day 01 - your favorite song
I'm Only Sleeping by The Beatles or The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service
day 02 - your least favorite song
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer by George Thorogood and the Destroyers
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
I Just Can't Wait to be King from The Lion King Soundtrack
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
It Ain't Me Babe by Bob Dylan
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
Band of Gold by Freda Payne
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere
Bulletproof by La Roux
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
Up, Up and Away by Kid Cudi
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
Ignition by R. Kelly
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
Club Can't Handle Me by Flo Rida
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
Fade Into You by Mazzy Star
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
In My Life by The Beatles
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
Crash by Dave Matthews Band
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
Say You'll Be There by The Spice Girls
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
Hair by Lady Gaga
day 15 - a song that describes you
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
Hot 'N Cold by Katy Perry
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
Rolling in the Deep by Adele
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
Someone Great by LCD Soundsystem
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
Nowhere Man by The Beatles
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
Take Me Away by The Plain White T's
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
Last Nite by The Stokes
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
At Last by Etta James
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
Asleep by The Smiths
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
Motherlover by The Lonely Island
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
Brain Stew by Green Day
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
Sex at Six by the Profits
day 29 - a song from your childhood
Lean on Me by Bill Withers
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year
El Scorcho by Weezer
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
a very detailed post about pretty much nothing and being single
Watching Parks and Recreation and cleaning/organizing my apartment in the time I spend at home in between jobs has been great. And getting money, finally, has also been nice. I laugh and disturb Connie whilst she is consumed by her physics homework (sorry) because of the hilarity of it all. I mean, the show, not the cleaning (can it really get better than mid-season 2?!?!).
It feels nice to accomplish things. I wrote a to-do list on my way home from Florida...it was a short-term/long-term type list with goals spanning mere minutes to weeks. I have to save up enough money to buy an external hard drive, but other than that here's what I've done. (I'm not bragging, no, I'm just typing this as a digital record of what the last week of June 2011 was like for me)
-go through recipes, cook (with apron)
-get another milk crate
-develop Kenya pictures
-clean/organize room/apartment (the apartment looks awesome, might I add)
-do laundry
-watch Parks & Rec
-apply to a boatload of CNA jobs
-replace plasticized oven burner
-install shelving
See what I did there? I put watching a show as something on a to-do list. My life...is nice.
I just tried to post this but it deleted half the post which was probably for the best. I'll let the tags set as a nice reminder about how much I lauded being single and appreciate my blessing wrapped in a curse of being the only single one of my friends. Well, I mean, almost. Also I appreciated Jay-Z and the pay at Woodman's. I noted the quagmire I'm facing with Germany and New York. I reported negatively on my really bad dreams which seem to have more staying power than the good ones.
Oy vey I need to sleep
It feels nice to accomplish things. I wrote a to-do list on my way home from Florida...it was a short-term/long-term type list with goals spanning mere minutes to weeks. I have to save up enough money to buy an external hard drive, but other than that here's what I've done. (I'm not bragging, no, I'm just typing this as a digital record of what the last week of June 2011 was like for me)
-go through recipes, cook (with apron)
-get another milk crate
-develop Kenya pictures
-clean/organize room/apartment (the apartment looks awesome, might I add)
-do laundry
-watch Parks & Rec
-apply to a boatload of CNA jobs
-replace plasticized oven burner
-install shelving
See what I did there? I put watching a show as something on a to-do list. My life...is nice.
I just tried to post this but it deleted half the post which was probably for the best. I'll let the tags set as a nice reminder about how much I lauded being single and appreciate my blessing wrapped in a curse of being the only single one of my friends. Well, I mean, almost. Also I appreciated Jay-Z and the pay at Woodman's. I noted the quagmire I'm facing with Germany and New York. I reported negatively on my really bad dreams which seem to have more staying power than the good ones.
