As I sit in my apartment by myself for the first time I can only let out a hefty sigh. The last week has been so overwhelming! It was filled with lots of work and lots of play, all of which has left me exhausted.
First off let me say if you've never heard me complain about making the trip to Nairobi you are lucky, it is about one of my least favorite things to have to do. However, I can say that I made the trip four times this week and each one was better than the last and for that I am mighty thankful.
Last Monday Ben and I headed into Nairobi to have a meeting with Omari about some Faraja work. The meeting, like every meeting here in Kenya, lasted about 5 hours. In the end though it was productive and positive we came back to Ngong that night feeling tired, but really pleased with the outcome of the day.
On Tuesday we headed back into town to run a bunch of errands. Going to Nairobi to stand in lines to pay bills and pick up packages seemed like a miserably daunting task. We lucked out however and had an almost effortless second trip into town for the week.
Thankfully my workload on Wednesday was minimal. I savored not having to leave Ngong for the day and Ben worked diligently preparing LEI's taxes for the last year. He did plenty of tedious work and I made my contribution by making sure we had hot cups of tea at all times.
With Thursday came another trip into town with some friends, and then a little farther; from Nairobi we caught a matatu to Longonot to check on the school that LEI built in early 2012. The trip to the school was really nice. The school has been open for just about one full year now and things are running so smoothly. It was so encouraging! We were honored to be invited to have lunch in the teachers home and it was such a lovely meal. From Longonot we moved on to Maai Mahiu were we relaxed for a while before catching a matatu back to Ngong. The journey is a long one (about 2.5 hours) and I wasn't looking forward to it, but with good company the trip was made so much more bearable.
On Friday day we had an extremely gracious and productive meeting with a few members of the community about an up and coming project to help the street kids in Ngong. The meeting was so very helpful, with support just coming from every direction. I will be very excited to talk in more detail about this project once we have some more details hammered out!!
Friday night on the other hand was all party and no stress of work! I was so grateful to have the week behind us! That evening we all headed to Savannah to have a “farewell” party for Ben. The night was filled with so many good people and drinks and choma; pretty much the standard fare of any good party here in the +254! At about 1am after the party had been in full swing for quite some time someone decided it was a great idea to make a round of pinky promises that we would all get tattoos in Nairobi the next day and we enjoyed a hearty laugh on the subject unknowing what the morning after would bring. We sat around the bonfire until the early morning hours chatting amicably and laughing about our shared experiences reveling in the beauty of the night.
On Saturday morning we woke with a few too many headaches and a shared thirst for a glass of cold water. Even in our condition it only took about 30 minutes for someone to mention the pinky promises and we all gave a hesitant glance at each other before someone piped up, “So, are we really going to do this?” In Kenya it seems, even your craziest ideas are generally good ideas… so off to Nairobi we went.
Fueled by adrenaline, we arrived at the tattoo parlor to discover it hiding at the back of a small cyber café. To say the shop was small is a vast understatement; the five of us could hardly fit inside at one time. Still not believing that we were all really going through with this we one by one stepped up to the needle and got our most precious souvenirs yet. My tattoo says “endelea kuota” (Keep Dreaming in Swahili) wrapping about the stars I already had on my left shoulder. I've been wanting this tattoo for a long time and it has a lot of significance to my time spent here in Kenya and my life as a whole. I even had to draw parts of the tattoo myself and that was scary! I am so very pleased with the outcome and don’t regret a thing! On a humorous note I got to watch a good friend of mine get “sawa sawa” tattooed on the inside of his lip in what the ladies present could only describe as one of the manliest events we had ever witnessed.
Last Monday Ben and I headed into Nairobi to have a meeting with Omari about some Faraja work. The meeting, like every meeting here in Kenya, lasted about 5 hours. In the end though it was productive and positive we came back to Ngong that night feeling tired, but really pleased with the outcome of the day.
On Tuesday we headed back into town to run a bunch of errands. Going to Nairobi to stand in lines to pay bills and pick up packages seemed like a miserably daunting task. We lucked out however and had an almost effortless second trip into town for the week.
Thankfully my workload on Wednesday was minimal. I savored not having to leave Ngong for the day and Ben worked diligently preparing LEI's taxes for the last year. He did plenty of tedious work and I made my contribution by making sure we had hot cups of tea at all times.
