a long long long week

I think this must have been one of the longest weeks of my life. I got back from my Christmas in Asia and hit the ground running (literally since there was a transportation strike when I got back- thanks a lot matatu drivers!). But I also hit the ground running figuratively because this was Retreat Week! I got back Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday I was in the office finalizing all the details for the retreat that started on Thursday and went to Sunday. Insanity. Retreat Week is always insane. There is a ton to do, all this stuff has to happen, there's a ridiculous amount of stress and I'm starting it off with a crazy case of jet lag. But I powered through. There were some amazing highs and some pretty deep lows throughout the weekend (refereeing fights is a regular part of my job and that gets pretty old when you have to do it 24/7 for 4 days) but overall it went well. I have practically no voice left and I haven't had a real nights sleep in more then a week so I'm sure I'm a REAL joy to be around! But God did some pretty amazing things.

But here is my battle scar! I was breaking up a brawl and one of the kids (who was totally old enough to know better) bit my arm! HARD! Here's the bruise after a few days!

Like I said it's been a VERY long week!

We had a short term team from the US visiting this week to help out with the retreat, so today we all went on a mini-safari to Nakuru. Super fun. I love just driving through the diversity that is Kenya. I'll post some pics tomorrow but I gotta get to bed while I can! Yay! My own bed!

A Day of Hilarious Firsts (including my first sit-in)

A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of defective headphones at a store in town (a store store, not one of the dukas on the road side but an actual store with receipts and cash registers and everything- I mean this is a snooty electronics store selling TVs and stuff!) I should have known that day that these guys were trouble because I had to fight to get a receipt from them. But I got home and realized they were missing parts and broken. So I went back last week to return them. Long long long story but 45 minutes later I'm still arguing with them refund my money. They wouldn't. There were all sorts of excuses but in the end they agreed to refund my money but claimed they didn't have any in the store so I should "just leave my phone number and they would call me" yeah right. In the end, I agreed to give them a week, but they would write me a promissory note on the receipt - and I would be back in a week if I didn't hear from them. This was just one part of a pretty horrid monday last week.

So fast forward to today. I still hadn't received a call saying they had my refund (no surprise) so I went back. the mama kept saying that they didn't have the money- they hadn't sold anything all week (which is a total lie b/c some of the old merchandise wasn't out anymore and if they hadn't made a sale in a week- how in the world do they pay their rent at this big mall?) So she's claiming yet again that there isn't any money to pay me back. So I said, "Ok! I'll wait!" And I sat down on the floor in front of their cash register and started playing games on my phone. The mama said "we'll get you the money this week" and I said "no problem! I don't have anywhere I need to be today! I'll just wait here! .... Or I could always go to the police!" Insert sweet smile. So I sat. And they just stared at me. I said "You know, I wonder how much business you will get today with me, a mzungu, sitting here waiting for my refund. I don't think many people will want to buy from you." And I went back to playing Tetris on my phone. After about 20 minutes, they agreed to pay me half. I said "fine- I'm going out of town and I'll come back for the rest after Christmas." So this was my first sit-in! It was fun! But seriously! They obviously didn't know not to get into a battle of wills with me- once I dig my heels in I don't cave! Although in retrospect, if I should have come better prepared with snacks and stuff to last the long haul but I hadn't planned on camping out there. I'll be prepared next time...

So after that, I caught a matatu home and about 4 blocks from my stop, we blew a tire (my other hilarious first). And I mean BLEW a tire. This sucker went right down to the rims. About 3 of us got out while the conductor was trying to loosen the lugs- I left when I realized he was going to try to change this tire without a jack and with about 20 people still sitting in it! Good luck with that!!! I'll walk the last 4 blocks! Especially after I saw the spare tire- it looked worse then the one that was in pieces in the road!

Uggghhhh- Flying Termite Invasion

Image by celeste343 via Flickr

Its raining (which is really good- we still need rain) but we have been getting an abnormally large amount of rain this Dec. Generally, the rains come in November and December is hot and dry. So strange.

