Thursday, August 12, 2010

Mombasa, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...


Over 300 matatu rides. 3 new scars. 7 roommates. 1 mosquito net. 1 case of the stomach flu. 3 new training programs. 1 (modest) beach bonfire. 5 blisters. Approximately 80 meals of beans & rice. Countless power outages. 1 trusty fan. The 1st World Cup in Africa. 1 cat. 3 geckos. 1 birthday (let's not count the candles). 4 evenings in the air conditioned movie theater. 2 Tilapia served with the head and skin still intact. 1 fantastic maid. 40+ loads of laundry washed by hand. 3 church callings. One reliable 10.1 inch red netbook. 18 mosques. 3 broken shoes. Not nearly enough mahambri. Thousands of ants. 1 school of dolphins. 3 GB worth of pictures. At least 6 sunburns. 1 unusually long rainy season (no complaints here). 3 umbrellas. 150 anti-malaria pills. 0 cases of malaria. 4 lovely and all too fleeting months.

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Final Countdown

It's official. I can now count the days I have remaining in Mombasa on one hand. And as one might guess, I'm having all sorts of mixed emotions. However, I won't bore you with all of that. I spent my last weekend (tear) in Mombasa by myself. Denise took off around 3am on Saturday which left me free to do whatever I wanted with the day. I decided to go visit yet another market and take in more of the sights. This time it was off to the Kongowea market.

I have a few pics to share but first I wanted to introduce you (below) to Mama Rose (left) and Rehema (right) from Yehu. I aspire to become like these two women. They are two of the most generous, sincere, funny and caring people I know. And I don't ever remember them not smiling...except perhaps when they're sick with Malaria and still trying to work. Oh yeah, did I mention that they never complain?

Okay, on to the market. Check out how they stack their produce...oranges in this case. You see stacks like this all over. I can't even get a straight line of dominoes up without knocking them over.

Nearly everyone tops the walls around their property with broken glass from coke and other soda bottles along with any other glass one can find. It's meant to be frightening, I suppose, but I find it pretty in its own way.

There is a building at the end of the market that houses thousands and thousands of bananas-or plantains? Someone please explain the difference to me. Guys with handcarts line up here every morning, fill up their carts and pull them across the bridge into town. We pass by this scene nearly everyday. It never ceases to amaze me to see them pull their huge carts through town and in bare feet. I was hoping to capture the crazy amount of bananas (or plantains) but this was as close as I could get before they started getting upset with me. Just imagine this stack times about 27 and you've about got it.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

It's My Birthday!

The whole country celebrated today! Ok, maybe not specifically for the day of my birth but celebrations there were. President Kibaki announced that the new constitution was voted in successfully and there were celebrations all over town. We even passed an impromptu parade of motorbikes on the way home from work today. We asked Mama Rose about her voting experience. She said that she's never voted before because she never believed in someone enough to fight the crowds to vote but felt that this vote really mattered and she wanted to be a part of it. She showed us her finger that marks you've voted. You can see the black mark on her left pinkie. This keeps anyone from voting twice. Whatever happened to the "I Voted" stickers? It was quite exciting to watch Kenyan history in the making. It really is a great day!


So, Denise made some yummy scrambled eggs and toast for my birthday breakfast. Thanks, Denise! Here we are enjoying our Milo (chocolate malt drink).

Work was busy and quite routine but after work we went to Mikaye, a really great Kenyan restaurant that Andi & Aaron introduced me to in November. I got the Tilapia (this time with my camera handy) which was oh so delicious. We picked up some ice cream and cake on the way home for the restaurant and will spend the rest of the night chilling at home. Overall, it's been a great birthday! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Happy 4th...of August!

There may have not been any 4th of July celebrations here in Kenya but everyone is pretty excited for August 4th. Today has been declared a holiday because it is today the country votes on a new constitution. For months everyone has been discussing and debating this vote. You hear about it on the radio, see it on billboards and it's frequently discussed in the office. There has been some opposition to it along the way but everyone feels confident it will pass. And although I have no vote, I will still be (very much!) enjoying the day off.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Aunt Amy!