Monday 6/4
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! These past few days have been
quite busy for days off. On Saturday Mark and I went with Adam to Mbita, which
is the closest town to us. We took a piki piki (or motorbike), which was an
experience. From the outside it appears much more dangerous than it feels if
you ride. You just have to balance (and I know some of you want to make a joke
about my lack of balance now that I said that). We had lunch and walked around
a bit, just trying to get more acquainted with the area. As mzungu we got
plenty of stares and waves, but that is just to be expected. We got home in the
early evening, and had a great time at dinner talking with Eve. She is a
wonderful and very smart person who has come to the island to help out with the
computer program. After enjoying her company the lovely June came in with her
son, Alex. Alex is a very bright and very active five year old. He spoke to me
a length in Luo, and although I could not understand him we had fun playing. He
is also pretty good at speaking English, when he wants to.
On Sunday Alphonce had
some people coming to the house to repair a wall in the master bedroom. They
were there pretty much all day, and now the house and all its contents are
covered in a layer of dust. Geesh. Around 10:15 that morning mark and I went
with a guy named Peter and a guy named Oliver to the local Lutheran church. It
was quite small, with about 10 people outside our group in attendance, but
everyone was so very kind. The pastor even had Oliver come up and translate the
message into English for us. After church we went to Alphonce’s other house for
the day and night. He has three kids: Bianca, Emily, and the brand new Maxwell
(born May 29). They are fun, but quite a handful. Particularly Emily. Also at
the house was Alphonce’s niece and nephew, Lette and Lenox (twins). They too
were lots of fun, and incredibly bright. At dusk Mark, Alphonce, and I went in
search of a hippo, but had no luck finding one. However, we have made plans to
look for one every evening until we find one. We have been told they are quite
rampant, so we shall see.
