WEEK 9: "This is PURGATORY."

MONDAY

We took Harris to “Feed the Children” to get a glimpse of what we do every week. He seemed to enjoy hanging out with the babies…although I don’t think imitating crying back at a crying baby is the most soothing way to calm hysterical kids. Lol (Sorry, Harris)

We gave him a tour of the facilities. Hung out with our other kids for a little bit after lunch and then spent some time in the multi-sensory room. Gosh I love the multi-sensory room! So relaxing! Great way to end a work shift.

TUESDAY

Tuesday morning we made the oh-so long trek into Karen center to catch the matatu to Nairobi…all right it only took 20mins…but Kate lay down the “NO whistling. NO humming. NO singing. NO making annoying noises” Rule…hence it felt like forever! Lol …Love you Drinkster!

At  11am, we went over to St. Benedict’s and helped teach an art class. I got to help Henry which actually turned out to be really fun! I had the kids do an “Ocean Themed” drawing. The kids were really well-behaved and did a great job getting creative and filling up their pictures with sea creatures, airplanes, and pirate ships! It was nice to get to work with Henry since we usually don’t hang out too much when we visit Nairobi. I have to hand it to him…he did a really great job helping the kids with their drawings and complimenting every one of them to let them know what a great job they did. The kids seemed to like him as well which is great!

I don't know how I'm qualified to help teach art! lol

Henry checking the kids work.

They were so proud of their work. :)

After drawing class, Kate, Harris, and I went outside to see the kids at PE. We were immediately surrounded by dozens and dozens of kids who all wanted to shake our hands, slap us five, and touch our hair and skin. It was hilarious and a good time all around!

You mess with my hair...I'm gonna mess with yours!

In the afternoon, we took a 45mins trek down the road to visit the Mogra Rescue Center which is supported by the Trufant family. I remember hearing about the center either my freshman or sophomore year at BAC so it was cool to get to actually visit the place! We were given a tour of the facilities by a really nice guy named Timothy. We saw  the dorm rooms, the class rooms, storage room, and  we even got to hang out with the babies for a little bit which was oh so fun! We love babies! J We also got to see the farm where they grow all their produce and keep cows, fish, and pigs. Really cool place!

WEDNESDAY

Harris took us into the slum of Methare to visit St. Maurus, Mogra Star Academy, and Street Children. St. Maurus is a home for mentally and physically disabled kids. I can’t begin to tell you how cute these kids were! So sweet and friendly! We sat down for a while and just hung out with the kids.

Everybody loves the hair! Boo yaa!

Next we stopped by Mogra Star Academy which is the school in connection with the Mogra Star Center. We were given a room by room tour by Joseph and Samuel, two of the school officials. We were taken into several classrooms where we introduced ourselves to the kids and were sung to. The kids were really awesome and so enthusiastic! It surprised me to see how many kids they fit in each classroom! There had to be at least 30-40 kids per a classroom…and these aren’t big classrooms! Once again, no one knew how to say my name. I got the unanimous “Whaaat?!” confused face in every classroom. Quite amusing. We were also shown the kitchen, library, and computer room. Our tour guides explained that none of the computers in the computer room work and that they were hoping to either find someone to fix them or hope for someone to donate new ones. It’s too bad because it would be a huge benefit to these kids to learn some basic computer skills. In my opinion, it would probably help them a great deal if they make it to university or go looking for jobs.

View of the slums from the top floor of the school.

Last, we stopped by Street Children where Harris showed us around the place. Street Children is a home for orphaned boys in the slum. Unfortunately there were only about 3 boys there at the time since most of the boys are at boarding school right now. However, we did get to see our Kenyan friend Dan who works there which was nice.

By afternoon, we went to lunch at Steers to fuel up for the ride home to Karen. All in all, it was really awesome to get to visit the Amani Center and see all the places Harris and the guys work at. They get to work at a lot of really amazing places and I know they are doing great work there.  It was a great visit and definitely worth the mid-week travelling!

THURSDAY

We had a full day of work at “Feed the Children”. Zumba Thursday! Our kids were taking a trip to the park so we didn’t get to spend too much time with them after lunch, but it was still a good day!

Singing a song about butterflies...They are too cute! :)

FRIDAY

WELCOME TO PURGATORY! Let me begin with the sentiment that I loooove what I do here! I love the work, the people, the kids, and the country! Every week is different and AWESOME! However, the one day of the week that always tries my patience is...FRIDAY. The walk to work isn’t the bad…but I 100% DREAD walking into the playroom at Cottolengo! I love my little Cottolengo kids, but boy are they a handful!

