah” and “tee-chah.” Danton was last and he said a word in
kiswahili that I’d never heard before.
His response was the loudest and most firm. His mom and Job started laughing
immediately. Danton said he wants to be
a matatu conductor. These are the men
that collect the money as you get the matatu.
It’s akin to a large van that acts as a taxi. Only the taxi driver is a maniac and there
are no limits to the number of people permitted to ride at one time. Sardines have it better. Despite the comments from his mother, Danton
remain unphased; still with a smile on his face.
They departed after a bit and Job and I sat and talked. I wasn’t feeling very well again. I continue to order kuku and skumawiki, and I
have yet to have skuma. They keep giving
me a large plate of chips. “Chips” are
fries (sorry if I’m being redundant) that aren’t always cooked really well and
usually have quite a bit of oil still on them.
They’re quite tasty but I have yet to come close to eating them
all. That oil may have something to do
with it. Who knows…
I went back to my room and sat down… then laid down, and you know what
that means. I slept through dinner but
I’m still not hungry and it is now 12:07am.
The signal for the phone and the modem is better outside. I’ve come inside to charge my phone and
computer, and there’s no signal in here at all!
Soon I’ll head back out to try to upload some pictures for the blog and
call Andrea and the kids. If it all
works as planned, I should be back here in bed by a little after 2am with
another posting. If not, you may have to
wait until tomorrow. You’ll be the
second to know.
Lala salama. “Sleep peacefully.”
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