Thursday, May 28, 2009

Buibui

Instead of writing a new post, I have decided to take some snippets from my journal, which I think will give a better job of reflecting the past month!

6 May
Yesterday evening was a soul settling one. The sky was filled with huge and fluffy clouds. The bottom of the clouds were a mixture of bright oranges, pinks, and reds. My sun-setting seat is right at the base of a mini-hill that gives the people returning with water on wheelbarrows a run for their money. Yesterday, a boy actually let me help him puss his cart up the hill. I spent half of my time watching the sunset and half of it watching the girls and boys walking back pushing buckets or water, or carrying it on their heads. It hit me that I wasn't shocked by the age of these children. They are so young, and doing SUCH adult work.
I am not really sure when it happened, or why, but I have REALLY started to like whre I am. I actually get excited and a smile across my face when little kids run at me with their hands out. "Mzungu" has been bothering me less and less. I think that the Namangans are realizing that I am here to stay. And I'm realizing how to enjoy the simple pleasures that Namanga has to offer.

18 May
I'm tired. Hot. My legs are covered with mosquito bites. My head hurts, a lot. I'm not in a bad mood, just cranky. And I'm not cranky at Namanga, which is good, just cranky in general. Being cranky and alone is a weird feeling. If there is no one to see my mood, is it still there? I guess it is like the tree falling in the forest thing.
Today I had to explain to my students that people have gone to the moon, but they do not actually live there. At first I could not believe that they don't know that we've landed on the moon. But then, why would they? People on the moon really does not affect their lives. At all. When you are living your life day-to-day, meal-to-meal, who cares if there are people on the moon.

20 May - Buibui
Last night was my first real scary Africa incident. It had nothing to do with rebels, guns, or being harrassed. It was a buibui (spider). I guess I'm still not entirely sure if it was a buibui or a scorpion. It had the butt of a scorpion, but the legs of a spider. It was only slightly smaller than my hand. After checking with a Mama to see if there are poisonous spiders in Namanga, and saying 'ni kubwa sana' (its very big) I spend at least 15 minutes staring at it to build up my courage. I grabbed a peanut butter jar (a big one because I eat a lot of peanut butter) and an envelope. As a rule, I don't kill spiders, and besides, it was too big to kill. Mom would be proud. After I threw it outside it took 45 minutes for the shaking to stop. It wasn't until morning that I had convinced myself that it wouldn't crawl back under the door. Today, I checked every place where I put my hands before I went about my routine freely. Apparently I really am scared of spiders.

22 May
This morning I started thinking about how when the family comes, some things will stick out to them that now seem entirely normal to me:
-crates of sliced white bread stacked on the back of bicycles, and teetering on the uneven gravel roads
-meat being delivered in the morning on the backs of bicycles
-shoes made of old tires
-making sure there is water in the tank outside before I use my supply for bathing
-walking down the road hearing at least 4 languages: english, kiswahili, kimaasai, and kisomali
-seeing the jiko fires light up the night
-stepping over plastic bags and plastic bottles
-electricity is never a guarentee
-maasai mama's faces lighting up when they realize that you know to respond 'eba' when they say 'sopa'
-a matress is a foam pad. if your body is not evenly distributed you will fall through the cracks of the planks
-being called 'madam'...makes me feel old

24 May
Today was my second visit to AIC church with one of my students. The first time her pastor wasn't there, and she really wanted me to go when he was. They are incredibly welcoming. It is more than 3 hours long, but I get to spend a lot of that time listening to and watching the choir. I wish that they sang the entire service. Today they split up the 'introductions' and 'testimony'. I didn't really realize that it was introduction time, and I figured that I'm not new; I went two weeks ago. The pastor called me out: "I think that I saw a new face in there somewhere!". 200 heads turned to me. I wasn't entirely sure what to say because I hadn't been paying attention to the other introductions. I came up with: 'Mimi ninaitwa Carly. Thank you for welcoming me to your church". I have no clue if that was acceptable.