We are currently having a wild and crazy birthday celebration at The Coffee Shop in happening downtown Kitale. Waiting patiently (or not) for chocolate cake! The treats here are not nearly as sweet as at home. Looking forward to a Dairy Queen Blizzard (Oreo Cookie, please) when I get home.
We were out in the sun all day (finally a sunny day!!) painting trim, and are all a little tired and a bit crispy. (After so many days of rain, we forgot the sunscreen!) Just to give you an idea of how worn out we are...when the proprietor informed Deanna she was out of Coke Zero and Diet Coke, she said, "How about a beer?"
Back to the shenanigans at the worksite. When I was the only mzungu in town, the work crew always wanted to take a picture with me. As soon as Jenna came to the party, everything changed. Today she told her mother, "Smell my shoulder." Jenna had posed for 11 consecutive photos...with 11 consecutive armpits resting on her shoulder. And, FYI, an armpit in Africa is very different than an armpit in the US.
Smelly shoulders aside, all girls' rooms are painted with two coats of paint! All the trim has been painted...though workmen with dirty hands putting up the oil based painted trim is not working out so well. Need to talk to my friend, Francis, about that. Francis is the lead trim carpenter...using that term loosely...who asked for my contact information in America so he could get in touch with me. I told him, "That's not necessary and that's not appropriate." Sometimes, it's best to be direct. :) But I wonder how he'll respond when I ask him to ask his workers to wash their hands and be careful with the painted trim. (Sorta wishing I had given him my number!!) Maybe I'll just show Babu the sloppy work and let him handle it...
I've commented before on the accommodations. The Hyatt it is not, as Deanna would say. We've tried the Karibuni, and the Guesthouse...and now we were thinking about testing out the Paradise Hotel.
It's conveniently located just at the juncture from the main "road" (using that term loosely as well) to the orphanage...shorter commute. It might have better WiFi...more access to home. And maybe even a masseuse for our sore shoulders and some chocolates on our pillow each night! I'm keeping my fingers crossed the "Umwivali" next store is restaurant because then we wouldn't have to work about meals. :)
And this next ditty is such a common occurrence, I'm not even sure it's worth mentioning! There is so much traffic on "the road", small three wheeled motorized taxis, motorcycles beyond belief, piki-pikis (sort of a taxi on a bike...you sit on the back), trucks, people walking everywhere, and , of course, live stock!!
I've seen enough backsides of cows and sheep on this trip to last me a life time. Their driver (sometimes a small boy, 8 or 9 years old) usually taps them over to the side and we pass by unscathed. And it's not like they are slowing us down. We move at a such a slow pace due to the ruts and bumps in the road.
Like I said...just another day in paradise!
Tish
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