Advertisement
Published: September 8th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Home: an environment offering affection and security I have lived in a few different places throughout my life and have found that whenever you move there is a period of adjustment that you need to get past before you can truly appreciate your new surroundings.
This week we moved out to our new “home” for the next five weeks, Odede. I was feeling a bit sad to be leaving Mutumbu as we had such an awesome time there and really made great friends with the community, and to be honest my first impressions of Odede were not good. We arrived around dusk and when I went to check out the toilet I was greeted by two big black bats (one down the actual hole of the toilet and the other inside the toilet hut) three or four big black spiders and about half a dozen cockroaches…. AGH! I mean come on…one of the three creatures I could probably handle but all three? Not cool! Even our tough man Nick was kinda freaked out by the idea of a bat flying up at you when you are doing your business. So a plan was quickly developed… no going to the
toilet after dark. Easier said than done however!
Despite the toilet issue, I had heard great things about Odede from previous groups and was determined to get past this ‘period of adjustment’ and adapt to our new home. Now, a week later, I am sitting in our HUGE backyard (which just happens to overlook the beautiful Lake Victoria) and feel as comfortable as ever. I love it here and so does the team. The serenity is so calming. It feels like we are a million miles away from civilisation when really it’s only a 10 minute walk to the main road and a 5 minute matatu ride to the nearest village. We definitely have the best of both worlds right now.
On the weekend, Sahn and Sam, two of the OSP volunteers from Mutumbu came over to visit and help us out with building another mud house (which we totally have down-pack now… we are becoming expert hole diggers). On Saturday night we moved our entire lounge room out into the backyard and sat under the stars with a few drinks, nibblies and some great tunes…not bad for a Saturday night in Kenya! Here we have a pet
turkey (which is by far the largest turkey I have ever seen, would feed a family of 20 for chrissy lunch), a pet donkey (who is currently pregnant) and a few pet dogs that keep us entertained, not to mention an endless supply of local kids who love to play with the strange looking white people. The house we are staying in is incredible. Its solar powered which means no more blackouts and we even have separate bedrooms and a living area…luxury considering our surroundings. Here we also have the luxury of an outside shower. Now to some, a tin shed with a divider down the middle might not sound like luxury, but when you get back from a day on the worksite all hot and sweaty and get to shower outside with the cool breeze, its pretty darn good. The sunshine on your back also takes away the shock of the cold water and even brings images to mind of being at the beach…luxury I tell ya!
We started our new project last Thursday and its coming along well, after a few small ‘hiccups’. We are building the walls of a dormitory and toilet block for a Child
Rescue Centre (CRC) that is being constructed as part of World Youth Internationals seven year plan here in Odede. The hiccups came on day three when the fundis (workmen) looked at me and said something like “what walls are we building again?”. What a way to freak me out! After a few phone calls to our coordinator Fred and some heavy consulting of the building plans (which have been changed twice since we arrived) we worked it out and started the brickwork on the correct walls (well at least we hope so). Sometimes all you can do from becoming frustrated is smile and laugh. “TIA” has quickly become one of my favourite sayings…This Is Africa. Unfortunately that’s just how some things work around here and you have no choice but just to go with it but be sure to double check everything just in case.
They say home is where the heart is, and despite the bats, spiders, cockroaches, and the odd feeling of exhaustion, my heart is defiantly here in Odede.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.122s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 8; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0421s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb