Anthony & Upcountry (Mar 27/03)

Here I am, back from the wilds of Africa!! (well, back to the wild city of Nairobi anyways!)

I know you've been waiting patiently to hear my exploits, but it's been such a while without decent internet access that I'll have to recap first...
- Got the cast off on Feb 12 - hurrah! walking again!
- Went to Lokichoggio (UN base camp) on Feb 14 - yes, Anthony's birthday AND Valentine's, all rolled into one! He loved the worldspace satellite radio I got for him... and we had roasted goat (nyama choma) and ugali (maize flour & water) for his birthday dinner, followed by chang'a, the local toxic brew
- Spent a hot and dusty 3 weeks in Loki building a Windows 2000 network - did all the wiring ourselves (Andrew & Malcolm would be proud!)
- Quit smoking a few days in, and because of that, essentially quit drinking (Anthony doesn't smoke anyways and decided no alcohol as of Jan 1 - what a good influence huh!)
- Hobbled around the camp for the couple weeks but made amazing progress on the leg - it's almost completely normal and I've even started running again!
- Managed to get a spa tent this time - complete with my own private bathroom and open-air shower.. what luxury for only US$38/day (while the Turkana tribe begs at the gate for water)
- Portman called me from California and we talked for like ever!!! He wanted to know all about everything (he could never sit through reading a whole email!) and spoke to a few of my friends here including Anthony!
- Mum also called, and I wished I could send a congratulations to Iain and Sabra on their wedding but internet access was impossible... I was there in spirit, and I heard it was a wonderful event! (Mum also grilled Anthony about his kids, his intentions.. etc! But he thought she was nice anyways.. heheh :)
- Arranged to finish on the day Anthony's R&R started - so we flew back to Nairobi together.

This is when my vacation begins - because of course I also arranged to take a week off while he was off!! Our plan was to spend the weekend in Nairobi and then go to his village home (aka "upcountry") in a place called Moi's Bridge (near Kitale and Eldoret if anyone knows where those towns are!). Went crazy shopping in the markets in town in anticipation of my getting paid for the first time since Photopoint about 1-1/2 years ago - my volunteer stint was over as of March 1st and now I'm getting paid in USD! (ok, not until the END of the month, but that's what the visa's for :) Since I was visiting his family for the first time, I wanted to bring gifts for everyone... mostly clothes and toys for the kids. Besides which, I was informed that women can wear skirts only when upcountry - so I had to get some suitable African attire (and damn, I needed at least 2 new pair of shoes, right?!). After for those that know my habits, you'll know that I also *had* to select a new wardrobe for Anthony!!! I bought his stuff, he bought my stuff, and we both bought the others' stuff!

On Monday I at least had to go to work for one day after the Loki trip - report in to the Head of Mission and catch up on my IT assistant's tasks - btw, it was the first time Jeniffer had every been in charge of IT all on her own, and she did a fantastic job (sniff! I'm so proud :). Anthony ran around town finding all the parts he needed to extend the range of his new worldspace radio, and then we were off to Moi's Bridge on Tuesday.

First, the transportation.... we took a matatu (a minivan stuffed with people) with our 3 big bags - basically had to put them on our heads.. Then a cab over hilly unpaved roads with massive boulders heaving up all over the place to get to the out-of-town vehicle "station".. (believe me, that's a serious overstatement!). We finally got to where these vehicles park wherever they want (said "station") , purchased our tickets, and got into the car - a Peugot station wagon with the trunk converted to 3 extra seats. We were the first two, so we had to wait for the other 5 seats to fill up before we left (luckily being a woman and a mzungu to boot, I got shotgun!). That hour was spent with a myriad of vendors popping their heads in the car windows, selling bananas, water, mobile phones, and this really cool magnetic writing board that we bought for the kids... and wrote silly messages to each other to keep entertained! Btw, this is right in the centre of Nairobi.. what a strange city!

