i wish i knew swahili

So I'm still feeling pretty crummy.  I have a bad cough and feel like I have junk stuck in my lungs.  I'm sure the moldy house is really not helping the problem (perhaps it's the cause), but I found some medicine today, so maybe that will help.  I tried really hard to rest last night, although it's difficult in our house.  Lots of people keep their clothes in our room, and Popo came in late last night and turned on the lights and asked how I was doing.  Yes, lights and noise policies are very different at home. 

Yesterday Alex and I went to the juvenile and talked with them about honesty.  we shared the story from acts 5 about Ananeis and how he lied to God about the amount of money he was giving.  Alex talked about how people rip off mzungus by overcharging them on the matatus, and he's always able to tell stories in a way that makes the kids laugh.  rachel went with julius that morning b/c he had a toothache, so it was just alex and i.  sometimes it's hard for me just being with one other kenyan b/c there is no one to translate what's happening, and i often feel lost and not that useful.  i brought model magic for them to work with.  some of the kids really loved it (especially antony who's good at clay), but many of them just made it into a ball of clay and were throwing it around all over the place.  i tried to explain how to make something else and get the point across that it would probably break once it dried if they used it as a ball, but no one seemed to care.  i suppose it doesn't matter much since they don't have much to play with.  at least they were enjoying themselves.

in the afternoon i went to the hospital to check on peter.  getting there was a challenge b/c i was by myself and i couldn't figure out where to meet the matatu from where i'd gotten off on the way from juvenile.  i almost started crying, which is completely ridiculous, but every person told me something different, and i didn't know who to believe.  it is so challenging b/c in america i'm very independent, and it's much harder to be that way here.  i wish i spoke better swahili and that i wasn't white.  anyway, peter seems fine, but it's becoming a huge frustration b/c none of the doctors will tell us what's going on.  they have this vacuum sort of thing on his leg and i guess they don't know if it's helping until they take it off every few days.  no one would give me a clear answer about anything.  and our attempts to call the doctor have been worthless.  he says he'll update us, but he doesn't or he hangs up.  rachel and tall are there now trying to clarify.  we're concerned that if this isn't working they won't tell us and we will just keep getting charged per day for the hospital stay and we have no idea if they will want to try to do something else instead.  i can't help but wonder if this is partly b/c i'm white and that people think i have all sorts of money.  the one hope is the lady in the billing department who is helpful and doesn't make me wait for hours.  she was talking with me yesterday about what i did.  her sister lives in alabama.  she asked me how i like teaching and if the kids were bad.  i explained that most were good, a few more challenging than others.  and she said, "just like kenya."  but then she said, "at least we can punish kids here though by beating them." and she was asking all sorts of questions about how we discipline kids.  there's some issues like this that are just hard for me to understand.

Friday evening i went with edwin to deliver samosas to nakumatt.  this lady bakes them at her house and pays him to deliver them to various nakumatts around nairobi (yes, very different health code laws).  it was pretty cool being in the delivery part of nakumatt and knowing what happens behind the scenes.  everyone was staring at me like, "what's the white girl doing here."  our first drop off was a success and then we had to go to another nakumatt like 30 km. outside the city.  there was lots of traffica and when we arrived the delivery part was already closed.  actually we'd have never made it on time though b/c the samosa lady said they were open until 8 but it was actually only 6.  edwin wasn't sure what to do, and the lady was yelling at him over the phone about how it was his fault and he'd have to figure it out.  we weren't permitted to bring the coolers in the front door b/c of store policy.  edwin was pretty upset, but then i suggested that we find someone inside to make an exception.  i went with him to ask because although i hate admitting it, sometimes in these situations, being white helps.  sure enough we found someone and i just was very smiley and they agreed to let us in.  the delivery people were again surprised to see me when they opened the gate.  one man said, "wewe!" (pronounced way, way) meaning "you."

today rachel and i met everyone at church.  we slept a little longer and went late since we can only handle a few hours of church without falling asleep.  it was peaceful having the house to ourselves for a bit.  i did some laundry and the basin of water turned completely brown.  awesome!  i'm excited b/c my friend dottie is on the way to visit me.  i knew her last time i was in kenya (she gave me the pink skirt).