We had a family come visit today! They were really sweet! The Dad said they lived in Saudia Arabia, but he was from Ireland and the kids were born in all different countries. We didn’t see much of the Mom, but the Dad was very sweet, encouraging his kids to play with the babies and help during lunchtime. It was a pleasant distraction from a very crazy day!

Once again, I took another shot at changing cloth diapers…my opinion on them hasn’t changed….GIVE ME PAMPERS OR GIVE ME DEATH! Really…cloth diapers are so gross! Furthermore, it was one of those days were the kids were making lunch time a very long, drawn-out process. Around 12:30pm when we usually go to lunch, Kate and I got stuck supervising two of the bigger kids while they finished their lunch, one of them being a very devious little girl who likes to wreak havoc at every turn! I don’t even like lunch at Cottolengo but I wanted to go to lunch…that’s how frustrating they were being! Just one of those days! Ya know what I mean?!

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

Ok…we were total bums this weekend! Harris came for the weekend and I’m pretty sure we bored him to death with our lack of motivation. Lol We literally sat in the apartment watching movies all weekend. Definitely a much needed break from a “Go go go!” 2 weeks…but ya…we did nothing.

Yesterday, I celebrated my “Name Day” with Sr. Judy! Happy Feast Day St. Jude!! They don’t celebrate birthdays at the convent unless it is a big one (like 30, 40, 50, 50…etc) so everyone celebrates the feast day of their patron saint. Since “Jude” is my confirmation name, I got to celebrate mine yesterday! So fun! The sisters were wicked awesome and made a cake. Sr. Rosina and Sr. Loice even gave me a really pretty African wrap skirt and a JPII  prayer card! I didn’t expect anything so it was really sweet of them! And nothing lifts the spirits like being hugged and sung to by over 40 sisters! They are such angels. I love them to pieces!...even if they linger. Lol

So yaa…the past 2 weeks have been wicked busy! Hence, the major delay in posting all of this! I’m really hoping I did mix up any of the days…since I’m a total slacker and didn’t journal the past 2 weeks either. Whoops…So that’s about it! Stay tuned for this week’s recap which *hopefully* will be posted this weekend! 

WEEK 8: "I pledge allegiance to Pampers!"

All right. All right. It has been far too long since I gave a weekly update! Hence, I am going to do a little overkill and do 2 weekly posts with thoughts and what-nots all at once. The past two weeks have been wicked crazy, busy, and very random. A lot of cool stuff happened, many adorable photos were taken, and I even got to feed giraffes! How cool is that??

So without any further ado! Read away my friends! I’m also going to include a lot of random commentary throughout so bare with me! ;)

MONDAY

Instead of going to “Feed the Children”, we decided to join Sr. Judy on her visit to the elderly in Elborough (??), since we hadn’t met that group yet. The elderly were so sweet and welcoming as always. One granny Monica walked in the room with a huge smile on her face and goes: “Hello!! My name is Monica and I loooove you!!!”. She was absolutely the cutest granny I’ve ever met! Oh my goodness. Completely made my day. She also sang a song about blessings from the Lord. She wanted us to sing a song but Kate and I couldn’t think of a good song to sing. Kate and I ended up buying a few different things from the elderly to support them. I bought some bags and jewelry. They were so excited that we wanted to buy things from them. Next, we listened in on their Swahili Bible study. I admit I started to fall asleep halfway through. The elderly thought it was funny that I was passing out.

While Sr. Judy met with some of the elderly about planning the annual Christmas mass/gathering, Kate and I talked with Hannah and Monica. We also met a man who is in charge of the counseling department at the church. We got to sit in on the counseling session with the elderly. Although I couldn’t understand what they were saying, it was really interesting just observing, especially watching the granny who was going on and on while brandishing a big wooden spoon!

On the way out to the matatu, Hannah (one of the grannies) showed Kate and I the proper way to carry our bags on our heads! So cute. She was so excited to help us out. All in all…another lovely visit with the elderly.

TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY

On our convent days, we worked both at the dispensary sorting pills and making dozens upon dozens and DOZENS of paper medicine newspaper bags!! It was really great to be able to d osomething new at the convent and the sisters at the dispensary really appreciated our help. It’s funny because they kept saying how fast we were. I guess Kate and my idea of how fast you should work does not fit into the “African time” concept.

