day nine

On Friday I was heading from Iguhu (where I live and work) to Kakamega (the big town), which normally takes about 30 minutes on the matatu. Except this Bishop guy was also going towards Kakamega... when the bishop comes to town, the whole freaking county comes to town!

Not sure you can see him, he's in red standing up from the car, but you can see the convoy of cars, children, pikipiki and every other member of the church to wave at this guy. I managed to take this photo from out the back of the matatu as we passed.

This Bishop guy was standing up through the sunroof window of the car and waving, kinda like a "pope-mobile", and every single man, woman, child, pikipiki (motorbike), matatu and bus was on the road waiting to wave at him.

However on Friday this was definitely not the case - it took over an hour squashed into the back of a minivan with about 20 other people. And as the road is not yet finished nor wide enough to host such volume of traffic in two directions (as people were coming from the Kakamega direction to meet him too), most of the journey was taken off-road on side roads and other parcels of land which our matatu decided was good enough to drive on.  Lesson learnt? Always wear a good bra! Far out brussel sprout! I've said before the roads were bad, but this was a whole new level of bouncing up and hitting your head on the roof of the van.

It wasn't all bad, and for most of it I had a good laugh at the situation. Whilst on our way there we pulled up next to a school bus full of primary school children, who thought it was hilarious that a mzungu (white person, singular) was in a matatu and were waving and giggling. I personally think it's hilarious that they find me hilarious, so it wasn't so bad waiting in all the traffic.

What amazes me is how everyone is so thankful that I have come, that it's like I have honoured them with my presence - by me even walking past their house it's as though someone famous has dared come down to their level. I can't believe how excited kids get when a mzungu waves at them. I do feel famous, but also slightly out of sorts about it; I'm just a regular person - sure I have white skin and yellow hair and speak Swahili with a funny accent, but I've actually come to Kenya to learn more about infectious diseases and epidemiology from them! It is an honour to me that I am able to come here and live amongst them for a year and be blessed with such an incredible experience. I'm sure their just being uber-polite and respectful, something I love about Kenyans so far, but it is slightly weird and makes me feel as though I am on top of a pedestal.

Yesterday was really slow, we just sat around the compound taking tea and watching the chickens. However it wasn't all bad, as I have a shadow who follows me constantly....

How cute is she? I am so spoiled for a host-niece 

This is Nicole, also called Konyee (con-yay), she is 3.5 years old, can already speak three languages (Swahili, Luhya and English) and can read and write in both. The smartest kid I have ever met, seriously she is amazing. We spent the day writing on the concrete with chalk names and numbers, and she is teaching me Swahili. So whilst it was a slow day, it was fun.