PCV in Kenya: Week 35

Monday

We woke up and ate our baked goods from Jowa, the Korean Bakery in Eldoret, for breakfast. We then packed up our belongings and headed to my school’s bus. We left Eldoret at 10AM and arrived in Kisumu at 1PM. The drive took us through Nandi and it was beautiful. In Kisumu, we parted ways with Marissa and stopped for lunch. After lunch, we continued driving back to my site and we arrived around 5PM. The bus drove through the market so the kids could celebrate their music accomplishments. It was so fun 😊The bus continued on to the school where the celebrations continued. Sophie and I left the celebrations early so we could stop at the market before going to my house. Sue saw us and walked around with us which was nice. When we were done shopping, my neighbor was also in the market, so he drove us all home. Back at my house, we settled in and got to work preparing dinner of mashed potatoes and spicy lentils. They turned out great and we watched “Unsolved Mysteries” while we ate. Nala also moved back into my house from Sammy’s house. She is happy I am back and she even snuggled with Sophie!

Tuesday

We woke up and went to a local duka to purchase bread so that we could prepare avocado and egg toast for breakfast. We then spent the morning booking all of our hostels for our November trip! It was so exciting but very time consuming. We had popcorn and avocado toast for lunch before taking a walk around my village. Back at the house, we did a pilates workout before making dumplings and cinnamon/sugar bakes with the remaining dumpling dough. We ended the night with an at-home spa. This included facials and eyebrow shaping 😊

Wednesday

We again had to visit the local duka for oil, milk, and eggs this morning. Back at the house, we had avocado and egg toast again for breakfast then booked our Morrocco Sahara trip! We then made banana beignets followed by homemade clay. The homemade clay was so fun to shape and Sophie is much more of a sculptor than I am. I was able to make an imprint of Nala’s paw, so I hope it dries well so I can keep it 😊 After this, we took a different walk around my village and the sunset was so good. Back at the house, we did yoga before making and eating shakshuka for dinner. We watched “Falling for Figaro” to end the night.

Thursday

I do not think Sophie or I slept very well last night. This is because safari ants marched through my house and onto the bed… eww. So, at about 3AM, we got out of bed to let them finish marching through and out of my house. Killing them would have caused me to have thousands of ant bodies to clean up, so this seemed like the better option. When it was a decent hour, we made pancakes for breakfast and Sophie packed up to leave. I walked with her to the stage and sent her off back to her site. I then did some shopping in the market. While I was there, the rains came. I found shelter in a woman’s duka and stayed there for over 3 hours while it poured outside. When I got home, I cleaned then made an early dinner of pasta and homemade sauce. I watched the final episodes of “Bridgerton” Season 3 before watching the first episode of the new season of “Emily in Paris”.

Friday

I spent my morning doing my nails (mani and pedi 😊). They match and look so good! Throughout the course of the day, I finished watching the remaining released episodes of the new season of “Emily in Paris”. In the afternoon, I had time for yoga and a workout before warming up dinner and calling it a day.

Saturday

This morning, I had pancakes for breakfast and watched “Law and Order: SVU”. I then worked with my dad over FaceTime to freeze my credit (and his) because of the recent data leak. The three credit sites won’t let anyone log in on a VPN or outside of the country (or at least I haven’t figured out how to). So, I need my dad’s help whenever I need to change the status of a freeze. Once that was done, I finished a bracelet before working out. I did my workout outside for the first time in Kenya and it was so nice. I have been working out inside so people don’t see me working out outside and wondering what I am doing. But, I do not care anymore 😊 I made dinner while talking to Grams and then ate my dinner with the company of “Law and Order: SVU”. I ended the night by watching “Night School”. As I was writing in my daily journal, I finished out the last page in it, so I get to write in my new journal starting tomorrow.

Sunday

Today was such a fun day! I made an omelet for breakfast then got ready for the day. I then headed over to Sue’s house so we could leave for Kit Mikayi. Kit Mikayi is a rock formation in Kisumu County. In the Luo language, Kit means stone/rock and Mikayi means first wife. So, Kit Mikayi is stone of the first wife. This rock formation used to be a site for sacrifices before Christianity came into the region. Sue and I got to Kit Mikayi around 2PM. She helped us bargain for a good entry price and we had so much fun climbing the rocks and getting good views of the surrounding area. We also took lots of pictures. One of the favorite things I saw was a plant whose leaves close up when touched. When we finished touring, we headed to a local hoteli to have a soda before heading back home. The journey home was a struggle. We could not catch an available matatu for over an hour. This caused us to be on track to arrive at dark, but thankfully Cosmas was able to pick us up from the tarmac and drive us home. It was a fun way to end the week.

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.