Kumbe – *gasp!* Really?!

Monday here was Multi-Cultural Day. It was such an amazing sight to see! The students all dressed up in the colors and/or flags of their home countries, and there were so many different colors! During the “program,” the French classes did a song and a fashion show, the Spanish class did a song, there was a Korean fan dance, a Korean song, an American march, and some multi-cultural music from the Titchies. The students were all so supportive of each other! The kindergarteners and first graders got a standing ovation after they sang “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” (The theme for this year’s MC Day was “precious in His sight,” and so the teams for the game portion of the day were red, yellow, black, and white. It was very clever.) The Korean fan dance was amazing! And the students were all cheering on their friends and classmates the whole time! There were a couple of non-Korean girls who participated, and they were soooooo excited about it!

The end of the MC Day “program” was the flag ceremony. During the flag ceremony, the student who is a citizen of a different country who has been at RVA the longest gets the honor of carrying his/her country’s flag. The student carries the flag up onto the stage in the chapel and greets the school in his country’s language. I don’t know how many countries are represented at RVA, but the entire stage was filled!!! It was emotional, too… the kids all went nuts for their home country! And since Kenya is the “host” country, its flag came last, and the student body absolutely erupted. It was an incredible sight to see. You could barely hear the band playing the Kenyan national anthem, the roar was so deafening! I’ll never forget it.

The games were a lot of fun, too. I was running the “puzzle challenge,” for which I had to MAKE two puzzles. I spent soooo many hours on those silly puzzles! Each puzzle had a word on it that meant “love,” but was not in English. So they worked as teams – dressed up in their team colors – to put the puzzle together and then to build the word with their bodies. I told them that if they used every member of their team to make the word, they’d get bonus points. This really excited them, and they worked so hard together! I had 5 rotations of 2 teams each, and it was fascinating to see the strategies! Some teams laid down on the ground to make the words, some stood, some used the stairs of the bleachers…. It was really interesting! And some teams were really competitive, of course, and some were laughing about having lost every game so far… I had such a great time! And since I was a game leader, I wore red, yellow, black, AND white, which was ridiculous but fun. :)

This week at school we had playing tests. One of my favorite flute girls was crying after hers, and I gave her a hug and told her she was a fantastic flutist, at which she just shook her head. Poor thing… she’s SUCH a hard worker… and she really is a good flutist. It broke my heart to see her so upset.

Saturday was Pinewood Derby. It’s SUCH a big deal here! The track goes almost all the way across the gym, and they have instant replay and digital scoring and… senior store was selling burgers and ice cream and chicken sandwiches and salads (a rare delicacy!). I had two sodas! Sodas are rare here, too… I actually was a judge for the derby, so I had gotten to see the cars ahead of time. There were such unique ideas! One car was a foot, one car was a replica of Titchie playground, one was a scale model of a NASA re-entry pod, some looked like race cars, VW bugs, etc… and there were even two monster trucks (GraveDigger and Scorpion) – which I was mocked viciously for recognizing.

After pinewood derby, I went for a walk on the guards’ trail. It goes all the way around the outside of campus, and most of the time you walk right up against the fence. But at one point, when the trees and bushes cleared, you could see clearly for miles. I stopped and just looked… I could see the valley and the mountains beyond; I could see the sunlight streaming down into the valley; and it was gorgeous. On clear nights, you can see the fires down in the villages in the valley from our house on campus. And as I was just looking out at it all, pictures started to run through my mind of the people I had met here… people who welcomed me, befriended me, gave me tips on bargaining with the Maasai… people who helped me find my way around, who drove me places, who taught me to sort maize meal and grate carrots (hehee), and who had had so much patience with me. I thought of the men pulling carts through downtown Mombasa and women in Kijabe who smile -- such big, beautiful smiles -- and wave at me just because I wave at them or say "hello"…. I thought of Nathan and Mary at the Supa Duka and Miss Mary at the hospital kitchen and of Thenya, who was so excited to help me get my wedding shoes…. I thought of so many people who shared with me what little they had.... And then I thought of my lil’ kindergarteners who are always so happy to see me for no reason at all and yell out, “Hi, Mrs. Lyons!!!” And I thought of my first graders (I teach their Sunday School), who stand at a dangerous height but always RUN up and nearly tackle me with love when they see me… and I thought of my junior high students who are so totally on your side if you just take half a minute and give them a complement or a lil encouragement... and I thought of my flute girls and how excited they are to hear my flute tone and how badly they want to play well and how hard they work… and it hurt me that anyone could call this the “dark continent.”