Oy vey I need to sleep
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
doubt and bad luck
that sounds depressing.
have been full of self doubt of late and also have had incredibly bad luck with just about everything. maybe it's like a special way of the world welcoming me back to madison. finally. back in madison.
i am excited to work on my life for the rest of the summer.
have been full of self doubt of late and also have had incredibly bad luck with just about everything. maybe it's like a special way of the world welcoming me back to madison. finally. back in madison.
i am excited to work on my life for the rest of the summer.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
doubt
this weekend, i began to question my worth as a human being.
not a good thing.
i've concluded that:
a) those that have caused me to question my worth should probably not be a huge part of my life.
b) i'm probably worth something.
c) sometimes i take things really personally from people who mean a lot to me.
d) i act like an idiot sometimes, but anyone worth anything will think it's endearing instead of annoying or at least put up with it with some sort of amiability.
not a good thing.
i've concluded that:
a) those that have caused me to question my worth should probably not be a huge part of my life.
b) i'm probably worth something.
c) sometimes i take things really personally from people who mean a lot to me.
d) i act like an idiot sometimes, but anyone worth anything will think it's endearing instead of annoying or at least put up with it with some sort of amiability.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Kenya: The Return
It's so great to be back. I feel so clean--there is soap absolutely EVERYWHERE. And my hair, so clean!
I'm excited to sleep in my bed tonight, shall be amazing, but not completely looking forward to cleaning and unpacking the rest of my room.
And thus concludes the experience that has been Kenya.
I'm excited to sleep in my bed tonight, shall be amazing, but not completely looking forward to cleaning and unpacking the rest of my room.
And thus concludes the experience that has been Kenya.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Kenya: Safari
Just got back from an amazing safari, the animals I saw included but were not limited to:
Lions
Leopards
Cheetahs
Zebras
Elephants
Giraffes
Buffalo
Flamingos
Hippopotamuses
Crocodiles
Colobus Monkeys
Baboons
Cute Monkeys but I don't know their names
Vultures
Marabu Storks
Hyenas
Jackals
Ostriches
Antelope
Impalas
Waterbucks
Topis
Oh man, it was really intense. Yes, I have pictures and you will all probably have to endure a slideshow or something at some point. A lot of driving though, it got kind of hard at times to stop fidgiting. For the most part though, there weren't too many points when there weren't animals around to keep me entertained. It's nice to be back home, I have plans to visit the giraffes tomorrow and also eat at Carnivore! (Carnivore is the only restaurant in Kenya that is certified to serve game meat...yes, I don't really like meat too much, but I'll probably only be in Kenya once and what's a trip to Africa without trying zebra?)
Lions
Leopards
Cheetahs
Zebras
Elephants
Giraffes
Buffalo
Flamingos
Hippopotamuses
Crocodiles
Colobus Monkeys
Baboons
Cute Monkeys but I don't know their names
Vultures
Marabu Storks
Hyenas
Jackals
Ostriches
Antelope
Impalas
Waterbucks
Topis
Oh man, it was really intense. Yes, I have pictures and you will all probably have to endure a slideshow or something at some point. A lot of driving though, it got kind of hard at times to stop fidgiting. For the most part though, there weren't too many points when there weren't animals around to keep me entertained. It's nice to be back home, I have plans to visit the giraffes tomorrow and also eat at Carnivore! (Carnivore is the only restaurant in Kenya that is certified to serve game meat...yes, I don't really like meat too much, but I'll probably only be in Kenya once and what's a trip to Africa without trying zebra?)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Kenya: T minus 6 days
So, this weekend I spent very busy. We went to Nyeri, which was beautiful...the landscape looked like a movie, and we spent the day on a farm. So nice. It was also nice to spend q-t with the wazungus, I have grown to not hate them so much and they have gotten me into dubstep. Go figure. Nancy is just really intense. She needs to be in control and I guess I can't fault her for that.
I guess then, I'd like to revise my official stance on them. They're tolerable and here for a different reason than I am. Also, I'm leaving them tomorrow for safari (!!!) so it won't be so bad.
On the farm we spent most of the time with Millicent's family. There wasn't so much to do, so I almost finished A Good Man in Africa (which after more investigation I think should be entitled A Not So Great Man in Africa). Her family slaughtered a goat for us, and it was good, I mean, a little was good but I am so sick of cabbage and African food I won't be satisfied until I get a salad, an enchilada and a LARGE cheese plate.
Going out in Nairobi was intense: you have not seen dancing until you've been in Africa. I'm telling you, Africans can DANCE. For all you haters, I was told by several people (male and female) that I could dance. I saw other Wazungus and I can definitely dance better than them. Also, it seems as though coming to Africa warrants white people to dress really poorly, really, really poorly.
I'm going to Amyna's house when I get back from safari to try to help her and her family figure out how she can get to America. I smell a fundraiser/bake sale in my near future...maybe my favorite band could put on a benefit concert...ehhemTheRoseLightsehhem...
I guess then, I'd like to revise my official stance on them. They're tolerable and here for a different reason than I am. Also, I'm leaving them tomorrow for safari (!!!) so it won't be so bad.
