Mellow day today, with the small exception of having a book thrown at me while riding in the tuk tuk. The projectile turned out to be Kenya’s proposed new constitution, and was being given out as part of a voter education intitiative. I left it for Washington to read, as he can actually vote, and it would just be a souvenir for me. Back to mellow, Claire and I went to Michie’s house for a playdate with Shohei. They have a very nice home here in Kisumu, with a big yard and even a swing set. There was a huge shade tree that provided nearly the entire yard with shade. It was adorable watching the two kids play—they are both pretty little for real interactive play, but they were aware of each other. Shohei was so sad we were leaving that he cried when we left, so I think we will have to do it again very soon. In the course of conversation I asked Michie where she was from in Japan. She whispered “Kamamoto.” In my totally American way, I loudly repeated “Kamamoto?” The gasps from her Kenyan helpers were audible. Evidently, it means something incredibly crass in Kiswahili—the translation I gathered was “vagina in heat.”
Today the voice of my friend Tiffany came to mind. When we were in Seattle in May I had mentioned that I had a hard time making connections with friends knowing we would be leaving soon. As a person who had moved around a lot herself, she understood, and told me that you just gotta dive in and get to know people and not worry about the rest. I’m taking that advice, and it feels great!
I’m so surprised by how much I enjoy living in a house with other people, as it was the one thing I was pissed about when we first got here. I love having meals with people, letting others entertain Claire and watch out for her, and just generally being in regular contact with people. Any nudge of depression that I was feeling in New York seems to be gone, and Casey and I have had next to no fights, so Africa seems to be agreeing with us quite nicely.
Tomorrow I’m going to try on my dresses that Lynne’s friend has made this week for me, and I’m quite excited! I may girl it up and buy some shoes to go with one of the dresses to wear out to Simba Club tomorrow night. For 500 shillings (equivalent to $6.25), you get a full buffet dinner with Indian, Chinese and Kenyan food along with some amazing fresh fruit (OMG I fricking love passion fruit!) and ice cream. Tonight though, we have prepared a Mexican feast of char-grilled chicken (kuku choma), chapatti (lovingly made by Janet, and serving as our tortilla substitute), Casey’s “love potion” guacamole, and freshly made pico de gallo.
Did I mention that we are going to take a trip to Lamu at the end of our time in Kenya? Lamu is an amazing place on the North coast of Kenya. It is a chain of islands that are foot and donkey traffic only—no motorized vehicles allowed! It is influenced by many cultures (Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese…the list goes on), that have blended it into a magical place where the infrastructure has remained relatively unchanged for the last 1200 years. The people are conservation-minded and have taken many steps to maintain the local ecosystem and support the local economy. I nearly forgot to mention that the other way people get around is by dhow—specialized sailboats made to carry fruit, spices and other things for trade. We will take one from the airport in Lamu to where we are staying in Shela. Ooh, I can’t wait—arriving by sea will be awesome!!
Okay, Claire is awake now and I need to go help Casey in the kitchen. Kwaheri, tuanane! (Goodbye, see you later!)
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ReplyDeleteKatie, I can't wait to hear about your trip to Lamu!
ReplyDeleteI think that I could use some co-housing....I'll be dreaming of it....
Love & miss you, Tiffany