I thought it was pretty interesting sorting the medicine and trying to figure out what each was used for.  ALSO, reading the article titles of the newspapers were so random! A few gems I came across…

“Hippo Injures 2 Adults, Harms Children”

“Man Attacked by Crocodile”

“Elephant Kills Adult”

Not at all funny for those involved…but the idea of such crazy animal attacks seems so foreign to me.

THURSDAY

We ended up having a half-day at “Feed the Children”. So basically we just hung out with the babies in the morning then left at noon.

We went into Karen in the afternoon and ended up doing some more shopping! This time we stopped by Anthony and Benjamin’s shops. Anthony is a gem- wicked nice and easy to talk to. Benjamin is more of the straightforward business man type. I didn’t get much, but we did have a nice chat with Anthony!

FRIDAY

After lunch, I took a leap into the land of Crazyville and helped changing some of the babies. Let me remind you…I am no stranger to diaper changing. (Mary, Jack, Anna, Mikey- This is the moment you thank me for being a loving sister.) HOWEVER, the catch is that at Cottolengo they are all about cloth diapers!  And LET ME TELL YOU…changing cloth diapers is no happy walk in the park! I remember my Mom going the whole cloth diaper route back in the day...but thankfully she was swayed by the awesomeness of Pampers! Kate and I have unanimously decided that we shall also go the Pampers route (if of course God thinks we are sane enough individuals to handle kids!). God bless the eco-friendly moms who do the cloth diapers…you are already one step closer to heaven than I’ll ever be!

SATURDAY

Harris was able to catch a ride to the convent in the nun mobile with the sisters who were visiting Ruaraka. We all just chilled and watched some “Harry Potter”.

SUNDAY

We went on an adventure to the Giraffe Center!!! It was looking rainy out early in the day but turned out to be a really nice day. The center was a lot smaller than we expected, but it was sooo much fun feeding the giraffes and seeing some warthogs! Yay Pumbaas!!! [Beth ;) ]

They've got wicked long tongues! Hence, why my ridiculous freak out face!

Week 7: What's in a Name?!

All right…let me begin with saying a little something that has been driving me crazy the past 2 months…

NO ONE HERE KNOWS HOW TO SAY MY NAME!

Like for real. Every time I introduce myself, people just give me this weird look. The most common misinterpretations have been “Catherine” and “Caitrin”…a lot of the sisters still call me “Caitrin” after 2 months here. This is just weird to me since my name is pretty common back home. I’ve gotten to the point where I just let people call me whatever they think my name is. Whatever. It’s just kind of frustrating because I like my name…identity crisis? Just a little. lol

Any who…now that we cleared up that little issue…here is the weekly recap!

MONDAY

Hannah and the driver remembered to pick us up today! It’s kind of pathetic that we get excited about being picked up! We had a talk with Mama Jane about switching up our schedule. We are now going to be working with the little babies in Cottage 1 in the mornings and our usual kids from Cottage 4 in the afternoons. The babies in Cottage 1 are ADORABLE! OH MY GOOODNESS!! They are anywhere between a few days old to a year old. Kate and I got to feed and hold them all morning. We took them outside for an hour to “bask in the sun”. Of the babies of Cottage 1, Rosaline is my favorite!!! She is just the cutest little angel! Clare and the twin boys are also adorable….but “Rosie” is definitely my favorite. J

"AFRICA NEEDS YOU!!"
Rosaline! I love this little girl! :)

"King" Solomon showing the other babies who's the boss!

photo credit: Kate Drinkwater ('cause she takes AWESOME pics and my skills are limited lol)

At 12:30, we got to sit with our other kids while they ate lunch. After lunch, we watched “Thumbelina” for the 19843984389 time! I love that movie so I think it’s pretty funny that they always watch it. This autistic boy who is about 12 (I don’t know his name) sat in my lap during the movie. I was amused that he sought my out. Sweet kid. He kept slapping my hands which started to hurt and he was a too big to hold but he was really happy to play. Poor kid started to cry when Kate and I left to go to the Early Learning Center with the other kids. The activity of the day was blowing bubbles into cups. It’s hilarious how excited the kids get about such simple activities! So fun!