But along with the rains are the Flying Termite Invasions! These guys come out by the hundreds of thousands and wreak havoc. They aren't dangerous- just annoying. If you have a window or door open (or just a window or door that doesn't close tightly) they come in and take over the house. Usually I'll be sitting the in the dark and they will dive bomb my computer screen.

Tonight, I was working in the living room and forgot that my windows were open in my room with the Christmas lights on when the rains started. I had them EVERYWHERE- in the curtains, flying all over. You can get rid of them- but you have to move fast. As they fly around and bounce off each other, the walls and everything else- they start to loose their wings. After they loose all their wings, they crawl and wriggle around until the find a way out or you stomp on them. Plus if they loose their wings in your room- you may never find them all- they can be in all the clothes, the bed, everything. Nasty.

The trick is to lure them out by strategically turning on and off lights and closing and opening doors- all before they loose their wings (b/c the slow wriggling really slows down the whole process!). I closed my windows and turned off all the lights in my room and turned on the hall light and left the door open. After about 10 minutes, that got them out of my room. Then you close that door and turn on the living room lights and turn off that hall light- that gets them far enough away from my room that I can turn on the bathroom light in my room and get a shower while I wait for all the termites to get to the living room. Once you get them into a room with a lot of open space you let them fly around and bounce around until they loose their wings. Then you just sweep them all up (or at my old place, wait for the ants to carry them away- that's the gross option.)

At least this time it wasn't nearly as bad as my adventure a few years ago when I ended up with a bunch of them all in my hair and clothes! (check out the link to my old post for more pics of the termites at my house and my story).

The thunder is now booming loud enough to set off all the car alarms and the power keeps browning out so I'd better just post this before the power goes out. :o)

This is making you all really want to come visit isn't it??? Come on! It's fun!

Masai Jumping Contest

Today was our Team Christmas Party- tooo fun! Its always great to get together, and its even more fun to get together around NYAMA CHOMA! Especially Nyama ya Mbuzi!! Seriously, one of the best Christmas traditions in the world is the Kenyan tradition of eating roast goat for Christmas! I know I know- you all think that doesn't sound like the best of traditions but TRUST ME! NOTHING beats nyama choma!

Every year, we go to this great restaurant that doubles as a Crocodile farm (its an open air restaurant with little huts spread out all over the grounds) and eat our weight in goat- seriously we ate at least 1/2 a goat and about 3 chickens! And there was only 9 of us! We spent about 4 hours eating, chatting, laughing, exchanging gifts and just enjoying each other.

But this year, on the way out of the restaurant, we ran into a few young Masai men. The Masai traditionally were herdsmen (and many still are). They have a rich and interesting culture and they are one of the most well known tribes in Kenya. So we ran into these Masai guys who started singing and dancing (and by dancing I mean jumping straight up in the air- its amazing to see). So 2 of my teammates decided to try jumping with them. HILARIOUS!!




Usually Masai men and women don't want their pictures taken (or they want payment to take a picture) but these guys asked us to take pictures with them.

classic recycled tire shoes

I've also come to the conclusion that I'm ridiculously tall (since I'm significantly taller then these Masai guys- and the Masai are some of the tallest Kenyans around.) Maybe I should have tried jumping- I sure had a head start!

there is a MONKEY in my ROOM!!!!

Today was my day off (since I run a youth thing on Saturdays, I take monday as my day off). I was enjoying a relaxing afternoon, watching a movie on my computer when I heard something hit my window. I looked up- and a MONKEY was in my window! Trying to get into my room! A monkey! Monkeys are a pain in the rear here (they are really only a pain if they get into your house- they are great to watch when they aren't invading your space!) but if they get into your house, they will trash the place looking for food and trying to get out.

So I see the monkey and apparently I screamed. Then I started yelling at it and chasing it away. My friend who was sitting in the living room said after I scared it out, the monkey tried to get in the open balcony door but then took off. It didn't really damage anything but still!! A few days ago, I heard all the kids in my compound yelling that a monkey was on the roof so I went to the balcony to see. Just as I got to the rail of the balcony, said monkey came flying over the edge and continued on up to the next balcony. I screamed then too. The kids think its hilarious that I scream at this stuff but I know monkeys- they are devious little guys! They look cute and adorable but then they turn on you! Plus they aren't too afraid of people (at least these city monkeys aren't). They are fearless! And bold!! I'm not a big fan of wildlife that isn't afraid of humans- at least not up close!

