London/ Arrival in Kenya

On my way to arriving in Kenya, I spent 10 or so hours in London.  It was fun taking the subway into the city and seeing St. Paul’s Cathedral (thanks for the tip Mom), whose grounds are apparently home to Occupy London.  Always funny when you can go so far away, and yet see the same things I would have if I’d stayed in the Bay Area.  I went to a pub near Trafalgar Square and they had a Big Ben Burger.  This might be one of the more embarrassing things that has happened to me- My first thought was “Stupid Steelers fans.  How could they even follow me here!?!?”  About 20 seconds later I pulled myself together and reacquainted myself with the fact that I was in London and Big Ben is kind of one of their biggest land marks.  Go Nikki… 

Matilda looking good and ready for school

I'm in Kenya now, and am staying with the family that I stayed with when I studied abroad here in 2009.  We live in Mwiki, which is a small area to the east of Nairobi (maybe google maps will help here...) They are wonderful and one of the happiest families I've ever met.  In Kenya, gender roles are very strict, and most men come home from work and put their feet up on the table and read the paper or watch tv.  They then wait for their wife to come and bring them tea and dinner (this is expected regardless of whether or not the wife also works a full time job).  But my family is completely different, constantly supporting eachother.  It's a fun environment to be in.  I'm going to cook the ugali (water and maize flour combined to look like mashed potatoes that is a staple of many African dishes) tonight for dinner, and learn to cook the rest of the meal.  My host mom is a wonderful cook, and intent on teaching me so that I can go home with a menu of atleast 4 meals at my disposal.  I had some chapati for lunch and was reminded at how far the times I have cooked it have fallen short.  

We had a hair braiding party to get the girls ready for school.  This is Mama Matilda and Abigail.

And Priscilla (another neighbor) playing with my hair (the kids love how soft it is) while I pleat Matilda's

Abigail listening to music

It’s funny how much Swahili has come back to me, and how I have to make a conscious effort to type each word of this in English.  The church service we went to today was in English and then translated to Kiswahili, so I was able to relearn a lot of words that I recognized when I heard them said there.  And as always, being with kids is the best way to learn a language.  They speak slower and if I don’t understand them, the just go about whatever they were doing before.  One of neighbor kids has taken it upon herself to be my tutor, and she teaches me words and sentences and then tests me to ensure I’ve learned properly.  I’m currently hanging out with Matilda, her friend Abigail, and Jasmine.  Matilda has grown so much, and is now 3 years old and in school with her best friend Abigail (also 3). Jasmine looks very similar to how Matilda did when I was there before.  Matilda has been in school for a week and has learned to write numbers, although it is evident that 7 is her favorite as she writes it wherever she can.  They are also enjoying typing with me now, and I had them type in their own names as their contribution.  The cutest thing they have done so far was when kids were gathering by the door to the apartment, the girls were telling them about me saying: "yeye si mzungu. yeye ni Nikki."  This means: "She is not white person/foreigner.  She is Nikki."  It was sweet, and when kids come over Matilda or Abigail tell them to say my name, to make sure they are allowed in.  

Baby Jasmine

Yesterday I went to town to meet up with Brian (aka "best friend") when he got off work, and also to run some errands a buy a phone etc.  I ended up running into a friend I'd made when here before.  I can't get over how small of a world it is sometimes!  Tomorrow we will head upcountry to where my host mom is from, for her aunt's funeral.  Even though its a somber occasion, I'm excited to go see her family and buy some mangoes which grow plentifully there.

 So to recap this random post- things here are great, and I'm excited as I make/remake connections and am getting things going.  Take care!