PCV in Kenya: Week 21

Monday

I started my day by making pancakes and doing all of my dishes. We again did not have school this week due to the unprecedented floods over much of Kenya. Thankfully, the area I am living in was not affected by this, but many people are. I headed to the market mid-morning and ran into my neighbor that had given me a lot of tomatoes last week. I had put one of the bracelets I had made in my purse for the next time I ran into her, so I was able to give that to her. Once in the market, I purchased a frying spoon and a grater along with my vegetables. I am going to try to make some new dishes this week and needed some additions to my kitchen. Once I was at home, I got to work making gnocchi and a tomato sauce to go with it. This took me about three hours because I had never made gnocchi before, but once it was done, it was delicious. It might even be the tastiest thing I have made in Kenya so far. Once I finished eating, I got ready for bed and finished watching “Hillbilly Elegy” to end the night.

Tuesday

I got up and started my day by sweeping up the house. No bug infestation, just a normal sweep this time 😊 I then got to work making banana beignets. They turned out delicious! I gave some to everyone that came by our compound today and I think they would agree. I spent part of the afternoon packing a bag to go toward Siaya Town tomorrow. Once I had finished doing all of the dishes, I ate any leftovers that were still in my refrigerator and called it a night.  

Wednesday

I got ready for the day then dropped Nala and all of her things off at Sammy’s house because I was headed to Siaya Town today. I walked with my things to the road and got a matatu to the major junction, about a 5-minute ride. At this junction, I chatted with the village Chief, a son to one of our school’s board members, and Crystabel (our school laboratory technician) until my bus arrived. This bus takes about two hours to get to Siaya Town. Once in town, I took a probox (a car that functions like a matatu to take people to places matatus don’t travel) to Boro, Laura’s site. Laura met me on the road and we walked to her house to drop off my things and rest a bit. When we were fully rested, we walked back to the market and ate dengu and chapati at a local hoteli. When we had finished eating, we went back to Laura’s house and colored. She has a wall in her home that she puts her visitor’s drawings, so I was able to add to this. Around 5PM, we went on a walk. A storm was rolling in, so it was chilly! It was such nice weather to walk 😊 Back at the house, we had potatoes, eggs, and veggies for dinner. Laura doesn’t have a water connection in her house, so I took a bucket bath for the first time in a long time. It was actually quite refreshing. Before calling it a night, we watched the first two episode of “Baby Reindeer”.

Thursday

Laura and I had a nice and slow morning, making fried eggs on toast for breakfast. When we were ready to leave, we headed to Savannah’s house which is on the other side of Siaya Town. We rode a tuktuk into Siaya Town to do a bit of grocery shopping and then boarded a matatu for Savannah’s site. There were nine of us here today for a game day/night and we had so much fun 😊 Games included Uno, Pass the Pigs, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, and Quiplash. Savannah provided cookies which were such a nice treat! For dinner, we had pasta and then pushed two mattresses together in the living room to have a sleepover 😊

Friday

Savannah prepared French toast for us this morning with actual syrup which was delicious. Then, Savannah, Laura, Sophie, Marissa, and I went into Siaya Town. Our first stop was Anitah’s clothing shop. Anitah is one of my co-workers at school 😊I found two pairs of work pants and a pair of jean shorts and the girls found some great stuff as well. We also found a cheetah print morph suit which was so funny to try on but not in the budget. We all had lunch at Hotel Lourdes and Sophie and I split a pizza and chips masala. After lunch, I headed back home. I first took a bus to Bondo and did some grocery shopping at the supermarket here. My principal was in the area, so he was able to pick me up from here and drive me to my house. This was extremely helpful because there is not a direct means for me to get home from Bondo. I made popcorn for girl dinner tonight and ended the day by watching some more episodes of “Baby Reindeer”.

Saturday

I finished off the popcorn from last night for breakfast and then walked 40 minutes to Jack and Dorothy’s house. Jack and Dorothy own a shop in the market and I buy my eggs from them. The plan was to stick around for lunch, but lunch didn’t begin until 3PM, so I spent a lot of the day doing nothing. When lunch did arrive, it was a feast. After lunch, I met Jack’s mother who is in her 90s and then I headed home. I noticed two things when I got home. One, a ton of safari ants were making their way toward my house. Two, I think a bird is making a nest in my home. To ensure the safari ants didn’t march their way into my house, I sprinkled dudu dust (it kills ants) all around my house. To figure out if a bird was making a nest in my house, Sammy came over and confirmed that’s what was happening and he would come fix it tomorrow. After an early shower, I took off my nail polish so that I could paint my nails tomorrow. I ended the night by watching “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”. This is my favorite movie from my childhood and I am happy it’s on Netflix 😊

Sunday ~ Mother’s Day

Today was my last day of break before school starts, so I decided to organize my life for a good start. I caught up on journaling in the morning and I paid Jane to come over to do my laundry. I then got to work cooking. I made banana pancakes and homemade tortillas. Both turned out really well. I watched “Monk” while I worked on these. While I was cooking, Sammy came over and plugged the hole in the wall that he thinks the bird is making its nest in, so hopefully that works. After lunch, I did my dishes and painted my nails while watching “Baby Reindeer”. I then vacuumed, swept, and mopped the entire house so I had a clean house going into the week. I collected and put away all of my laundry then ate dinner. For dinner I put avocado and an egg on a tortilla and it was yummy 😊 I ended the day by watching “Sex and the City”.

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