So I thanked God for my walk, and I knew that He was reminding me that He has sent me here. It’s been so, SOO tough to be here this week, but I know that it’s where God has me, and I know He’s at work.

Si Taki - I don't want it

I just got back from the beautiful Mombasa.

The trip out was sooo interesting! It was an adventure, to say the least. Friday, the last day of classes, was a half day. But instead of just having half the periods, we had 22 minutes of all seven periods. Mr. Taylor was driving a bus to the airport, so I covered a few of his geography classes… and Abigail was busy trying to arrange her midterm classes, so I covered her class as well. So, first period, I was in geography, then my study hall – luckily, they ALL asked to go to the computer lab! – third period I covered another geography class, fourth period I covered a general music class, fifth period I had free and used it to plan for my sixth period, which didn’t show up!! And seventh period I was free. It went so fast! Then we had a flag raising service and got out of school at 10:45, I think.

We left RVA in two groups: Ashley, Ru, and Erica left with one family at 11:30; and Jessica, Anita, and I left with the Cooks at 1:30. In Nairobi, we figured out a place where we could leave our luggage since our bus didn’t leave till 10pm. (We had to go into town early, though, because everyone tries to get back to Kijabe before dark for safety reasons). So we hung out in Nairobi for the afternoon/evening… we had ice cream, caught a movie, had dinner, walked around…. Chinese food is a rare delicacy, and was a very special treat! Anyway, at about 9pm, we gathered our luggage and caught a taxi to the bus station. A friend of ours who has lived in Africa all his life called a friend of his that he trusted to drive us into downtown.

I didn’t realize that the bus station was in DOWNTOWN Nairobi—in “a dodgy part of town,” as Aaron told us. As soon as our driver, Paul, pulled up to the station (at 10pm, you’ll remember!!!), I said, “Ru, I’m SO glad you’re here.” If it had been just the five of us girls, I don’t think I would’ve gotten out of the car. There were people everywhere… just EVERYWHERE! And it was dirty and dark and… I don’t know how to explain what it felt like… I just felt very unsafe. And it’s hard being white here. Regardless of what you say, everyone assumes you’re rich – and by their standards, almost all of us are. So pick-pocketing is a danger, and… anyway, we went right in and went up to the waiting area and we were fine. They even had a TV on! So we caught some Kenyan news. The bathrooms were something special… what a smell! And the “toilet” is something not-so-affectionately known as a “long drop.” That’s all I’ll say about that. I couldn’t do it.

The bus was wonderful. Most of us had swollen ankles when we arrived from being seated for 8 hours, but other than that, it was really nice. It wasn’t air conditioned, of course… and I think the two men seated in front of Jess n’ I were cold-natured. It was HOT! And we kept opening the window, and they kept shutting it. Personally, I was more concerned about the lack of bathroom on the bus… but we stopped I think 4 times. And we had been warned that the ride was really bumpy, but it wasn’t bad at all. I took some Dramamine and slept pretty well. When we got there, we got a taxi that we crammed into (Ru was actually in the trunk) and got on the ferry and got to the coast.

Mombasa is SOOO beautiful! We got to our hotel at about 5:30 or 6am, and they served us breakfast and even got our rooms ready early. The only problem with the rooms was that you couldn’t leave the air conditioner on unless you had the key in it… which means if you’re not in the room, the AC is not on. But Ryan bent a coat hanger a bit and made it work… because we’d come back to the room and it would be oppressively hot in there.

The mosquito net on the big bed made it look kinda princessy. I was in a triple room with Ashley and Jess; Anita and Erica were in another room; and Ryan and Ru were in a third room. The rooms were quite nice.

In Mombasa, buildings aren’t actually closed in with four walls…. And windows don’t generally have glass. Buildings all have a roof, but are as open as possible, and walls are up where necessary. It keeps things cooler. Air conditioning is not normal in Kenya. And even were refrigeration exists (and where it does, it’s advertised!), sometimes things aren’t cold. Anyway, the dining room was beautiful, with a perfect view of the ocean!

