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!
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