TUESDAY

Kate and I did the 1^st coat of paint on the parlor room and novices’ bathroom ceiling. Knotay showed us this big scrape he got on his face. Not sure what he did, but the poor guy was saying how his eye had been all swollen up the day before. It’s nice because I feel like he is starting to see us as friends whereas before he seemed a bit standoffish.

WEDNESDAY

Kate and I did the second coat of paint on the parlor room and bathroom ceiling and stained the parlor floor. We are “officially” done with painting!!!....And I say this like once a week BUT I think this time we are done! Kate and I watched “The Little Rascals”! I forgot how much I loved that movie! Other than that…it was a pretty boring, standard day.

THURSDAY

Spent the morning with our babies! I mostly ended up playing with Rosie, “King” Solomon, and Patricia…they are the cutest. J Little Rosie started to cry when we left for “Teabreak”….gosh I love that little girl! We helped feed the babies and Lavine attempted to vomit all over me. Oh babies…so charming.

In the afternoon, we had Zumba with our kids. Then we did some puzzles and chalk with the kids.

At dinner we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the passing of Vatican II (if I recall correctly!). AKA...we got fries, soda, and ICE CREAM. I also got a kick out of watching 80 year-old Sr, Herriberta crack open a Heineken...she is just so darn cute.

FRIDAY

Went to Cottolengo today. Got there a little late because Kate and I stopped by the Nakumatt for some snacks. Discovered a new short-cut to the Nakumatt—kind of a big deal!

The kids were pretty good. I spent a lot of time with Rosie. She is about 10 years old (I’m guessing) and is special needs. She kept following me everywhere and wanted to sit in my lap. One of the mamas did her hair while she sat in my lap. She doesn't talk, but she smiles and laughs a lot. For a lot of the kids (and Rosie in particular), I feel like the best thing you can do is just play with them and hold them. It’s the little things in life, ya know?

By the time we went to leave it was absolutely down pouring! Now I've lived in NC for 4 years so I've seen rain…but you have not seen a real downpour like this! Seriously. Torrential downpour! Kate and I ended up helping a woman in the laundry room while we waited out the rain. She was really nice and offered us her umbrella. How sweet is that? I’m constantly being reminded of how the kindness of strangers here.

We took the matatu into Karen to meet with Harris. Traffic was really bad so in typical matatu style the driver drove on the wrong side of the road into on-coming traffic, driving on the wrong side’s off road where people were walking when cars were coming at us. This is Africa, people! Lol

We took a cab back to the convent to avoid the rain. At dinner the sisters put us in the “ quarantine” section as we like to call it- aka the parlor room. Since it was our neighbors Alex, Lucas, and Phillip’s last night at the convent we hung out with them which was nice since we usually just see them here and there throughout the day. Kate and I are definitely going to miss our neighbors!! They are so sweet and funny.

SATURDAY

The sisters took us to the 50^th jubilee celebration in the nun mobile! Wicked long day but so fun! Soooo many people there! When we got there they gave us “Usher” name tags...totally didn’t know what we were doing so we pretty much just sat in the “Laity” section until mass started. Mass was wicked long! The opening dance and introductions alone took an hour! It down poured hardcore during mass.  There were about 2hours worth of talks about the “Sisterhood of Kenya” and development plans. By this point we were soooo hungry! We lucked out and were the first ones in line for lunch…I know…typical Americans. But hey…lunch was great!

Saying "Bye" to our neighbors! (Alex, Phillip, and Lucas)

SUNDAY

I feel like this is one of the first Sundays that we literally had nothing to do! Usually it seems like there is always some sort of celebration. We just kind of bummed around and did nothing all day. Kate and I watched “Home Alone”. It always reminds me of my brother Kevin. Lol

::QUOTES OF THE WEEK::

Phillip: "Remember to pray for me! I want a spot close to God's door!" (on our way to the chapel)

Kate: "Look at me...stuffing my face with chocolate while I look at her abs!"

...Chocolate over abs any day! lol

Korean Sister at my table: "If God calls you to the convent don't hesitate!:

Sr. Herriberta: "When God calls you to something you don't say 'No'!"

...They love giving me advice! Love them :)

Me: "The water is splashing me through the door!"

Kate: "#MatatuProblems"

Harris: "'The Lion King' was filmed over there..."

Kate: "WHERE?!"

...God love ya, Kate! :)


!!!REMINDER!!!

Don't forget to check out our fundraising site for the elderly!! We are looking to raise about $3,500 for Christmas care packages! Please consider donating. Thanks!

