3 sleeps to go. That sux. It has mostly been a beautiful week. I say mostly because I got sick on Friday night (my stomach decided to evacuate all contents by all means possible and it was not pretty!) so I missed the wedding on Saturday although I did attempt to go. Got dressed up, went in the van, got there, felt like pants and came all the way back again. Spent Saturday and most of Sunday in bed but had good company. Agnes and Anna watched movies with me on Sunday and the family kept checking in to make sure I was ok. Awww, love them.
The days at the orphanage have been so special. I’m becoming increasingly aware of how close it is to my leaving this beautiful country and my new friends. We were all in the classroom/building today greeting some visitors and little Moses was sitting on my knee as he did for most of the day. With no warning whatsoever my eyes filled with tears and I felt so sad and empty. I couldn’t imagine letting this little one go after all his smiles and hugs and laughter. And Bobo and Brian and Joseph and Teresiah and Dorkus; the list continues. I think I hid it but I certainly felt it. How could all these children, volunteers and the family have become so important to me so quickly? I guess love and affection is international isn’t it? Look at what can happen when you open your heart without reservation. I have apparently been here to volunteer but I feel (despite how sickly sweet this may sound) that I have received so much more than I have given.
Lucy’s eldest daughter Mary and her husband Julian arrived from Germany on Monday as did two new volunteers (Hope and Lureen). Wambui, Moses, Mary, Julian and Elizabeth all went to Mombassa on the night bus on Monday night and Lucy, Duncan, Ndegwa and Njeri went on the plane on Tuesday morning so we have been in the house with Ann, Dorkus, Francis, Kennedy and Dan. Seeing as I’m the eldest I should be the one in charge but considering I’m also one of the most immature that hasn’t happened! It has been really fun, watching movies, sitting on the balcony chatting – well, that only lasted until a gigantic mother of a spider started crawling down the wall. Sure it wasn’t comparable to Aussie monsters but big enough to have us all moving in the opposite direction. Francis came up and checked it out. Oh, it’s poisonous? Right, well, good that we moved away then! Squished spider on the bottom of Wambui’s shoe. We’ll tell her later.
We paid a visit to Planet Yoghurt this afternoon. Heaven, ‘nuff said.
You know, I’m even going to miss this cat. She may be terribly skinny and may try to steal any food in our rooms but she’s friendly and cuddly and gives me my feline fix. They just call her ‘Puss’, we renamed her Marcella :-)
Because the family is in Mombassa and only back late Thursday night we are going to have a party on Friday night to celebrate Ann’s, Mary’s and my birthday. There will be dancing, oh yes there will, and the singing of the Happy Birthday and probably tears. Francis said to me on Monday night that I shouldn’t be mad if he doesn’t come and say goodbye to me. ??? Ah why? He then said he can’t say goodbye to people he has become attached to. *Sniff*
You know what, I don’t actually have that much to report except to say my time here has been extraordinary and I know it is going to be heartbreaking to say goodbye. I was feeling somewhat lost before I came to Kenya, always worried about what I didn’t have and what was going to happen in the future. Now I really feel calm and peaceful and extremely grateful. Asante sana Kenya xxxx