With Thursday came another trip into town with some friends, and then a little farther; from Nairobi we caught a matatu to Longonot to check on the school that LEI built in early 2012. The trip to the school was really nice. The school has been open for just about one full year now and things are running so smoothly. It was so encouraging! We were honored to be invited to have lunch in the teachers home and it was such a lovely meal. From Longonot we moved on to Maai Mahiu were we relaxed for a while before catching a matatu back to Ngong. The journey is a long one (about 2.5 hours) and I wasn't looking forward to it, but with good company the trip was made so much more bearable.
On Friday day we had an extremely gracious and productive meeting with a few members of the community about an up and coming project to help the street kids in Ngong. The meeting was so very helpful, with support just coming from every direction. I will be very excited to talk in more detail about this project once we have some more details hammered out!!
Friday night on the other hand was all party and no stress of work! I was so grateful to have the week behind us! That evening we all headed to Savannah to have a “farewell” party for Ben. The night was filled with so many good people and drinks and choma; pretty much the standard fare of any good party here in the +254! At about 1am after the party had been in full swing for quite some time someone decided it was a great idea to make a round of pinky promises that we would all get tattoos in Nairobi the next day and we enjoyed a hearty laugh on the subject unknowing what the morning after would bring. We sat around the bonfire until the early morning hours chatting amicably and laughing about our shared experiences reveling in the beauty of the night.
On Saturday morning we woke with a few too many headaches and a shared thirst for a glass of cold water. Even in our condition it only took about 30 minutes for someone to mention the pinky promises and we all gave a hesitant glance at each other before someone piped up, “So, are we really going to do this?” In Kenya it seems, even your craziest ideas are generally good ideas… so off to Nairobi we went.
Fueled by adrenaline, we arrived at the tattoo parlor to discover it hiding at the back of a small cyber café. To say the shop was small is a vast understatement; the five of us could hardly fit inside at one time. Still not believing that we were all really going through with this we one by one stepped up to the needle and got our most precious souvenirs yet. My tattoo says “endelea kuota” (Keep Dreaming in Swahili) wrapping about the stars I already had on my left shoulder. I've been wanting this tattoo for a long time and it has a lot of significance to my time spent here in Kenya and my life as a whole. I even had to draw parts of the tattoo myself and that was scary! I am so very pleased with the outcome and don’t regret a thing! On a humorous note I got to watch a good friend of mine get “sawa sawa” tattooed on the inside of his lip in what the ladies present could only describe as one of the manliest events we had ever witnessed.
Sunday and Monday were spent helping Ben to prepare for his journey home; tons of tiny errands to run, a few last minute meetings, and lots training on my behalf. Ben had an ample to-do list and we tired ourselves out working to make sure nearly everything got checked off. Come Sunday evening at 7:30 the best of Ngong’s company piled into a taxi to see Ben off. The ride to the airport was bitter/sweet. Seeing Ben leave the country was so hard, but I am thrilled for the great work he is going to do for our projects over the summer and have full confidence that he will be successful!
That brings us to today, and I can tell you honestly that I didn't do a whole lot. I sat in my apartment and let the realization that I am now living alone in Africa wash over me. Every time someone asks me about “my apartment” my stomach twists in knots with fear and excitement. I am so grateful for the experiences that life keeps throwing my way and I can only believe this is going to one of the best ones yet! xx
That brings us to today, and I can tell you honestly that I didn't do a whole lot. I sat in my apartment and let the realization that I am now living alone in Africa wash over me. Every time someone asks me about “my apartment” my stomach twists in knots with fear and excitement. I am so grateful for the experiences that life keeps throwing my way and I can only believe this is going to one of the best ones yet! xx
PS: I would like to mention one thrilling thing that happened today! I GOT MY FIRST LETTER! I've been checking and checking my mailbox to no avail and plenty of sad sighs, but when I turned that key today I was so excited to find a letter from none other than my incredible boyfriend. It was definitely the highlight of my day and I would like more thrills like that one so... send me mail. Thanks!!
Portia Duke
PO BOX 1069-00208
Ngong Hills, Kenya
PO BOX 1069-00208
Ngong Hills, Kenya
Portia! I'm so excited that you're continuing this blog, i love your writing style and hearing about your adventures in Kenya. I love the new tattoo! That's the one thing I've decided I'm doing when I go to school in Ireland this summer, commemorating it with ink :) Keep us up to date with your fundraising projects and I'll pass the word around!
ReplyDelete- Tanya
Not crazy about tattoos but love what is says!
ReplyDeleteBen,you and the team are doing great work there.Proud of you all.
Faraja is so blessed to have you all working for their betterment!