Day 7: Feels Like Home

I awoke to the sounds of wildlife and a donkey outside my window. I was up and getting ready in no time, too excited for what the day might bring!!

I went to breakfast where again I was given way more food then I could possibly eat. Fruit, cereal, eggs, toast, sausage, bacon and breakfast potatoes. Who eats all this in one sitting? I slightly rushed through breakfast so that I could be ready when Patrick came.

I rounded the corner to see baboons five feet away between me and my room. Nervous Nelly that I am I went and informed the receptionist and he sent them away.

I organized my belongings and finished getting ready just in time to hear a knock at my door. Patrick was here and my day has begun!

We first went to the Kiboko Wilderness office. Patrick worked while I stamped books that we were donating to the school. Amos came to visit us! I showed him a map of the United States because he had asked where Minnesota was. The map was in a pocket U.S. atlas and he continued to look at that as well as a few other books. I continued stamping. A relative of Methoga's from a university somewhere showed up to visit with us, his name was Njoroge. We all decided to go for coffee.

My stomach hadn't been feeling the greatest so I just ordered a sprite and they brought me a giant glass bottle of it. Patrick flipped through the paper and we discussed things like President Obama, healthcare, bribing police, drunk drivers, genetically modified food and the like. In a conversation about things that were illegal while driving I told them that Arnold Shwarzenegger's wife had been caught on her cell phone while driving at least twice (illegal in Cali). They laughed about that for a while.

After some time had passed I noticed that everyone had been finished with their drinks for quite a while. I asked Amos if they were waiting for me and he gave a shy grin and nodded yes. I still had 90% of my gigantic sprite left and was not in the chugging mood. I told him we didn't have to wait, he said they could and explained that it would be at least an hour before I could finish so much sprite. They decided I would take it to go which then became an ordeal because the bottle was glass and they got a refund on them. Amos went over to whatever was next door and brought back an empty fanta bottle. They grabbed several straws for whatever purpose I still don't know, and then we were off.

They took me over to the market where I couldn't recognize most things and they didn't know the English word for a lot of it either. There were rows and rows of beans, pumpkins, yams, squash, corn, cabbage, cilantro and the like. They were asking what of the foods we had in the U.S. and they laughed when I told them I had only seen millet in a box. They always tell me when I can take a picture and offer to take a picture of me.

They then spotted where all the Coca-Cola is stored before sellers come and purchase it. Amos waved me inside to take a look. There were Coca-Cola crates stacked several rows deep and all the way up to the at least ten foot ceiling. They told me it was okay to take a picture and then swayed the owner to take a picture with me.
Patrick then wanted to show me the "old clothes store" which was actually a market of used clothing that they said came from Europe and the United States. We walked through slowly and it really hit me where I was again. I looked at the piles of clothing and shoes surrounded by the absolute silence and looks from the sellers there. I could tell not many tourists walked through there. As we neared the end I asked Amos if I could take a picture and he said yes. They then looked at me and said in almost a question, "In the U.S. you just get rid of those things?"

I explained to them yes, that those items can be donated to places like Goodwill and the like. They asked if we get money for them and I tried to explain the tax rebate system and I also explained stores like Plato's Closet. I wasn't sure how to answer as I knew I had a walk in closet full of clothes I rarely wore and would gladly give away for free and I didn't really know what answer they were looking for. In hindsight I wish we would have walked through there a few days later when I was more comfortable talking with them.
We walked by another shop and they quickly waved me in to meet Amos's wife while she was working. She was a hair stylist and she happened to be doing Amos's mother's hair so I got to meet both of them. I took a picture, there was a lot of laughing at what I assume was me and then we headed back towards the office.
I had mentioned earlier that I liked fish so Patrick had arranged for us to eat at one of the best fish places around, Trout Tree. Jack picked us up and off we went. The restaurant looked like those you've seen in pictures of Hawaii and they had the nicest bathroom in Kenya I had seen. The whole restaurant was built up in a tree like in the movie "Swiss Family Robinson". We sat down and I noticed there was only a placemat in front of me. I asked Patrick why he was not eating, he asked if I would like him to eat. I said yes and he said asante. I realized that this meant I was paying. He ran up to tell the server and talked with Jack. We walked around the patios and took pictures. They had the largest cala lillies growing that I had ever seen.

We then returned to our seats and they brought us our plates. Patrick began taking some food off his plate and putting it on a smaller plate. I asked if we were supposed to do that and the waitress explained that that portion was for the driver and he wanted to taste it. I felt bad and wished I would have thought to invite him to eat with us. The fish was very good and fresh tasting. I told Patrick that a meal like that would have been $25-40 at home which he thought was crazy.

One of the colobus monkeys jumped down and began eating the sugar off of the table next to us. We were laughing and I tried to pull out my camera in time but then the monkey started coming after our food. Patrick and the waitress scared it away and we laughed about it.

Of course again I couldn't finish my food. I offered it to Patrick to take home and he was happy to do so. We started heading towards the door and Jack had been waiting for us at the upper level. Just walking up the few steps exhausted me. I was feeling relieved I chose to get off the mountain.

As we headed down the road we swerved to avoid a pothole. Patrick asked me if we had potholes in the U.S. and was very surprised to hear that we did. I told him in Minnesota we had a joke that we had two seasons, winter and construction, which they thought was funny.

I wanted a piece of gum so I took out a piece for me and held the pack up front to see if they wanted some. Patrick said yes and split the pack up between them. I guess he thought I was giving the whole pack. Oh well, I had two more packs at the hotel.

We were headed to meet Patrick's family and stop by the Kambi Primary School to get a list of supplies to pick up the next day. As we got on the rural roads a group of ladies were walking towards town. Patrick explained that in the morning they walk out to the rural areas to look for work in the farms and in the afternoon they walk home.

We arrived at Patrick's home where his mother, wife, sister, children and another guy who helped with farm chores lived. They were all very excited to meet me, shake my hand and give me hugs. Patrick's sister Veronica even gave me a double hug, one on each side. I said "Jambo" and "Asante" to which they laughed and asked where I learned Kiswahili. I explained that we had a few classes with Emily before we came and that I had been learning along the way.
Patrick and the farmer took me back to the field to try sugar cane. The farmer selected a good one and started hacking away at it with a machete. Then they gave me a small piece, told me to chew it and then spit it out. In Kenya, I should wear skirts, cover my shoulders and wear high necklines but spitting- Hakuna Matata! I felt silly but I turned around and spit it out, not too far but not straight down.
We continued on and Patrick said we would stop in the hotel and wait for a ride. Upon entering I realized that Kenyan hotels and American hotels were quite different. What I was standing in was more like a small town cafe, sort of. I explained to him what I thought a hotel was and that every time we drove by one I wondered who slept in those small hotels. Everyone was laughing at my confusion. Patrick taught me some more Kiswahili until Jack came to give me a ride back to Bantu.

I headed towards the restaurant at 7pm but they weren't quite ready for me yet so I went to the lounge to get a fanta black current, my new favorite. The staff told me to come back after dinner for coffee when the host came to get me for dinner. They again sat me by the fire to enjoy my meal after which I returned to the lounge.

Evling, one of the staff, sat with me and taught me more Kiswahili. We talked about school, work, Kiboko Wilderness and wildlife. We joked around with the other staff and visitors as I learned new phrases. Steven taught me how to say I was tired because I had worked hard all day but Evling switched me to saying I was tired because I had played all day.

Laughter continued throughout the night until I bid everyone nlala salama and headed to my room. By now I had a system down as to how to unlock my tricky door, prepare my mosquito net, work with the multiple lights and switches and the like. It felt like home.