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Published: April 2nd 2007
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this weekend we went to a little village called Thika. the town itself isn't anything special, but just outside was a place called 14 falls with waterfalls - about 14 of them 😊 it was a pretty nice short trip and not just for the sites. we went with rob's (another volunteer) host dad - who is awesome! we were planning on camping, however there ended up being no campsite, and we planned on taking a matatu there, however the matatus, once we got there, were just guys driving bicycles with room to sit on the back for one more person! once we got to the falls the man at the gate wanted to charge us for being non-resident (white), having cameras, and having a car, which he made us drive in. David told him that is stupid (literally) and talked him out of all of that, which was pretty funny to watch. he was arguing with him but in a very amusing way just shooting down all of his explanations. then once we walked over to the falls we were swarmed with young men wanting to talk to us and jump off the waterfalls for money - david took
care of them too! to some extent 😊 the men were rather persistant and it was difficult to enjoy the experience with them hounding us, but i still respected the effort. so many people sit and do nothing, at least they were trying to earn a living in a creative way! they were pretty nice too. it was definately worth the effort to see the falls. there were actually more than fourteen because it has been rainy and i love anything having to do with water 😊 it was a beautiful day, the clouds were awesome, and the vegetation around the falls was very pretty too. we hung out for a little then headed back to a place were david found for us to stay. along the way we stopped at a river with hippos! we saw some hippos in the masi mara, but this was different because they weren't part of a national reserve. we watched them come up and down for a while and watched the sun start to go down then left while there was still some light. we also left because some locals were throwing rocks at the hippos to get them closer to the shore
- i think to be able to for food, which is illegal, but most people don't really care about laws outside of the city. the place we stayed at was nice, but without david they would have ripped us off too! it is crazy that just because of the color of our skin EVERYONE tries to overcharge us! david hooked us up though😊 it was a fun time and perfect for a day trip.
so - thinking about how everyone tries to over charge us, i was thinking of some other common sights and occurances over here that are different from home. there are actually, of course, so many, but i thought i would give you a few that i can think of right now. here goes-
*when you say hi many people who don't know english say "fine" because that is all they were taught -"how are you" then followed by "fine" its kind of cute!
*people love to stare at us, and then either keep staring even whey you notice or talk to their friends and start laughing -both kids and s. they are either laughing at us or with us but usually we aren't laughing. . .
you get used to it!
*almost all children wear stocking hats or beanies with the faces cut out- even when it is 80 degrees out! they are so adorable though
*almost all the women always wear skirts no matter what - and they carry their babies tied to their backs with only a thin cloth -with their heads bopping around
- it is very different how they care for their kids here. while parents back home are so paranoid about their children being hurt, here they are incredibly nonchalant about their children. they play by themselves, go where ever they want, ride matatus by themselves, play on the side of the road, etc. i am talking kids even 3 or 4 years old!
*everyone asks you for money, even if they are super nice and you think they are just your new friend!
- they also like to ask you what material things you have back home and how much they cost
- random kids ask you for anything you have on or are carrying, even if they don't know you or speak very good english
*no one has any pets because it is extra money they can't afford to waste - along those lines there is very little respect for any animal here
* everyone greets each other with hand shakes, even little kids. women do a sort of hand slap-shake-hug process with friends thats fun 😊
*donkeys are everywhere either tied up or wondering around. they are used to carry things around everywhere on the back roads - they are considered "beasts of burden" here and are beat pretty bad by some people - even though it is illegal. there are some donkey sanctuaries set up in places around the continent.
*men love to shout things at us when we are walking by -either in swahili, their mother language, or english. they just keep shouting even if you ignore them. it's uncomfortable at first but you get used to that too. they actually are very friendly and funny if you stop and talk to them, but if you do that, chances are they will end up asking you to take them back to your country or you will get a marriage purposal!
* they use pieces of broken glass on top of gates and walls as security
*people we have just met almost always invite us over to their house for dinner immediately
*there is a lot of tribal rivalry - for instance the maasi say the kikuyu are rich and dangerous, the kikuyu say the maasi are selfish and liars. . .
*"KT", kenya time, takes a little getting used to! no one really keeps schedules or time anything-what happens when it happens, happens!
*the fruit is amazing! mostly mangos, bananas, and pinapple - avacados are really cheap too! most fruit is sold on side of the road or in villages in little stands made mostly of tin and wood
*everyone is usually super friendly and helpful even if they do ask you for money and you say no 😊
okay, there are obviously many more, but that is all i have for right now. i will have more later 😊 this week, we start painting. we are pretty pumped for that! i only have 2 more weeks of volunteering left! crazy, huh?!
*sorry popsie- i tried to get photos on but was taking super long-more photos to come!
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Alex's Mom
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Two weeks left?
Hi there Ricci. Your blogg is getting to be the highlight of my week. I love hearing about life in Kenya and your experiences. Thanks for the postcard. It captivates what I picture Africa to be like. Take care of yourself and enjoy enjoy enjoy! ps