So that was today's adventure. Like I've said before, there are no 2 days here that are ever the same!

Black Friday Shopping

I gotta say, I'm missing the Black Friday brawls this year. I love getting up early (ok I hate the getting up early part but I love the rest), rushing to a store, fighting for parking, racing through the stuff, the strategy, the competition, the adventure of it all. And the deals. Its really one of the most bizarre parts of the year! Its one of the only times its remotely acceptable to RUN full tilt through a store, dodging other customers and displays. It's a huge game of strategy and plans (because you can't just waltz into a store and expect to find something cool- you need to plan, you need to know what you have the most likely chance of finding- just because its cool and its advertised does NOT guarantee that you will own it by the end of the day (and you could have wasted good shopping minutes seeking it out!)) You have to plan out a mutually beneficial route so that everyone can get to the places they want to go as close to the time they open as possible. And everyone has a role- the defensive driver, the place-in-line holder, the runner, the sneaky person- who can get into the middle of massive groups of people and get back out with the items to purchase, the intimidating enforcer. You have to work as a team to succeed. This truly can be like a military mission!

So obviously, I'm not joining the millions of shoppers in the Black Friday fiasco this year. But today we did go shopping for all of the gifts of food we will give away this Christmas. 3 of us went to a local grocery store with lists and a plan to divide and conquer . It was hilarious to see the employees faces when we said we wanted 42 kgs of rice (roughly 105 lbs) each in 2kg bags (all of this is hand measured loose rice stored in a barrel of course!). We had 4 carts FULL of flour, sugar, cooking oil, laundry soap and other things. The poor lady at the cash register looked tired just LOOKING at our carts! But 2.5 hours later, we and all of our purchases made it back to the office. In the end we figured we have 21 bags for 21 families- each bag has about 20 lbs of various dry goods. Definitely not the same as Black Friday Shopping- but a bit more rewarding in the end (although none of the great deals) :o)

Thanksgiving Day Adventures (b/c what fun would life be without adventures?)

So today is Thanksgiving. And while the holiday is not celebrated here, my friends and I still love it so we decided to have our own thanksgiving. The food was all divided up, we all had our jobs- this was going to be a breeze. I was responsible for the squash (GROSS) and the rolls (Yummy! I have an amazing, super-secret, practically no fail recipe) and I was set to go.

I decided to ask a friend of mine to switch classes with me today (since today in English Class day and I didn't want to miss it) so I got up early and taught my class. The class was great but transportation was a real pain today (matatus just weren't stopping, it was a pain). I finally get home, and all the kids in the compound were playing outside becuase- guess what- NO POWER. Again. I mean this isn't a new thing. Earlier this year, we spent 3 months getting power only every other day. Life goes on. But today was Thanksgiving and I had food to bake- in my ELECTRIC oven. So what to do? Wait it out? There aren't a ton of options. So I called around to my friend who was cooking the Turkey (who doesn't live too far away from me) to see if she had power. I figured that since I hadn't received a frantic phone call from her, that she probably had power. She did. Ok. At least we would have turkey.

So I decided that I had time, I was going to start my rolls in faith that maybe the electricity would come back in time to bake them (its been known to happen) and they had to rise for like 2 hours total. So I started the rolls.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

No power yet, that's ok, it still has time to come back before the rolls have to cook....

And waited.

I'm frantically trying to slow down the process (but how do you stop yeast from rising?) I'm moving the dough to the coolest part of the house. Still no power.

I'm calling around to friends to see if they have power and working ovens. We decide that I will bring the raw/rising rolls to my friends house (the one who is hosting this shin-dig). But now they are getting HUGE (because they were supposed to go into the oven an hour ago). Thankfully, another friend from my compound was going to the party too, so I didn't have to try to get my massive blob of dough on a matatu!

We get to the place where we are eating, the turkey just came out of the oven and I threw the rolls in and there we go! They turned out half-way decent for having risen for and hour and a half more then they should have!

