Relationship Day

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When I woke up this morning, my body was screaming at me that we needed a day off. As much as I wanted to go work at the school, I obliged and went back to bed. I had already slept 9.5 hours that night, but added 2.5 hours after deliberation, and I easily could have slept 2 more. I felt bad for not joining the team, but I knew I needed to take care of me.

Once I got up for real, Tabitha and the ladies were shocked that I was here and slept through all their chatter. (I didn’t hear a thing.) I took my time getting ready and then headed to the clinic. While getting ready, I was looking for my shoes, which I had left out the night before. My Merrells are my favorite shoes to work in and now they were missing. Apparently I didn’t get up early enough and the ladies were washing them for me. So I donned my Chacos and headed to the clinic.

We brought some Tylenol, toothbrushes, and toothpaste (all donated) to give to wherever they were needed. One woman showed me around the clinic. They have a few rooms with only 1 or 2 nurses; the doctor comes in one day a month. There is a small laboratory, which I can’t imagine is able to do much more than screen for malaria, a dispensary and a maternity room.

Next, I went to the dentist next door. They’ve been open for 4 years now. The dentist told me that if there is anything wrong with a tooth, they just extract it. Cavities and everything. Apparently, people come in from the villages and have heard that if dentists do anything other than remove it, it will get worse eventually. The dentists are able to do more, but the people don’t want it. She was thrilled to see all the toothbrushes and toothpaste, as she only had about 10 brushes left to give out, and no toothpaste.

I went to the VCT, connected to the clinic. It is a Voluntary Counseling and Testing center for HIV. The Kenyan government instituted them recently to help curb the spread of HIV, which they termed a “national crisis” or something like that. Apparently, it’s working pretty well. All the testing and counseling is free, and the people who work there get trained to deal with it all.

These people were in winter parkas and stocking hats, and wondering why I wasn’t freezing in my t-shirt. I told them it gets much colder at home and even snows. The dentist asked if we learn, if we go to school, when it’s that cold. When I told her yes, she wanted to know how anyone could focus when it’s that cold. The concept of heat in every room was a little beyond what she could imagine. And air conditioning. She pointed out that there is none of that here, and even many windows missing. In the house where we’re staying (as in most houses in East Africa) there are holes near the ceiling, I imagine for ventilation when it’s hot. But right now, they just let cold air in at night.

I know there wasn’t a lot of manual labor I could do today, do it was great getting to build relationships and hear stories. After a while, I journeyed to the school where the others were working. Random jobs were being done, but mostly I stayed in the staff room and chatted with teachers. We talked about government, education, the US, Africa and everything in between. A lot of it started when one of the teachers asked what I use my computer for. I showed it to them and told them what I do, and then started playing with Photo Booth, at which point they were giggling like small children. It was a great series of conversations.

One of the odd conversations, though, was about the Rwandan Genocide. The teachers asked me what caused it. I thought it was an odd question because they were here during it and are educated people. But they were never told how or why it happened, just that lots of people were killed. I told them a little bit of what I know, still unsure why they didn’t know. Sarah is almost done with one of my books about it, so we plan to leave it here so the teachers can pass it around and learn some more.

The children (high schoolers) all gathered to do sort of devotions in the field, so I joined them. Sarah led a few songs and then I pulled a few silly camp songs out of my sleeve to teach them. Not all of them participated, but all of them laughed pretty hard! I realized as I was standing with them, that I was in my element. Teenagers rock my life!

Soon, it was time to head home, and the students were leaving too, so they walked some of the way with us, gradually peeling off when we passed their road or house. It was less awkward than yesterday since they were interacting with us, rather than just following and laughing.

Again, I was disappointed that I didn’t do more “work,” but I knew I could not handle it today. Building the relationships and asking the questions I did today, though, were enlightening! I’m learning a ton.

It’s a little odd living with another family, who we don’t know. I’m speaking of the Canadians. They have a whole different way of doing life that neither Sarah nor I really are used to. Everyone will be talking and laughing in the living room, and then the parents go to bed, and all the sudden it’s “bedtime.” That means no making noise. Did I mention it may be as early as 9:15? That’s a bit early for me, even on a tired day. Plus, you can’t put 4 girls in a room and expect them not to make noise. The flip side is, in the morning, when we’re all asleep, the parents are more than happy to come wake us up with questions about Thursday. I’m looking forward to having my own room and my own “house rules” again.

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