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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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?"
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