On the farm we spent most of the time with Millicent's family. There wasn't so much to do, so I almost finished A Good Man in Africa (which after more investigation I think should be entitled A Not So Great Man in Africa). Her family slaughtered a goat for us, and it was good, I mean, a little was good but I am so sick of cabbage and African food I won't be satisfied until I get a salad, an enchilada and a LARGE cheese plate.
Going out in Nairobi was intense: you have not seen dancing until you've been in Africa. I'm telling you, Africans can DANCE. For all you haters, I was told by several people (male and female) that I could dance. I saw other Wazungus and I can definitely dance better than them. Also, it seems as though coming to Africa warrants white people to dress really poorly, really, really poorly.
I'm going to Amyna's house when I get back from safari to try to help her and her family figure out how she can get to America. I smell a fundraiser/bake sale in my near future...maybe my favorite band could put on a benefit concert...ehhemTheRoseLightsehhem...
Friday, June 3, 2011
Kenya: Real Wazungus, Relocation and Pizza
Wazungu being the plural for Mzungu, I will now detail the past two days living with my North American acquaintances.
It amazes me how spoiled people are from the North America. Allow me to explain. At home, there's always this person who has this intolerance (dairy, wheat, sweets...) then that person who really just doesn't like cabbage, and that person over there who simply cannot drink caffeine. There's the person who has to have a toilet seat. There's the person who can't deal with taking a cold shower. There is the person who has to take a whole bunch of medicine to maintain their health. Well, these people come to a place like Ngong and find many of these comforts are just unavailable, so they impose on their host and make sure these lifestyle choices can be followed.
This all strikes me as very demanding. The new people brought not only a shiny Macbook Pro (which I got to touch...! Hestia, how I miss you and your backlit bright shiny keyboard and LCD screen), internet, a toilet seat, soap, ketchup, peanut butter, and their own tea, among other Western type luxuries. I understand they're just trying to be comfortable and honestly kudos to them for being able to fit all that shit in their luggage, but when they came it was a whirlwind of change. They are not here to fit in and learn to live (I mean, they really aren't, that's not their goal) but they just seem like they're gawking at the people here. They're peering in through a thin window, a sheet of plastic between them and the outside world.
So, they are essentially here to make a documentary. They have a whole bunch of camera equipment and have a goal of uploading a video blog every day they are in Kenya. Good luck once again, as this internet is ridiculously slow (think: slower than dial-up, no loading gmail, takes 5 minutes to send a one line e-mail). The ringleader of them all, a swahili-tattooed 30-something from Toronto, has been here before. She is loud, obnoxious, officious, and has the insufferable habit of calling Millicent "mama" and overusing it. "Mama, I love you. Mama, this food is good. Have you seen David, Mama? When will the water be back, Mama?" I'm thinking, 'lady, you're 30 something, you have wrinkles. she's black. clearly she's not your mother, so stfu.' And she has all her cronies saying it, too. The cronies are Dani, a large girl who has too many piercings to be ladylike and two few to be hardcore. She's quiet and a really picky eater. There's PJ (DJ?) who is a heavyset Asian guy, I get along with him the best. He actually gives me the time of day, we did a crossword puzzle together last night briefly while his video was uploading. He's a hipster: on his most visited websites on the Macbook were the following: Gmail, twitter, facebook, Urban Outfitters Online. We talked about headphones though, and I must admit it felt good to talk about consumerism again, for it has been so long. The third one is named uh...Ian or something? it's not Ian, but it's something equally annoying. He's tall and too old to be calling someone he's never met before Mama. He has a hipster beard.
When I asked Nancy what their project was at their orphanage, she replied with a verbose explanation about self-sustainability and so-on. She asked me what I did; when I said, "oh I teach," she simply muttered, "well, that's better than nothing." Needless to say, she's really fucking pretentious.
Alright, alright, I know I should keep a cap on my acerbic criticisms and focus on the fact that they're they're here to help. But some people just rub you the wrong way, you know?