But it was a great evening with some great friends! By the way, I gave up on trying to bake the squash with all the electricity issues. I sure didn't miss it! We all sat around and talked about Adventures of International Thanksgiving's Past (cooking 30kg's of potatoes on a Bunsen burner in India and mashing all the potatoes with a fork because we didn't have a potato masher (that one was me) and all the women there had a stories about other electricity-less Thanksgivings).

Now I'm watching the Thanksgiving episode of WKRP in Cincinnati- absolutely HILARIOUS!!! Its the one with the air-born-live-turkey promotion. Too funny! I love classic 70's TV shows!

Youth Group Arm Wrestling Matches

I can hold my own pretty well. (even if this was taken just before I lost...)

HAPPY DAY!!

I went to the grocery store today to pick up some staples for the week and I was wandering the isles (because I was in the BIG grocery store- with LOTS of choices!) looking for pickles (I found plenty of Indian pickle which bare absolutely NO resemblance to a cucumber or something you would put on a burger!) But I'm wandering the isles and I see it! To my complete surprise, OLD EL PASO has made it to Kenya! I've NEVER seen salsa or taco seasoning here (I usually have my mom mail me the taco seasoning) but its never here! I try to make my own salsa but its not the same. This is the REAL THING! I don't actually have tortilla chips or anything, but salsa is not confined strictly to tortilla chips- I'll eat this out of the jar with a spoon if that's the only option! (Although I know salsa is great on potatoes of all varieties and its great on eggs... but I'm sure I'll find more uses for it!)

I realize that this sounds absolutely ridiculous but hey! Its the simple joys in life! This totally made my day!

I've been census-edd

So we are in the middle of an actual, literal, door-to-door census. I've never seen a door to door census! But it gave us an impromptu public holiday! It was supposed to conclude on Monday night (4 hours after it started- that may have been a bit ambitious...) Then it was supposed to end Tues. Well it's Wed now and they just got to my door! I guess the Census Guys weren't big on sarcasm- they asked my roommie if we owned any livestock and she said "sure! our cow lives back there" (pointing to the kitchen- we are a 3rd floor walk up- no where to hide a cow) and the guy started to write it down.

But I've been counted, and here's the proof:
All counted houses have chalk numbers on the doors- very 10th plauge, lamb's blood on the door posts, Passover-ish.

And here's a political cartoon from yesterday's paper- the census is made up of a ton of questions about your family, animals, etc but I guess it didn't hit on the questions most people here think are important...

The Other Fun Part of Market Shopping..

In my previous post, I forgot to mention the most counter-cultural part of market shopping (at least to me). You have to get used to everyone calling you fat. And they don't mean it to be mean (in fact, friends will say "oh look! You've gained so much weight!" and mean it as a complete compliment! Seriously! It means you obviously have enough money and are doing well enough to eat well and gain weight.). But as you go through the market, all the vendors will say "Come, get jeans! I even have YOUR size" (which in all honesty, I'm considerably taller and bigger then most girls here, so to find something that will fit is an adventure) but its so funny to hear. The best is the vendors who literally tell you "Wow! You're big!" Thanks!

So word to the wise- don't go to the markets if you are struggling with your self-esteem! But seriously- no one means it to be mean or offensive! It's just appropriate to say here! So funny! I just have to remember NOT to complement my friends in the US in such a fashion!

Adventures in Toi land

Today is my usual day off, and since there isn't electricity, my friends and I decided to go to this massive clothes market and see what we could find. I know, I know- Me and Shopping don't usually end up in the same sentence but it was something to do and I was in the mood for a deal! And boy did I find some!

