I just finished a trip to the masai market with catie and rodgers, and i must say i'm getting a lot better at bargaining. i got them to lower prices a lot and didn't even need rodgers' help. i think it's b/c i know now when people are really ripping me off. and this sunday market is much better, they don't harass you as much. i actually had some nice chats with the vendors. usually at the markets in town they yell at you "special mzungu price." it's a special price all right...triple price. knowing a little swahili helps too b/c they know i've been here more than a week. i got this beautiful handmade quilt that looks a lot like the cool africa bag the sieberts gave me for graduation that i always carry around to school. i think i got an excellent deal and the lady seemed pleased when i told her it was so beautiful.
i haven't written in a while b/c i've been forcing myself to stay in the house and rest. i was getting tired and stressed, but i'm feeling much better now. i managed to sleep until 9:30...a first ever for here. i think the ear plugs mom left are really helping. i wasted over 5 hours last night watching season 3 of prison break. what's my deal? in the morning though i went to kibera. popo was given a chicken from his village for bringing all the clothes to the children. he wanted me to come enjoy it i guess since i helped get all the stuff for the village. so he slaugthers this chicken right in kibera. but the best part is, they eat almost everything on the chicken. we made a stew, and he put the head in, and all the organs. the intestines were grossing me out. they were going to put in the feet until i pleaded with them not to. i kept thinking of the chicken foot from prison break and it made me sick. i watched as popo devoured the entire head later.
we spent friday at juvenile and BOLM. we got the parachute out again, and mom you would be happy to learn that we were able to make the big mushroom cloud where everyone sits under it. we took it out in the grass, so it wasn't so dusty this time. later i was holding zakayo in my lap. i saw a speck of "dirt" on my arm. i tried to flick it off but it smushed. i smelled it...yeah definitely poop i think. lovely.
peter's half siblings annie and fairburn came back to stay, and then their mom came too. she lives in texas and hasn't seen them for 6 years. i don't think they talk much b/c they weren't overly excited to see her as i was with mom. and they didn't really know where in the u.s. she lived either. i'm not sure why she left them here. mostly they've been on their own too b/c i think their dad is dead. i think milham was helping take care of them until he came to nairobi. they both go to boarding schools now i think, so i guess they're not really at a home. i try to understand how people can leave their kids here when they go away, but i can't.
catie came back from tanzania. get this, when you cross the border, you are charged for a visa based on your nationality. most people are charged $50. but americans, mexican, and french are charged $100. is that massive discrimination or what??? catie said the french people caused a massive uproar at the border over this.
alex spent yesterday building a mud house in kibera. he's making it into a Bible study area for different kids in the "neighborhood" to hang out. i thought that was really awesome of him.
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