day eighty eight

This last week has been a huge eye opener into my own personal reactions to situations – I am easily exasperated, frustrated and irritated… not the best characteristics to have, but the first step to change is acknowledgment, right? So here’s to learning to calm down, speak slowly, and walk away when I can’t get my point across in a respectful and unruffled manner.

Friday was my “quarter-term retreat” which was a chance to take a break from everything – work, home, Kakamega – reflect on the past three months, plan for the next three months, and eat some tasty food. We (being the FSD site team and I) headed to Kisumu in the morning, first to the Immigration office to extend my visa for another three months, then to the Kisumu museum, lunch at Kiboko Bay resort, and then a quick trip to yet another delightfully huge Nakumatt (I love Nakumatt).

The visit to the immigration office was nerve-wracking and whilst waiting for the lady the paranoia set in… what if they refused to extend my visa? What if I was deported? Or fined for something? There was a huge Indian family in the queue before me, and they were really nice, explaining how the system works and just being generally friendly. Finally the lady came and took me to her office, where I filled in a form, wrangled my way out of a small hole - they didn’t believe this was my first time in Kenya as my Kiswahili is too good for someone who has only been here three months, which I told them I lived in a village where I had to know Kiswahili to understand what everyone was saying – had a laugh about living in a village, paid my 2000Ksh (about $25AUD) and got a new stamp in my passport. Phew!

Then we headed to the Kisumu museum… riveting stuff! Well, the baby tortoise was anyway. There was an aquarium, a traditional village, a kitchen garden, and a snake pit… yeah I didn’t stay near that one for too long. But how cute is the baby tortoise?! Awwww

After this educational experience we were super hungry, so we drove out to Kiboko bay resort on the shores of Lake Victoria. The breeze coming off the lake was so relaxing and calming, I wish I was there right now. My chicken cordon bleu was super tasty, and the beer was baridi and refreshing. The discussions with the FSD site team reassured, inspired and guided me so in a way that was constructive and encouraging and exactly what I needed. I also bought myself a small soapstone hippopotamus.

From there we headed to Nakumatt so I could change phone carriers from Safaricom to Airtel – sorry Safaricom, but your data bundles suck! For around $15 AUD a month I get unlimited whatsapp, facebook, Instagram, twitter, emails and sms… whereas previously I was spending about that in a fortnight because I would always go over my daily data allowance. Rachael and I then wandered around and found incredible goodies, including balsamic vinegar and Don Simon sangria… score!

The last bit of excitement was on the way home – just near my house the Police always do licence and registration checks. When we pulled up the policeman saw me, said hi and waved us on, to which my boss was impressed and told me I’m becoming a real Kenyan now.