The first evening, as we were waiting for dinner, I felt that I needed some time by myself, so I told the group I was going for a walk. I went down to the beach and started walking. Now… during the day, the beach is kind of an obnoxious place because “hawkers” (salespeople, essentially) will bug you to no end! They’ll follow you and walk with you and just keep talking and talking to you, trying to get you to buy something or come to their shop. Well, I figured now that it was dark (the sun goes down every day about 6:45), I’d have some peace. I was wrong. I started walking, and a Kenyan man started walking with me. I was about to politely tell him I wanted to be alone – all weekend I was told I was too nice and so was continually bugged – but then I thought… maybe he’s been ignored and turned down all day, and maybe he needs someone to listen to him for a minute… so I talked to him. He wanted to know where I was from. I told him I live in Kenya – that always shocks them (and gets me a better price). Anyway, he told me all about his family: his brothers in Germany, his parents nearby, his sister-in-law… he talked about losing his travel documents and his studies in computers… and I listened and asked questions and we walked for awhile. We didn’t go far from the hotel.

After awhile, he started asking me to come to a discotech. I told him I couldn’t dance, and he said it’s ok, we’ll just talk for an hour and then I could come back. I said I wouldn’t go anywhere alone. He assured me (repeatedly) that it’s safe. I said even if it is, I’m getting married soon and I’m not going to spend time alone with another man. He asked if I didn’t trust him, if I didn’t believe him… anyway, he just kinda kept pushing it… that we’d just talk for a lil while and maybe have a drink. I told him I needed to go for dinner.

When I walked back up to the hotel, my friends were looking for me. I had worried them. Apparently, if Ashley had heard me say I was going for a walk, she would’ve stopped me. And… apparently… “Thomas” was probably a male prostitute, and I had likely just been “propositioned.” I felt so, soooo, SOOOOO violated… and eventually mad.

During my time in Mombasa, I got a lot of sun… which caused a lot of confusion as to my country of origin. I had a lot of interesting guesses. One man spoke to me in Italian for five minutes or so before I finally told him I don’t speak Italian. What a beautiful language! One of the hawkers asked me if I was “Rastafarian.” Hahahaha! He told me I was very beautiful. Someone else – I think a worker at the hotel – asked if I was Brazilian. I think that one was my favorite guess. It reminded me of Spring Break and the picture Jess took that she said made me look like a “Brazilian goddess.” Or maybe Mere said that…

I was told a lot that I was beautiful. Lots of the hotel worker men told me that. At first I thought maybe they hadn’t seen hair like mine ever… but Ashley said that they know if they can sweet talk a white woman enough, they can get her pregnant… and if they can get a mzungu (white) girl pregnant, they have everything. So… that was a big kick in my ego. One time though, when we went to get ice cream down the beach a lil ways, I saw a woman in the bathroom. She asked me my name, and I told her. Her name was Sicilia, and she told me I was very beautiful. Her saying it meant a lot more to me, though, cuz I knew she didn’t want anything.

One night at the hotel, the workers did different dances from all over East Africa. They even had the traditional clothes… and a few people playing the music. It was such complex music! I watched the dancers’ feet and listened to the different drums and tried to figure out how they were following. One of the songs was in 5/8, I finally realized. Anyway, for one song, they went into the crowd and pulled people up to dance. Erica and I got pulled… it was such fun! It was hard, though! I had to watch the feet of the woman next to me. Ashley took some pictures. Hahaha!

On the way out of Mombasa, we took a different road to get to the airport (as opposed to the bus station). We drove straight through downtown Mombasa, but it was during the late morning. Driving in Kenya is such an experience… even more so than in Nairobi, in Mombasa, the road clears just barely ahead of a car. There are men pulling hand carts full of all kinds of things, people on bikes, and people walking. SOOOO many people walking. And there are little shops all over the place… more like stands than shops, I guess. We saw fresh fish just laying out… no ice. Hahaha! Flies everywhere! That’s something else about Kenya… it smells very different. African body odor is very different from US body odor. Anyway, so driving is TERRIFYING. While waiting for the ferry, though, Erica and I got out to look around. It was so fun! We didn’t buy anything there… but it was nice to just like… shop where regular Africans shop rather than being in a shop aimed specifically at mzungus. And the salespeople were a lot less aggressive.