Yesterday, Amyna and I went to David's house (I went there once on Tuesday, but I had to go back, explained below). It was so fucking...crazy. First of all, he lives in a plot of land a ways off from Ngong, we walked, and was no less than like 5 km probably. Each time I visited a gaggle of about 25 children came out to greet me, as if they'd never seen a white person before (they probably hadn't). His house was two rooms, not connected internally. He and his brother shared one room, and I guess all his other siblings squeezed into another room off the main living room. I learned that when you visit a family, it is customary to bring something for them like flour, sugar, eggs, veggies, cooking fat, etc. Well, I missed that memo the first time, making it so I had to return a second time with a whole bag of groceries in tow (not that it was a hassle, his family is extremely nice and lovely). The crazy thing about it all is that they moved there in 2008, during the genocide. Their family, Kikuyu tribe background presumably, was targeted by the opposition party when President Kibaki (also a Kikuyu) "won" the election. David and his family collected their things and were forced to flee, as they saw houses around them being destroyed by the opposition leaders. They got out, and David's dad came back a week or so later only to find their house destroyed...nothing left. I can't believe that. He finished school, his family is so bright and so nice, I can't fucking believe they've been through that. Apparently his dad used to be quite successful, they had a house and a car and everything, but now, they have nothing. They don't even have enough to pay for the lights. I want to help them out...if there's any cause that I've seen so far in Kenya that I feel I can put myself 100% behind, it's helping that family. More than helping the kids in the corrupt orphanage. I want the best for them. They are so nice, each and every one of them, down to their cores.
On a lighter note to finish off the post...
Tonight, I'm going to Nairobi with Amyna and David and a couple other people. We're going out! I'm excited. That's one more thing crossed off the list. We're also buying a Pizza. Oh god I miss pizza. In the wee early morning tomorrow, Millicent, the Wazungus, Carol (Millicent's daughter) and myself are heading to Nyeri, which is Millicent's homeland. It's near Mt. Kenya, so I'm excited to experience the scenery around there and hopefully see the stars!! Taking the trip there will mean that I've explored a large chunk of this country, seen much of what is to be seen in Kenya at least.
Hope the states haven't changed too much while I'm away (short of having a couple more baccalaureates, pharmacists and doctors) and y'all are getting ready to have me back!
It amazes me how spoiled people are from the North America. Allow me to explain. At home, there's always this person who has this intolerance (dairy, wheat, sweets...) then that person who really just doesn't like cabbage, and that person over there who simply cannot drink caffeine. There's the person who has to have a toilet seat. There's the person who can't deal with taking a cold shower. There is the person who has to take a whole bunch of medicine to maintain their health. Well, these people come to a place like Ngong and find many of these comforts are just unavailable, so they impose on their host and make sure these lifestyle choices can be followed.
This all strikes me as very demanding. The new people brought not only a shiny Macbook Pro (which I got to touch...! Hestia, how I miss you and your backlit bright shiny keyboard and LCD screen), internet, a toilet seat, soap, ketchup, peanut butter, and their own tea, among other Western type luxuries. I understand they're just trying to be comfortable and honestly kudos to them for being able to fit all that shit in their luggage, but when they came it was a whirlwind of change. They are not here to fit in and learn to live (I mean, they really aren't, that's not their goal) but they just seem like they're gawking at the people here. They're peering in through a thin window, a sheet of plastic between them and the outside world.
So, they are essentially here to make a documentary. They have a whole bunch of camera equipment and have a goal of uploading a video blog every day they are in Kenya. Good luck once again, as this internet is ridiculously slow (think: slower than dial-up, no loading gmail, takes 5 minutes to send a one line e-mail). The ringleader of them all, a swahili-tattooed 30-something from Toronto, has been here before. She is loud, obnoxious, officious, and has the insufferable habit of calling Millicent "mama" and overusing it. "Mama, I love you. Mama, this food is good. Have you seen David, Mama? When will the water be back, Mama?" I'm thinking, 'lady, you're 30 something, you have wrinkles. she's black. clearly she's not your mother, so stfu.' And she has all her cronies saying it, too. The cronies are Dani, a large girl who has too many piercings to be ladylike and two few to be hardcore. She's quiet and a really picky eater. There's PJ (DJ?) who is a heavyset Asian guy, I get along with him the best. He actually gives me the time of day, we did a crossword puzzle together last night briefly while his video was uploading. He's a hipster: on his most visited websites on the Macbook were the following: Gmail, twitter, facebook, Urban Outfitters Online. We talked about headphones though, and I must admit it felt good to talk about consumerism again, for it has been so long. The third one is named uh...Ian or something? it's not Ian, but it's something equally annoying. He's tall and too old to be calling someone he's never met before Mama. He has a hipster beard.
When I asked Nancy what their project was at their orphanage, she replied with a verbose explanation about self-sustainability and so-on. She asked me what I did; when I said, "oh I teach," she simply muttered, "well, that's better than nothing." Needless to say, she's really fucking pretentious.
