Sensory Overload

I keep thinking that soon, very soon, I will start getting used to the Kenyan way of life.  Things will start to become normal, routine. That couldn’t be further from the truth (so far, at least).  With each new day I’m finding myself enthralled with new experiences, thoughts, emotions…  The only way I know how to do justice to the thoughts buzzing in and out of my mind is a simple (but scattered) laundry list.  So here it goes:

• Weather.  Right at this moment as I’m sitting on my bed in my room, raindrops are clunking against the tin roof.  It rains just about every day; usually hard, heavy rain for an hour or two (leaving some nice and muddy roads).  The climate ranges from up to 90 degrees in the sun down to the upper 60’s at night (which is considered “chilly” and therefore Momma Mary insists I put on my jacket and have a warm cup of coffee or tea).
•  Public transportation.  I’ve gotten a nice sampling of all types of public transportation, which is for the most part widely available and easy to use.  Matatus are vans that squish 17 (plus ALWAYS room for one more) people like sardines across your long-distance journeys.  Tuktuks are basically covered motorcycles with three wheels, but slower and bumpier.  Pikipikis are actual motorcycles (hold on tight!) and bodabodas, like I’ve said before, are bicycles.  I use the bodabodas a lot to get to and from town as they’re the cheapest and most readily available.  But pikipikis are the most fun!
• Orientation week.  On the last day of orientation week we traveled to Kisumu, took a boat on Lake Victoria, and saw some hippos. Or their noses and eyes, anyways.  When we got back we went to the disco and danced (or made fools of ourselves?) with the locals- so fun!
• Kumbikumbi is the Swahili word for fried termite.  I ate one, and it tasted kind of like a burnt sunflower seed.  I see how it’s a common snack food in Kenya, but I don’t need another one anytime soon…
• It gets really really REALLY dark at night. You can’t see your own feet, or even your hand for that matter. But the stars are that much brighter.
• Having a house with “running water” means there is one tap in the corner that we use to refill the large basins.  When you need water, you take from the basin, not the tap.
• Zungu’s (the 2 year old) toys consist of parts of a broken doll I’ve seen lying around the compound and a ball made from a rolled up and tattered article of clothing.
• Speaking of tattered clothing, an old torn shirt is used as a mop to clean the concrete floors.  Other than for cleaning and towels (and sometimes toys), clothes are carefully washed, dried, and ironed every day; a clean, put-together appearance is high priority.
• The house iron is a metal box with a wooden handle.  Simply fill the box with charcoal, start a fire, and you’re ready to iron!
• Momma Mary is very protective of me.  If its dark outside she escorts me the 20 steps out to the pit latrine. She walks me to work in the morning (despite the fact it’s just straight down the road), and she is sure to arrange a bodaboda ride home or wherever I may need to go.
• There are separate rooms in my house, but no ceilings- just one all-encompassing roof.  I can hear every sound in the other rooms (especially the snoring in the middle of the night).
• Mornings are noisy too.  The chickens sleep inside (so they don’t get stolen) and make quite a scene when it starts getting light out.
• Every morning I take a bucket shower.  I mix boiled water with cold water to get a nice temperature, keep the water in a basin, and use a pitcher help rinse off.
• When I brush my teeth, I take my toothbrush and a glass of water to a ledge outside of the house.  When I'm done brushing I rinse and spit onto the ground just outside of the house.
• There are no garbage cans here, and I still haven't exactly figured what to do with my trash.  One time I asked, and Grace had me throw it on the ground in the house. It was swept outside to the grounds of the compound later that day.

There’s always more to write, but I’m calling it a night for now.  Look out for the next post, I’ll be summing up my first week at work!