Christmas is almost here! And who would know it! When you don’t have Christmas shopping to do and don’t see decorations everywhere, it tends to creep up on you a bit!!! I think I mentioned last time, we’re in Kisumu today and tonight, and then leave at lunchtime tomorrow to head out to the baby orphanage at Rangala. We drew out names for a secret santa last week and ever since, people have been leaving clues for each other all around the compound in the most random of places – in dishes, gloves, beds, cereal boxes) which has been really funny, and we’ve spent a lot of time interrogating each other to try and find out who is who’s secret santa…it’s kept us occupied! Pretty sure we’re heading out for a few drinks after dinner tonight to test the waters for New Years Eve, so we’ll see what happens there. Alcohol over here tends to make me so tired, I think from the heat. And yesterday was so hot, it’s always hot but yesterday was steaming, it must have been over 35 degrees and I barely slept at all last night because it just doesn’t cool down. But I am getting used to the heat, it’ll be odd to come back home to changeable weather!
We only had two days on the site this week and it was a bit frustrating, because we haven’t got all the materials we need – the last week or so we’d been working on the outside, making a veggie patch, digging a trench for plants, etc and on Monday we had dug all these reasonably big square holes for our 10 eucalyptus trees, but yesterday they had changed the boundary line for the fence, so we had to re-dig part of the holes so the fence doesn’t go through the middle. It is the African way…you have to do things at least 3 times before it’s right! But we haven’t got the materials for the fence yet and we can’t plant the trees until the fence goes up….so I think we are hoping to do the fence on Monday and plant our trees as a sort of closing ceremony on Tuesday. The building itself won’t be completely finished, but we never expected that from the start, so that’s ok. When I looked at the photos last night from how it was when we started, compared to how it is now, I can see that we really have done an awful lot and it’s great to see how far we’ve come with it.
Well I’ve been here for almost four weeks now and only have two to go...I think I’ll be happy to come home but I will be really sad to leave – I am definitely going to have to come back here one day. It’s such an incredible place and the people are wonderful. And I know my way around so well now, I know how much is fair to pay for this and that, I know how to get from here to there….which, even though we never travel anywhere on our own, is a great feeling. Our trip into Kisumu today was interesting, matatu (vans, usually pimped out with carpeted seats and speakers) trips are always interesting – there are 15 seats altogether but usually they end up squeezing at least 20 people in there…I couldn’t even turn around to count today! And I was right up the front next to the sliding door – not the best spot to be with the guy hanging out the window and constantly opening the door while it’s still moving to let people on and off! But I love it! It’s always a great trip.
So everyone take care and have a lovely Christmas – I’ll be thinking of you all when I wake up tomorrow morning! Actually I’m thinking of you all even now! xoxo