Alright, alright, I know I should keep a cap on my acerbic criticisms and focus on the fact that they're they're here to help. But some people just rub you the wrong way, you know?
Yesterday, Amyna and I went to David's house (I went there once on Tuesday, but I had to go back, explained below). It was so fucking...crazy. First of all, he lives in a plot of land a ways off from Ngong, we walked, and was no less than like 5 km probably. Each time I visited a gaggle of about 25 children came out to greet me, as if they'd never seen a white person before (they probably hadn't). His house was two rooms, not connected internally. He and his brother shared one room, and I guess all his other siblings squeezed into another room off the main living room. I learned that when you visit a family, it is customary to bring something for them like flour, sugar, eggs, veggies, cooking fat, etc. Well, I missed that memo the first time, making it so I had to return a second time with a whole bag of groceries in tow (not that it was a hassle, his family is extremely nice and lovely). The crazy thing about it all is that they moved there in 2008, during the genocide. Their family, Kikuyu tribe background presumably, was targeted by the opposition party when President Kibaki (also a Kikuyu) "won" the election. David and his family collected their things and were forced to flee, as they saw houses around them being destroyed by the opposition leaders. They got out, and David's dad came back a week or so later only to find their house destroyed...nothing left. I can't believe that. He finished school, his family is so bright and so nice, I can't fucking believe they've been through that. Apparently his dad used to be quite successful, they had a house and a car and everything, but now, they have nothing. They don't even have enough to pay for the lights. I want to help them out...if there's any cause that I've seen so far in Kenya that I feel I can put myself 100% behind, it's helping that family. More than helping the kids in the corrupt orphanage. I want the best for them. They are so nice, each and every one of them, down to their cores.
On a lighter note to finish off the post...
Tonight, I'm going to Nairobi with Amyna and David and a couple other people. We're going out! I'm excited. That's one more thing crossed off the list. We're also buying a Pizza. Oh god I miss pizza. In the wee early morning tomorrow, Millicent, the Wazungus, Carol (Millicent's daughter) and myself are heading to Nyeri, which is Millicent's homeland. It's near Mt. Kenya, so I'm excited to experience the scenery around there and hopefully see the stars!! Taking the trip there will mean that I've explored a large chunk of this country, seen much of what is to be seen in Kenya at least.
Hope the states haven't changed too much while I'm away (short of having a couple more baccalaureates, pharmacists and doctors) and y'all are getting ready to have me back!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Kenya: The Visitors
Today's the day. There will be 8 people in a two bedroom place, smaller than my apartment at home. For the rest of the time I'm here. I'm a little exacerbated about it because I have trouble sleeping anyway because it gets really stuffy in the house (no windows because of mosquitoes). Ah well, it will be nice, I guess, because Millicent is really excited about it and I'm glad to see her happy.
This week has been flying by, it struck me that I only have ELEVEN days left here. I honestly feel like I just got here like last week. Time has flown, and with it many of the apprehensions I had before I came. Sometimes I think, "what the hell? I really expected that but not this!?"\
Today in Kenya is a national holiday, so I didn't have to go to Manaseh today, but I did, just to sort out some of the books. I'm planning on making a database of all the stuff that they have so nothing 'walks away.' I have pictures of many of the books and I'm going to spend the rest of tonight making up the list on Millicent's computer that Louise gave here. It's an ancient HP but it looks so shiny and new compared to everything else technology-wise around here.
Yesterday I went to go hang out with friends. That's right people, I've made friends. All by myself, not through the program or through my home-stay family. They were so cool, too! I realize they are probably a lot cooler than I am, but I guess I am automatically a little cooler than usual because I am a) A Mzungu b) American c) dress kinda unique here. I met them through David, the guy who also volunteers at Manaseh with me. After work I met up with him and five of his friends (who taught me how to dance...America, get ready). It was so nice to hang out with GIRLS. It's pretty easy to find guys willing to hang out with you, but it's nice to find girls to chat with. Amyla, one of them, even wants to do my hair with an iron! Love it. She has great hair, it sticks up in a whole bunch of directions, but is perfectly coiffed. And I made plans to go to a fashion show with them!
