We moved last Friday! We bid fond farewell to all our pals at the Guest House Siaya--manager, restaurant staff, reception girls. We vowed to stay in touch and return for a visit and dinner when we get settled.
Our house....and it is a house....is on the Army property, close enough to walk to school. It is a gated property with a 3-story headquarters (large and impressive building about 6 months old), the church, a small building for church activities, another home for local church leaders, and our digs. It is a 20 year old house with a large living room/dining area where we enjoy a new couch and a nice big table for eating. On the property there are lots of activities so we have had lots of people drop by. The Kenyans are ultra-hospitable and even ask when they can come by and visit. So we try to be warm and welcoming. It is also custom to drink lots of tea with milk, so we are stocked. Personally it is not my favorite but we have served it! There are 2 bedrooms each with an over-sized bed and the bath is split: one room for shower and one room for toilet. The kitchen is also good-sized, though no hot water. We must boil all water to drink, so every few days we boil and put water into plastic bottles. We use the boiled water to wash dishes as well....or sometimes we just use bottled water. We have started to outfit our pantry and it is coming along. It is not too far from town (less than a mile?) and if carrying lots of provisions, I hop a boda-boda (the bicycle 'taxi':sit on the back with provisions). Yesterday as I hopped the boda-boda, I heard someone yell: Grandma on a boda-boda! We attract attention as there are almost no other white people. But people are welcoming and I kinda forget we look different. But kids do stare....
So it is nice to be in our own great place. I feel very safe and love to see the cows trek past each evening as they meander home....lots of cows, goats, chickens in the neighborhood, even though we live on the Mumia Highway Road. I know it is time to get up in the morning when I hear the rooster crow and the birds sing.
Life is complex here, as you may have inferred already. But the people are so gracious and with a bit of thought, we figure it out. We are still not online at the house but have access at Army headquarters, so we stay connected...stay tuned!
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A house......how sweet is that?! Your new abode sounds comfy. I am glad the locals are social and hospitable...all the more enriching for you. I am at the tail end of an annoying bout of bronchitis (no choir for me) and it has gone on forever. I envy your nature driven alarm clocks.
ReplyDeleteLet us know if you need any school stuff.
XOX,
Hanner
Hi Roxanne,
ReplyDeleteAmazing to think about what you are doing!! I am happy that you are comfortable and feel safe. It is wonderful to read your blogs. Perhaps you should write a book following this experience. I bet there would be a lot of interested readers from PV trying to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives!!Thoughts and prayers.
lol,
Debbie
So glad you're moved in and have had a chance to settle and write. Sounds of nature and the cows strolling by as you cruise on the boda-boda hearken to a radically different style of life. Can't say I envy the water boiling bit, but I guess it just becomes part of the pattern. Stay well and keep writing. Our prayers continue, and I so admire the positive impact you bring to those warm human beings.
ReplyDeleteYour daily parade of cows is probably more entertaining than the peacock parade (all 2 of them) we had at RHUMC at the 8:30 service this morning. They were out for a Sunday stroll (between the church and the offices) and walked right through the ivy and agapanthus, looked into the sanctuary, then went on their merry way. The congregation could not see them because of the configuration of the sanctuary but the choir did. It was right in the beginning of Jonathan's sermon...he did not let on if he did see them. Pretty funny huh?! Hope you are well....miss you. XOX, Hanner
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