Getting around here is always an adventure. Roads aren't straight or in any form of a grid, so I hadn't realized I really only live a short distance from this market (I'd always come from a different direction when I went before- I had no idea that I was only a few back roads away from it!) I hadn't been back to this particular market since I left- and it's changed a lot. It was burned to the ground during the political violence in 2008 and has since been rebuilt. Its made up of tiny stalls (aka dukas) that are MAYBE 4'x4' and the are all just lined up together. Some have walls but most hang the clothing as a barrier between that duka and the next. Each duka specializes in one thing- dresses, tops, blouses, shoes, jeans, etc so it's pretty easy to find stuff if you know what you are looking for. Its all used clothes, but its fun to dig and find some cool stuff. I ended up finding a few tops and even a pair of shoes that fit (kelly will be proud- they even have a bit of a heel! I know! Who knew!) I really wish I could take pictures in there- words just really can't describe it all- all the clothes, people, stuff, the guy frying whole tilapia in a hole next to a duka, the kids taking a nap on the piles of clothes- you really have to see it all!

So that was my adventure today. We got back from the market and I was washing my new-to-me clothes when low and behold the power came back on 3 hours early! (Generally, on power ration days, it goes off by 6.15am and comes back around 7pm or so). Fun! Maybe I'll watch a movie if the power will stay on!

I'm A Life-Size Barbie....

This is how I spend my Saturdays- I get a new hairstyle every time! This time a good soak in conditioner got all the knots out (I usually have to cut out a few of the knots!)

ROUS's: PART 2

So I wrote before about our initial battle with the rat (we saw it, tried to find it, lots of screaming from my friend Christine- in the end we were outsmarted.) We'd decided that if this rat would cook like the rat in Ratatouille it could stay. But this rat hasn't been cooking- so it can't stay. So the yesterday, I was out running errands and I came back to my apartment and Julia's brother Devon was on the balcony with the sofa half out the balcony doors, saying he found the rat- it was in the sofa. So Christine and I run up the stairs and help him get the sofa out on the balcony (which was really smart of him- if the rat runs now- its outside! Because we realized the night before that we didn't really have a PLAN after we found the rat. I mean we could throw the rat trap at it and hope it hit it or something but no great plans for getting rid of it.) So Devon and I start beating on the sofa- trying to scare the rat out- and it works! The rat runs out, Devon and I run in the house and we are going to shut the doors but Christine is standing on the arm of the sofa- petrified- screaming like a banshee. I'm yelling at her- get in and shut the door but she is just petrified! And SHRIEKING! I've never heard screams like this- this is just a rat! So Devon and I are yelling at Christine to just get inside and the rat will be out there and she will be fine- but she's still to scared so I have to put her on my back and carry her in the house. At this point, all of our neighbors are in our doorway because it sounds like we are killing someone and the guard from the gate is plowing up the stairs to see what the heck is wrong. We get Christine under control (and back to her own apartment) and we go back outside after the rat. We thought it may have gotten back into the sofa so we start beating it again but the ladies who were in the stairwell when it first ran out said they saw it run down the side of the building. That's good enough for me! I would have rather caught it so it won't come back but at least its out of the apartment (for now :s)

ROUS's

We have an ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size- watch the Princess Bride for more info).  We've been seeing evidence of a rat, and we put out traps for the rat, but last night we actually SAW it run out from under the fridge, across my friend's feet and under the stove where it promptly disappeared.  We hunted it for 45 minutes (that's after my friend stopped SHRIEKING at the top of her lungs at 11:30 at night in an otherwise quiet apartment complex.)   So we are still stalking the rat- who is very very sneaky- he even cleaned the trap last night without setting it off! Tricky! 

Travel Adventures....

I've arrived safely (internet is kind of hit or miss right now so I haven't really been updating things- sorry! gotta love rainy season power outages!)

Anyways, my traveling adventures. I was on a flight from Chicago to London with an hour layover in London before I flew on to Nairobi. Now an hour layover isn't really enough but that's what my travel agent had booked so I figured I should be able to pull it off. But by the time my flight landed in London, I had 20 minutes to get to my next flight before it left. Not NEARLY enough time (especially in London!) So I get of the plane, take the little bus thing to the main terminal and I'm starting to get worried- I have 20 mintues to pass through a ticketing agent, security, a passport check, the gate agent and board the plane! I get to the main terminal and there is a guy who works for the airline I was on waiting for me with a sign with my flight on it and he said "Ok we are going to RUN now!" So we take off RUNNING though the airport, he's taking me back ways, taking down all the barrier things, cutting through lines of people and shoving me to the front of any lines. And we are running. Running a lot. I'm still on MI time so it feels like the middle of the night, I've been sitting for 9 hours and lets face it I'm not the most athletic member of my family! And I have about 25lbs of books in my backpack! So this guy andn I are running like crazy people, I make it to the gate and the gate agents are waiting (along with a person who was going to get my seat if I didn't make it in time) and I fly down the jetway and get to my seat. And I then I collapsed. Nothing like a 3 mile sprint in what feels like the middle of the night, with a ridiculous amount of books to get the heart pounding.