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=10844&url=bvchelptheelderlyofkenya

Week 6: "How's the going?"

"Every day is filled with countless blessings. "<3

I'd like to start off this week with a big

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

to my Dad and my little brother Mikey! I hope you both had a wonderful birthday week and that you were able to celebrate it (rather than waiting the traditional 1-6month O'Malley style birthday!).

Any who! Today is Sunday...and Kate's napping...which means BLOGGING TIME! I absolutely love Sundays here because: a.) We get eggs, a decent cup of coffee, and a variety of bread choices at breakfast....which is a BIG DEAL! b.) It's the only day we don't work, so that means more free time to walk into town or work on my blog or nap or be a bum and go online. c.) Sundays are just AWESOME! Need I say more? Is it sad that seeing french fries at lunch brings me close to tears of joy? Lol.

This was a very full week of work, socializing, and shopping!! We have been making daily visits to see our "neighbors" next door. I think I mentioned this last week...There is a college aged boy named Lucas who is recovering from a broken leg who now stays in the little apartment next to us and his friend Phillip and Alex often come over to bring him his homework and hang out. They are hilarious! They like to make fun of our "accents" (Say whaaat?! I don't have an accent! lol) and crack jokes about random things. Kate usually beings over her hard-drive for them to watch movies while we are at work and then we check in on them in the afternoon or after dinner. It's been so fun to have them around!

And here is the weekly recap!!!

MONDAY

Today, Fred the driver from "Feed the Children" (Dagoretti) was off duty. Hence, the driver on duty forgot to pick us up which means we took the matatu. This kind of stressed out but I was cool as a cucumber. No ride? No big deal. We got this matatu thing all figured out!

It was an exceedingly slow day at therapy! I shadowed Foster and then chilled for an hour or so listening to music while waiting for lunch.

After lunch, we watched "Thumbelina" with the kids. Simon and Alex sat in my lap during the movie and Simon tried to do my hair. The kids love trying to do my hair and mess with my watch. Oh the little things in life! Kate and I also did everyone's nails again. The kids love getting their nails done and it helps them to learn colors which is fun to teach them!

Next, we went outside and the kids spent an hour washing their feet. I learned that "sabuni" is the Swahili word for soup.

We managed to catch the driver, Nicholas, just before he drove to pick the kids up from school. Thank goodness! It felt like a really long day. However, God was totally watching out for us because when we got back someone had already moved the furniture back into the novices' rooms. One less thing to do! GOD IS SO GOOD!

TUESDAY

Kate and I went with Sr. Judy to visit two of the elderly groups today. It's always great going with Sr. Judy on her visits because the conversation and companionship is such a nice change of pace...and getting a lot of walking in is awesome! :)

We got to watch the soap making process which was so cool! We took a taxi to the second village which was near Dagoretti. The elderly meet at St. Catherine's Church which also has an elementary school. We were rushed by a group of school children who all wanted to shake our hands. They watched us as we sat with the elderly during their Bible Study and kept trying to sneak closer to where we were sitting. After the Bible study and general business procedure, Sr. Judy had us introduce ourselves to the group, translating what we said into Swahili. It is so nice because the elderly are always so genuinely happy to meet us. They always want to know where we are from and why we are here. They usually tell Sr. Judy that they think we are tired or hungry and offer to cook a meal for us. I cannot express how kind and welcoming these people are. Even with the language barrier they always do their best to greet us and make us feel welcome in their group.

Making soap :)

  
WEDNESDAY

Luckily, we only spent a 1/2hr. doing touch up painting on some of the novices' rooms. Boo ya! NO MORE PAINTING!! ...at least I hope that's the end of it! Kate and I walked into town to get lunch at "The Big Square" which is a fast food burger place in Karen.

With a determined spirit, we decided to brave the Masai market! We pass by it every time we go into Karen, but we decided it was the perfect day for some retail therapy!! I love the Masai market because there are so many treasures to be found! There is a lot of beautiful beaded Masai jewelry, carvings, woven bags, cloth, and all sorts of unique things! The best part about it is that you get to meet the person who makes the goods. These sellers sit at the market 7days a week from morning until late afternoon. They were so excited when Kate and I stopped by. At first it is a bit overwhelming trying to haggle for a good deal while being beckoned from every side by the other sellers. Fortunately, the people at the market are very nice and even try to help us haggle with the other sellers who do not speak English. So all in all a very successful day! :)

THURSDAY

Fred and Hannah remembered to stop at Defense College to ick us up! Thank God!

