i know you're all a bit disappointing that i haven't written as much since mom has arrived, so i'll try to catch you up. we just got back tonight from naivasha. it's a town about 1 1/2 hours away which is known for it's big lake. i was disappointed on monday b/c they canceled my reservation at the place we were supposed to stay the past 2 days b/c my phone was stolen and they couldn't reach me. so ruth spent several hours calling around trying to find a new place to stay. we finally ended up at this really nice place but it was super far up this mountain. allen, one of victor's friends, drove us there on friday. we got pulled over during the random checks by the police...the one's where you have to bribe them with money. they pull us over and i think victor, catie, and mom all weren't wearing their seatbelts. i know that sounds really bad, but it's so common. no one does b/c the one's in the matatu don't work and mom was having trouble getting her's latched. everyone else managed to quickly pull one on except mom. and for some reason he decides to pick on mom. tells us to open the car door and says he saw her just putting hers on as we pulled over. then he says he'll have to charge a fine blah, blah, blah. i don't know why but at this point i just lost it. i'm so sick and tired of the corrupt police. it would be different if they were to write some formal thing up, but we all know that guy is just going to pocket any money he takes. so as he's asking all these questions i start snapping things back and then i started crying. victor's in the front seat telling me it's going to be fine. and allen and the police go back to look in the trunk of the car. of course they're only doing this so the police can bribe them. i know it was really stupid to cry but i think if you had to put up with this nonsense all the time then you'd understand. so the policeman tells allen that he has to pay him money or he'll take us to the police station and give allen a fine for not have a fire extinguisher in the car (um, no one ever has this). so we payed about $15 and left. fortunately that was the only bad part of the trip. allen drove us to lake elementeita first where there's lots of flamingos to see. we had to jump a chinese couple's car. mom, not thinking as she gets out of the car, makes some comment aobut chinese fire drills, not even remembering that we're helping chinese people and they probably wouldn't think that's funny. lots of little kids were on the beach selling flowers made from the flamingo's feathers. we bought one and gave them each a few shillings b/c they all looked pretty poor. then it was on to the lodge. the place we stayed was off the nice paved rode. it was a 30 min trip up this really dusty mountain road. mom kept putting her shirt over her face so she didn't have to breathe all the dust. she said it was good she wore such a loose top. the food at the place was amazing, better than carnivore. we got really confused b/c the first meal they brought us a bill that was super expensive. i was confused b/c i thought the food was included but since ruth booked it i wasn't sure. we ate so much that meal that we didn't eat dinner. and we weren't prepared to spend so much money on food. finally we asked the next day and the manager and everyone apologized and gave our money back b/c it was all included. so then we ate lots and lots at all the rest of the meals. all of them were huge buffets. i was so happy to have vegetables and good meat. they had ugali last night and i passed on that. one morning we took a boat ride on the lake. our driver/guide was really friendly and knowledgeable and mom and i got our own private tour. the lake is covered with these water hyacinths that are messing up the fishing industry and animal life. they've only been here the past 20 years...some american missionary brought them to kenya to put in a pond and they spread to the lake ( why are missionaries often doing bad things?) then teddy roosevelt introduced black mouth bass here b/c he couldn't catch any of the local fish. these in turn also messed up the other fish population. seriously, the americans need to lay off :) besides the boat ride we relaxed at the pool and slept a lot and went walking. 2 of the former kenyan presidents have houses up on this mountain where we stayed! it was a relaxing 3 days for me, and i think i really needed it. plus i stood under the hot shower for a long time. my feet are looking a little less black.
we never did see the movie on tuesday b/c it was playing at a different time...T.I.A. mom keeps pronouncing this tia (like the spanish word). instead of movies we took everyone for pizza. alex said he hadn't had pizza in 4 years (b/c it's too expensive for them). i think this worked out better anyone b/c we all sat around and talked and laughed. we found out upon coming home that someone stole mom's nice shirt she was going to wear to the dinner on friday from the bag we left at BOLM. so annoying.
on christmas eve, mom and i started trying to clean up maria's house. she was scrubbing the floor and had to get new water. then in the morning she took a shower and immediately the water ran out. she felt so bad that i didn't get to take a shower on christmas, but i really didn't mind b/c i'm so used to it. i took mom to church in kibera for christmas. at the beginning of the service they hung up 4 balloons, one on each string down the aisle. they finally got the christmas lights working. sally, jane, catie, and i sang some songs in front of everyone while victor played guitar. mom got to experience the 3 hour service. but it wasn't as bad b/c the sermon was cut short b/c some kids came to sing carols. we went to the park afterwards with everyone. mom and i made them buckeyes and pasta salad. this was our christmas lunch. she put string on some foam christmas ornaments and milham and steve hung them up in the trees in the park nearby, pretty funny. we all sat around singing carols while milham played guitar and playing uno and spoons. it was a lot of fun, and mom liked it b/c everyone knows how to enjoy simple things here and there was no commercialization to get in the way. victor said it was the best christmas he ever had.
on christmas eve we had the last christmas party at the juvenile. we broke out all the model magic mom brought. everyone seemed to have fun with that (even though they stole some of it too). we gave them presents and cookies, had a lesson, and played some games. alex was telling all the kids how mom is so funny, way funnier than me. i think everyone's going to miss her. i can't believe she's leaving tomorrow. it's been lots of fun, and fortunately it won't be that much longer before i'm home and see everyone too.
it was a bit of a reality check coming back home tonight b/c the water is off and the house is full. i've been spoiled for too long.
No comments:
Post a Comment