We got to Moi's Bridge and found a hotel... couldn't make it to the homestead in the dark with all our bags, etc. Now, even though my first reaction is to cringe, these types of hotels aren't actually that bad - hot running water, self-contained bath, clean sheets, slippers provided, and not overly dirty... but let me tell you Donna would never step foot in one!! ...I managed :) Anthony took off in the morning to find a taxi so I had my first experience wandering around this small Kenyan town by myself... didn't really know what to think, but at least the natives didn't run screaming from me (that was later!).

The town is pretty typical for upcountry - shacks that you'd never believe could produce a decent meal, kiosks selling everything you could think of, people/donkeys/tractors meandering everywhere, lots of bicycles (even bicycle taxis!!), plus strewn garbage, butcheries, and bad latrine smells a bit too often. But the people are very friendly, and of course it's all fascinating to me :)

Dressed in my Sunday best, we took the ancient taxi to the maize mill that his father runs - over hills and through fields - I almost thought I was in Baddeck! His dad, Josephat, is about 55 but looks 80, very thin, and doesn't say much. So we went to his mother's place... who welcomed me warmly with smiles and offers of chai.. Her name's Susanna, and she's beautiful - a big woman with a big smile, quite a bit younger than Mzee (that means the old man, a term of respect here!). Even though she doesn't speak English and I don't speak Swahili, we understood each other fine... it was weird! But cool. Got a good feeling from her immediately!

THEN... the kids came home from school... Leah's a little shy girl but shook my hand like a pro, and Kelvin's a little performer - a mini-Anthony, always smiling, even looks like him! I don't think the kids had any idea that I didn't understand a word they were saying - they talked my ear off the whole time I was there. They loved the magnetic writing board and that was our main activity!

I realize this is getting enormously long.. so I'll sum up...
- Kitale's the next closest city to Moi's Bridge, and it's the first town I really thought was nice here in Kenya - looks good, restaurants are good, they have cyber cafes, not too much poverty, pretty safe, and a comfortable size.
- We alternated between staying in the compound where Anthony's mom used to live - in his brother's one-room house - or in Kitale trying the various hotels - at around CAD$10/night incl. breakfast, not bad!! We couldn't stay with the mum and kids because he hasn't finished building there - not enough space yet.
- All of his younger brothers have wives and babies, and they (the wives and babies plus his sister Nafula and her baby Belinda) all live with his mum while the men live elsewhere - most brothers are in Loki/Sudan and one stays at the other compound.
- They call their mother "the mum" because all of her sisters, plus their father's other wife, are also known as "mum"... it gets confusing!
- Every male relative is an uncle - whether he's really a nephew or a cousin, doesn't really matter..
- Anthony's the only one in this substantial family with a job - he supports everyone - they live on his land, cultivate his crops, mill his maize, eat his chickens, tend his cow and donkey, and take care of his children. He finances them all.
- His 3-acre plot of land has a stream and a bunch of eucalyptus trees, and is a nice peaceful place. He just started plowing it while we were there with a rented tractor... rainy season is about to start, so it's time to plant maize!
- The "houses" are actually mud-walled rooms with an iron-sheet roof - instead of a house with a bunch of rooms, they just have a bunch of rooms! Hey, who needs a building to contain all of the rooms when you have the warm African sunshine and the clear blue sky?!
- Showers consist of a bucket of water and a plastic-lined privacy structure... toilets are in a separate building a bit of a hike away from the house.. and yes, it's just a hole-in-the-ground latrine.. luckily drinking the water only adversely affected me once!!!!!!
- One uncle's child literally ran screaming from me, terrified because a mzungu was in his midst - but he later tearfully shook my hand so all turned out fine.

I adjusted very well to this very different lifestyle and, now, after 33 straight days together, I'm now even more convinced that Anthony's the one for me... he's a responsible, caring, intelligent guy with a great family and lots of ambition....

So......... The wedding's here in December and you're ALL invited!!!!!!

.....over and out!.....
.....juliet victor.......

(ok, ok, we'll have one in Canada too... stay tuned!)

PHOTOS: coming over email if you have requested, otherwise see www.photo.espon.com & visit album johanna@istar.ca after Dayna/Ang have a chance to put them there! (thanks guys!!)

 

 

Copyright Johanna Voerman Khisa, 2002-03. Reprinting or reposting without permission is prohibited.