I swear today was "SCREAMING/CRYING BABY DAY" at therapy! Omg. What a headache. A lot of unhappy kids! On the bright side, Dennis let me help out with some of the kids today! I got to walk Shalom around outside and help with Titus on the exercise ball. I also had a nice chat with Sevey (the Spanish journalist/volunteer)! It's nice to have some else around who understands what it's like to experience Africa for the first time and to talk about cultural differences, etc.

At 1pm, we had Zumba! The kids were more into dancing this week then last week which was a riot to watch! After lunch, Kate and I joined the kids over at their cottage. Nail polish once again! I think it's funny how much they love getting their nails done! I remember loving it as a little kid...but these kids just get so excited! Plus, it's a great way to teach them colors! While we were doing nails, "Daisy" (the fluffy little pet dog) was wreaking havoc running around the kids with one of their shoes. The kids were running every where and squealing which was a hilarious scene. :)
 



               
                       <3





We then went to the "Early Learning Center" where I read some books with some of the boys. One of the "Mamas" had the kids do "threading", basically making necklaces.

When we got back to the convent, Kate went to work creating an FB event and fundraising page to help raise money for the elderly. [If you haven't seen it yet, I will provide the link at the end of this post!!] Since there is no money in the convent's budget to provide the annual Christmas package for Sr. Judy's elderly group, we decided it would be a good cause.

BIG SHOUT OUT to Kate for figuring out all the computer stuff for our fundraiser! She put a lot of time into setting up the pages and figuring out the bank situation, and for that I'm truly grateful. :)

FRIDAY

Another crazy day at Cottolengo! The mamas in charge kept leaving us alone with the kids which can be very overwhelming with about 16 toddlers screaming, fighting, and causing general chaos whenever you look away! I feel like every time I turn around someone was either climbing the grate over the window or trying to escape out the door! Crazy minions!

Today, I got to spend some time with Karanja today. He is a very sweet boy, probably about 7years old. He is usually pretty quiet but can be quite mischievous! Next week I'll work on providing more pictures and descriptions of the Cottolengo kids. :)

We ended up leaving before lunch so that Kate could get back in time to talk to her Mom about the fundraising site. The girl at "The Big Square" recognized us...embarrassing? Maybe a little. haha
We took on DAY2 of Masai Market Shopping! The market people were soooo excited that we kept our promise to return! I'm sure they are used to people telling them they will come back and not following up on it. I tried to buy things from the sellers that I had not purchased from on Wednesday. Anne, one of the main sellers who speaks English fluently and is very upfront, was very helpful, translating to the Masai woman who didn't speak English. Anne also took the time to explain the meanings of the different color beads which I thought was really interesting! The women kept telling me that I look like a "Masai princess" when I put on the jewelry...They clearly realize how much I love the jewelry and being called a princess as well! I got a lot of cool different carvings and beaded things. The people are very friendly and I made sure to talk with the ones I didn't buy from about the things I was interested in for round 3of shopping. Gosh it is addicting!

SATURDAY

Kate and I went with Sr. Judy again to visit the elderly at St. Catherine's. The group was made up of all women or "Grannies" as Sr. Judy calls them. Sr. Judy encouraged us to take lots of pictures to use for our fundraising effort. The grannies let us help mix the soap!! It was so fun!! It gets boring just watching, so it was great getting to be a part of the process and knowing that we are helping them out.

Oh just learning to make soap...NBD. ;)

"In cases like these, I have to act!" ~Sr. Judy (She is truly an inspiration!)

After the group meeting and lunch, we visited Teresia at her home in the village a short walk away. Teresia is in her 70s or 80s and is wheelchair bound since she broke her leg a month ago. [Note: Her wheelchair is basically a plastic chair with wheelchair wheels on it...not your typical American cushioned type.] Sr. Judy explained that she spends most of her days alone and that her family and neighbors often forget to come help her prepare a meal or take her to her doctor's appointments. Fortunately, her neighbor was helping her today. It's heartbreaking to think of how alone she is. As Sr. Judy has told us, often it is not the physical disabilities that hurt these people but the mental and emotional problems that develop due to neglect and loneliness