But I made it! And my friends were there to get me (along with another friend I didn't even know would be in the country!)

So now I'm reaquainting myself with Nairobi- matatu rides and all that! (although I'm so proud of myself- I'm living in a completly different area then before so its all different matatu routes but I still managed to get myself to where I've needed to go!) And I'm catching up with all my friends and what all went on while I was gone.

Its soooo great to be back. I'm still settling in (and getting past jet lag) and I'll be getting back to work soon.

miss you all!! Keep in touch! Seriously! I love email, facebook, comments on the blog, snail mail- you name it, I love to keep in touch!

I'm On My Way!!!!

I'm on my way back to Kenya today! Please keep in touch (email, comments here on my blog, snail mail- whatever! I love it all! And for my Uncle Bob, I opened up the comment section so anyone can leave a comment (you don't need to have a gmail account now- anyone can comment on posts).

Please keep me in your prayers as I travel!

11 Things I'm Gonna Miss About Kenya

(because narrowing it down to 10 was impossible!)

1. Z- one of my favorite kids ever- so adorable, such a trouble maker!
2. Bargaining with vendors for everything from tomatoes to meat to shoes. All prices are negotiable and bargaining is half the fun! The interaction, the laughing at my Swahili, the hilarious conversations that last 20 minutes, the “A-a bwana! Ni bei GHHHAli sana!!!”
3. Tea fields
4. The smell at night- no way to describe it, but after a dusty day, there is this fresh, night smell.
5. Samosas (meat, not veg) and Bajias
6. Safari ant invasions (and other random insect invasions- flying termites, Nairobi fly, cockroaches, etc)
7. Matatu Bongo mixes- the most unique and amazing music you will ever hear- nothing beats being in a Westlands Matatu and hearing “Banjuka tu” blasting out the speakers.
8. Goat- we are sooo missing out on this amazing food in the States!! We really need to eat more goat (especially the shekla at Habesha)
9. Whole Fried Tilapia at Kosewe- enough said!
10. Feeling like there were things everyday that I wanted to photograph- moments I wanted to remember.
11. Having random adventures- every day.

Obviously this list was excluding all my people here- I have amazing friends who I will miss SO much. And its no mistake that almost half of this list is food- we take food seriously here!! (Plus I’m Lutheran- we take food VERY seriously!)

So pray for a safe and uneventful day and a half of travel for me!! I leave on Monday night. Craziness. See ya all soon!!

Just found out that some of my extended family check the blog almost every day, so I feel like I should say something deep and profound for them to read to reward their diligence but hey! this is me! profound kind of alludes me! No heroic stories of my roommie and I battling safari ants this week (although they did sneak attack my feet a few times!) I do have a horribly disgusting story involving 4 rats and a water jug but really- you don't want to hear that story. It's nasty.

I got to see pictures of my parents new place! It's amazing (for all of you who haven't had a chance to see it yet!) The colors are great mom (and so is the new vase!!) But I do think that the fire pit looks a bit like a spaceship! But I love that the river is deep enough for some swimming!

Other then that, no real news here! Its been kind of a quiet week (which is nice!).

I heard the family weekend at the Lake was great fun (as usual!) I miss you all a ton! Thanks for checking out the blog!

Siafu Attack Part III: The Siafu Strike Back

so last night I came home to yet another siafu attack. There were thousands swarming up the sidewalk towards my door. This time I got a little bit of it on video. Sorry it's kind of dark, but they were commencing yet another night attack. I sat on my steps and watched for a while- they looked like a river of ants. So crazy. Salt didn't slow them down this time but boiling water did the trick!