So we got on the ferry and then to the airport. We took a very small plane from Mombasa to Nairobi, waited in Nairobi for a few hours, and caught the school bus back to Kijabe. So here I am! And I didn’t get nearly as much reading done as I had planned.

Ndio / Hapana -- Yes / No

I've had such diverse weekends lately!

Two weekends ago, I got up early Saturday morning, got dressed, and headed down to the Kijabe hospital. I had to wear a (long) skirt because it's still unusual to see women in pants. A group of six of us -- myself and five students -- found the kitchen and met Miss Mary. She instructed the two boys to go over and help the men-folk cut up meat, and the girls headed out back. There we sorted maize meal. We had to pull out the stings, bits of leaves, etc. as well as the shriveled pieces of meal. It took quite a long time. We were seated on wooden benches and had to keep our feet up (we soon learned) on the bar below the seat because the men-folk would, at un-forseeable intervals, pour out great vats of water that was once soapy, then dirty, then with bits of animal parts in it.

Before long we finished with the maize... the women there probably could've done it three times as fast as we did, but they appreciated our help. We found out Ethel had been working there for over fifty years! She didn't look a day over 40! Anyway, We then moved on to carrots. Mary handed me a tray piled high with carrots and a grater. "We call dis glay-tah," she said. I almost laughed, but caught myself and nodded instead. She demonstrated how to use it, shaving down a carrot in like... three seconds! I got to work. The other girls were handed trays piled high with carrots and a big knife each. A couple of the knives didn't have handles, so they had to be really careful.

When I was finished grating carrots, I was brought more carrots and handed a knife. A lady named Gladys demonstrated. She made it look so easy! She wanted me to cut each one twice long ways, making a t shape from the top... then cut it into lil slices. Anyway... it was tough! And no cutting board or anything. Anyway, after carrots was potatoes... GOBS and GOBS of potatoes! I'd never seen so many in all my life. Our job was to cut off the bad spots, cut them into chunks, and toss them into the water. At some point, they brought us chai -- the BEST chai I've had! It was delicious. Apparently, it should be cooked over an open fire. They also brought us lunch, but I wish they hadn't. I think they think white people eat a lot. Our plates were piled HIGH! It was all starchy things -- things to fill up your stomach. None of us could eat it all. Anyway, when all was said and done, we had worked sitting on those wooden benches for over four hours... in the sun... at 7200 ft. elevation. I was quite sunburnt. It didn't even occur to me till I got home and saw my tan lines. I had started the day in long sleeves and then pushed them up. So from my hands to my elbows, I was dark DARK brown... and then it stopped. Hahaha! It's faded now, but... anyway. :) Oh well!

Last Saturday I spent in Nairobi, which is probably the most diverse place I've ever been. In the course of an hour, you can, without effort, see someone dressed in a full burka and then someone wearing almost nothing at all. There are Somalis there, Indians, Europeans (all KINDS of Europeans!), Americans on holiday, etc. It's fascinating to people-watch. I saw one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen in my life... she was an African with a long, slender neck and a gorgeous profile! She was having lunch with a middle-aged (or later), heavy-set white man.

I also got a pedicure in Nairobi. All the dust in Kijabe had made my feet rather yucky. I hated the pedicure, though. I kept thinking about the water restrictions we'd been under and what a waste it was to use good, clean water for my feet. I was so glad when it was over... my toes are beuatiful now, but when I got home I couldn't help thinking that my feet looked like they hadnt' been in Africa at all. I suppose that's what I wanted... I don't think I'll do it again.

Now it's mid-term break for RVA, and I'm on the way to Mombasa. I leave in twenty minutes. We'll get to Nairobi and hang out there till 10pm! I dunno what we'll do... people watch, grab dinner... maybe see a movie? I think they have bowling... I guess we'll see. Then we'll catch the night bus and get to Mombasa at 6am tomorrow. There are seven of us going: five girls and two guys. It should be a great time. I hear the beach is BEAUTIFUL and non-crowded. I hope to do a lot of reading.