The home visits, for me, are a very powerful experience. Not only do I get a glimpse of village life, but I also get to see the raw emotional pain of what it means to grow old and be forgotten. This is a very important lesson in my eyes. The elderly are a forgotten group of people. It is easy to think of the children and the women affected by poverty. But what about the elderly? They are a very neglected group. I see this as a problem in Africa as well as in the U.S. and other countries. We say that we treasure the elderly for their wisdom and experience. However, we often forget them in their times of need. This is one of the main reasons that Kate and I are lobbying to raise money to provide the annual Christmas packages for this group. No one deserves to be forgotten- especially not at Christmas time! I encourage you to think about this and find it in your hearts to make even the smallest donation to our cause. A little bit goes a long way! And I cannot begin to tell you how grateful these people will be (as well as Kate, Sr. Judy, and I) to have your love and support! <3

 Please check out our Facebook Page and Donation site listed below::

"BVC Project: Helping the Elderly of Kenya!"
 http://www.facebook.com/events/410549189011206/?notif_t=plan_user_joined

YouCare Donation Site
 http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=10844&url=bvchelptheelderlyofkenya

THANK YOU!!!

Love always,

Caitlin

::Quotes of the Week::

"I am a monkey...now I can say I met a goddess!" ~random guy along the road...say what?!

"You are very beautiful!" ~one of the Grannies to Kate and I...best compliment ever :)

"You look smart."...People use "smart" to describe pretty much anything. lol

Week 5: Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies :)

Just chilling in the "Eagle's Nest", listening to Sammy Adams and doing some journal entries. NBD.

Do I even have to explain this title? On a daily basis I shake a lot of hands and kiss a lot of babies. Duh. Living the dream. ;)

2nd full work week done and done! Sorry, I'm a little behind in posting this! Crazy crazy week! So, I'm going to skip the pleasantries and get right to it!

Monday
Monday was kind of a random day at "Feed the Children" in Dagoretti. First, we received a lecture on safety  e precautions from the Operations Coordinator who went on and on about terrorism and theft and all that jazz. So uplifting, right? The good thing is that Mama Jane and the guy decided to arrange a pick-up and drop-off driver for us so that we no longer have to take the matatus every Monday and Thursday.

In the morning, the physical therapists held a lecture for the parents of the kids with disabilities to talk about prenatal and post-natal care. It began with a very long "teabreak" in which we were force fed a ton of "mandosas" (?) which are similar to fried dough without the sugar. The lecture was said in Swahili so Kate and I only listened for about a half hour, then we went inside to play with the babies.

Oh hey there...Yes, I do realize that there is a tambourine on my head. :)

After lunch, we watched "Winnie the Pooh" and "Thumbelina" with the kids. It was raining really heavily outdoors so we played inside. It was hilarious listening to the kids sing-along to the movies. So cute!

We had "samosas" for dinner which was pretty much the most exciting thing ever since Kate and I have been craving them for weeks! They are kind of like a beefy little hot pocket with no sauce in it. :)



Tuesday
Two words: FOOD POISONING. I guess God wanted to teach me a lesson about lusting after food! Long story short, Sr. Rosina took me over to the dispensary since I pretty much felt like death and the doctor hooked me up to an IV and gave me a ton of multi-vitamins and anti-bacterial drugs to take for the following five days. The sisters think the meat in the samosas is what made me so sick. The whole IV thing was very dramatic and I pretty much cried like a baby. I hate needles. Fortunately, I felt much better by dinner so it was well worth it.

And for the record...Kate earned herself some MAJOR FRIEND POINTS by "putting the team on her back"...literally! Kate half-carried/half-dragged me back to my room from the dispensary since I was so disoriented I couldn't really walk. Seriously, I don't know what I'd do without her! Such a good best friend! Taking one for the team! ;)

Wednesday
Kate and I painted the parlor entry room today...I am very tired of painting. On the bright-side, Sr. Rosina made us some tomato, egg, and potato soup which was quite delicious for lunch.

Thursday
Fred (the "Feed the Children" driver) remembered to pick us up today! I got to go to the other little rehab house for physical therapy. We only ended up staying until noon because the kids at school had a half day so we didn't want to make Fred do 2 trips. This worked out great because then we had time in the afternoon to stain two of the rooms floors for Sr. Rosina.

