Half way....already!

Africa » Kenya » Coast Province » Mombasa
August 23rd 2009

Published: August 24th 2009

Well, I've just passed the half way point of my time out here in Kenya & I can't believe how fast the time has flown by.

Last week started with some serious DIY as I started the painting of the two rooms. I decided to do it myself as it will save money which can be out towards trying to complete some small odds & ends that need doing. So, Monday & Tuesday I was scraping & sanding the walls before starting the first coat of paint. I would get there at around 9.30am, break for lunch at around 1pm & then do a couple more hours in the afternoon, finishing after 5pm. I began the work on my own but surely after a mere 20 minutes I had one of the young lads who attends the school obliging to help. His name is Nassoro & he's really great fun to be around, even though he struggles to understand my English. We therefore now only really talk in Swahili as he is adamant to teach me the language! I'm slowly but surely picking it up but the words are completely foreign to my mouth, as they mainly consist of consonants all clustered together, making my attempted pronunciation a right laugh! Another lad is also helping us whose name I won't even attempt to spell as I have only just started to say it correctly when calling him. The children just watch us aghast when we are working, as do the teachers. I don't think prepping walls, painting & getting messy are really a woman's normal to-do out here so they are a little taken aback by my drive to get involved in the actual work.

By Wednesday we'd done all the prep work and applied the first coat of paint & the place was starting to look a lot better! On Wednesday I went to Mombasa town with Moses to pick out some material for curtains & hopefully find some matching tablecloths - you know those ones that are like a thin, plastic material & are easily wiped clean? Well that was what I had in mind, as some of the children are very young & they all eat with their hands so the tables are likely to get dirty pretty quickly. Anyway, I managed to find both & I think they will really brighten up the dining room. Additionally, after some late-night maths on Tuesday evening, I calculated that we have just enough money to purchase the necessary materials for Lameck (builder) to finish off some extra things that were part of the initial quotation but left aside as only a possibility. So that was good news! The extra work includes the fitting of two sinks & some tiling - one outside & one inside the kitchen, the relevant piping/fittings & finally the plastering of an outside wall which will make the school look more professional as the people pass by. We may even try to get the school's name painted on it as well. The journey home was definitely one to remember as Moses & I squashed ourselves into the matatu with two sinks, a box of tiles, four very long bits of piping, a bag of screws/bolts, the materials, oh and some more piping tied around my shoulder, along with the 12 other passengers whom I imagine were cursing us in Swahili. Great stuff eh!

On Thursday there was a school trip taking place which I had been invited to go along on a couple of weeks back. It was a really great day out to a place called Malindi, north of Mombasa along the coast road. The bus arrived at the school at 9am for an expected 18 children & 4 members of staff (me being one of them!..'Madame Vicky'!!) Anyway, the bus arrived and it turns out a few more kids had since come up with the money to go so there ended up being about 30 of us! Well, smaller kids sat on laps, small stools were put in any floor space going & everyone generally just squeezed in. I was OK as I was forced to sit up front with Loice (school head) & the driver. The best of it was, there was not one moan or hint of complaining from the kids about the situation - & considering the heat, the fact it was just under a 2 hour drive & the obvious complete lack of room, I was amazed! They were just so happy & grateful to be going on a school trip - it was so lovely to witness their utter excitement.

Malindi was a beautiful, idyllic coastal resort with a decent history for the children to learn about. We firstly visited some Portuguese ruins & then headed to the gorgeous beach where the first Portuguese boats docked onto Kenyan land. The sea was really rough that day, crashing fiercely against the rocks, which was great fun to watch & also avoid getting sprayed. After lunch, we went to the town's museum and then watched a football match on the beach, It must have been a final or something as there were crowds of spectators & when the final whistle blew the cheers were huge! The winning team leaped & jumped about with fans whilst a goat was brought to them as the winning trophy I guess?! As we left on the bus the winning team was still cheering & celebrating along the streets, pulling the distressed goat (who was now attired in a football jersey) around on a rope, which was sadly nothing compared to it's fate later that evening I imagine. Anyway, we began the long journey back to Mtwapa & as darkness fell I think we all nodded off for a well deserved nap.

Friday was more painting - second coat this time & the rooms now look really bright & close to finishing. The weekend followed with pretty much the usual things I try to get done over the weekend - washing, some studying, a trip to the supermarket, a little relaxing in the sun, I posted a couple of cards back home, oh there was a lengthy power cut 😞, time spent on the internet - oh and an unfortunate encounter with a HUGE bug.

Reflecting on the last 4 weeks, it has been quite a roller coaster of feelings & thoughts. You know when I first arrived, to be entirely honest, I thought I might not cope out here. Thinking back now to how settled I feel, it sounds all pretty stupid. But that is the truth - when I lay down in bed on my first night, I was really thinking 'Oh my God! Vicky, you are completely out of you depth! What are you doing lying in a small village home in the middle of Kenya!?' That is really what i thought!..which somehow makes all these feelings I now have even better. I got through that initial culture shock I guess you would call it & now feel amazingly free & almost as if I can do anything! It is like I have gone through a huge life-changing experience - maybe I've just finally grown up! 😱

Anyway, getting a bit carried away, but I'd just thought I'd share those feelings with you. That's plenty for now I'm sure. The bug encounter was definitely the low point of the week as I am still recovering from the trauma, that & I am starting to miss the parentals & of course my ace Nan. Aaron arrives in around 12 days so I'm looking forward to having him around for the last 2 weeks. Hopefully we'll try to do a safari if we can get a good price & I might just find some time to relax on the beach which I have yet to do!

Love to everyone & I hope all is well

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p.s. Sorry but photos are not uploading today for some reason?! Will try again in the week x

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