Today I'm hoping to meet up with them again, because we had so much fun! We played football, and by we played, I mean, a bunch of guys played football as I watched in awe. They're so good! They can like get the ball above their head and shit...professional style. I kicked it a couple times and I'm sure I made a fool of myself. Of course. Oh, I mean soccer. They played soccer. (Other words that I now use casually: lorry, gum boots, torch, elastics, slippers, trainers [side note within side note: I listened to This American Life last night and someone interviewed had a Kansas accent, and I was so confused and taken aback by it because all I hear is African accents! It was so weird. Also, the girl said flip-flops and I laughed because I hadn't heard that word for ages, and even if I do, people look at me like I'm nuts. I was happy someone else on Earth still knew what they are, I was getting worried]).
And I was out after dark again, so I got to see the stars, which I can never get enough of. The sky here is THE BEST. I love seeing all the constellations because I can't recognize them at all. It looks completely different down here! It's just so hard for me to make excuses to be out at night, or find people to be out with. I wish I could see them every night.
To finish off the post, a few random observations about Kenya for you all to enjoy:
1. People here love Celine Dion, randomly 30 Seconds to Mars, and this random Irish band called Westlife. I've watched videos from all of them since I've been here. Google Westlife for a great laugh...I went to a restaurant and there was a huge poster of them on the wall. Oh, Kenya.
2. Ketchup here isn't ketchup, it's like this water tomato sauce. Tasty though.
3. Stray dogs in town form packs. Motley crews full of dogs. Big ones, small ones, furry ones...
4. CDs here always have movies on them. Weird movies, usually involving many fat women singing and wearing prom dresses, clipped together with gimmicky transitions and fades. I kid you not.
This week has been flying by, it struck me that I only have ELEVEN days left here. I honestly feel like I just got here like last week. Time has flown, and with it many of the apprehensions I had before I came. Sometimes I think, "what the hell? I really expected that but not this!?"\
Today in Kenya is a national holiday, so I didn't have to go to Manaseh today, but I did, just to sort out some of the books. I'm planning on making a database of all the stuff that they have so nothing 'walks away.' I have pictures of many of the books and I'm going to spend the rest of tonight making up the list on Millicent's computer that Louise gave here. It's an ancient HP but it looks so shiny and new compared to everything else technology-wise around here.
Yesterday I went to go hang out with friends. That's right people, I've made friends. All by myself, not through the program or through my home-stay family. They were so cool, too! I realize they are probably a lot cooler than I am, but I guess I am automatically a little cooler than usual because I am a) A Mzungu b) American c) dress kinda unique here. I met them through David, the guy who also volunteers at Manaseh with me. After work I met up with him and five of his friends (who taught me how to dance...America, get ready). It was so nice to hang out with GIRLS. It's pretty easy to find guys willing to hang out with you, but it's nice to find girls to chat with. Amyla, one of them, even wants to do my hair with an iron! Love it. She has great hair, it sticks up in a whole bunch of directions, but is perfectly coiffed. And I made plans to go to a fashion show with them!
Today I'm hoping to meet up with them again, because we had so much fun! We played football, and by we played, I mean, a bunch of guys played football as I watched in awe. They're so good! They can like get the ball above their head and shit...professional style. I kicked it a couple times and I'm sure I made a fool of myself. Of course. Oh, I mean soccer. They played soccer. (Other words that I now use casually: lorry, gum boots, torch, elastics, slippers, trainers [side note within side note: I listened to This American Life last night and someone interviewed had a Kansas accent, and I was so confused and taken aback by it because all I hear is African accents! It was so weird. Also, the girl said flip-flops and I laughed because I hadn't heard that word for ages, and even if I do, people look at me like I'm nuts. I was happy someone else on Earth still knew what they are, I was getting worried]).
And I was out after dark again, so I got to see the stars, which I can never get enough of. The sky here is THE BEST. I love seeing all the constellations because I can't recognize them at all. It looks completely different down here! It's just so hard for me to make excuses to be out at night, or find people to be out with. I wish I could see them every night.
To finish off the post, a few random observations about Kenya for you all to enjoy:
1. People here love Celine Dion, randomly 30 Seconds to Mars, and this random Irish band called Westlife. I've watched videos from all of them since I've been here. Google Westlife for a great laugh...I went to a restaurant and there was a huge poster of them on the wall. Oh, Kenya.
2. Ketchup here isn't ketchup, it's like this water tomato sauce. Tasty though.
3. Stray dogs in town form packs. Motley crews full of dogs. Big ones, small ones, furry ones...
4. CDs here always have movies on them. Weird movies, usually involving many fat women singing and wearing prom dresses, clipped together with gimmicky transitions and fades. I kid you not.
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