Friday
The kids at Cottolengo were much better behaved today! Kate and I spent most of the day watching and holding the little babies while one of the sisters took the bigger toddlers outside for a walk. We actually got a "teabreak" which was a nice rest from watching the kids. After the usual lunch of ugale and the green stuff (still don't know how to spell its name), we had an hour and a half nap-time. I live for those nap-times! So relaxing. When the kids woke up, we mainly just held the babies until we had to leave. It was really sad because we found out that one of the babies who we had just seen died right before we left. I had thought something was wrong with the baby since it was breathing really heavily when we saw her before lunch but it was really shocking to hear that the baby passed away while we were there. Say some prayers for our kids!

Me and Leon :)

On the way home, Kate and I ended up testing out the new frozen yogurt place called "Red Cherry". It is basically the same thing as a "Sweet Frog". We also got coerced into checking out some of the gift shops in the Karen market which was kind of cool to see what people are selling.

Saturday
Kate and I took our first solo trip into Nairobi today! Harris usually meets us in Karen, so it was a big deal successfully meeting him in Nairobi with our limited knowledge of the city. On the way to lunch, this Somalian man who said his name was "Professor Hubert" stopped us and went on and on about us being friendly and how we weren't prejudiced. He told us this long (probably false) story about how he and his family escaped Somalia and were starving, even going to the extent of showing us the scars on his chest that were supposedly from being tortured. Seeing as Kate and I didn't want to anger the man or risk getting harmed, we ended up giving him some money for rice. Who knows what parts of his story were true, if any. I think we handled the situation pretty well considering the circumstances...And I do not want to get in a fight with a guy from Somalia! No, thank you!

We stayed the night in Nairobi and got to hang out with the guys' friends and even met two girls- Mimi and Anita. The guys weren't very fond of the girls but I thought they were a lot of fun to hang out with for the most part.

Sunday
Kate ended up getting really sick, probably from the food, so Harris and I were the only ones who went to mass. At mass, there was this cute little girl that kept poking her head out from behind her mother and brother. I made faces at her and she would laugh then hide again. Definitely made the 2 hour long mass go by a little faster!

On the way to the bus station in Nairobi, Kate, Harris, and I were walking down this busy side street and some guy tried to steal from my backpack. Luckily, he only unzipped one of my small pockets that didn't have any valuable in it. I'm just really grateful that I realized what was going on and that he didn't get anything! Of course, this was after some guy had cursed at us...what is wrong with some people? Like really...chill.

The bus back to Karen took forrrreverrrrrr!!! There was so much traffic that the bus driver took us on this crazy route through part of one of the slums and down random back roads. This little boy in front of me kept staring at me so I made faces at him. The kid wouldn't stop laughing. So cute! It always amuses me how excited the kids here are when they see a "mzungu". I guess we are pretty funny looking to them!

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Let's just say that if anyone asked me "How's the going?" this week I would have to say that it was crazy! I am so glad it is over! I learned several things this week...like the following:

1.) Be grateful for your health. One of the worst feelings is being sick and not being at home. I feel so lucky that I am at a place where medical care is so easily accessible (within 100 yards from my room, literally) and that I have an amazing group of women who take care of me when I am sick. I don't know what I'd do without them- especially Kate!
2.) Always be aware of your surroundings! I admit- there were a few really scary moments of this week that I was like "We are not in America anymore!". It is important to remember that where ever you are you need to be aware of your surroundings. Unfortunately, not everyone is a happy and loving person. I'm trying not to be paranoid. Just a word of advise! Your safety is important!
3.) Be kind to people. We have been really fortunate that 99.9% of the people here are welcoming and happy to see us. Unfortunately (like I said), there is the .1% that some times make life a bit difficult. I think the best thing you can do is to always greet people pleasantly and to not let that .1% ruin your day. Africa is such a beautiful place. It would be a shame for me to think that my entire experience is tainted by a few people.

Anyways...I'd like to close with some "Quotes of the Week" since there were a few gems of comments that I think will make you laugh too!

*QUOTES OF THE WEEK*

Benson (physical therapist at Dagoretti): "Caitlin, when are you having a child??"
Me: "Ummm....when I meet the right person and get married...which won't be for a loooong time!!"

Kate (after purchasing the new T-Swift song when I was sick): "You are worth $1.25, my friend!"

Lunch time conversation [[My personal favorite!]]
Me: "What is that?"
Sr. Lydia: "Passion fruit."
Me: "What does it taste like?"
Sr. Lydia: " 'Passion'. Have you ever had 'passion' before?"